Northernbiker wrote:I received my seat back from Sargent about 2 weeks ago and it seems fine to me but I have not had a chance to actually put on my bike to try it yet. Bike is away in winter storage in a friend's garage, I hope to get over there this weekend to put the seat back on and actually sit on it on the bike. Due to it being the middle of winter here (-14 deg and snowy) it looks like it will be a couple of months before I really have a chance to test it out.
Will of course post my final opinion on it after I've had some time on it. I will say however that Sargent was great to deal with. Good communication and they gave me a 10% discount due to it being a slow time for them, which kind of surprised me. When I spoke to them prior to shipping the seat off, the guy told me that while you'd expect this to be a busy time with so many of us northerners having our bikes in storage, that most people don't think of getting it done until the beginning of the riding season.
Chris
Due to the good weather lately the bike is now out of winter storage and I've been for a couple of rides. Unfortunately I'm disappointed with the Sargent seat. While the 'dish' for your butt with the extra width is more comfortable, I now feel like I'm pushed up against the hump at the front by the tank. When I called to place the order, I discussed with one of the guys the problems I was hoping it would correct - the stock seat felt sitting on a 2x4, and during a ride my body kept sliding forward towards the tank. He assured me this would not be the case after the conversion. At least with the stock seat, I had room the slide back into a more comfortable position, not the case with the Sargent seat. Now when I get on it feels like my 'boys' are pushed up against the rise at the front of the seat right from the beginning.
I'm going to call Sargent today and see if there is any mods they can make to correct this but I'm a bit concerned about whether they will get it right or not. Has anyone else had to send their seat back to Sargent for mods after the initital conversion? If so, did they correct the problem? Or should I just look into the BMW comfort seat. With shipping etc (living in Canada) this seat has already cost $500, I don't want to spend another $500 on the comfort seat unless it will be right for me.
Appreciate any feedback you folks might have. Thanks.
Chris - was this a low seat, regular seat or tall seat?
My low seat conversion doesn't have that problem, but haven't sat on any of the other Sargent conversions. My WAG - it was either regular or tall, and they were attempting to keep the nose of the seat as low/narrow as possible to make it easier to touch down when stopped. And the low nose is probably the problem.
On my low seat conversion (and I have a stock low seat to compare it to..) - the bucket is not only wider, it goes back about 1"-1.5" further back then the stock low seat, giving me more room to move around, not less.
EDIT: I should add - it did take about 1,000 miles for the Sargent seat to break-in.. just got progressively more comfortable, and actually seems to still be getting progressively more comfortable (about 12,000 miles on it now.)
Don Eilenberger - NJ Shore
2012 R1200R - I love this bike!
Thanks for your input. I got the stock height seat from Sarent. Although it looks about the same, the curve up at the back of the pilot seat feels steeper than the stock one. With the old seat I could slide back while riding to get into a more comfortable position. Now I have the stand up and sit back down at stop signs or red lights.
I realize for alot of these things there is a breakin period. Can I ask what differences you noticed after the breakin period? Anything specific that you can point out?
Just called my dealer and they don't have any 2010 R1200R's in stock right now. Next one due with the comfort or 'Touring' seat is due in the end of April. They said the will give me a call so I can come in and sit on it and see what I think (bike is already sold). They cannot get one in for me to try out for a week or two - I would have to buy one. Thanks again.
Thanks for your input. I got the stock height seat from Sarent. Although it looks about the same, the curve up at the back of the pilot seat feels steeper than the stock one. With the old seat I could slide back while riding to get into a more comfortable position. Now I have the stand up and sit back down at stop signs or red lights.
Not the case with my low seat one. I understand they cast the foam plug they use to make the seat, so the shape is probably pretty much fixed and determined by the shape of the plug. Wonder if they might be able to trim down the bottom of it where it attaches to the pan for you at the rear of the seat? Worth calling them and talking to them.
I realize for alot of these things there is a breakin period. Can I ask what differences you noticed after the breakin period? Anything specific that you can point out?
Nothing really specific - but I'm able to ride for longer periods without thinking I should have put the FreedomAir cushion on.. just seems to be getting more comfortable. I suspect it has conformed more to the shape of my butt.
Don Eilenberger - NJ Shore
2012 R1200R - I love this bike!
[/quote]Nothing really specific - but I'm able to ride for longer periods without thinking I should have put the FreedomAir cushion on.. just seems to be getting more comfortable. I suspect it has conformed more to the shape of my butt.[/quote]
Or your butt has finally conformed more to the shape of the seat...
Both help. I initially tried bicycling shorts - which had padding in them. Felt like I was sitting in a pile of poop. Didn't like that feeling. I then saw LDComfort - who started out making wrestling shorts. The shorts they make for motorcycle riding have no seams in the sitting/butt area. Seams can cause pressure points which equals pain. They also are elastic, and help support my wobbly flesh. They have a nice little doghouse feature in the front to use for male urinary relief functions.
They're good enough that I have about 5 pairs of them now, and never leave for a long ride (more than 5-6 hours) without putting them on first.
There is a problem that's basically bursitus of the butt (there is a medical term for it..) that is what causes most of the pain we suffer from. Good seat, good shorts seem to help keep it at bay a bit longer.
Don Eilenberger - NJ Shore
2012 R1200R - I love this bike!
Does the Sargent improve the situation for two-up riding? The rider portion of the stock seat does not bother me up to an hour. Riding with my wife becomes uncomfortable after 20 minutes.
I have a used seat on the way that I want to get redone, and have narrowed it down to Rick Mayer or Sargent. What may be a concern with any of the custom seats is that most of us deal with the companies over long distance. Going by recommendations alone may be tricky. Reading the preceding posts makes it apparent that no one solution truly works for everyone.
