[linux2]

Hi everyone,

I'm writing this posting in the hopes that someone might be able to recommend an aftermarket seat that isn't a Sargent seat.

First, let me give some background on what's been going on with my order with Sargent cycle.

1.) I ordered the new 2012 DL650 seat on May 31st and paid for it over the phone (about $500). I was then told it would be shipped in about 2 weeks. I expected to have it the third week of June

2.) Come the 3rd week of June I still hadn't received my seat. I was planning on going on a ride on my 2 weeks of vacation I had taken in July, but without a replacement seat that wasn't going to happen. I emailed them first and got a response back from Mike. I was told my seat was going to ship either that day or the next. So I figured I'd have it in the mail in a few days.

3.) Come another week, still no seat. It's almost July 1st so I called up Sargent cycles to ask where my seat was. I spoke with Mike who said his manager would give me a call later in the day. I waited, no call.

4.) The next day I called back again and spoke with Mike who said that the manager should have called me. He said he would find the manager and have him call me back. Never received a call from them

5.) I called the next day and spoke with Mike again who finally got the manager on the phone. Of course this was no help at all. All the manager told me was that they were sorry for the mix up and that they had messed up the order. My order would be shipped by Friday July 5th or Monday July 8th. They also offered no compensation for my lost time and now my missed trip in July. I really only wanted free overnight shipping for when the seat was ready (presumably soon).

6.) Well, no surprise here, but the seat STILL DIDN'T SHIP! So I called back again and spoke with Mike. I asked if it shipped. He then said it hadn't and that it would ship by Monday or Tuesday next week. I'm extremely upset that I missed my riding time over vacation and feel that 7 WEEKS is more than enough time to make a seat and ship it to me. Also considering how difficult it has been to get a straight answer out of them I find this completely unacceptable. I cannot recommend Sargent Cycle to anyone and I suggest that people steer clear of them. If this is how they treat their customers then clearly they don't actually care.

So, my question is, where do I get a seat from now? I'm completely fed up with Sargent Cycle and their inability to make me a seat. Even after figuring out that there was a problem they still haven't shipped me a seat in the 4 weeks after they knew of the problem. Not only that but they offered me no sort of compensation and they didn't seem to care about contacting me to help resolve the problem. I've had to do all the leg work and I still don't have a seat.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with Sargent Cycle? I would think after spending about $500 on a seat they could actually make it for me, but apparently not.

If anyone has any recommendations on a different seat manufacturer I could order from I would appreciate it. All I want is something I can tolerate more than 2 hours (the stock seat just kills me after 2 hours).

Thank you in advance for any recommendations you guys have!

 

[DownOnTheFarm]

Here is a recent thread w/ good info: http://www.stromtrooper.com/dl650-2012/122193-seat-updates-anyone-your-butt-happy.html

 

[gplassm]

I would recommend the Seat Concepts kit. At $180 (including shipping) it is a fair amount less money, but you will need a pneumatic stapler, and about 1 hour of your time to get it installed.
In full disclosure - I have *not* tried the DL kit, but I did install one of their kits on my DR650. It was very nice for the money. Reports on the DL kit mostly say that it a good way to address the seat issue, if you do not need a cross-country type application. The SC kit remedies the forward tilt on both the rider and the passenger sections, and is reputed to be better shaped and more supportive. There are several cover designs to chose from, and also soft, standard, or firm foam cores can be specified.

 

[njbill]

Did you get a full refund from Sargent?

 

[linux2]

Not yet. They claim that it will actually ship on Monday or Tuesday. I've told them if it doesn't ship by Monday I'm cancelling the order and I definitely expect a refund then. Hopefully I won't have to do a chargeback after all this.

I'm not hopeful that I'll get my seat. It's mostly annoying cause I was really looking forward to doing some riding over my 2 week vacation. Not to mention they didn't even bump it up to overnight shipping when the seat "ships". I'll still have to wait 3-4 days to get it... If they do ship it that'll be about 7-8 weeks from order to arrival.

I did sit on a Corbin recently (not on a vstrom) and it seemed pretty decent. I might go that route. My main thing was to get a seat I can be on for 10+ hours a day and, if possible, lower the seat height. I'm about 6' tall but having the seat just a tiny bit lower would be nice.

 

[BigEasy]

I wouldn't hold out hope for a Corbin. I got one in a deal for a Z1000 Kawi a while back. While it was better than the stock seat it was way to firm. I also bought one for my R1200R BMW and it was a POS. While the seat was more comfortable than stock it wasn't great and the seat pan was [email protected] and had to be shimmed and forced to fit.

Sorry to hear your tale of woe with Sargent, I had my eye on those.

It's looking more and mor like Seat Concepts, Baldwin or Rich's for me.

Good luck
:mrgreen:

 

[chicago]

I have a Sargent on order from Sport Tour. It was a little cheaper than the price on the Sargent site, maybe $50 which included free shipping. I do like their seats and this will be the 3rd I've purchased. Sorry to hear about your run around. It does sound like they are experiencing problems. I bet they are experiencing peak demand as well as losing production because of vacations.

 

[Tomahawk13]

The Sargent seat is definitely not a 10 hour seat. I ordered mine from Mike also. I was on the pre-order list and eligible for the $50 discount. He "forgot" to apply the discount when I ordered it even after discussing it. When he sent me a copy of the invoice it didn't show the discount. I called him back to point it out and he gave me attitude. Anyway, you may want to look elsewhere. The seat is a strange design that is wider, but transitions too abruptly to the front. It's like sitting on the edge of a shelf. I found that it only extends the ride time marginally before monkey butt settles in. I have an Air Hawk on order to see if it helps.

 

[linux2]

I've really had the worst luck with seats on Suzuki bikes. I honestly think they can't make a seat. My first motorcycle was a TU250x and that just killed me after about 1 hour of riding. I took a 12 hour ride from Mass to Maryland once and I was dead after the ride. When I got back I just couldn't deal with it so I sold the bike (for other reasons as well).

Then I got myself a 1985 Goldwing. That was actually pretty decent, but the bike got kinda crappy MPG and was a bit bulky for around town so I sold that.

Then I got 2 197x Yamaha XS360s. Can't complain about either of those. They were simple and the seat was pretty much a plank, but it was comfortable enough. Even after 3 hours on them it was still quite enjoyable.

My friends have had a Honda Rebel 250, a GZ250, a Honda VLX 600, and a GPZ550 to name a few. The only one that was uncomfortable to the point where I couldn't really ride it was the GZ250. The other bikes are pretty nice and enjoyable.

Despite all this I really wanted a 2012 Vstrom. I just loved the way the bike looked and I figured with a little sprocket magic I could push 70MPG. It lives up to that no problem, I get between 64 and 75MPG on every tank with a top speed of 75MPH. I just can't stand actually riding the bike. I really hope I don't have to trade it in and just call it quits.

 

[DownOnTheFarm]

For 10 hour days either you drop the $$$ on a RDL or you sell the bike and get an actual touring bike. I think you might have some unrealistic expectations. Maybe a 650 Burgman would be more suitable.

 

[rollgibbon]

For 10 hour days either you drop the $$$ on a RDL or you sell the bike and get an actual touring bike. I think you might have some unrealistic expectations. Maybe a 650 Burgman would be more suitable.

Totally agree! I can't sit 20 minutes on the stock seat before I get all kinds of funky discomfort I've never felt before on any other bike. So far my airhawk2 has maxed at 5.5. hours before I needed an extended break.

If/When I decide to run an ironbutt on this thing I'll get a russel day long and an aux fuel cell for such scenarios, but regardless I'm going to keep the stock+airhawk for shorter trips and offroad.

Of course I'm riding from Ohio to Colorado in a few weeks as the last part of my move... on the stocker + airhawk. So, we'll see how that goes. :thumbup:

 

[phil323]

Most members will give Russell Day Long the highest rating of all the aftermarket seats. I've had mine since last Sept. and it is definitely the best mod I've purchased. Some may not like the looks but I kinda like the look and it is truly a day long seat.

 

[PNWStrom]

Most members will give Russell Day Long the highest rating of all the aftermarket seats. I've had mine since last Sept. and it is definitely the best mod I've purchased. Some may not like the looks but I kinda like the look and it is truly a day long seat.

Can you please share some pictures? Do you mind sharing a ballpark price?

I've yet to hear anybody bad mouth a Russell Day Long.

Is your Strom a 12 or 13?

 

[kitesurfer]

cORBIN has always been my go to. I had mine within 5 days and it came from Ca. I also had the new Sargent. I put it on the bike, took it off and boxed it up and sold it. it didn't fit "me". I agree, Sargent is not an efficient company (they are 10 miles from me and used my bike as their test platform)

 

[Appalachian Rider]

My experience with Sargent was a positive one. I was delivered a custom seat +1" over the stock Sargent on time as promised. The sales person was helpful when ordering and I love the seat. Is it a RDL or Mayer? No but I didn't want that type of seat. I wanted a seat that I could easily move a cheek off of when riding twisties. It is a 10 hour seat as long as there are about 10 breaks included!

Just presenting the other side of the story... Sounds like the OP wasn't treated correctly and I understand his frustration. Too bad Sargent isn't stepping up to take responsibility. Anything motorcycle related is probably at peak demand at this time of year.

 

[jokermtb]

Russell Day Longs do have a superb reputation for being "the seat", but you could have bought an off-the-rack Saddlemen's Adventure seat for your Strom off of Amazon.com, had it shipped instantly, and not missed your trip....it's a funky seat for sure, and is as polarizing in it's looks as the Russell, but it is supremely comfortable, and doesn't lock one in place, or put pressure on yer nuttz, like those tractor style seats tend to do. It's a great alternative to conventional saddles!

 

[John V Strom Jr.]

There is a guy in Kentucky, I believe, that sells new seats on eBay that look like Russell's. You might have to send him your stocker though. I seem to remember $250-300.

I recently had a local upholsterer modify my seat a bit for $75. Got it back the next day. Of course, you would have to find someone knowledgeable and also have some idea of what needs to change to fit you.

You might also try an Airhawk first.

kawasakivoyagerxii on eBay from Manchester, TN, not Kentucky. I have no affiliation, just his seats look decent. I did not see one for the 2012-13 though.

 

[MotoWPK]

Russell Day Longs do have a superb reputation for being "the seat", but you could have bought an off-the-rack Saddlemen's Adventure seat for your Strom off of Amazon.com, had it shipped instantly, and not missed your trip....it's a funky seat for sure, and is as polarizing in it's looks as the Russell, but it is supremely comfortable, and doesn't lock one in place, or put pressure on yer nuttz, like those tractor style seats tend to do. It's a great alternative to conventional saddles!

Is your experience with the Saddlemen's Adventure Tour or Track seat?

 

[DownOnTheFarm]

Of course I'm riding from Ohio to Colorado in a few weeks as the last part of my move... on the stocker + airhawk. So, we'll see how that goes. :thumbup:

A bit off topic but... consider taking rt 36 from Indy to CO instead of 70. (assuming you haven't thought of this). I did it last september and enjoyed it much more than the superslab. I had a higher average speed on 36 than I do when I'm on the superslab. Just be sure you fill up at the last town in Kansas.

 

[nbsdave]

For 10 hour days either you drop the $$$ on a RDL or you sell the bike and get an actual touring bike. I think you might have some unrealistic expectations. Maybe a 650 Burgman would be more suitable.

What a supportive response.