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A better seat

9K views 43 replies 32 participants last post by  FinalFour 
#1 ·
Hello everyone. I just joined the site and wanted to get some feedback from some of you on the best replacement seat to buy for my 2019 vstrom 650. I've had a Sergeant on a previous bike and it wasn't bad, but think I could do better. Any comment on this issue would be greatly appreciated. I will be 65 years old this year and just couldn't go without another wee-strom. Love 'em. Thanks
 
#4 ·
Russel is the gold standard. Pretty much undisputed. Some find fugly and not best option off road, but the most comfortable available for the long haul.

Seat Concepts has a nice frugal option (~$180) that provides a tractor shaped replacement foam and new cover. A big improvement over stock. Stay away from Rick Mayer and his brother, but there are a bunch of good custom options that largely depend on here you live. For example in the Carolinas there is a place with a great reputation and the same for Seattle. But you need to ride in.
 
#13 ·
I have a Rick Mayer on my Trophy. Awesome seat, couldn't imagine the actual RDL being any better. Had it for years, put some Snowstuff waterproofing on it every 5 years whether it needs it or not. Couldn't have done the Iron Butt trip without it. I got it from another Trophy forum member. I understand there are customer relations issues sometimes, though.

Cheers,
Glenn
 
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#7 ·
Another Sit&Fly fan. It is a sturdy 3d mesh cover. I use it on the stock V2 seat and its good enough for all day riding. At NEVA19 about half the bikes had that cover. That should tell you something. Additional benefit is you are not sitting in a puddle of water when its raining (with the well known consequences that is causing ;-)) get your behind cooled when its hot and ice cold when its cold - that is probably not a benefit.




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#25 ·
I am a 2-time Russell Day Long rider. My first was on my 2010 Yamaha FJR, my second for my '18 VStrom 650. Read here, with several useful photos.
My Russell Day Long rebuild, and seating in general

Steve.
In regard to Sargent, I did have a Sargent World Sport on my '07 DL650 and I did like it. It worked well, gave a firm, supportive (albeit not custom) sitting experience with a far more ergonomic shape and width than the stock seat.

When I bought my new FJR in 2010, I immediately bought a Sargent for it but I was not as pleased with it on the Yammy as I was on the VStrom. It was perfect for short rides, in-town stuff, but it didn't work as well on the same long trips I took on the VStrom before it. That is when I sent in the stock FJR seat to Russell and became a RDL convert.

Traded Feejer for the '18 VStrom. Looked to Sarg again as an option and only found an expensive, non-custom rebuild, no off-the-shelf Sarg for '17+ VStroms. If I'm spending big bucks on a rebuild, may as well do it the proper, custom way. "Hello, Russell? Let's do it again..."

Steve.
 
#9 ·
I have a Russel Sport and find it very good. I'm considering getting it adjusted further back about an inch.
 
#10 ·
Russell is the ONLY way to go for extended road trips, hands down. BUT, they just don't work for me at all around town.
Sargent is the best commuting compromise for me & what I use day to day now.
Terry Adcox's seats are a tremendous value and personally I find them great for at least 500 mile days.
I intend to have another built later this year for road trip usage. He custom makes them to your specs.
Set & Fly is ok if you can take the stock seat's 'crowned' profile, I can not.
Corbin is ok if you like 'em low & firm ,I advise folks to try / ride on one before purchase if at all possible.
I have had more than one of each over the last 15 or so years, on a Tiger, KLR 650, '08 650, '07 1000, and '15 650 so I can talk about 'em in depth.
 
#14 ·
I'm another fan of the Russell Day Long (that's actually my bike pictured in post #2 that was taken from the Russell site) after trying a Corbin, Sargent, gel pads, sheepskin, Airhawks, and my own memory foam creations. The best and most important improvement I've done to the bike, 84K miles and counting.

The Terry Adcox seat look good too, similar design.
 
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#15 ·
RDL for the win but I found it too tall for me on the Wee. Loved it on my previous ride.

Terry Adcox was pretty close. BeadRider and Airhawk are lower cost approaches.

Guess I should try a SitnFly given the kudos.

I have a Sargent on my KLR in Aus and it works well. Have tried others. Leatherman and Corbin but RDL was tops.
 
#17 ·
I suppose Rick Mayer may have gotten better. But back when I had my ST1300 I sent him money without checking feedback on the forum. Had I checked all the problems were clearly documented. He promised everyone a seat in 6 weeks. After six months, and as many broken promises I had to threaten going to the credit card company to get my money back. Then he lied and told me he had already sent me a refund check. To weeks later the check arrived with a post date a week after he said he sent it.

Perhaps his seats have gotten better too. Back then he had a high rate of highly disappointed customers. It was all documented on the ST1300 forum and others back then.

Perhaps he has gotten better. When I attended the BMW rally in WA state, there were people milling about in the crowd in front of his vendor booth to warn people and explain their problems with him and warn people away.

It's good that you got a good seat though. And maybe he has turned himself around, but I'll never personally buy from him or personally recommend anyone else does either.
 
#18 ·
I suppose Rick Mayer may have gotten better. But back when I had my ST1300 I sent him money without checking feedback on the forum. Had I checked all the problems were clearly documented. He promised everyone a seat in 6 weeks. After six months, and as many broken promises I had to threaten going to the credit card company to get my money back. Then he lied and told me he had already sent me a refund check. To weeks later the check arrived with a post date a week after he said he sent it.

Perhaps his seats have gotten better too. Back then he had a high rate of highly disappointed customers. It was all documented on the ST1300 forum and others back then.

Perhaps he has gotten better. When I attended the BMW rally in WA state, there were people milling about in the crowd in front of his vendor booth to warn people and explain their problems with him and warn people away.

It's good that you got a good seat though. And maybe he has turned himself around, but I'll never personally buy from him or personally recommend anyone else does either.
Hi Rick,

Maybe I got lucky with the quality. I bought it from a forum member 8 or 9 years ago. He had it made for him and his wife, so I suspect it is now 11-12 years old. Yeah, I have seen the reports such as your experience, too. That would turn me away. I can't fault the seat, though. I did find out the fellow I bought it from was about the same size, weight and arm length as me so could be pretty sure of a good fit.

There are no real low budget options anymore as afar as actual replacement seats go. Maybe the Seat Concepts is the new normal (or Sit n Fly?).

Cheers,
Glenn
 
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#22 ·
Sargent seat (came with bike), cheap bead cover, Sit n Fly over that. Works well for me. RDL is way out of my m/c budget. May try a gel pad under the SnF.
 
#24 ·
I've had Corbin's on 2 of my Bandit 1200's and really liked them!!! I had one on my ZRX1200 and didn't like it only because it was too short. It put me too close to the pegs and made my riding position cramped. Just know that Corbin will build anything you want to make it fit your situation.

Again, I would suggest a Try Before You Buy senario.

Good Luck!!!
 
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#27 ·
In my experience you either love Corbins or hate them. I think it has to do with the ultra firm foam. If if it fits you - your all set. If it doesn't it will likely wind up in the classifieds, unless you are near their factory.

They do, or did, offer a custom fitting. A buddy of mine who bought a Corbin hated it, but rode to the factory and they re-did it for him. Then he loved it. Another has used them bike after bike.
 
#29 ·
On seat threads I'm usually the guy who recommends having a custom seat made. If you know what you want a seat to do for you and can find a local shop who knows how to provide it ... (not just a upholstery shop) ... that is the most direct path to success. They end up being in the mid range of prices. For me, I like to keep them flat all the way back to avoid sliding forward all day and let me move around during the day. I like to keep them narrow at the very front for ground reach when stopped and for hiking out in the twisties. I like the sitting area a bit wider and the "side walls" of the seat a bit stiffer.
Personally, the stock seat on my '14 V2 is compatible with 900 mile days for me. Still, I have bought another stock seat from a fellow member who went for a fancier seat. It was essentially brand new, easy logistic purchase and a very fair price. I use three layers of foam; stock on the bottom, then some memory foam from Spruce Aviation. They sell it for endurance sailplane pilots. Then some fairly thin "pillow top" foam on the top.To stiffen the sides I have them embed some vertical columns of stiff foam about an inch wide and spaced about two inches apart. They cover the area of the sides from my mid thighs to just behind my stiz bones. In my opinion, the stock V2 cover fabric has about the right amount traction. Subconciously using "butt-pucker" to stay put adds a fair amount of fatigue over the course of a long haul ride. I avoid slippery seat covers and pants.
Sorry for going so long but let me add that Mike Corbin does do wicked good seats and he does do custom seats. If you know what you want, there aren't many companies that can do it better.
 
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#30 ·
Diverging into fantasy for a moment. Many years ago I had this idea for a totally custom seat that could be "printed." Sort of. Remember the yogis that would sleep on a bed of nails? Instead imagine a thick bed of smooth top pins that maintained constant pressure on all pins. Someone would sit on it and it would form a 3D The computer would record the shape of the uniformly distributed butt and convert into a file that could be used to print a mold. The mold would then be used to make the perfect one of seat. Clearly given how well mos custom seat makers get by with razor blades and cheese graters I had too much time on my hands.
 
#31 ·
I have tried Sit N Fly, Airhawk, gel pad, Rick Mayer, and now Corbin. Love the Corbin. I made an appointment and rode to their factory for custom fitting. Showed up at 8am and was on my way home about 2pm. They have a neat 50’s style diner inside the building where you can sit and have breakfast or lunch and watch your seat being made. One builder is assigned to you and I must have had ten rides and adjustments until we got it to where I liked it. It does take about 1000 miles of riding to break it in.

Good luck.
 
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