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Numb Bum Needs New Seat
Blog Date - 23 April 2015
My poor old CBF 125. With almost 36,000 miles on the clock it is showing another sign of getting old. The seat which used to be a happy place to sit even for an extended length of time is becoming increasingly uncomfortable. The hour long commute never used to be a problem but recently I've been fidgeting and shuffling in my seat. I initially thought I was getting soft in my old age then I wondered if it was something else.
I tend to sit forward in the saddle. I don't know why, it's not a long reach to the bars I just think I prefer the position and to have a bit more weight over the front end. I moved back in the saddle and found thick juicy padding and relief from the numbness in my derrière. It seems the foam under my buttocks has finally succumbed to my mass and collapsed. I could of course sit further back in the seat to save the expense of a replacement but it all feels wrong somehow.
A cursory look across Fleabay suggests a low mileage second hand replacement should stand me at £15 to £20 including delivery. That sounds like a plan to me.
Addendum
I ordered a second hand seat from Ebay. This one claims to be off a low mileage '14 model CBF 125. It duly arrived, rather conveniently, at my local Argos which is within walking distance from where I live. Having items delivered to Argos is far better than getting a note through the door that it's been returned to the delivery depot that might be 40 miles away and is only open for collections on Tuesday afternoons.
I have fitted the seat and I hoped for some marginal improvement. What a difference! I feel like I am sat much higher on the bike now, this makes me appreciate just how much the foam had collapsed on the old seat. I must admit it will take a little getting used to as there's no "bum groove" that I just slip into like I used to do. I haven't done a long ride on it yet but it already feels better. It almost feels like a new bike again...apart from the rust and the loose panels and the rattles...
I wonder just how many of my previous machines I have declared as being "uncomfortable" were in fact just in need of some padding around my rear end? A seat that has lost it's squidgyness means pressure points on the buttocks that need not be there and a lower seat height which alters the riding position, perhaps negatively. Oh well, it's only taken 26 years and hundreds of thousands of miles to work out this simple fact. I'm an idiot.
Reader's Comments
Kath Brooks said :-
Like the new easy read layout. Had to ask Rick to get a new pillion seat for his bike, couldn't do twenty miles on it and that was a new seat
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Hi Kath. What do you mean you like the new layout? It's been like this for ages...you've obviously not been looking.
The new seat on my bike is an improvement but I'm still tempted to get the old one re-foamed and re-covered. I could then get it how I want it, super thick, super padded and super comfy. Might as well while I've got a spare seat now.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Monk said :-
Ren mate...just do it...you know you want to!!! :-)Unless you already have??
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
I did get a new set and it was an improvement. As I had the old seat I have had that re-covered with additional foam so it's extra thick. Squidgy... :)
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
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