does a spring seat make a rigid comfortable?

mg4201

XS650 Member
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Hamilton Ontario Canada
Ever since I have wanted to build a bobber I have loved the look of a rigid frame. and heresthe but the big but I have no interest in building a ride that is going to kick the crap out of me so here it is to the board will a spring seat make a rigid rideable?. please no be a man responses i would like an honest assesment Thank you very much in advance for all your help.
 
Honestly the hardtail is not super uncomfortable. I notice that most of the problems I have with riding a hardtail come from bumps in the road causing me to bounce up off my seat. Without that rear suspension to keep the rear wheel in contact with the pavement it feels more like riding a kids bicycle than a motorcycle at times.

Springs or air shocks are a must if you want to save yourself from a sore ass. Springs are way more "bouncy" than shocks but both give pretty good cushion from the road.

Or you could go with the harley style seat and put an actuating hydraulic shock with a monopost under the seat. Like those old flathead bobbers.
 
I have a set of "clothes pin" style springs under the seat. They work very well. Not too much rebound to send you flying. The angle of the seat makes a huge difference as well. Seats really don't look bad horizontal, but the steeper the angle the less comfortable in my opinion.
seat.jpg
 
I only rode my project bike once so far. Rigid with 5 inch spring solo seat. I wish I could try it with unsprung seat. Spring seat makes it feel "vague". Have ordered 3 inch springs to see if it'll tame that wallowing feeling.
 
a hardtail with a spring seat is a hard riding bike, if your new to riding a bike or if you like to go on long rides....more then 1-2 hours at a time.....then you need to rethink the hardtail/spring seat/bobber idea. they look a lot better then they ride.....don't get me wrong... i love to ride mine....but its not built for a cross country riding...plus a lot of the parts have to be checked due to the vibration.
 
a hardtail with a spring seat is a hard riding bike, if your new to riding a bike or if you like to go on long rides....more then 1-2 hours at a time.....then you need to rethink the hardtail/spring seat/bobber idea. they look a lot better then they ride.....don't get me wrong... i love to ride mine....but its not built for a cross country riding...plus a lot of the parts have to be checked due to the vibration.

All lies :doh:

Rigid frames catch ALOT of bad rap from folks who have never ridden on more than 5-600 miles... I just rode this one about 1,000 miles in 4-5 days, no springs under the seats... And thats not just Highway miles, but rode the "Tail of the Dragon", "Cherahola Skyway" and tons of other twistie roads in the NC/TN mountains on the Big Mountain Run.... As a matter of fact, I rode with probably 40 Rigid Bikes all week... So long as your controls and ergonomics are set up properly, these bikes can be WAY better than stock for comfort... Make sure your hands, feet, back, and ass are all in the right locations and you can ride across the country on one :thumbsup:

226825_1926336591508_1034959084_2179107_7201612_n.jpg


247359_104521876304478_100002399979375_40893_6917430_n.jpg
 
This bike has over 18K on it since I finished it... The worst part of this bike is that the seat is too narrow, but at least it looks cool :laugh:

On this particular trip, I was on the road for 6 days and hit about 1400 miles or so... Backpacks suck, get a sissybar :thumbsup:

n1114484956_30557146_4523279.jpg


In this pic, I was 180 Lbs, 6' tall....
 
Last edited:
My bike with the hardtail, solo seat, and forward controls is a TON more comfortable than when it was bodded. It feels like I am just laid back and cruising.
Back packs do suck!!
 
All lies :doh:
So long as your controls and ergonomics are set up properly, these bikes can be WAY better than stock for comfort... Make sure your hands, feet, back, and ass are all in the right locations and you can ride across the country on one :thumbsup:

Can you enlighten us to what that formula is? I am putting a hardtail on mine if it ever arrives, waiting for Elswick since Feb.....beside the point. What tips do you have to get the ergonomics right? Obviously a lot of people don't cos they getting saddle sore.

Planing on a sprung or shock seat, forward controls at this stage.
 
I sat on my bike, moved, reached, played with, and sat, sat, sat for a looonnngg time to make sure it's how I want it. Then, I made everything adjustable so I can change it later if I need too. Just welding or slapping it together without testing really doesn't work.
Or, ride a bunch of different ones to see how they have it so you can make a note of what not to do.
 
You folks aren't gonna like this, but I spend ALOT of time with charts like this.... Spending 5 years studying Product Design helped for sure... A man can go crazy studyin'

L4-bodymeasurementsgif.gif



Just don't do forwards and drag bars, thats a big no-no for ergo... If it looks like you are trying to tickle your toes going down the road, you are doing it wrong...

Think more like this:

3695806673_9d91b3625e.jpg


And less of this:

chopper.jpg


Everything has to work together... Bars, tail section, seat dimensions, controls, etc... Just 1 of those being off is a pain in the ass - literally :shrug:
 
PS - Some of the "Chopper" haters will probably pile in on here, but I can guarantee that even a "cafe" with a set of clubmans, stock controls, and a fiberglass tail is WAY more uncomfortable than a properly setup chopper... It has nothing to do with seat springs, or rear shocks... Ergonomics all the way...
 
:doh::doh::doh:Human Scale charts, cut off the 2.5%ile & 95%ile and design to suit the remainder.

So you reackon apes or pullbacks are the go with forwards, so you have an upright not outstretched on forward leaning position?
 
you can run drag bars if the bike is set-up right to run them confortably. i have them on my harley and i put a few thousand on at a time very comfortably. my XS project has forwards and drags too, and i set it up to sit just about the same as my harley. all about ergonomics is right, and the right seat. i wanted to make sure i had a high back on my solo seat. my dad has a straighter one on his bobber and i feel like im going to fall off the damn thing half the time, so i feel like i have to do alot of "holding on" here is my build thread with pics of my bike and how it is currently set up. everyone that sits on it says how comfortable it is (but i did build it to ride not to show ;) )

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=929&page=3
 
PS - Some of the "Chopper" haters will probably pile in on here, but I can guarantee that even a "cafe" with a set of clubmans, stock controls, and a fiberglass tail is WAY more uncomfortable than a properly setup chopper... It has nothing to do with seat springs, or rear shocks... Ergonomics all the way...


I can attest to this.. my R1 can only be ridden for 4 hours or so before I start to cry like a baby... the bars are low, seat is mishaped for my large ass and the foot controls make resting your arm on your knee super easy. My Honda CM400T cafe is also the same, the seat height is ok but the bars (clipons) are too low also. Foot controls cramp it up even further...

My hardtail with mids, level seat and semi drag bars.. is like sitting in a nice chair. Although in honesty, I havent ridden it yet..
 
Can you enlighten us to what that formula is? I am putting a hardtail on mine if it ever arrives, waiting for Elswick since Feb.....beside the point. What tips do you have to get the ergonomics right? Obviously a lot of people don't cos they getting saddle sore.

Planing on a sprung or shock seat, forward controls at this stage.

it's gonna be different for different people. I know this first hand now, because I just did my first ride on my sprung solo seat, hard-tailed XS. If anything, the back felt "squishy" due to the 5 inch springs - not so much up and down squishy, as the springs are quite stiff, but rather a sort of side to side squishy wallowing. Gonna try 3 inch springs first, before I sh_t-can it for a solid seat like punkskalar has on that sweet bike in his pic.

I didn't go over any huge bumps on my little ride...but just on my regular none-too-great urban street, I didn't notice any jarring roughness due to hardtail.

One thing, I (unfortunately) am pretty short-legged, so all of my bikes (bikes with shocks) have had to have SHORT shocks - and while they do compress, they can be brutal too.

My thought is unless you want medium to long shock absorbers, you'll never have a plush or even decent ride (compared to good shocks).
Without long or medium shocks, it's gonna be a compromise, one way or the other.

Rigid frame with solid mounted seat is, I suppose the most extreme end of the compromise - but in a sense it is no longer a compromise, cuz you say by that time "hey I'm just not dealing with this at all". And what you see is what you get. Gotta keep your eye on the road more.

I haven't had the chance to take the bike on anything like twisties yet, but my thought is it's going to be FUN on curves where there are no bumps, once I fix the wallowy seat situation.

The other thing is there are several types of springs and set-ups for sprung seats...so if someone had the energy and the funds, you could knock yourself out figuring out/engineering alternatives. I'm intrigued by a couple of bikes I've seen that use a flat bendy piece of steel kind of like a "leaf spring" suspension for the seat.

Anyway, as someone with only 1 short ride on a sprung seat under my belt, I will tell ya that I'm thinking of doing away with it and going pure rigid.

Also, what you THINK may be comfortable as far as ergo's (bar position relative to seat and pegs) may or may not work out like you thought. I thought for sure the layout I did my bike in was going to be way comfortable, but in fact, it puts me more or less in sportbike position. Might be good for some, but not my old ass - so I have to see about a way to move pegs forward a bit.

Just saying, there are lots of considerations and I don't think anyone can hope to nail the ergo's in the first go-around, unless you've done a chopper or bobber before.
But to an extent, it's that way with any bike. Every single bike I've owned, I've felt the need to change seat, bars, shocks, etc.:wtf:

Good luck!
 
Back
Top