Beaded Motorcycle Seat Review: BeadRider - A Cooler Way to Ride

A few posts back I wrote about monkey butt and how to prevent it.  One piece of the prevention puzzle was to minimize moisture and I noted that the BeadRider beaded motorcycle seat could help in that regard.  At the time, I only had anecdotal evidence based on what other riders had reported.  I mentioned that I had ordered a BeadRider and was looking forward to trying it out for myself.  Well, after receiving my BeadRider and putting a few hundred miles in the saddle, I feel qualified to give you a first-hand report on its performance.

BeadRider "Ultimate" Beaded Seat

First, a few words about my ordering experience.  I placed my order through the BeadRider website on a Saturday. Within minutes, I received an e-mail confirmation with all the details of the order.  Two days later, on Monday, I received shipping confirmation and a tracking number and two days after that, on Wednesday, USPS delivered my package.  I was very pleased with the straightforward ordering process, no-hassle communication, and speedy delivery.

Upon returning from the mailbox, I quickly opened the package to see what my $70.95 ($58.95 + $12.00 shipping) had bought me.  Having seen several BeadRiders on friend’s motorcycles I pretty much knew what to expect, but I’m always a little apprehensive when receiving on-line orders.   Fortunately, everything was just as expected and I was impressed with the overall feel and finish of the product.  For the record, there are two versions of the BeadRider (available in several sizes).  The “Original” is made of wooden beads and the “Ultimate” is made of ceramic beads.  I chose the “Ultimate” because I felt that the ceramic beads would hold up better.

After a quick examination, I wasted no time installing the BeadRider on my Sportster.
Although there were no instructions, installation was simple.  I removed my saddle, slid the BeadRider in-place, tightened the attached shock cords, and put the saddle back on the bike.  Total installation time, less than 10 minutes.  Some might think the BeadRider looks odd on the saddle but I didn’t buy it to win a beauty contest…I bought it to make my butt happy.

The first thing I noticed when I sat on it the first time was I felt a little taller in the saddle.  The BeadRider effectively lifted me up about ½ inch.  Depending on how vertically challenged you are and your bike’s seat height, this could be a problem. Fortunately for me, the seat height was low enough originally that the extra ½ inch didn’t affect my ability to flat foot the bike.  The second thing I noticed is that I didn’t feel a bunch of beads.  The weave of the BeadRider does a nice job of spreading my weight evenly over the entire seating area.

On my first few rides I was a bit apprehensive about how sitting on the beads would feel after a few miles.  I’m happy to report sitting on the beads isn’t uncomfortable at all.  In fact, there’s not a huge amount of difference in the “feel” of riding on beads or riding without them.  So far I like it…I like it a lot.  I can definitely feel more airflow around my backside, which helps with reducing moisture.  I can also move around in the saddle easier.  Before the BeadRider, readjusting my seating position was more difficult and on a hot day, it could feel as if I had melted into the saddle.  I don’t think I’ll have that issue with the BeadRider.

I haven’t done any long distance or all day rides just yet, but based on my experience thus far I’m pretty confident the BeadRider will increase my long distance comfort.  I’ll be putting that theory to the test on two Iron Butt rides I’m planning…a 1500 mile, 24-hour BunBurner Gold into New Mexico and a 3000 mile, 72-hour Saddlesore to Hell and back (that’s Hell, MI just in case you’re wondering).  I’ll let you know if I’m still a fan of the BeadRider afterwards.

If you have a BeadRider and have used it on long distance rides, leave me a comment and let me know what you think about it.  You know what they say, “Opinions are like assholes, and everybody has one.” I want to hear yours.  Until then Live Free. Ride Hard. Be Happy!