Looking for seating position experiences from boney ass riders

Like many here, I returned to riding within the last few years at age 52. I'm 5'11" with a 32 inch inseam and weigh 163 lbs on a typical day. If you've seen Bryan Cranston play Walter White on Breaking Bad - I'm that body build - fortunately, I don't have cancer... or at least not yet.

I have a 2016 Vstrom 650 I commute with and kitted out for road touring. I love the engine, the clutch feel, and the shifter smoothness. The Madstad takes care of the wind. I raised the stock bars 2" but left them in the plane of the rake angle - this made the bike comfortable for me. I lowered it front and rear the maximum .75 inches. The bike handles as good as possible with the stock suspension and brakes. I am comfortable with the size and weight of the bike with loaded Givi Outback panniers (37L) and top box (43L).

I don't think I have Trex arms but the forward lean prior to the bar riser change was uncomfortable after 20 minutes because the torso weight not carried by my arms was on my pelvis. I have zero natural padding where the bones of the pelvis meet the seat. With the bar risers the forward lean is greatly reduced although it would likely take another inch of rise to place my torso in completely vertical position. With the stock seat I could ride 45-50 minutes before the pain started.

With that configuration I took the bike on a 1,400 mile round trip ride last year to see my mother. It's about 700 miles each way. On the way there I stopped every hour to get off the bike and a bit past the halfway mark for a hotel for the night. That was always the plan and it worked out. On the return trip, with a time zone change in my favor and a 6am start, I found myself at the halfway point by 2pm which seemed too early to stop for the night. I've done this trip literally dozens of times in a car over the past ten years. I've seen and done everything in a 150 mile radius. I called an audible to see how far I'd go before calling it a day. Stopping every hour for 15 minutes was acceptable for that trip as I had plenty of time. I ended up riding 730 miles home that day in about 16 hours including two long stops for a rain and hail storm that was too heavy to ride or drive in. My rear was in serious pain for the latter half of the ride home and blisters were starting to form where my pelvis meets the seat. Obviously, it was time for a new or modified seat.

Back in February I was reading threads here on ADVRider and decided to go with having Spencer modify my seat. He was great to deal with. He has done plenty of Vstrom seats and I'm completely satisfied with the look and feel of the seat... except I just came home from my first 60 minute ride with it and where my pelvis meets the seats was starting to hurt. I know it takes time for seat foam to "break in" but hear me out.

A week ago I was in Phoenix for business. A couple friends were with me and we rented Harleys for a day. Since I had lived in Phoenix for 14 years I was the trip leader and wanted to show my buddies as much of the diverse and scenic landscape as possible. I turned in my 2019 Road King rental with 427 miles I put on it in 13 hours of riding and never once did my pelvis or rear complain. We did stop a few times during the day but, aside from a heel shifter that limited my left foot placement and a bit of buffeting, the bike was completely comfortable to me (... which was somewhat surprising because I stand for most of my workday and tend to get hip pain after sitting too long).

After today's 60 minute ride on the VStrom I have begun to question whether my absence of natural padding and the riding position of the VStrom is the source of the problem - and not the seat. I probably would not have thought anything about it if I had not spent the long day on the Road King where the riding position is so different (more relaxed than the Strom).

I bought the Strom because it was a reliable and inexpensive all around bike. I was seriously warming up to the idea of riding it to Alaska in June. I feel like I've done everything to it I can to make it fit me but I'm questioning whether the problem is actually that I can't fit it. The last resort may be to route the throttle side wiring behind the triple clamp and install 3 inch bar risers but that sounds almost ridiculous to me. Clearly I can't ride it 7,000 miles if it causes pain and discomfort after 60 minutes.

Have any of you lightweight riders with boney asses and no natural padding ran into this kind of problem on a particular bike or type of bike. Is anyone out there of my height/inseam riding a Strom or similar bike (Versys, NC700/750) with 3" risers?

Helpful comments will be appreciated.

AirHawk seat pad will turn your frown upside down. One lives on each of my bikes.

When younger I rode a hardtail frame on a 47 H-D with frame mounted custom type seat, I was 5' 9 1/2" and weighed around 145. Not much butt padding, and I hiked a lot and backpacked some. I got a small piece of short knap sheepskin and put it on the seat, the first trip back to Az (1400 miles) I did 400 miles one day and 1000 the next, with no problems. Position is part of it, and what fits you is part of it. I keep reading online how awful the older hardtails are, but I didnt find I had any of those issues when I had mine. Id go with whatever bike seems to work for you, or figure out what the difference actually is and if you can effectively replicate it on your current bike. If not emotionally involved with it, id seriously suggest getting something (bike/seat combo) you know works better before doing a really long trip.

I'm of a similar build to you and ride a 2014 vstrom 1000 and have the same problem. I've tried two seats, Suzuki and a Shad, but they where no better. I also have bar risers, 30mm and footrest lowering plates, 25mm and an airhawk, this helps the most.
By one hour I'm feeling the discomfort, by 100miles I need off, by 200 I'm done for the day!
To me it's the footrest positioning, to high to far toward putting all your weight on your sit bones and tail bone.
I rode a tracer 900 recently and had no pain even though the seat is plank like but that bike has very rear set like footrest positions.
I can't afford to change the bike just yet so I have to stop more and just live with it. My brother needs to stop less on his fireblade! Lol
I'm not even going touring this year on it as last year's tour was two much, after four straight days of 250 miles I could hardly sit on a sofa!
So I think your like me, only a bike change will cure it. If you find something please mail Me! Good luck

I'm 58, 6' and 150 soaking wet. As you found out it's the shape of the seat that matters, old time tractor seats had no padding and I understand they're very comfortable. I also ride road bicycles with solid leather Brooks saddles that have no padding. In the spring after not riding all winter the sit bones get sore from riding but as the season goes on the pain disappears as your keister gets used to riding. On bicycles at least, the soft smushy type seats that look comfortable, when you actually ride with them are terrible as the excess foam get smashed up into your tender parts.

6-2, 59 years old, 160. When I get the chance and the weather is right I like to ride 12 or more hours in a day.

I've found that for me a cupped out seat works best. What really helps any seat is an Alaska Buttpad or similar sheepskin. (I've never tried an Airhawk.)

If you can tolerate the tractor seat looks, what works the best is a Russell Day Long seat. I tried a couple of used ones that worked pretty well but when I finally broke down a bought one custom made for me that made everything right, not just in having the tractor seat to distribute the weight on my bony ass but also the riding position in terms of seat height, front/back positioning and overall ergos. I plan to get another bike this summer (FJR1300) and the first thing I'll do is get a RDL for it.

Some wise words there. I'm not emotionally invested in my Strom. It's a good bike, but if I have more drive to ride than it has comfort then it is best to move on to something better suited to my body.

Considered it along with their competitor, Wild Ass. Might give one of them a try before throwing in the towel.

I have not dropped the footrests yet. I have considered it, my legs would probably like it, but so far have left that farkle on the shelf. I don't think it would change my butt pain.

One of the more comfortable positions on my Strom is to pull the pillion pegs down and shift my feet back to them for 5-10 minutes at a time. Besides giving my legs a different position, it rotates my pelvis and allows my thighs to carry some of the weight. Obviously, this is restricted to uninterrupted highway riding.

Are you limited to 200 miles even with the Airhawk?

I can't ride a bicycle sitting on the seat for more than a few minutes - it's just too painful.

I did go out for another 60 minute ride today. It wasn't as bad as yesterday. I'm sure there is some adjustment period. I do ride with a very upright posture - i.e. no slouching. If I slouch that rolls the pelvis back and it does not hurt. Fortunately, I go to the gym regularly throughout the winter and do sufficient abdominal exercises that I don't notice much of break-in period at the start of the riding season.

Of some interest, I grew up on a farm. This was long enough ago that the tractors had iron seats, no padding. Granted I was young and dumb but I would sit on that thing all day without pain. A few years ago I was in an art museum and was looking at a wood lounge chair. I commented on how uncomfortable that must be. A fellow behind me said I should try it I would be surprised. I had already looked at the $18,000 price tag and decided that was NOT following me home. Turns out the fellow was the director of the museum and assured me I didn't have to buy it. I could not believe a piece of wood with a few curves and swoops in it could be so comfortable. It almost did follow me home. What I'm getting at is you just have to find somebody that makes a seat that fits your ass. I use a sheep skin with some camping sleeping pad material glued to the underside to make the seating part flat across the top. Takes the hump out of the middle of the seat. Some support under your thighs helps a lot. Good luck on your quest.

5'10" 32" inseam 138lbs. I am most comfy sitting "on" the seat, the shape matters more to me than padding, the flatter the better. I am horribly uncomfortable on anything padded much. My favorite foam is the Sargent "blue". Hell, I'm about the only guy that likes the stock versys x300 pad

Fortunately I'm in a position where money isn't a barrier to solving this problem, but when I was deciding whether or not to go with an RDL I just could not get over the aesthetics sufficient to pull the trigger. Normally I am a function over form guy but I don't hate my Strom enough to put an RDL on it. I just couldn't do it. Maybe my vanity is my undoing.

But you bring up an excellent point, for us thin boney guys we need a seat that keeps the bottom of our pelvic bones off the seat or at least sufficiently off that most of our weight is supported by the periphery around the bones. I would characterize the Road King seat as cupped out which is why I didn't feel any pain.

We've got a Snowmageddon storm blowing in the next few days so it will likely be another week before the bike comes out of the garage. In the meantime, I'll look for an Alaska Buttpad or sheepskin.

We all did dumb things when we were young... and some of those things would kill us or at least severely handicap us now.

The Spencer seat has the hump taken out of the middle. I think you are correct - I need support everywhere but the middle. I read one guy used a neck pillow like people carry onto airplanes. Maybe I'll try one of those.

Holy cow! Not for me. I sat on the Versys 300 when it first came out and didn't last the 45 seconds I was on it. Great bike though.

Sargent makes seats for the VStrom. I considered them but there were enough people who had tried Sargents and moved on to something else that I decided i'd skip them.

Since I grew up on a 350cc, for guys our size I tend to judge any bike over 400cc as having excess power. With the advances in engine technology, any modern bike with 300cc is sufficiently powerful for a 180lbs rider and a small amount of gear. If I was young today I'd love to have a Ninja 400... which probably has the same seat construction as a Versys 300.

I went through many of the same issues OP did with my seating on my V and other bikes. Due to moving to a new town I am seeing a new chiropractor. On my first visit she said my hips were not aligned. She aligned them and guess what - no more butt pain on any of the bikes! I could have saved myself a lot of butt pain and $ if I had found this chiro years ago.

I totally get the aversion to the RDL tractor seat look. I have a garage (and storage unit) full of bikes and I only run the RDL on the big touring bike, a K1100LT. Wouldn't dream of putting a RDL on the other bikes, just too fugly.

I've tried lots of different other seats - Corbin, Rick Mayer, Sargent, local custom dude,. etc...

The seats that always baffled me were the Sargents. None of the Sargents I've had look like they'd be very comfortable but in my experience they do pretty well for my bony ass.

Are you limited to 200 miles even with the Airhawk?[/QUOTE]

Are you limited to 200 miles even with the Airhawk?[/QUOTE]

Yes still get sore about the 200-250 mile mark but the air hawk helps in that I can do a few days at that mileage and still sit down!
The footrest lowering plates help and are not expensive for the vstrom.
I've tried cycling shorts under my gear to, helps a bit but not the 100 mile more I'm looking for. I also get less sore with leather on rather than textiles.
I was going to buy a new 18 vstrom 650 but after sitting on one I think it's worse than the 1000, high and forward pegs and far away handle bars. Think I'll look elsewhere, pity I like the storms.

This mirrors my experience. My butt just likes that blue foam