Just to remind you that you can ride a rigid frame bike and still be comfortable for many more miles than what you thought. Yes, bumps can be very cruel to your butt, and spring seats have their limitations. So, stop the spanking now.
Air cushioning is evidently much softer and can even be adjusted to your rear end tolerance to the road imperfections. Here comes the “Rigidaire” seat suspension system made of a pair of airbags to adjust via an onboard compressor. Up and down on the road and up and down at the show. Comes complete to install it as the intelligent companion of your solo seat. It includes a steel air spring frame bracket, two air springs, top plate, seat adapter, mounting hardware, solenoid air valve, air lines and fittings, air compressor and bracket, toggle switch, in-line fuse, seat nose mount assembly, 14-gauge wire, and a razor for cutting the air lines. For sale at Paul Cox Industries.
Not a good installation or a bad system?
Quite apparent that the seat hits and rubs the custom paint on the rear fender. Also look at the rub mark underneath the pictured seat ….shows leather wear.
Boss Hawg
I’m thinking the seat can be sat on and rode in a “down” position, or activate the selenoid and the seat comes up and away from the fender to ride.I think the wear mark is just from being sat on in an unactivate state?
I’ve tried out an airspring seat, not this brand, not bad but quite a bit of hardware for pretty much the same ride as well adjusted spring seat.
Unbolt any seat and look at the paint, I haven’t figured out how to prevent wear marks have you?
No doubt he’s had people plop down on it with no air in the seat…..
Pretty cool- I’d like to see a testing review of it.
This is expensive stuff…
MAY BE THE TIP OF THE DECADE.
You might consider a set of bates springs, long or short styles. Springs seem to have worked fine for many years on all styles of motorcycles with a multitude of different seats. Not once has a set of Bates springs lost any air and let a riders ass down.
For the novice rider there is a sure fire guaranteed way to avoid wear marks on your beloved rear fender.
A SIMPLE SOLUTION…
Finance it, trailer your new toy home, attempt unloading your latest divorce topic for the first time ( no tipping over allowed ), strategically park your latest true love for all to view when the garage doors are open, start it quite often at all hours and rev the hell out of it so that your neighbors will have the opportunity to enjoy it as well and your, ” just like new never been ridden in the rain motorcycle will have a perfect, unmarred rear fender and live happily forever. ——–.
You’ve seen the ads, you know the guy, next weeks must have list includes the latest fad on the block, a speed boat, a new BMW, a new ex-wife, or how- about- a Rolex to impress your new friends and neighbors that are desperately attempting to keep up with your latest temporary life style. ????
MORAL TO THE STORY
There is nothing to be ashamed of if your rear fender Is MARRED or if your motorcycle appears to have been ridden in the rain or on a slightly cloudy day.
WAKE UP AND RIDE !!!!
ray USA
That’s what I love about Rigid’s your butt stays soft and planted when you hit that pothole or tar strip or frost heave and the bike goes side ways and pitch’s your soft ass off on the highway!!
Racywheeler…I do ride Brother…more miles and more rallies than most here I go to say.
This is not your first rodeo by far. Piss poor installation. Marred fenders and wear marks on the underside of the seat do not take place when one installs an air ride system (or springs) correctly with proper clearance for seat travel.
Pretty simple solution I am sure you will agree….
Boss Hawg
agreed.
see you on the road.
ray USA
Ray, Jeff and Cyril…and of course all my brothers & sisters here…Have a Very happy New Year and lets all ring out the old and ring in the new 2 wheels up and vroom vroom vroom the hell away from the recession we have been in.
V-Twin Expo is next on the dance card, then Daytona bike week, then the Leesburg rally (if you haven’t been…great riding through the rolling hills with tons of stops and you can walk around with your beer, too), and then the little lady wants to take a leisurely ride/run down the east coast of FL, with a couple stops, to Key West for a couple days, then back up and over with a ride up the west coast of FL with a cut across back to St. Simons Island, GA (home).
Boss Hawg
Poor installation, I don’t know about that. It is a matter of how you want it to look. There is a rigid I built that has air bags on it and with all the air out of the bags they will compress more and shift from side to side and give a little more squish with a rider so looking at it with no one on the bike the seat has clearence but is really close however when someone rides the bike with the seat down it rubs on the fender. If it really bothers someone it could be shimmed,
Boss Hawg, are you just wanting to jab at Paul Cox ? It seems that way to me, I think he had an excellent idea and like his style of building doing lots of one off stuff. I wish his price was a little less but hey thats the difference between the midwest and the east coast.
When you are building one off stuff, the small stuff takes awhile to get all the bugs worked out.
Anyways when you are riding a rigid in the midwest or anywhere that has freeze thaw seasons that heeve the road, you have to lift you @@s off the seat when you are hitting a bad bump or hole unless you like the feeling of compressing your spine and you have to watch the rodes, I have hit some bad bumps at night and never been even close to being thrown off the bike but if you weren’t holding on and gawking around, maybe but I doubt it..
Chopper Kid,
Please do not take posts personal. No jabs thrown…I am quite familiar with airbags and their installations….just stating a professional opinion.
Boss Hawg
I’d just like to know if the bags are worth the extra coinage!
I have used this system from Paul on a few of my builds. Me and my customers love it. It works great.
Well I know alot about Paul Cox, his seats, his bikes & his ridgid air ride system. 1st this bike was built by Indian Larry for photographer Timothy White. Chances are it’s the angle of the shot that makes this seat appear to be touching the fender. I have seen many other shots of this bike & it seems like even in the down position, the seat is not touching the fender, but off it about 1/8 inch. I also don’t believe the seat has rubs marks. I believe the bottom leather is actually 2 pieces & it splits all the way down the seat from end to end.
Anyway, I have seen this bike many times, like I have said & there is no rubbing in the piant or paint missing from the rear fender.
However, Larry & the guys who worked for him & many of the guys who bought bikes from him, all did so for the reason of RIDING the bikes. If their bikes get a ding or scratch, they don’t care as bikes that get ridden end up with dings & scratches in them.
I came up with a SIMILAR SYSTEM years ago (when I found GoodYear air bags in the necessary sizes). Everybody that has had our system installed compares the ride to a Softail (sorry HD) or better. We worked out the side-to-side shifting problems (seats would lean out in hard cornering)we encountered with “larger butt” applications and have since solved that. Also incorporated into mine is a small resevoir that helps the action “up” to be a lot quicker and smoother. It’s an option. Adjustable stop(s), built into the mounting system can and does, eliminate the banging (and abrasions) on the rear fender. To be available soon…and affordable!
Doc’s Choppers in MN
I’m building a trike ’cause I got hurt and between my back and leg can’t ride 2 wheels anymore. The air ride system seems to be just what i’m looking for. My doctor tells me that if I hit my spine(which is collapsing) just right it will be a wheelchair for me. I’ve always rode a ridged chopper since the 60s. My seat mounts from the sissy bar like a hinge and the travel is up front sort of like a spoon that’s why I think the bags would be perfect. I’ts kind of hard to explane, but hopefully you get the idea. I’d like to get fabbing so please get back to me with some prices OK?
Thanks for your time, Steve H. (sorry about the spelling)
The price is too much for me I think I’ll stick with my tennis balls at least until I can afford the adjustable air-ride.:)>.