Seat Q's

[tiginbna]

Any one have a good suggestion for a new seat. 1100 GS. Current seat is OK for short runs, but after 3 or so hours starts to get a bit uncomfortable.
Esp. the sliding forward thing. I am 6 ft 2 or so and about 230 lbs.

Thanks

Tig

[BradfordBenn]

Howdy!

This one will get you lots of answers. I am happy with my Sargent seat. The big reason I got it was that I sat on one at a dealership for an hour before purchasing it.

You may also want to look at http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?t=940.

Good luck finding the right one.

[RTRandy]

I'll jump in here and answer the controversial seat topic . Most BMW riders seem to be happy with several replacement seat brands though two popular brands are either Bill Mayer ( Bill is actually no longer living) run by his son "Rocky" Mayer or Bill's other son Rick Mayer ( Rick Mayer Saddles http://www.homestead.com/prosites-rmcycle/ ). Rick and Rocky are not really on speaking terms so don't try to call each one talking about what the other one said. Bill Mayer brand http://billmayersaddles.com/october25homepage.html is generally one piece with no seams on the top surface while Rick has all this scientific reasoning for multi density layers and most have kind of a pleated pattern on the surface. True or false you can't go wrong with a Rick Mayer. You'll just have to explore which one might be more to your liking. Both are fine.

I attempted to buy a Rick Mayer at a rally last year and had just missed them so I ended up buying the Bill Mayer brand instead at the same rally. I'm super happy with it even on 600 + mile days and received good service.
It looks good on my RT as well.

There is also Sergent http://www.sargentcycle.com/default2.html which some have been happy with though I've heard they can be somewhat hard for some. "Hard" can be good since one theory is the stock saddles tend to be too soft letting your butt hit the seat pan.

Another brand that has a loyal following is Russell which makes the famous Day-Long® http://www.day-long.com/

Corbin gets mentioned from time to time however the company has grown so large that many seem to think their service level borders on arrogant and I've never heard any great praise for their seats. They may also have a better following in the cruiser world.

Winter is a good time to buy since the turn around time is much shorter than when the warm weather bike season hits. In most cases, you'll have to submit a photo of yourself sitting on your bike and the experts can make adjustments to the foam core buy adding to areas or in some cases making them more narrow. Whatever you end up with will be better than your stock seat.

Good luck.

[dlearl476]

Great info, Randy. I'm proud to say I have one of Bill's last seats on my K75. Another option (if you can handle being parted from your seat for long) is to have your's modified, ie: a gel or memory foam insert installed. A lot of folks have raved about the gel inserts from Rich's in Seattle. (ON advertiser as well) Much cheaper than a new saddle as well.

[kbasa]

Got a Rocky seat and love it. Also have two Sargent seats and they're pretty excellent too.

I've had Corbins and I'll never buy another. They look nice, but they have all the seating comfort of a seat in the grandstands at a high school football game.

[soldemall]

Someone has to jump in with Corbin, I suppose. Have them on all three bikes; K75, 11GS and new Bonneville. Even as an old coot, I can sit quite comfortably for 10-12 hour days on them. Service was first rate from the company, they made suggestions and took requests with enthusiasm. The fit and finish is flawless, and the delivery time was as promised. For the Bonneville, I got the Smuggler, which has a solo seat and little trunk like piece in back. The finish inside there is spectacular, lockable and waterproof. The cowling was painted to match, including a hand painted pinstripe.
Seems many people don't like Corbin for one reason or another, but it is not universal.

[manicmechanic]

I've got a '96 GS which came from the previous owner with a Russell saddle, and I love it. Yes, Russell saddles look a little "different", but it sure is comfortable.

[gsjohn]

My current GS and my previous R1100R both had Corbins on them when I bought them. I like them, never had a sore butt. My current seat is heated which comes in handy this time of year. The only problem with a Corbin on a GS is the front is rather wide which could effect those with short legs in reaching the ground. I'm 6'0" and don't have a problem but some of my buddies have commented on it.

[DarrylRi]

I have 240,000 combined miles on my '94 R1100RS and '02 R1150RS, both with Rick Mayer saddles. Needless to say, I find them very comfortable and Rick's service is great. Rick can put a heavy density memory foam, called "pudge", in the seat that was originally developed for wheelchair applications. He also recovered the saddle on my R90S and it looks great. Not only that, but it was just fine riding 4,000 miles up to the Spokane national and back.

[lkchris]

Installing custom seats continues to amaze me.

It seems intuitively obvious from looking at most custom seats that they are designed to be comfortable as long as the rider sits constantly in the same position. (My legs/knees hurt thinking about this.)

It also seems obvious that many must surely be rain catchers. "Buckets," in fact.

Here's a test: Go riding for a week. I predict after day 1 or perhaps day 2, you'll feel a lot more comfortable than you did after the first 100 miles on day 1. Your seat will feel better and your handlebars will be perfectly placed.

Another observation: I've ridden my '84 R100RS with factory solo seat since 1984, and I do get a bit sore at the outset of longer rides, and feel better later on as desribed above. Now, recently I rode from the state of Washington back to New Mexico on an Oilhead RT with Sargeant seat to "ferry" an Internet purchase for a friend. EVERYTHING that hurts riding my RS hurt EXACTLY the same way riding that bike, and these must be as great contrast as possible as regards seats and handlebar position.

Only difference was, I couldn't slide around as much on the Sargeant, and the upturned lip at the back of the seat was a major annoyance. It was very much less comfortable. These were things that couldn't be gotten used to, because they were the intrusions so often a part of "custom" seating IMHO.

The moral for me is, it's me and not the motorcycle.

I really hurt after a day leaning into a car engine compartment changing plugs, or whatever. I expect professional mechanics are used to it.

Best piece of advice when purchasing custom seat: DO NOT get rid of your OEM seat. It's what the next owner will want.

[dlearl476]

Installing custom seats continues to amaze me.



The moral for me is, it's me and not the motorcycle.


Best piece of advice when purchasing custom seat: DO NOT get rid of your OEM seat. It's what the next owner will want.

My experience as well, Chris. I bought the Mayer for my K and had it sculpted with 2" more leg room because my knees hit the fairing. The dealer told me not to worry cause I'd get used to it. I did, but the saddle is still comfy. I've had the OEM on my F650 and Triumph for 6 years and they're fine. I doubt I'll ever get a custom saddle again, although I am going to have Rich put a get insert in when he recovers my spare F seat. It's starting to crack.

[mcholt212]

Got a Corbin....got it about 2 minutes after sitting on the stock seat. Never tried any other brands-no complaints about this one, though.

[hwunger]

The short answer is, you have to do your homework. Just like Shoei vs. Arai, some guys have a Corbin butt and some don't, others favour Rick, etc, etc ... you have to attend a m/c show and try them all - and hey, the m/c shows are just now starting so this is a great wintertime activity.

But, most aftermarkets are an improvement over OEM. You just have to find the best one for *your* behind.

[lkchris]

But, most aftermarkets are an improvement over OEM.

Disagree.

See above.

[hwunger]

...but I think you're in the minority here.

The only OEM seat I never changed was on a GL1500 I owned for a while. My Roadster's seat killed me after 2 hours (I made it out alive) and even my ST11's seat got replaced with a Corbin.

Agree that keeping the OEM for resale is excellent advice ...

[dano]

My RT is a 2003 with about 16,000 miles on the clock. I've really never had a problem with the BMW "comfort" seat, but I liked the CORBIN seat for it's backrest abilities, both front and rear.

I just bought a used CORBIN from a guy in NM. I have it on my RT and I have a couple of CORBIN backrests for it, so I can use a rest on both seats.

Due to weather (bad), I'm still waiting for a chance to take it out for a run and see how I like my new seat.

CORBIN seats are more firm than most, but I like that. They seem to hold up better than the "soft" seats, that lose their shape after so many years / miles.

[hwunger]

... but once you understand this, they are great. After a few hundred miles you feel just as good as when you got on ! And I personally like the Corbin 'bucket' design ... it fits me.

Smiles through the miles ... ride on, eh ?

[dano]

I've put about 300 mile so far on my CORBIN seat.

Still kind of hard to tell if it is a vast improvement, but what little I have ridden on it, my butt seems to like it.

I do love the backrest options / abililities the best............ :D

[BobFV1]

I dropped a bundle on a Sargent touring saddle, but then I heard about this great sheepskin pad from Alaska Leather. When I went to take the ERC I put the stock seat back on my bike so I could be a little lower to the ground, I put the sheepskin pad on the stock seat and I actually like that configuration better than the Sargent seat! Here is a link to a thread I started on the Alaska Leather pad on the 1150R site:

http://p080.ezboard.com/fbmwr1150rmessageboardfrm1.showMessage?topicID=120 10.topic

If you order the pad, call them on the phone and tell them what type of bike you have and they will make sure the clips and straps are set up properly - they also may give you a discount on the retail price.

Merry Christmas!