How deep is the rider's seat foam on a SW?

I have bought a new SYM 300 CRUISYM scooter. I love the storage capacity and the fact that you can put your feet straight down on the flat floorboards or forwards on the lower fairing. This is the reason I bought the SYM, after trying a Kwasaki scooter which only has one foot position. The SYM goes fine, and I have done about 1000 miles.
However the ride is very bumpy. Studying the seat construction I notice that the foam is only about 1" thick where the rider sits. I have taken the seat to an upholsterer who has added another 2" of seat-foam density. Yesterday I went for a 200 mile ride and although the seat is now more comfortable it was still bum-numbing by the time I got home. The general suspension / ride is fairly hard. Sometimes when a sudden dip / hole in the road catches me out, my sciatic back goes a real OUCH!. I cannot go for long rides with the bike like this. I weigh 92Kg / 204 lbs / 14st.8lb which I know is too much and I will loose some. Normally I am under 14st but have recently eaten too much! I am about 5ft 10 tall.
So: how deep and dense is the foam on a Silver Wing, and what is the long-ride effect on the nether regions? Also how would you rate the suspension?
I read on this forum that folks do long rides in a day, which is what I want to do.

I find seat foam ok on SilverWing after 2 new ones and over 90,000 miles. Feet forward position has a lot to do with seat comfort, butt and spine take quite a beating. For me, after over 60 years of riding and over 1.5 million miles---I get off every hour or 50 miles, walk around bike....also relieves being bored....but I get there pain free. My world, foam just crushed down after you sit on it.

I think that your sciatica is as much to blame as the seat.  As Mr.  Grinsel  says the feet forward position is hard on the lower spine, a back support of some kind may help but a regular break and movement could be just as good .  My back gives me trouble even though I've gone for a trike with lowered footrests, it's just one of the many 'benefits' of old age !

You need to wait for Old Limey to log on bud, he has both 600 SilverWing & 300 Cruisym

I love my Corbin seat.

Hi it might be worth you trying an air seat by Tourecs etc, or Airhawk.

I`m going to get one soon for my Silverwing as I too have quite bad disc issues.

Also getting Gel put in the seat may help more than foam.

There is a 2cm thick gel option ( or 1cm ) looking on ebay.

Its a mix of poor UK roads and the scooter not having a proper swinging arm causes shocks to travel through more than a bike.

Good luck.

Best Mark.

I don't really see that, you need to be reasonable physical condition to ride any motorcycle or scooter. Reading forum posts over the years I've read numerous posts from older bike riders that that wouldn't have considered a maxi scooter at all when they were younger and have now bought one as they haven't got the wrist strength to manage a motorcycle clutch lever ( yet the same lever operates the rear brake on a maxi)

Others they say that have knackered knees from riding sports bikes, carpet fitting or whatever, and everyone knows someone that complains about their bad back.

I feel road bumps far more on my push bike than I do on the Silver Wing, I ride over a level crossing every day and to alleviate the bumps to my butt, I simply stand on the pedals off road style.

You can blame roads, seat comfort, front or rear suspension, lack of a swinging arm or whatever. It could simply be that the feet forward style maxi scooter isn't the best choice if you have back problems.

Maybe the big wheeled upright riding position, feet flat Honda SH 300, SYM Citicom, Piaggio Beverly type scooter are more suited to back back sufferers.

I think that it's the sitting that actually is causing the problem. One of the theories about spondylosis is that it's caused by prolonged sitting. I have found that long car journeys are less uncomfortable now that I have reclined the seat more to transfer weight from the base of my spine to the backrest. I'm not sure that feet forward makes any difference, it's the upright posture of the spine that cause the lower back trouble .

I don't think there are very many comfortable stock seats made. I liked the stock Gold Wing seat (2004). Everything else begins to feel like a 1 x 8 board in about 40 miles.

Silverwingdays has a good suggestion - add a layer. Ill add, I tried a gel seat pad on the 2003 ST1300 and it was not much help.

I had a 1 inch thick shearling wool skin on my Gold Wing and it was cool and comfortable. It was expensive, kind of ugly and if it ever got wet, good luck drying it out.

John has it about right, something to do with experience - get off every now and then and walk around.

Good luck and enjoy the ride.

My riding buddy and I both have Russel Day-Long custom seats on our silverwings and they are amazing. They are expensive (about $1000) but the seat and backrest make 400-600 mile days easy.

The third page of the gallery has some silverwing examples.

I have never regretted spending the money because we take long trips (2000-3000 miles) and comfort becomes a big issue by day 4. When I switched scooters, I just unbolted the seat and moved it.

Just my 2 cents.. or $1000