Protecting your undercarriage (I'm not talking oil pan)

[ODiE]

It might be my posture, it might be my sensitive nethers, maybe its a crappy expensive gel seat pad, but until I can buy a cushy new custom saddle, how do I protect my not quite ass but not yet balls from being worn raw in the 100+ mi range? 

[angrygirafe]

I’ve tried padded shorts without much luck. The worst is when certain equipment you don’t want to go numb ends up numb for three days. So far it’s always come back. So far 😐

[KrustyKush]

I’ve been negotiating with the saddle and riding position of my brand new 2021 Tracer 9 GT. It’s been a couple of weeks. Here’s where I am:  the overall riding positions are fine, in fact, quite ample and potentially comfy. It is the rider saddle that chafes.

At first, My instinct was to sit as far back on the saddle as possible. To fight the sliding forward nature of the seat. But now I have stopped fighting. I allow my butt to move “naturally” forward until my balls are up against the front “horn” of the saddle where it meets the tank. Riding forward has alleviated most of the discomfort in butt and arms. 

The thing still gets a little chafy after an hour or so  but is much better than before, where I would be aching after 10 minutes.  Being I am 73 and have many aches and pains I accept that a motorcycle will not be as comfy as a car.  If I can ride for an hour before needing a short butt break, I am fine with that  

 

[knyte]

I feel your pain, brother.

Fortunately, a flatter seat profile did the trick for me.  I've heard (here) that Seat Concepts no longer make this kit, however there are plenty of others to choose from.

[1moreroad]

You need to cut down on pressure and/or friction. 

To cut down on pressure, you need more padding in the right place. Try a pair of bicycle shorts or bicycle underwear. 

To cut down on friction, you can find underwear with no seams under the taint, something to reduce sweat (powder or underwear that breathes), or something that lubricated the whole area like Chamois Butter from a bicycle shop. 

[betoney]

1 hour ago, ODiE said:

It might be my posture, it might be my sensitive nethers, maybe its a crappy expensive gel seat pad, but until I can buy a cushy new custom saddle, how do I protect my not quite ass but not yet balls from being worn raw in the 100+ mi range? 

 

44 minutes ago, 1moreroad said:

To cut down on friction, you can find underwear with no seams under the taint, something to reduce sweat (powder or underwear that breathes), or something that lubricated the whole area like Chamois Butter from a bicycle shop. 

No mention of what you use for clothing but as @1moreroadmentioned, breathable, seamless underwear and I never, ever wear jeans due to seams in the crotch and inner thigh.  Good riding pants are built for comfort, with appropriately placed seams.  And in the warmer weather, Gold Bond powder works wonders.

[gerrychuck]

I had a constant problem with this on my XR1200, even with the Corbin seat, which was infinitely better than stock.  All my rides of any significant duration on the Tracer so far have been on the stock seat, and although it leaves much to be desired, I didn't run into this particular problem.  Can't really report on the new Corbin yet, as I was only able to do one quick ride on it before cold weather shut me down.  Although I appreciate all the comments regarding padding, seams, etc, for me those things made a huge difference in chafing and butt numbness and soreness (and I always wear cycling underwear under my motorcycle pants for rides of any duration), but have made no difference in numbness in areas further forward.  That seems to be a function of seat shape and design, riding position on the seat, and vibration.  My .02🙂

[Heli ATP]

Checkout the Corbin seat for sale in the for sale section here. Might be just what you need.

[knyte]

1 hour ago, gerrychuck said:

seems to be a function of seat shape and design, riding position on the seat, and vibration

Agree completely!

[2and3cylinders]

Actually a raised nose on the saddle may help from you sliding into it and a fellow fellow member makes an inexpensive kit that shims up the front of the saddle. I know there are positive and negative reports on the Sargant performance plus saddle but I've been very happy with mine and they custom tailored it to my specifications specifications, and they have excellent excellent service. In fact I've just returned mine again because one of the seat pan socket under one of rubber bumpers failed and they're replacing the seat pan at no charge even though it's long out of warranty.

 A flatter profile may also help you along with the other suggestions and it's not too difficult to remove the cover and modify the foam and add some additional temper foam inexpensively.

[1moreroad]

17 hours ago, gerrychuck said:

That seems to be a function of seat shape and design, riding position on the seat, and vibration.  

You're already doing the right things. Didn't know what you already tried. Many bicycle saddles have depressions or cutouts down the middle to avoid pressure to the nerves above the perineum. Air Seat Innovations claims that their inflatable seat cushions provide relief. I would think it could work if one of the gaps between air bladders lines up midline with your crotch.