Seat comfort

Guy, in my opinion the best way to improve rider comfort on an Interstate is to fit rear sets, they will redistribute your weight to it's not all on your lower back/arse. This pretty much applies to all British bikes as the pegs are so far forward on most.

RGM used to do a cut down seat, but not sure if they still do.

sam

Rear sets on an Interstate certainly help & there are various replacement seats on the market which look original but are cut down a little to give a lower seat hight & some have softer foam than others, making them a bit more comfy but they tend not to last quite as long.

As for foot rests being too far forward, I think the problem is the Interstate tank forces you to sit too far back, I've had a Roadster for years & covered thousands of miles on it & find it one of the most comfy bikes I have & was quite surprised how much difference there is between it & my recently finished Interstate. The large tank makes me sit a good 3-4 inches further back & that puts everything else in the wrong place. Some modifications are on the cards !

Best regards, Tim

There's no need to lose the nice looks of your Interstate when you could have thethe original seat modified. Saddlecraft, Hudson Street, Tyne Dock, South Shields, Tyne & Wear NE34 0AD (0191 4556262)can change the seat height and add gel pads to suit your requirement. It unfortunatelymeans a postal job for youbut they come highly recommended by a good friend of mine who can now ride long distances without discomfort.

Harry

Previously wrote:

I have a 51 year old Arse and it doesn't like my Commando Interstate seat. I would like a more comfortable seat for my machine or a mod to the rock hard one that's on it. A tad lower would be good too. Can anyone recommend a seat ( not one of those hideous king and queen things please ) or someone local ( Gloucestershire ) who could give my bum an easier time. Perhaps i should re phrase that......

Thanks

Guy

I found with the standard riding position on an Interstate that after a few hours it was literally a pain in the arse. Arms and shoulders suffered too, but with rear sets, not talking extreme fittings here, but footrests vertically in line with where you sit, it is far more comfortable as you naturally lean into the breeze. Look on any proper modern bike and this is where you'll find the pegs. I use standard 'European' 'bars, wouldn't recommend clip-ons or ace bars, chronic neck pain.

Hi,

In my humble opinion there is very little you can do to the seat to make it comfortable for real long distance work. My 850MkIII Interstate has a very upright riding position as I have a full fairing on it. The only way I could ride a full tankfull range (about 350 miles) was to use the Airhhawk 2 http://www.airhawk.net/airhawk-products.aspx

From my notes following myLand's End to John O'Groates trip last year:-

Left the B & B at 8:00. 706 miles and 13 and a half hours later I arrived home. Time in the saddle for the ride home was 11:54

I know I could not have done that with just the standard seat. I arrived home fairly stiff as you can imagine but the rear end was in fine shape.

It is not cheap, I paid £85 by the time it arrived at my door but it means I just do not worry about the miles now.

Regards

Tony