Suzuki engineers talk about developing the Gen 3 SV

[Craig380]

Interesting little video. Apparently they made the seat deliberately hard :rolleyes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JUnBv2kiD4

[Seeker]

"when the seat has a certain hardness, rider can feel the feedback from motorcycle and rider can move actively".

commenting further on bamboo up fingernails...
"subject can feel the pain from the bamboo and reflect on the veracity of their responses"

It seems to me that if all you can think about is: "ouch, my bum hurts", your concentration on riding is not foremost in your mind and the reason you are "actively moving" is to reduce the pain (which is why I had my seat rebuilt after < 300 miles). Thanks a lot Torquemada - san.

[Craig380]

As Bridget Jones' mum observes: "A cruel race ..."

[zsv650s]

More like We made it deliberately hard to further save on materials and make it even cheaper to build come on suzuki you're fooling nobody with that one.

[SV650rules]

If you think SV seat is hard just try one of those Brookes racing saddles ( that were compulsory at one time ) on a bicycle ... no wonder cyclists got more prostate problems than average ....

[Scittyf]

Unpopular opinion coming.

I don't think the SV Seat is that bad at all.

Done a recent ride to London and back in the (Circa 250 miles) and I thought it was fine.
However I forgot how taxing motorcycling is on the motorway and how bored you get.

[garynortheast]

Unpopular opinion coming.

I don't think the SV Seat is that bad at all.

Done a recent ride to London and back in the (Circa 250 miles) and I thought it was fine.
However I forgot how taxing motorcycling is on the motorway and how bored you get.

I'd go with this. I've done a 500 mile day on my curvy S and, although after a few hundred miles I shuffled about a bit to ease the pressure, it really wasn't that bad.

[Seeker]

I had no problems with the curvy seat either but this is talking about the AL7. I could plainly feel the plastic base digging into my bum and upper thigh. Coming to a stop and putting a foot down intensified the discomfort. Maybe it's connected with a person's size, I'm 5'6 with a 29 in inseam.
Had I not had the seat rebuilt I would have sold the bike, it was that bad. The US site has an 8 page thread on the Gen 3 uncomfortable stock seat so it's not an isolated problem.
Previous iterations of the SV had a more or less horizontal seat which allowed you to move around albeit slightly. The AL7 has a pronounced slope to the tank and very thin padding, if you take a look at the aftermarket seats they have one thing in common which it to make the seating area as horizontal as possible.

Suzuki boasted about having the lowest seat height in its class (if that's all you've got going for the bike you've got problems) but to achieve that we have a steeply angled seat with bugger all foam. They tried to remedy that with the "Tuck and Roll" seat, they failed - it offers marginal improvement at best and that's only because your wallet is much lighter.

[daktulos]

I was looking at an AL7 seat today - it's not just lower and angled, but (compared with a curvy) is pointed - the tank end is much narrower than the back. I guess it's another aid to getting feet down flat or maybe hanging off(?!) but maybe this goes some way to explaining some of the discomfort, too.

[SV650rules]

I have an AL7 and seat is OK for a couple of hours, but you do tend to end up at the narrow end too often. I have just about 30" legs and appreciate the low seat, I never go on motorways so never stay in one place on the seat too long. I suppose with ninety degree V twin getting a comfortable low seat is an ask - and I guess if they are aiming at women riders a low seat is necessary.

[zsv650s]

I have an AL7 and seat is OK for a couple of hours, but you do tend to end up at the narrow end too often. I have just about 30" legs and appreciate the low seat, I never go on motorways so never stay in one place on the seat too long. I suppose with ninety degree V twin getting a comfortable low seat is an ask - and I guess if they are aiming at women riders a low seat is necessary.
Unpopular opinion mostly blokes buy sv's so why suzuki catering for a small audience?