A guide to motorcycle seat pads to help you stay comfortable while covering big miles

For those that like to cover long-distance, be that big day trips or long tours abroad, there’s little more likely to cause dread on a ride than an uncomfortable seat. The feeling of ‘numb bum’, where sitting on a hard or uncomfortable saddle for a long period of time causes you to loose feeling in your rear, is one that many have experienced as. One motorcycle accessory to add to your touring kit list that can help to prevent this, is with a motorcycle seat pad.

Why would I need an aftermarket seat pad?

Standard motorbike seats are made to suit a wide range of body shapes and sizes and it is inevitable that they won’t fit everyone. Width and depth can all be wrong but also, while the shape can be right, the level of padding on the seat sometimes just isn’t enough. Some of us have our own built-in padding but for those who don’t, it can become literally a pain in the backside.

Numb-bum normally occurs after an hour or two and can be the result of posture or pressure points on the saddle. Generally, a saddle pad or cushion can help reduce this but it’s also worth considering your general rider position and making sure that you aren’t leaning too far forward, for example, or slumping excessively, which can all affect how your body reacts to riding.

A reasonable marker that a bike’s standard seat can be improved upon is the manufacturer offering a comfort option, usually for an additional price.

This generally means that enough people found the standard seat uncomfortable that there is a market for an upgrade. But while the manufacturer’s alternative may be an expensive option, there are cheaper ways to add comfort and enjoy your ride more with a more general purpose padded seat cushion.

Related: Best universal motorcycle panniers

Things to consider when buying a seat pad

One thing to recognise though is that while many may improve comfort, this can be at the cost of feeling and connection to the bike, owing to the fact that much of your feel for what the bike is doing comes from your contact with the seat and some insulation here can reduce those sensations.

So you may want to look at something that can be removed so that if you are doing a long trip, you can enjoy comfort on the motorways and remove it for a better feel on the fun, twisty bits…

Another reason the ride can get uncomfortable is heat. A flat seat will not allow much airflow and so, anything that lifts you off the seat and introduces an air gap will mean a cooler ride with some fresh air between you and the seat. There are mesh variations available, where they allow air to flow through the cushion, they also won’t heat up as much when your bike is parked up in the sun.

Equally in wet conditions, the mesh fabrics will allow for the water to dissipate and not collect as a puddle underneath you, meaning your waterproof gear has a much better chance of keeping your bottom dry.

Also don’t forget to consider how much leg reach you have on the bike, if you are vertically challenged then you may not want to add any additional height to the seat as this could make holding the bike up at a stop too tricky and may result in your bike taking an unwanted lie down.

What makes up the pad can vary from air pockets, to gel pads, simple sheepskin covers or memory foam. These will each have their own benefits but which you chose will likely come down to how much you wish to spend, but also your personal preference.

These are the seat pads we have tested

Other options to consider

How MCN tests products

At MCN, our team of expert journalists have decades of experience gained over hundreds of thousands of miles. We don’t test our kit to destruction; we use it exactly how you do, in the real world and in all conditions. That means we can deliver impartial buying advice you can rely on.

Each of our writers has an in-depth understanding of the needs of today’s biker… because they are one.

This means riding thousands of miles using the seat pads, including long days in the saddle to allow us to give a good measure of whether these seat pads improve the comfort of the motorcycle seat.

If you can’t see a review against some of the seat pads on this page, it’s because we’re either testing them at the moment, or we haven’t tested them yet. These items will only be included if we find that they work, or we think they’d benefit our readers. Rest assured that we’ll be bringing you a review of these products as soon as we’ve done the miles.

Our scores explained

When we review a product, we award it a score out of five. In the ratings tab of a given product, you may also find more specific scores for the different aspects of a product’s performance to help you make an informed decision. Here’s a guide to what each number score means:

• 1 star – Poor performance in this category or overall. A product with a single star rating has fallen below the expected standard and should be avoided.
• 2 stars – Basic performance in this area or overall. A product with a two-star rating has managed to perform to a barely acceptable level and there is room for improvement.
• 3 stars – An average performance in this area or overall. A product with a three-star rating has achieved a basic level of performance and is deemed adequate.
• 4 stars – A product has performed over and above the accepted averaged in this category or overall. A product with a four-star rating has surpassed expectation and delivered in a particularly impressive way.
• 5 stars – A product has performed at the highest possible level in a particular category or overall. A product with a five-star rating has delivered to the highest possible level, impressing the tester with its performance. We would happily spend our own money on it.

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