A mate who does many hours in the saddle swears by the bike shorts with the gel in the bum area when doing big Ks.  Anyone tried em?  I will give them a run when I head to ACT in September.  Sounds like a good idea to me.  

AirHawks are the way to go Binnsy (I've got the airhawk R) They look OK, easily removeable, can stay on the bike and when you get off you don't look like you're wearing an incontinence pad.

What's the ride you're doing in September? I don't think it'd be for the Floriade. 

Cheers Steelo

I've got a couple of push bikes (in a failing attempt to control my growing waistline).

I tried a set of bike shorts under my riding jeans and they help a little on long trips but worn under riding pants they get sweaty and I reckon that isn't worth the bit of extra padding.

Maybe in winter but I don't tend to ride when it's approaching zero for far these days so I can't say.

I use them on my mountain bike when I go bush into the forests but no fucken way I'd wear 'em on the HD hahahaha They are however good on all day forest rides on the pushy.

Thought about them, but wonder if in hot weather they would be uncomfortable?

I've been thinking about paying Australian Cumfy Motorcycle Seats in Melbourne the $250 he quoted to basically open up and cut some centre foam from my LePera silhouette seat. My tailbone is not always happy on long rides.

Anyone just went for seat modification instead?

http://www.acmseats.com.au/home

Got me a AirHawk, FYI its the shit!! Once you work out the amount of air etc. its bloody comfortable.

I remember when I was racing and training in Europe. (Nothing Special) But back then you only had Chamois in your Knicks and we use to rub Fish Fat into the chamois to lube it up for a more comfortable ride.
Geoff, you should just wear your knicks, dont need Denim shorts over them.

Done big ks for a few days ...... AirHawks saved my ass 

Sorry dude but seriously?

Get a better seat.

Ive done 700 ks a day on a tourer with standard seat...no probs

Dunno if there'd be enough gel or padding to soften vibration and impact, but bike shorts are like any other compression clothes and would see some of the same benefits (ie increased blood flow and holding muscles in place). I usually wear kevlar jeans or cargo pants and wouldn't be keen on another layer of hot, synthetic fibre around my groin and arse, especially for long trips. A good seat is best

are these shorts to wear under arseless chaps, then lube up with fish fat and then engage in Turkish wrestling.

Tried them on the old 650 in the bush and they deffiently help. Not sure they'd help on the Harley but worth a try I guess. Recently changed the stock seat on the breakout to a Danny gray and it's plenty comfy enough. A new seat might make all the difference.

Many thanks guys http://www.airhawk.com.au/products.php?product_category_id=54

Have had two spinal op's and doing 300-400 in a day on my stock iron seat is torture! Been thinking of getting a DIY gel and memory foam insert after removing leather cover on stock seat cutting out the pitiful foam then cutting the good stuff to size and stapling the cover back over like original. Seems like an easy mod, Stanley's knife, glue, stapler 45min and $50-$70 depending on the materials you wanna insert. Possibly a backrest as I've been doing a hell of a lot of riding in 400k blocks in the last month or so (maybe put another 4500+ on the clock) on a sportster "seat" 

+1 big giggle at chaps comments 

Howdy Nirvana Ride.

Great looking bike.  I love the lean and mean look. Don't cut it up. 

Congrats on covering the big distances despite the bad back. Beg borrow or steal an Airhawk (preferably the R with cutouts for man bits and coccyx) to try out.

They only cost about $200 if you have to buy one.

The most expensive option I reckon will be to buy a seat that will allow a back rest to fit your bike.

You could buy one of these bikers friends. I'm sure there'll be others on the forum that have them

http://www.bikersfriend.com/

They are an overnighter that goes between the sissy bar and you and have a little back rest to support your spine. They have a round pipe like insert so they are rigid and easy to put stuff in. A friend has one for his breakout (this isn't him)

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's good to be able to strip off all the long trip accessories when they are not needed

I'm sold on the Airhawk seat covers, it's happening thanks guys..

Cheers for the bikeliment! Check out the little mod I did in another post in workshop. The airhawk sounds awesome but the riders friend is a REALLY cool idea as its a bit dodgey strapping a mountain of gear to the sissybar and small rack. It'd be a great solution on many levels!! I'm gonna check it out as soon as I got some $ up to spend. It's a bitch as far as the bricklaying spinal explosion but it'll take more than that and pain to keep me off the road ?? . I'm a little weary of putting too much weight on the 883 though and if I had all the room in that tube back rest it'd get used. Looking forward to tracking down an airhawk to try though for sure!! Thanks for the heads up man! On a side note if you are on painkillers of ANY kind and you get into a binge you're screwed. My mate took his prescription meds in the morning and had a car accident in the evening and because there were traces of his prescription meds in his blood his insurance company won't pay for his written off car another car that's buggered up pretty good and another written off car and the cops are going to charge him with reckless driving and driving under the influence. This being a joke as it wasn't his fault and it was way after he was to take his next dosage of pain meds. Trace amounts were enough to fuck up his life!! It's all still up in the air.