Roho Airhawk Motorcycle Seat Pad: The bottom saver
Written: Jul 20 '09 (Updated Sep 16 '09)
Product Rating:
Pros: Excellent core build quality. Very comfortable. Very adjustable. Very portable. Not insanely expensive.
Cons: Outer cover fades quickly. Can be tricky to position. Thickness raises raise seat height.
The Bottom Line: While hardly the cheapest option to seat comfort, the Airhawk is effective, portable, adjustable, and reasonably priced for the build quality. Bottom line: It really does work as advertised.
live4java's Full Review: Roho Airhawk Truck Comfort Cushion
This is a review of a closely related Roho product: The Medium Cruiser Motorcycle Seat Cushion. The difference is in the size and shape of these products. Construction technologies are the same.
I have a couple of bikes, one of which, a 1997 BMW R1100R (reviewed elsewhere), is a 12 hour bike with a 1 hour seat. Since most of my rides hadn't been over an hour (either my short commute, or taking the wife for rides along the coast with frequent stops), I didn't really notice it until doing a few 250 miles days with a friend at a BMW club rally. That's what brought home the fact that the BMW's seat, well, kinda sucked.
Casting around for solutions, I looked at everything from sheepskin or beaded seat covers, to completely replacing the BMW's seat. Beaded cushions were the cheapest solution at around $30, while a new seat could run over $600. At under $200, the Roho Airhawk seemed like a good compromise. Not prohibitively expensive, and it reviewed well at various sites.
I was also familiar with Roho from their wheelchair and mobility chair cushions, from experience with wheelchair bound friends and associates. If it worked well for them, it seemed like it would work well for me.
Out of the Box: The Roho Seat Cushion products, including the motorcycle riders and pillion cushions, and the trucker's cushion, all share the same basic technology. There are two parts. The outer cover with a nylon top and mesh sides so it can breath, and the air-cell core, made of a heavy gauge rubber similar to an inner tube for a tire. The core is where the magic happens.
The core consists of interlinked air-cells about an inch on a side, separated by about a quarter inch. On the motorcycle seat pad, there's a number of oddly shaped cells that let it more easily follow the contour of the seat, and make it saddle shaped. The trucker's pad is more uniformly square.
The air cells are only partially inflated, and air's allowed to flow between them to evenly distribute your weight across the seat. Inflation is done through a stainless steel valve. To adjust the pad you inflate it most of the way, sit on it, then let out air until your bottom is just barely not touching the seat.
The motorcycle seat cushions all come with straps that let you strap it in place. They aren't really required, since the pad will be held firmly against the seat by the rider, and the non-skid rubberized bottom of the cover will hold it in place.
The Good: In two words: it works. Once you have the pad positioned and properly inflated, it makes a world of difference in the comfort level of the seat. My commute recently went from under 30 minutes to just under an hour, and the Airhawk makes a very noticeable difference on even this ride.
A rally later this summer will really put it to the test over another 1000 mile weekend.
The build quality of the cover is average to above average, with decent quality materials and a very effective rubberized non-skid on the bottom that holds it in place. The sides are mesh to allow air to flow between the air-cells and to help keep your bottom cool on the seat. There is a zipper across the back so you can easily access the inflation valve, or remove the core to take it with you.
That's a good thing if you're parking some place a little dicey. The Airhawk's core is about $130 of the $150 price. The cover can be ordered separately from Roho for about $20.
The air-cell core is the heart of the Roho system, and the build quality is excellent. The pad is made from a heavy gauge rubber similar in quality and thickness to an inner tube for a tire. This isn't something that'll puncture or rip easily. According to Roho's web site, constructing the core is the most expensive and time consuming part of the build, and I tend to believe it. The air cells are interlinked by small molded in tubes that let air flow between cells and you can actually feel it shifting around if you move around on the pad.
The inflation/adjustment valve is stainless steel on a short section of heavy gauge rubber tubing and looks like it should be very long lasting.
The Bad: At roughly $150 for the medium sized motorcycle seat pad (the trucker's pad is considerably less expensive, probably due to a simpler shape) the Airhawk's not cheap. There are gel pads and sheepskins and various other solutions that are less than half the cost, but it is a good deal less than replacing the seat and the build quality is good.
At work, my bike sits out in the sun, and the upper surface of the cover quickly faded from black to that faded ruddy blackish brown color that some nylon fabrics will fade to. It doesn't look bad, but it does make me wonder just how long the cover will last before UV starts to weaken the fabric. However, removing the pad and taking it inside with me will solve the problem effectively.
On my 1999 Honda Interceptor (my other bike) positioning the seat pad was a piece of cake - though that bike's much flatter seat doesn't need the Airhawk to be comfortable. On the BMW, with its fairly deep "bucket" to the rider's seat, positioning the Airhawk proved to be a bit of a challenge. The thickness of the pad combined with the deep curvature of the seat made it very cramped, which I finally solved by sliding the seat pad farther forward than would be expected. Once I had the right spot though, everything worked fine.
Likewise, adjusting the air pressure in the pad took a bit of trial and error. The instructions are very clear on the best way to set it - mostly deflated, so your bottom is almost against the seat. They recommend roughly 1/4 or less of thickness to the mostly deflated cells, and that can take some fiddling to get right.
The range of proper inflation is fairly narrow, but the pad works as advertised once you get it dialed in.
The added thickness of the pad will raise you up a bit and alter your riding position, so having an adjustable seat will be a definite plus. If your bike is already a little tall for you, you can't adjust the seat height, and you can't comfortably put your fleet flat now, the Airhawk will make things more difficult for you at a stop.
The bottom line: The Roho Airhawk works as advertised at a not unreasonable, but not-cheap, price. While it make take some fiddling to get the position and air pressure right, it will definitely live up to their "Double your riding time or your money back" guarantee.
Since it's portable you can move it between your rides, or even use it on an office chair if you need to.
While it can take some fiddling to get adjusted, and the increased seat height might be an issue for some riders, it's still a very comfortable solution to an uncomfortable seat.
UPDATE: I wrote a note to Roho Products about the fading issue mentioned above. Inside four days they left a voice mail to the effect of "It shouldn't do that" and sent me a new cover, free of charge. Customer service like that's always great to see.
Also, on a recent 800 mile touring weekend, I'm happy to report that the bike was comfortable for four hour stretches in the saddle. Further, I'd swapped bikes for a bit with the R11's previous owner and his comment was "Wow, that's really an improvement!"
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