I need a COMFORTABLE seat

[Randyjaco]

I love my RT, but the seat is miserable. I have a skinny butt and short legs, so adding pads is not a solution. My inseam is 29" so on my RT I straddle the bike on my tip toes. On previous bikes I have gotten Terry Adcox seats and they solved my problem. Terry is now battling cancer and his production has nearly ceased. So I am looking for an" All Day Comfortable" seat for people with short legs.

The first place I looked was Russell. According to them, their seat is about the same height as the BMW stock seat, but due to the design, It would increase my straddle height by 1" to 1.5". That is a dealbreaker for me. On top of that, it would be July before I would see a new seat.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good comfortable seat that will allow me to put my feet on the ground?

The AirHawk seat looks interesting. Does anyone have experience with AirHawk seats?

 

Thanks

Randy

[wbw6cos]

I had my seat made by Seth Laam and it is definitely better than the stock one.   I keep mine in the low positon and the height is the same for me as the stock seat, in the low setting.   

 

You get with him on the phone about what you want.  He will ask a lot of questions.  One thing to tell him about is the front part of the seat is to keep it narrow enough for you.  I did not request to do anything like that, but inseam is part of the discussion.  Also, the slope makes a difference.   

 

I rode 2.5 hours to meet up with another board member for switching bikes for a test ride.  He has a 2020 RT with one of Seth's custom seats.  It was in the high postion and I did not have any issues with it compared to mine.  I have 30" inseam, by the way.  After 2 1/2 hours on the stock seat (yeah, I was feeling it), I felt immediate comfort on the custom seat; the pain went away.  Wow!  I had to get one made for me - so I did.

 

I ended up buying another stock seat on fleabay so that I made keep riding while I sent him a seat to build; he needs the stock pan for this to happen.  He also keeps the heating function, if so equipped.  You can send in yours or do a ride-in fitting, if you are in the neighborhood.  Not sure what the time frame would be these days on the build.   I can only imagine the work load is overwhelming and the staffing may be limited.   That is why I went the used-purchase route.

 

You could always call or text him to ask any questions before you decide to do anything..  Pretty nice guy, from the conversations I have had with him.

 

 

[Scott9999]

I had a Sargent on my 2005 Hexhead RT, and that was great.  Honestly, though, I didn't take any "all day" distance rides, but I did a whole lot of daily, 1+ hour California commutes. 

 

So, I bought another set for the 2018 (but I haven't ridden with them yet; winter blues).  They don't LOOK anywhere near as comfortable as the RDL "tractor" seats, and in fact, side by side, they don't look radically different from stock, but they seem to work for me.   Not looking at their site, I do believe that they have a "lower" version as well.   Check Ebay, too, and you might find a deal on a set.  The heated seats seem to be a premium, i.e. I found mine at Sargent on a "Black Friday" Thanksgiving sale for about $700, but it's tough to find them below retail anywhere.   Plus, the shiftcam's are still "relatively new" to the market, meaning that there aren't a lot of folks who have sold off theirs and parted separately with the farkles (like after market seats).

 

My hexhead also came with a custom leather seat made for a short guy (can't recall the brand, at this moment), and it LOOKED comfortable as heck.  With the stockers, Sargent, and this custom seat in the deal, I thought I'd really scored a blessing (well, with the price of the bike in a distressed sale, I really did anyways).   However, I put that seat on the bike to ride it home, and made it less than 20 miles before I HAD to stop off and switch out the seats.  That seat pushed the rider up on the tank.  It was literally painful to ride with it, i.e. I think it transferred stress to my shoulders, hands, and wrists, because I'm 6'2".   It was the first time I fully realized the benefit of not only a good seat, but the RIGHT seat that fits the rider.

 

So, good luck with the search.  Your RT's too nice a bike to be saddled with the wrong seat.  

[Randyjaco]

Thanks, I submitted an inquiry to Seth Laam. I will see what he has to say. It looks like any seat I buy will be a long distance deal. Not too many seat makers in the Houston, TX area  

I will check into Sargent also.

I already have the spare heated seat. It appears that no matter who I go with, there is going to be a long wait.

[MikeB60]

That's too bad about Terry, he built the seat on my GS and it's great.

[Stbell]

I rode a 1000 miles to have my built by Seth Laam. He did an awesome job and made sure it was everything I wanted. Will definitely go back. He was very easy to work with. 

[Randyjaco]

It would be a 4,000 ride for me 

Thanks for all the replies. Based on recommendations, availability and cost, I chose the Sargent seat. I just finished ordering it 

I should be sitting on it in 2 weeks 

[TEWKS]

I’ve had a couple Sargent seats over the years and their wethead RT example, is the best one so far. IMHO of course! 

[MichiganBob]

Too bad you can't do that RDL. Best seat I've had in 53 years of riding. I have an airhawk you can try but won't be back to home base until middle of May if you want to wait that long.

[Motobiker]

I have a Sargent seat on my 2016 wethead and love it.  I think it also looks better than the stock seat.

[TEWKS]

Here’s my Glamorous Glennis RT sporting her Sargent seat.

[Dave_in_TX]

I tried an Airhawk seat on my R1250GS. It was like sitting on a board and the integrated air cushion did not work very well. I sent it back almost immediately. An Airhawk cushion by itself is much more effective.

[Scott9999]

7 hours ago, Randyjaco said:

It would be a 4,000 ride for me 

Thanks for all the replies. Based on recommendations, availability and cost, I chose the Sargent seat. I just finished ordering it 

I should be sitting on it in 2 weeks 

I know that you don't want a pessimistic assessment, particularly from me, since I recommended Sargent, but if it doesn't work out, you should be able to get most of your money back pretty quickly.   These seats don't last long when put up for resale, if they are for later model bikes.  Should be low ri$k, vis-a-vis the benefit of finding the right seat.  Hope it works out for ya!  👍🍻

[Rob Nowell]

I am about your size, so I can definitely relate.  I have a factory "low" seat, set on low, but I may as well ride on 2x4s.  I had an Airhawk for about five years, and now have the Wild Ass variation.  Both work out just fine, especially when considering the cost differential.  I am not interested in sinking $7-900 into a seat, only to find it doesn't "fit me."  The drawback of my choice is that the heated seat does not heat the cushion.

[Foot]

Russell Day Long is the only seat that works for me. Stock BMW seat butt burn is less than 75 miles. Sargent good for about 250 miles then butt burn. Corbin way to hard.

 

I am on my 3rd Russell. 750 days and no pain, it's a winner.

[Red]

Corbin seats are firm.  But they fit your butt and you ride and ride and ride on them as long as you like.  You'd think firm equals painful, but in this case it doesn't.  I had one on my 96 RT for over 100,000 miles and loved every mile.

I would have put a Corbin on my 2018 but they didn't show up at the Des Moines MOA rally.  Rick Mayer was, so I bought his saddle.  Mayer is better than BMW but Corbin is better than both.  Have no experience with other brands.

[Rotor]

On 3/21/2022 at 6:23 PM, TEWKS said:

Here’s my Glamorous Glennis RT sporting her Sargent seat.

No seat comment (for now).  Just had to say that's a beautiful bike.  Nice pic!

[Rougarou]

On 6/14/2022 at 5:10 PM, Rotor said:

No seat comment (for now).  Just had to say that's a beautiful bike.  Nice pic!

 

 

Don't,.........just don't fill his head!!!!

[drzep]

On 4/17/2022 at 1:33 AM, Red said:

I would have put a Corbin on my 2018...  Rick Mayer was, so I bought his saddle.  Mayer is better than BMW but Corbin is better than both.  

So is this the same Rick Mayer that scammed a bunch of people out of their seats and money around 2013-2014??? I donated $600 to his cause back then. Never heard a peep out of him and never got my money back. 

[TEWKS]

I had one of Rick’s seats, must’ve got in right before he hit skid row.  I liked the work he did but there are better seats out there. 

[Scott9999]

As much as the custom jobs are terrific seats, nearly unbeatable, I really like my experience with Sargent.  Open browser, find that they're having a Black Friday sale, with 15% or 25% off (something like that), click on selection, buy with a bank card, and in a week or two, I've got my seats.  Plus, they have great customer service.  Plus, plus, I don't have to give up a seat pan, and their seat pans are (a bit) better than OEM, i.e. license/paperwork compartment, plus a place for all of the OEM tools.  Plus, plus, plus, OEM heated seats  & the lock, transfer over quickly and easily.

 

It may not be the best aftermarket seats on the market, but they are pretty darn good.   Ask Alan @9Mary7 about it.  He KNOWS that I ride for 100's and 100'0s of miles without a stop, whiile that seat remains totally comfortable!  My Sargent seats are rider TESTED, honest Injun ... 🙃😁🤣🤣🤣.  (Actually, I'm not totally a liar; my Hexhead RT had Sargent Seats and I did put about 35K miles on that bike.) 

[DakarTimm]

I also was a long time Corbin owner . I ordered a Sargent several days before the BMW national this summer . It came a day or two before I left . 490 miles later I was convinced my decision was a very good one . Love the fact ,they included a flashlighrt into the seatpan .

 

 

[Randyjaco]

I just installed my new Russell Day Long. I was only able to ride it today for @10minutes. My first impression is good. The one negative is that it is at least an inch taller than the stock. (but I was warned  ;^) )

 

I will just have to see what the next 500 miles brings 

[Dave_in_TX]

On 3/20/2022 at 3:18 PM, Randyjaco said:

I love my RT, but the seat is miserable. I have a skinny butt and short legs, so adding pads is not a solution. My inseam is 29" so on my RT I straddle the bike on my tip toes. On previous bikes I have gotten Terry Adcox seats and they solved my problem. Terry is now battling cancer and his production has nearly ceased. So I am looking for an" All Day Comfortable" seat for people with short legs.

The first place I looked was Russell. According to them, their seat is about the same height as the BMW stock seat, but due to the design, It would increase my straddle height by 1" to 1.5". That is a dealbreaker for me. On top of that, it would be July before I would see a new seat.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good comfortable seat that will allow me to put my feet on the ground?

The AirHawk seat looks interesting. Does anyone have experience with AirHawk seats?

 

Thanks

Randy

I tried an aiehawk seat (full seat with integrated air pad) on my 2020 1250GS. It was like sitting on a rock regardless of how much air was in pad. The airhawk pad on stock seat was much more comfortable.

[Red]

"So is this the same Rick Mayer that scammed a bunch of people out of their seats and money around 2013-2014??? I donated $600 to his cause back then. Never heard a peep out of him and never got my money back. "

I don't know.  There was a lot of family drama in one of the main saddle makers years back.  Can't remember which or if it is related to any scam.

[Rinkydink]

On 10/3/2022 at 7:57 PM, Randyjaco said:

I just installed my new Russell Day Long. I was only able to ride it today for @10minutes. My first impression is good. The one negative is that it is at least an inch taller than the stock. (but I was warned  ;^) )

 

I will just have to see what the next 500 miles brings 

You will quickly learn to do the Day Long Slide. Before stopping slide all the way forward so you have maximum inseam length. On my fourth RDL. 

[Randyjaco]

True, but with my nads against the tank, I am still on my tippy toes

[Rinkydink]

3 hours ago, Randyjaco said:

True, but with my nads against the tank, I am still on my tippy toes

Me too but you tend to get used to it. Gravel is not your friend. 

[longjohn]

Take a leisurely ride out to Ventura CA if your seat doesn’t work out. Bill Mayer’s former tech Adrian will hook you up. The stock seat is unrideable to me and I’ve put 130k mi on his seats. 

[Randyjaco]

I did a thousand-mile run this weekend and the RDL was great. Vastly better than anything else I have tried so far. I believe that I made the right purchase 

Thanks again for the replies and suggestions.