Thanks for the brutally honest review. I have looked at cool covers a few times but always thought the price was a little high for a mesh seat cover. BTW the Wolverine look is .... umm interesting.
I bought one for my 2015 Suzuki V-Strom and it fit great. I've had the cover over a year now and it does keep my butt cool and dry from sweating. It also doesn't feel hot after sitting in the sun all day. When it rains I put my rain suit on so that's not an issue for me. I've also had my seats custom covered with a material just like that on 3 of my other bikes for 14 year. That company calls it Polar Mesh and it's a little thinner than the Wind Rider covers. The company's name is Kontour Custom Seats. They did seats for my 2009 Bonneville SE, 2001 ZRX1200R and 2013 CB500F and all of them had a mesh cover very much like that. My butt use to sweat pretty bad in these HOT south Louisiana summers and when they would sit in the hot sun for an hour or more when you get on the bike ,YIKES ! My V-Strom seat was very comfortable as for as cushion goes so all I wanted was a mesh cover and it works great for me and I'm 265 ponds.
It’s not often that I don’t agree with your assessment but I have to on this one. I have one of these covers for my 390 and for me, it has worked pretty well. I’ve ridden almost 4,000 miles with it on a BDR, local ADV trips, and long freeway miles. For me, it made the stock seat a little more comfortable, it DID keep my butt cooler*, and it DID wick water away. Mine DID NOT compress after extended use and DID NOT hold water. (* I’m not sure if it’s actual airflow or the perforated honeycomb surface that keeps the seat from feeling hot but either way, it’s comfortable to sit on after the bikes been sitting in the sun for a couple hours and it’s cooler during a ride). That said, I don’t use it for daily commuting use around town. I only put it on for trips. I clean my bike after every ADV trip and the cover comes off and gets a rinse. What I do find is that the cover holds a lot of dust against the seat. The seat is filthy after I remove the cover but I’m washing the bike anyway so it’s not a big deal. But this is just my experience. Mine is not an actual “cool cover” brand but I suspect they’re all made in the a same factory in China. YMMV, as we say.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It is good to know it works for some riders. Maybe I am just to heavy for it. I found it uncomfortable to sit on too, my waffle butt was not happy. Thankfully, it is getting cooler out here. Cheers.
I absolutely love these. Had one on my 690 for over 20,000 miles.. cooler and better in rain. It's not foam, it doesn't stay compressed.. it's a 3d fabric. You don't stay sitting without moving for that long.. you sound like you sit in one spot and don't move for 12 hours . I now have my 890 and have one on it. Everybody loves these.. you're the first person I've seen knock em.
@@DIRT2021I I love mine keeps me cool plus prevents sliding on seat in corners etc and if in the rain it does shed most of water I may only have just a slight damp butt
Glad I could help. I think bike shorts with butt cream is the answer, but I am not ready to go there, especially for multi day trips. Mountain biking is fine, motorcycling, I dont know.
A great "buyer beware" video. I purchased one that was not bike specific, and the benefit was that it stopped a half inch before the back of the seat, and inch before the front of the seat. So no fear of it wearing, or interfering with seat mounting. It did not, however, perform as advertised. I never noticed any air flow increase. And to make matters worse, when I was wearing riding jeans, I felt every strand of the mesh. I found it downright uncomfortable! - Frank
If you go to an auto parts store you can get a full beaded seat for about $30. What I did was cut it in half, works extremely well. You are slightly above the seat so water does not pool and in the summer heat you do get a nice breeze. Give it a try.
I used beads and did exactly what you mentioned cutting down one for car seats. I was happy with them (except for the “old man” vibe they give off - even though I qualify for that 😏) until I discovered the Airhawk cushion. It isn’t waterproof, but I have been more than satisfied with it preventing monkey butt after probably 10K miles riding on one. I am not a rep for them, but they work. It is the same air cell (think bubble wrap) technology used for wheelchair users to prevent bed sores. It looks more like it is a partof the bike than the beads did.
*_Thanks so much, Matt. I have been looking into these. Glad I never found anywhere to buy one. LOL. It's tough making a video on something when you are disappointed in it. They seemed a little gimmicky to me._*
...put one on a Tiger 900 seat ...loved it ...actually stapled it and cut the extreme excess off ...did 700 mile rides on it Mine was the Sit&Fly brand. Hope I can find one for my Russell Day Long...!!!
The Only thing those are used for here in the Philippines is Not Burning your Butt when getting back on after the bike has sat in the sun for a while. Never heard of any of the other claims.
Truckers use a cool set. It is springs side by side covered with a mesh fabric. Sound dumb but it works. Heat rash is no joke. The beaded seat cover sounds ok too.
It takes days for my cheeks to recover. It is no joke. I think I might need to try butt cream and bike shorts. Not so sure about the beads on my bike. Maybe if all I did was street ride. Cheers.
Thanks for the video. I am looking for something for the DR650. Suzuki calls it a seat, I call it a block of concrete. Anyway, I'll keep looking and not worry about the cool seat.
Here in the PH, that thing should be removable, using straps or velcro. You only put it on your seat when you're about to ride, and must remove it once you stopped your engine, and put that cover in a bag you could carry. That's because it also accumulates dusts and dirts, not just water. If ever they do after a drive, just remove and shake off any dirt or water on it, as you would on newly washed clothes before hanging to dry. If it's damp, just hang it for awhile in front of a running electric fan. But I prevent it from soaking by spraying water-repellant to it. The water repellant also added protection to the mesh material and made it last way longer. But water repellants are expensive, so I'm planning to use paint top coat aerosol next time, which I believe would be much cheaper. Just sharing.
Thanks. With all the offroad riding I do I get covered in dust. When I used this it didn't take long for it to get filthy. Taking it on and off seems like too much of a hassle. Others might find your suggestion useful. Cheers.
I watched Matt's review and it initially put me off buying one. I now have a KTM 690 Enduro and the standard seat is very firm for long distance adventure riding. In the end though I decided to get one because I wanted to experiment with padding under the cool cover. I put the cool cover on this week without padding just to give it a go and I have to say my experience was very different to that of Matt's. I have been riding dirt bikes long distance here in the top end of Australia for 45 years, and for those that don't know it's mostly hot and humid riding conditions. I was super surprised at the air flow the cool cover generated while sitting on the seat riding. I can see some other issues which I am yet to experience as Matt has pointed out, but the airflow is quite noticeable and of value to me with tropics adventure riding.
@@TonyB683 fair enough. The air flow worked for me for about half a day. The monkey butt I experienced hit me by the end of the day. Maybe I weigh more smashing it down quicker.
@@advmatt it will be interesting to see how the cover holds up over time as well. Over the years I have found standing regularly helps me to slow the onset of monkey butt, and using wider pivot pegs helps to stay standing longer. My son now 35 can ride pretty much all day covering up to around 500km standing with wide pegs and stegpegx. Cheers Tony
Thank you for the honest review. I was just about to buy the cover for my Harley after looking all the 5 starts reviews in the air-flow seat covers website, Then I decided to explore a little more in depth and I saw your review. I don't like when the return policy on a product is limited and subject to conditions like they have, looks sketchy, I already bought a bad pool filter and wasted like 50 bucks, so you saved me 100. lol. I am still looking for a solution for monkey but....riding out of central Florida, not fun when it gets too hot.>>> For those who still want to try these product, there is a another brand called SIT & FLY, looks like the very same product but it is just half of the price. just in case.
Maybe try a sheep skin cover. I hear they are awesome. I might try one this summer. I have started using diaper rash cream before I start riding. It helps. Glad the review helped. There are a lot of sponsored reviews for this product that are not unbiased. Cheers.
@@advmatt yes sr, thank you. I ride out central Florida, very hot and humid 10 months out the year. I love late afternoon, night or early morning riding to avoid the heat. I do the same aloe moisturizer, lotion or any kind of skin protection, but if the ride is too long I still get the monkey butt, lol. Will look into that sheep skin cover. Thanks a lot.
Thanks! Been considering one of those seat covers for a while--especially since Ian at Big Rock Moto recommended them in a couple of his videos. I suppose when you get stuff for free, you don't have to worry whether it works or not. I have no problem finding things to spend a hundred bucks on--thanks to you, that seat cover won't be one of them!
I don't think Ian would lie just because he got it for free. And as with any product, experience of different people can be very different. For example, I doubt Ian rides in the rain with the cover. But it was great to hear a negative review! Because there are so many positive ones. I was thinking to buy one, now much more reluctant. But to be fair it's only 70£ with delivery, so doesn't really matter.
@@PovilasPanavas yeah, Ian is pretty up front about the products he reviews. I follow MotoUK as well and he bought his own and swears by it on his Tiger 1200. I have been reading a lot of comments in several reviews. Some hate it and other love it. I want to try one on my Tiger 1200 (live near Mojave, so no lack of heat in the summer and in Calif in general), still, sucks to waste 90 bucks. Guess it's a bit of a coin toss. In the end I feel it is probably worth taking a chance if it ends up working for me. Form of the seat may be a factor as well. TMF (also in UK) liked it on his GS (he was also up front about saying he got his for free to try out).
My CB500xa was hugely uncomfortable,(I'm lightweight and boney) I tried several covers but the best was a small mesh seat, and so I bit the bullet so to speak and purchased a cool cover, I found in combination with proper wicking technical underwear it was good in warm weather (if you have cotton or any non wicking underwear you will always suffer in the hot as noistur wil be trapped against your skin), the cool cover fitted perfectly for me and was far superior to a cheap Chinese copy I tried. Yours looked like the wrong one for your bike. I found it a little scratchy on the butt until I had done a few hundred miles, now its fine. I can't speak as to wet weather use yet as I am mainly a fair weather biker. I do love sheepskin in the car but it needs to still have its natural lanolin oils to be waterproof on a bike and my wife would not appreciate me sitting on our sofa with sheepskin oiled trousers. The cool cover is so far the best compromise in getting comfort without a whole custom seat. I am growing to love it.
@@Dickihandyman-ru4mm I had the correct cover for my seat. Maybe those covers work better for people that weigh much less than I do. It completely compressed in the first hour and no air flowed. For some they might work, but not as advertised.
I bought a used BMW F650 CS in April 2021. It is an oil-in-frame design. Because of this, it radiates a lot of heat up through the seat. It was so uncomfortable I gave up and bought one of these covers. I put it on in about July 2021, and it is still on the bike. Maybe it’s because I’m wearing thinner riding pants, but I can feel the difference. It’s not completely removing the heat, but it is cooler. I haven’t ridden this bike in the rain, but my main concern was heat. It may not work as well for shedding water, I can’t say. Actually, I notice the difference more in cooler weather, as I can feel the cool air blowing under my butt. This isn’t a positive in cool temps, so no advantage there. I’m assuming you are using cycling shorts under your riding gear, and anti-monkey butt powder. Adventure pants tend to be pretty warm anyway, and there may be no miracle cure for your issues. I’ve been riding in the eastern US for over 40,years, and I learned to deal with the heat/humidity issues. Sometimes you just have to reduce your hours in the saddle during hotter times and stand up for stretches to allow cool air to circulate.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I ha e been trying a variety of thi GS to make it better. It's hard to use bike shorts and cream on multi day rides. They get gross or I have to carry many pairs. It is a work in progress. Definitely an East Coast issue, or at least more exacerbated. Cheers.
Matt, my 390 came in. PU yesterday had zero miles on the clock. Never seen that before. First impression, what a sweet bike. Screw the CB500x I was waiting for. KTM 390 Adventure is shockingly good.
In India, in most cicties - you get a custom job at the local motorcycle market - this costs between US$ 3 or 4 depending on your bike - including stapling and fitting.
Heat shield, looking at the shock I see why it would over heat. Coming off the frame with insulated clamps to sheet metal, a heat shield should nuke the heat killing the shocks. FYI and others. Two clamps should work, one on each side. I am going to do this, i will let you know how it works. I will take temp readings before and after.
Alaska leather unsheared dual sport size sheepskins work best . Used to have them on my supermoto bikes and currently have one on my 1200 GS. On my GS I even put a horse saddle gel pad under it for even more height and padding
Have you tried sheep skin ? I know a bunch of people have already said that. I live in the deep south in California and it's either to hot to ride or ...to hot to ride. About 3 months are in the survivable zone for me as I've had a few heat related issues. Also thank you for making videos . I have a 390 and your mod videos have been super helpful. Thank you
I haven't tried the sheep skin cover. I hear it stays wet pretty long after rain, and now that I am out east, it rains a fair amount. I think I may just deal with these issues for the next few months. It will be cooler soon. Cheers.
Thanks for the honest review - sorry you had a bummer experience with it. Have you found a good alternative?? ... I installed a BeadRider on my CB500X, and it's pretty good. There's a bit of movement, as the beads are barrel-shaped, but overall I like it. I'm curious about a sheepskin cover though, and I'll probably try one. A lot of people seem to like them... Anyway, thanks - keep the shiny side up.
I use monkey butt or chamois cream for mountain biking all the time and works wonders. I just haven't been sure about using for multi day rides when a shower might not be available, and I think I would really want to bring a clean pair of padded shorts for each day to keep them fresh. I think this will be my next step. Thanks for the suggestion.
I too have the same problems with the seat cover as you do. It seems that its function relies on it not fully compressing under a rider's butt, but it clearly isn't strong enough for that. I can easily pinch it with my fingers, so it's not surprising it can't hold up against my body weight (85kg/190lb). I also find it uncomfortable to sit on. What a waste of money...
In India you get these for 5-6 USD :P Mainly city commuters use these. Yes first few mins you'll get cool airflow but then if you're on the heavier side it just doesn't work. Why not trying the infamous 'Air Seat' ?
Had a totally opposite experience from you, I've been riding with mine on a R1200GS for a while now with no complaints. However, I did have to adjust the velcro straps a couple of times to get the best fit and comfort. I wonder if you've done this? I liked it and made a video about this product on my youtube channel. Watch this for a different point of view on this same product.
I made sure the cool cover was still fitting properly. Mine smashed down and flattened out as I stated. It might also depend on the weather conditions each of were experiencing while riding. Riding in really hot, humid conditions may be really challenging regardless of what seat cover is used.
In dry climates would you say it is good for comfort in long ridings? I already have the comfort seat and I still feel pain after a couple of hours and I looking for a solution… (I talk only about cushion)
Might as well save the money then and buy a strin vest , cut it up and sew a draw cord in all around the outer edges.. something along those lines anyway. Or a mesh washing bag .
For monkey butt specifically the taxi cab beads are supposed to help. I've never tried them but the idea is that your pants and therefore your ass and inner thigh no longer "stick" to the seat so that prolonged skin pulling and sandpaper effect can't occur. Downside being a slippery seat. It wouldn't get waterlogged at least. I'm in the middle of trying a sheepskin but I can't say much yet. The fact that it would definitely retain water makes me not want to take it on a trip anyway though
I have shied away from sheep skins because of the water retention. I am not sure about the beads. I think using a butt cream might happen first. I use but cream mountain biking, but I am not sure how it will work on multi day trips. I might need to take multiple pairs of padded shorts. Not ideal. Let me know how that sheep skin works out. Cheers.
I used beads and did exactly what some mentioned here regarding cutting down one for car seats. I was happy with them (except for the “old man” vibe they give off - even though I qualify for that 😏) until I discovered the Airhawk cushion. It isn’t waterproof, but I have been more than satisfied with it preventing monkey butt after probably 10K miles riding on one. I am not a rep for them, but they work. It uses air cell (think bubble wrap) technology to allow air to circulate, same as used for wheelchair users to prevent bed sores. It looks more like it is a part of the bike than the beads did. You do have to fine tune how much air you need (takes less than you would expect) and some may not like the air cushion feel, but I am on my 2nd one across two different bikes.
It completely flattened out and had no air flow after the first few hours. It also retained a lot of water from the rain. Maybe my posterior is too large.
@advmatt I'm wondering if the seat is too hard it compresses? The Tiger has a pretty soft seat and maybe it cushions the mesh. I'm a big bloke and mines not squashed at all.
If you find a more comfortable seat than the stock one, pls let us know. My fat *ss doesn't fit that great and the underside of my thighs hurt after a few hours because I'm sure I'm compressing the padding to its limits. Dieting is not the answer b/c pizza is too tasty. I've looked at the KTM ergo seat, but most things I've read says it doesn't help that much.
I think the ergo seat is better than stock. Based on your comment you might want to try the one piece bench seat. Is narrower which should with thighs hurting. Your butt, well it will just have to get used to it.
Nothing compares to sheepskin for distance. Nothing. You do look like you are riding a sheepdog.........but man. I have a long hair alaska sheep skin on my 640a and hoping it will fit on my new to me 1190. If not I will be modifying my old one or buying one for touring
Wow, I was sure I knew exactly what you were going to say about the seat cover and then you hated it and explained how it didn’t work. Wtf!! 😗 I was shocked because I have what I thought was the same seat cover…and I LOVE mine. I was so perplexed that I ran down in my basement and found the package left over with the rear seat cover in it. (I only have a front seat on my GS) To my surprise, or maybe to my relief, what I have is a different brand. Mine is Air-Flow Seat Cover. (TM Trademarked name) Same thing? I doubt it. I’ve ridden mine for over 12,000 miles. It does everything it advertises. It suspends me over the vinyl seat. I weigh 185w/o gear. It absolutely keeps me drier in the rain. I just came back from 3 weeks in Canada on a trip. I saw more rain than ever before. Never a wet butt bottom. I would sit on a puddled wet seat in the morning and still stay over it and dry. And it allows air to flow, too. So much so that I remove it in winter. I guess I lucked out but I’m happy with the brand I chose. airflowseatcovers.com. No affiliation with them. Or anyone else! I’m not one to live with stuff I hate. I’ve wasted a fortune on bad purchases. I’ll be pissed. But I bin it right away. Thanks for the HONEST review of the brand you purchased. Too little of that on TH-cam! 👍👍👍
Thanks for the brutally honest review. I have looked at cool covers a few times but always thought the price was a little high for a mesh seat cover. BTW the Wolverine look is .... umm interesting.
I bought one for my 2015 Suzuki V-Strom and it fit great. I've had the cover over a year now and it does keep my butt cool and dry from sweating. It also doesn't feel hot after sitting in the sun all day. When it rains I put my rain suit on so that's not an issue for me. I've also had my seats custom covered with a material just like that on 3 of my other bikes for 14 year. That company calls it Polar Mesh and it's a little thinner than the Wind Rider covers. The company's name is Kontour Custom Seats. They did seats for my 2009 Bonneville SE, 2001 ZRX1200R and 2013 CB500F and all of them had a mesh cover very much like that. My butt use to sweat pretty bad in these HOT south Louisiana summers and when they would sit in the hot sun for an hour or more when you get on the bike ,YIKES ! My V-Strom seat was very comfortable as for as cushion goes so all I wanted was a mesh cover and it works great for me and I'm 265 ponds.
Good to know. My monkey butt was even worse with this cover. I think it really depends on the person on whether it works or not.
It’s not often that I don’t agree with your assessment but I have to on this one. I have one of these covers for my 390 and for me, it has worked pretty well. I’ve ridden almost 4,000 miles with it on a BDR, local ADV trips, and long freeway miles. For me, it made the stock seat a little more comfortable, it DID keep my butt cooler*, and it DID wick water away. Mine DID NOT compress after extended use and DID NOT hold water. (* I’m not sure if it’s actual airflow or the perforated honeycomb surface that keeps the seat from feeling hot but either way, it’s comfortable to sit on after the bikes been sitting in the sun for a couple hours and it’s cooler during a ride).
That said, I don’t use it for daily commuting use around town. I only put it on for trips. I clean my bike after every ADV trip and the cover comes off and gets a rinse. What I do find is that the cover holds a lot of dust against the seat. The seat is filthy after I remove the cover but I’m washing the bike anyway so it’s not a big deal.
But this is just my experience. Mine is not an actual “cool cover” brand but I suspect they’re all made in the a same factory in China. YMMV, as we say.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It is good to know it works for some riders. Maybe I am just to heavy for it. I found it uncomfortable to sit on too, my waffle butt was not happy. Thankfully, it is getting cooler out here. Cheers.
I absolutely love these. Had one on my 690 for over 20,000 miles.. cooler and better in rain. It's not foam, it doesn't stay compressed.. it's a 3d fabric. You don't stay sitting without moving for that long.. you sound like you sit in one spot and don't move for 12 hours . I now have my 890 and have one on it. Everybody loves these.. you're the first person I've seen knock em.
Yup
@@DIRT2021I
I love mine keeps me cool plus prevents sliding on seat in corners etc and if in the rain it does shed most of water
I may only have just a slight damp butt
Thanks for taking one for the team, definitely looking for solutions to this. Just finished a few big rides and been on the lookout for good options.
Glad I could help. I think bike shorts with butt cream is the answer, but I am not ready to go there, especially for multi day trips. Mountain biking is fine, motorcycling, I dont know.
Thanks Man, just was about to click that "order" button 👍
A great "buyer beware" video. I purchased one that was not bike specific, and the benefit was that it stopped a half inch before the back of the seat, and inch before the front of the seat. So no fear of it wearing, or interfering with seat mounting.
It did not, however, perform as advertised. I never noticed any air flow increase. And to make matters worse, when I was wearing riding jeans, I felt every strand of the mesh. I found it downright uncomfortable! - Frank
If you go to an auto parts store you can get a full beaded seat for about $30. What I did was cut it in half, works extremely well. You are slightly above the seat so water does not pool and in the summer heat you do get a nice breeze. Give it a try.
I think I will have to do that. Thanks.
@@advmatt SWEAR by it. Macramé Beads..not Gheeeey. Works...Even in AZ heat. Triumph tbird 2003. thanks french the WRENCH!
@@davestrain9529 I have heard that. I will either try that or sheep skin.
I used beads and did exactly what you mentioned cutting down one for car seats. I was happy with them (except for the “old man” vibe they give off - even though I qualify for that 😏) until I discovered the Airhawk cushion. It isn’t waterproof, but I have been more than satisfied with it preventing monkey butt after probably 10K miles riding on one. I am not a rep for them, but they work. It is the same air cell (think bubble wrap) technology used for wheelchair users to prevent bed sores. It looks more like it is a partof the bike than the beads did.
Used rider & passenger cool covers on our GS for a 3000 mile tour, in all weathers, worked brilliantly, got them on my other bikes too now
Glad they worked for you. Mine smashed down quickly and held water. I still had horrible monkey butt.
*_Thanks so much, Matt. I have been looking into these. Glad I never found anywhere to buy one. LOL. It's tough making a video on something when you are disappointed in it. They seemed a little gimmicky to me._*
Thank you for an honest no bullshit review. You just saved me $100 and earned a new sub for sure. Safe travels
Glad it was helpful.
i had this on my list as a possible addition to my 890. now i know. thank you.
...put one on a Tiger 900 seat
...loved it
...actually stapled it and cut the extreme excess off
...did 700 mile rides on it
Mine was the Sit&Fly brand.
Hope I can find one for my Russell Day Long...!!!
The Only thing those are used for here in the Philippines is Not Burning your Butt when getting back on after the bike has sat in the sun for a while. Never heard of any of the other claims.
Truckers use a cool set. It is springs side by side covered with a mesh fabric. Sound dumb but it works. Heat rash is no joke.
The beaded seat cover sounds ok too.
It takes days for my cheeks to recover. It is no joke. I think I might need to try butt cream and bike shorts. Not so sure about the beads on my bike. Maybe if all I did was street ride. Cheers.
Thanks for the video. I am looking for something for the DR650. Suzuki calls it a seat, I call it a block of concrete. Anyway, I'll keep looking and not worry about the cool seat.
@@YXZMontana-pk8mw try a sheepskin cover. I found it worked well.
Here in the PH, that thing should be removable, using straps or velcro. You only put it on your seat when you're about to ride, and must remove it once you stopped your engine, and put that cover in a bag you could carry. That's because it also accumulates dusts and dirts, not just water. If ever they do after a drive, just remove and shake off any dirt or water on it, as you would on newly washed clothes before hanging to dry. If it's damp, just hang it for awhile in front of a running electric fan. But I prevent it from soaking by spraying water-repellant to it. The water repellant also added protection to the mesh material and made it last way longer. But water repellants are expensive, so I'm planning to use paint top coat aerosol next time, which I believe would be much cheaper. Just sharing.
Thanks. With all the offroad riding I do I get covered in dust. When I used this it didn't take long for it to get filthy. Taking it on and off seems like too much of a hassle. Others might find your suggestion useful. Cheers.
I watched Matt's review and it initially put me off buying one. I now have a KTM 690 Enduro and the standard seat is very firm for long distance adventure riding. In the end though I decided to get one because I wanted to experiment with padding under the cool cover. I put the cool cover on this week without padding just to give it a go and I have to say my experience was very different to that of Matt's. I have been riding dirt bikes long distance here in the top end of Australia for 45 years, and for those that don't know it's mostly hot and humid riding conditions. I was super surprised at the air flow the cool cover generated while sitting on the seat riding. I can see some other issues which I am yet to experience as Matt has pointed out, but the airflow is quite noticeable and of value to me with tropics adventure riding.
@@TonyB683 fair enough. The air flow worked for me for about half a day. The monkey butt I experienced hit me by the end of the day. Maybe I weigh more smashing it down quicker.
@@advmatt it will be interesting to see how the cover holds up over time as well. Over the years I have found standing regularly helps me to slow the onset of monkey butt, and using wider pivot pegs helps to stay standing longer. My son now 35 can ride pretty much all day covering up to around 500km standing with wide pegs and stegpegx. Cheers Tony
Thank you for the honest review. I was just about to buy the cover for my Harley after looking all the 5 starts reviews in the air-flow seat covers website, Then I decided to explore a little more in depth and I saw your review. I don't like when the return policy on a product is limited and subject to conditions like they have, looks sketchy, I already bought a bad pool filter and wasted like 50 bucks, so you saved me 100. lol. I am still looking for a solution for monkey but....riding out of central Florida, not fun when it gets too hot.>>>
For those who still want to try these product, there is a another brand called SIT & FLY, looks like the very same product but it is just half of the price. just in case.
Maybe try a sheep skin cover. I hear they are awesome. I might try one this summer. I have started using diaper rash cream before I start riding. It helps. Glad the review helped. There are a lot of sponsored reviews for this product that are not unbiased. Cheers.
@@advmatt yes sr, thank you. I ride out central Florida, very hot and humid 10 months out the year. I love late afternoon, night or early morning riding to avoid the heat. I do the same aloe moisturizer, lotion or any kind of skin protection, but if the ride is too long I still get the monkey butt, lol. Will look into that sheep skin cover. Thanks a lot.
Monkey Butt dance was hilarious. 😅 Thanks for posting this produce review.
Thanks! Been considering one of those seat covers for a while--especially since Ian at Big Rock Moto recommended them in a couple of his videos. I suppose when you get stuff for free, you don't have to worry whether it works or not. I have no problem finding things to spend a hundred bucks on--thanks to you, that seat cover won't be one of them!
Glad this helped. It was a regrettable purchase, hopefully others will avoid.
I don't think Ian would lie just because he got it for free. And as with any product, experience of different people can be very different. For example, I doubt Ian rides in the rain with the cover. But it was great to hear a negative review! Because there are so many positive ones. I was thinking to buy one, now much more reluctant. But to be fair it's only 70£ with delivery, so doesn't really matter.
@@PovilasPanavas yeah, Ian is pretty up front about the products he reviews. I follow MotoUK as well and he bought his own and swears by it on his Tiger 1200.
I have been reading a lot of comments in several reviews. Some hate it and other love it. I want to try one on my Tiger 1200 (live near Mojave, so no lack of heat in the summer and in Calif in general), still, sucks to waste 90 bucks. Guess it's a bit of a coin toss. In the end I feel it is probably worth taking a chance if it ends up working for me.
Form of the seat may be a factor as well. TMF (also in UK) liked it on his GS (he was also up front about saying he got his for free to try out).
My CB500xa was hugely uncomfortable,(I'm lightweight and boney) I tried several covers but the best was a small mesh seat, and so I bit the bullet so to speak and purchased a cool cover, I found in combination with proper wicking technical underwear it was good in warm weather (if you have cotton or any non wicking underwear you will always suffer in the hot as noistur wil be trapped against your skin), the cool cover fitted perfectly for me and was far superior to a cheap Chinese copy I tried. Yours looked like the wrong one for your bike. I found it a little scratchy on the butt until I had done a few hundred miles, now its fine. I can't speak as to wet weather use yet as I am mainly a fair weather biker. I do love sheepskin in the car but it needs to still have its natural lanolin oils to be waterproof on a bike and my wife would not appreciate me sitting on our sofa with sheepskin oiled trousers. The cool cover is so far the best compromise in getting comfort without a whole custom seat. I am growing to love it.
@@Dickihandyman-ru4mm I had the correct cover for my seat. Maybe those covers work better for people that weigh much less than I do. It completely compressed in the first hour and no air flowed. For some they might work, but not as advertised.
I bought a used BMW F650 CS in April 2021. It is an oil-in-frame design. Because of this, it radiates a lot of heat up through the seat. It was so uncomfortable I gave up and bought one of these covers. I put it on in about July 2021, and it is still on the bike. Maybe it’s because I’m wearing thinner riding pants, but I can feel the difference. It’s not completely removing the heat, but it is cooler. I haven’t ridden this bike in the rain, but my main concern was heat. It may not work as well for shedding water, I can’t say. Actually, I notice the difference more in cooler weather, as I can feel the cool air blowing under my butt. This isn’t a positive in cool temps, so no advantage there. I’m assuming you are using cycling shorts under your riding gear, and anti-monkey butt powder. Adventure pants tend to be pretty warm anyway, and there may be no miracle cure for your issues. I’ve been riding in the eastern US for over 40,years, and I learned to deal with the heat/humidity issues. Sometimes you just have to reduce your hours in the saddle during hotter times and stand up for stretches to allow cool air to circulate.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I ha e been trying a variety of thi GS to make it better. It's hard to use bike shorts and cream on multi day rides. They get gross or I have to carry many pairs. It is a work in progress. Definitely an East Coast issue, or at least more exacerbated. Cheers.
Matt, my 390 came in.
PU yesterday had zero miles on the clock.
Never seen that before.
First impression, what a sweet bike.
Screw the CB500x I was waiting for.
KTM 390 Adventure is shockingly good.
Nice. It will give you lots of great miles.
In India, in most cicties - you get a custom job at the local motorcycle market - this costs between US$ 3 or 4 depending on your bike - including stapling and fitting.
Wow, fantastic. I need to visit.
Heat shield, looking at the shock I see why it would over heat. Coming off the frame with insulated clamps to sheet metal, a heat shield should nuke the heat killing the shocks.
FYI and others. Two clamps should work, one on each side.
I am going to do this, i will let you know how it works. I will take temp readings before and after.
Alaska leather unsheared dual sport size sheepskins work best . Used to have them on my supermoto bikes and currently have one on my 1200 GS. On my GS I even put a horse saddle gel pad under it for even more height and padding
I am planning to try a sheepskin, thanks for the reminder.
Thanks man, you just saved me some money as I was about to buy this.
Glad I could help.
Thank you for the review, I’ll save my money
"If you're new here, do that thing down below" 🤔 I did it but not sure it's what you meant! 😂
Have you tried sheep skin ? I know a bunch of people have already said that. I live in the deep south in California and it's either to hot to ride or ...to hot to ride. About 3 months are in the survivable zone for me as I've had a few heat related issues. Also thank you for making videos . I have a 390 and your mod videos have been super helpful. Thank you
I haven't tried the sheep skin cover. I hear it stays wet pretty long after rain, and now that I am out east, it rains a fair amount. I think I may just deal with these issues for the next few months. It will be cooler soon. Cheers.
@@advmatt I forgot that you moved lol. That's true though about the drying taking some time.
Thanks for the honest review - sorry you had a bummer experience with it. Have you found a good alternative?? ...
I installed a BeadRider on my CB500X, and it's pretty good. There's a bit of movement, as the beads are barrel-shaped, but overall I like it. I'm curious about a sheepskin cover though, and I'll probably try one. A lot of people seem to like them...
Anyway, thanks - keep the shiny side up.
I am trying a sheepskin cover right now. It seems better but I need more time on it.
Thanks for the review to save 100 Bucks or 15 Bucks from Aliexpress. Do you have any Solutions like special underwear etc?
Sheepskin seat cover. I recently did a video on it with a link to a generic cover. I will follow up with a link to the video.
th-cam.com/video/c6XGLreq8iA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=J52kHEsX8KC8Lae3
Thank you!
Have you tried that "Monkey Butt" cream? I and a lot of backpackers have used it with great results.
I use monkey butt or chamois cream for mountain biking all the time and works wonders. I just haven't been sure about using for multi day rides when a shower might not be available, and I think I would really want to bring a clean pair of padded shorts for each day to keep them fresh. I think this will be my next step. Thanks for the suggestion.
you saved me 75e ...thanks buddy!
I too have the same problems with the seat cover as you do. It seems that its function relies on it not fully compressing under a rider's butt, but it clearly isn't strong enough for that. I can easily pinch it with my fingers, so it's not surprising it can't hold up against my body weight (85kg/190lb). I also find it uncomfortable to sit on. What a waste of money...
Agree on rain, but absolutely helps ventilate your arse, no baboon bum. Now on my third bike.
@@simonhill5139 maybe I weigh too much for it work properly. After an hour it was completely flat, no air flow.
It definitely works as good anti cat claws as they sharpen their claws on ordinary seat covers
Great use!
In India you get these for 5-6 USD :P Mainly city commuters use these. Yes first few mins you'll get cool airflow but then if you're on the heavier side it just doesn't work. Why not trying the infamous 'Air Seat' ?
Had a totally opposite experience from you, I've been riding with mine on a R1200GS for a while now with no complaints. However, I did have to adjust the velcro straps a couple of times to get the best fit and comfort. I wonder if you've done this?
I liked it and made a video about this product on my youtube channel. Watch this for a different point of view on this same product.
I made sure the cool cover was still fitting properly. Mine smashed down and flattened out as I stated. It might also depend on the weather conditions each of were experiencing while riding. Riding in really hot, humid conditions may be really challenging regardless of what seat cover is used.
Thanks a lot for your movie
In dry climates would you say it is good for comfort in long ridings? I already have the comfort seat and I still feel pain after a couple of hours and I looking for a solution…
(I talk only about cushion)
From my experience I don't see how this cover would help for comfort or help in any other way.
Might as well save the money then and buy a strin vest , cut it up and sew a draw cord in all around the outer edges.. something along those lines anyway. Or a mesh washing bag .
It would be just about the same, and save money. Cheers.
For monkey butt specifically the taxi cab beads are supposed to help. I've never tried them but the idea is that your pants and therefore your ass and inner thigh no longer "stick" to the seat so that prolonged skin pulling and sandpaper effect can't occur. Downside being a slippery seat. It wouldn't get waterlogged at least.
I'm in the middle of trying a sheepskin but I can't say much yet. The fact that it would definitely retain water makes me not want to take it on a trip anyway though
I have shied away from sheep skins because of the water retention. I am not sure about the beads. I think using a butt cream might happen first. I use but cream mountain biking, but I am not sure how it will work on multi day trips. I might need to take multiple pairs of padded shorts. Not ideal. Let me know how that sheep skin works out. Cheers.
Hi Matt, big thanks from Germany for this info! Very helpful - because from first source and honest. KEEP WELL
Thanks.
I used beads and did exactly what some mentioned here regarding cutting down one for car seats. I was happy with them (except for the “old man” vibe they give off - even though I qualify for that 😏) until I discovered the Airhawk cushion. It isn’t waterproof, but I have been more than satisfied with it preventing monkey butt after probably 10K miles riding on one. I am not a rep for them, but they work. It uses air cell (think bubble wrap) technology to allow air to circulate, same as used for wheelchair users to prevent bed sores. It looks more like it is a part of the bike than the beads did. You do have to fine tune how much air you need (takes less than you would expect) and some may not like the air cushion feel, but I am on my 2nd one across two different bikes.
Good to know about the Airhawk. I may try one. I have a sheepskin cover that helped but still not perfect.
There are now 2 or more companies advertising these..intersting...i live in Australia and been told there version is pretty good.😊
I would look at it closely. All of these might be rebranded but are essentially the same.
Thanks for this! Helped save me a few dollars lol
Glad it helped.
I just stand up every 10 or 15 minutes and air dry those cheeks.
They doesnt work so well in the east coast rain and humidity, there is no drying my friend..... using diapy cream these days....
@@advmatt yet another reason to move back to the dry coast.
Is this not slippery whrn you sit?
No, its not slippery, its kind of like sitting emery cloth.
I fitted one to a Tiger 800, wouldn't be without it now. Not sure why it didn't work for you.
It completely flattened out and had no air flow after the first few hours. It also retained a lot of water from the rain. Maybe my posterior is too large.
@advmatt I'm wondering if the seat is too hard it compresses? The Tiger has a pretty soft seat and maybe it cushions the mesh. I'm a big bloke and mines not squashed at all.
@@5uspectD3vice That is quite possible. My seat is quite hard so the cool cover could not mush into it much.
Thanks for the video, saved me wasting a few $.
Just sharing my experience. I am trying a sheep skin sest cover now.
How can it let air in and water out when you are sat on it, sounds like a load of rubbish.
It's a gimmick for sure. The honeycomb design crushes down under weight.
If you find a more comfortable seat than the stock one, pls let us know. My fat *ss doesn't fit that great and the underside of my thighs hurt after a few hours because I'm sure I'm compressing the padding to its limits. Dieting is not the answer b/c pizza is too tasty. I've looked at the KTM ergo seat, but most things I've read says it doesn't help that much.
I think the ergo seat is better than stock. Based on your comment you might want to try the one piece bench seat. Is narrower which should with thighs hurting. Your butt, well it will just have to get used to it.
@@advmatt I will - thanks!
Nothing compares to sheepskin for distance. Nothing. You do look like you are riding a sheepdog.........but man. I have a long hair alaska sheep skin on my 640a and hoping it will fit on my new to me 1190. If not I will be modifying my old one or buying one for touring
I am using a sheepskin this summer and monkey butt is much better. My butt is still a bit irritates but nothing like it was.
Mine crushed eventually bloody rubbish
@@donweaver1600 total gimmick at a high price.
Just get sheep skin instead
I did, your right, much better!
Wow, I was sure I knew exactly what you were going to say about the seat cover and then you hated it and explained how it didn’t work. Wtf!! 😗
I was shocked because I have what I thought was the same seat cover…and I LOVE mine. I was so perplexed that I ran down in my basement and found the package left over with the rear seat cover in it. (I only have a front seat on my GS) To my surprise, or maybe to my relief, what I have is a different brand. Mine is Air-Flow Seat Cover. (TM Trademarked name) Same thing? I doubt it.
I’ve ridden mine for over 12,000 miles. It does everything it advertises. It suspends me over the vinyl seat. I weigh 185w/o gear. It absolutely keeps me drier in the rain. I just came back from 3 weeks in Canada on a trip. I saw more rain than ever before. Never a wet butt bottom. I would sit on a puddled wet seat in the morning and still stay over it and dry. And it allows air to flow, too. So much so that I remove it in winter.
I guess I lucked out but I’m happy with the brand I chose. airflowseatcovers.com. No affiliation with them. Or anyone else!
I’m not one to live with stuff I hate. I’ve wasted a fortune on bad purchases. I’ll be pissed. But I bin it right away.
Thanks for the HONEST review of the brand you purchased. Too little of that on TH-cam! 👍👍👍
Thanks for sharing your experience. I also think heavier people might have issues with this squishing down. Maybe different brands are better. Cheers.