1200RT Boy do I hate this seat

[ldracer]

I hate the stock seat as much as I love the rest of the bike. First I rounded all the sharp edges and shaved the nose down. That helped a little. Then I added two Alaska leather sheapskins. That got me to a 400 mile range withouth standing on the pegs too much. For some reason this activity seems to freak out people in cars so I like to keep it to a minimum.

Now I have a Corbin I bought used from a fellow switching to a Rick Mayer. The Corbin is shaped way better for me, but like all Corbins it is hard as a brick bat. The nose is a little wider. I am 5'9" 32" inseam and I am as far on my toes as I find useable. One sheepskin and a nose job may be the ticket. I will try and get a comparison of the Corbin vs.Rick Mayer from the previous owner of my seat.

[Mike]

Not an R12RT owner, but . . .

 

I have some previous experience with Corbins (have owned three of them) and I recently got a Rick Mayer for my R12ST. As you may have learned, the Corbins, with their proprietary seat pan, don't always fit precisely. However, once you've got them adjusted that tends not to be a problem.

 

The Corbins do, to a small degree, conform to your tush after you've used them a while. However, they always remain firm. I got a sheepskin seat cover that I used for long distances with my last Corbin and it was a pretty good combination.

 

The Rick Mayer that I got for my ST is much more comfortable than any of my previous Corbins were, even after I had put thousands of miles on them. FWIW, my perception is that the quality of construction is better than the Corbins.

 

Also, though I'm 6'1", the width of the Corbin caused me to have my legs splayed out further than I liked when I was at a stop. Not an issue with the Rick Mayer seat.

 

Overall--and acknowledging that these are different seats on different bikes--I prefer the Rick Mayer over the Corbins by a substantial margin. If you're going to go the route of a custom seat, I'd urge you to also consider the Bill Mayer seat, the Russell Day-Long, and the Cee Bailey's seat.

[black99S]

I'm using the stock 'normal' heated BMW seat - I'm 5'7" 160lb 32" inseam - and find it is bedding in OK. Good enough for the 800km (500mi) days I ride now.

I originally had the "low" heated seat and was but-numb around the 400km mark.

[eaglemike]

On my 2005 RT with heated standard seat, it wasn't an issue to blow in a 250 mile Sunday afternoon with the SO. On the 2006, standard seat (no heat) it's just about the worst seat I've ever not enjoyed, especially on a $18K bike. Commuting is ok, but 2 hours gets to be agony! Some kind soul sold me a set of standard 2005 heated seats I was going to use as spares during the Russell build on the old bike, and I'm throwing those on there TODAY! I hope they are as nice as the last set. When I get time - RUSSELL HERE I COME!

 

all the best,

 

Mike

[Albert]

Mike,

Are you saying the 05 seats were different than the 06 ones? That would be odd and interesting. I'm not convinced the stock seat is right but I can't say I've ever experienced agony. I'm still toying with seat options though and will probably opt for something aftermarket sometime.

[eaglemike]

My 05 seas were of the heated variety. 2006 unheated. I don't know if something changed, foam different, padding different, or not. I only know this set of seats os not as good as the 2005. My SO is also not having fun. I'll post more after switching. There might be a slightly d=different setup in the foam to allow for the heating elements, anyone know?

 

all the best,

 

Mike

[ldracer]

Here is the response from my Corbin's previous owner about the Rick Mayer.

"Why BMW puts so much thought into the rest of the bike and very little into the seat is beyond me. The RM saddle is great so far. Much softer than the Corbin. My first reaction was that it was too soft. I have ridden it about 300 miles and have found it very comfortable. I am planning to ride next weekend about 500 miles that will be a good test."

I will check in with him after his ride.

[bross]

I musta been the model for the 06 seat, cause it works fine for me. It's heated and longest day so far was 11 hours, no butt issues at all.

[eaglemike]

I'll try to say this very clearly.....

 

The 2005 heated seats are more comfortable than the 2006 NON-heated seats...............The 2006 non-heated seat is a pain in the..........JMHO

 

all the best,

 

Mike

[sb955i]

Had a 2005 heated seat replaced by dealer with a 2006 heated. No difference, same pain, same duration. I hate the stock seat. ( 200 lbs, 5'10", 32" inseam, regular seat in bottom position. ) Oh well, we tried.

[Pictou]

The stock seat didn't do it for me. I switched to a Rick Meyer saddle and it is like night and day the difference. I tried both the low and the standard stock seats. The standard one was better but still can't hold a candle to the Rick Meyer. I had one of Rick's seats on my 1150RT and was able to do 1800kms (over 1100 miles) in a single day with no butt burn or problems (at least not from the seat). I am sure the one on my 12RT is as good.

[lubie]

I have the stock tall seat. (06 1200RT) Being 6'7", 290, I didn't expect it to be perfect, but this thing is horrible. Hope to save enough cash to buy a custom seat this winter. Had a 1200GS before the RT. Bought a Cee Bailey seat to eliminate the excessive forward slant. Boy, did they screw that up. I don't think they even looked at my seat survey they had me fill out. Far worse than the original. Real POS. My nards were in the tank. Before the beemers,I had a 2001 Goldwing. Could ride for hours. How come the japs can build bikes that fit large americans but the germans can't? BMW seat heights are great for my long legs (36"), but the ergos aren't. Suburban machine lowering pegs helped alot. Wish I could take the seat from a yamaha stratoliner and put it on my RT. Wow! Maybe my butt's too big.

[bross]

Can someone who has these custom seats answer a question. Most of the pictures I see of the custom saddles look like they are very confining, I mean they look like there's only one place, one way to sit in the saddle. It looks like to me you couldn't slide back or forth at all. With the stock RT seat in the high position I can slide forward and backwards depending on the type of riding I'm doing or just stretching.

[ldracer]

I can move around fine on the Corbin. I had not thought about it,but it is actually easier. The leather is not as grabby as the stock plastic. I supose if you wanted to slide all the way back and hang off one side it may be an issue because it is wider in the rear.

[Captain_Pat]

I found the stock seat to sort of like riding a saw horse after about an hour. I just got my Russell Day Long and I'm much happier--3 hours yesterday and no worries. It doesn't offer as much wiggle room as the stock seat--it has a sweat spot for your butt; then again being fairly comfortable there doesn't seem to be much need to move around.

[bimmers]

I have a Sargent 5.11 tall with 32 inseam, 180 lbs ESA set for NOrmal or sport sometimes tweaked for luggage (without any on board). It is a little taller than std but a great seat. Have had no issues at all after 250 miles in 4 hours in one go on twisties and highway and interstate. No SO experience as she will not ride and I don't like the addtl load. The std seat was non heated 06 and it was not my choice, Sargent became choice after good experience also on 1150R.

[Deezalman]

If its an consolation.. I can only get about a 100 miles out of this seat before needing a break.

[uk1200RT]

The only thing keeping me from getting a different seat is the money I paid to get the heated stock one in the first place. The stocker is a killer after about two hours and the pain increases exponentialy with time. My wife and I rode from Oxford, England to Heidelberg, Germany in a day...we couldn't move when we got here.

[Bheckel169]

This is pretty eye opening for me. I just completed 1400 miles in 4 days in all kinds of riding conditions in Southern Utah on my stock seat on the 06 1200rt in the lower position. I'm 5'11", 30 inch inseam, 185 lbs and 59 years of age and I had absolutely no problem with the stock seat until mile 350 each day. Then my left cheek went numb. Luckily, I either stopped and unkinked or hit stop and go traffic on the way home and in a couple of minutes, dropping my legs to stand while waiting for the traffic to move, fixed everything. I was ready to go again.

Something to be said for good butt ergos.

Bruce

[L Rider]

The biggest difference in riding enjoyment, at least for me, was in upgrading from the stock BMW seat.

 

After a fairly long trip (Ontario to British Columbia and back) on the stock seat, I was numb in a few places I'd rather not talk about, for a number of months. Honestly. Funny but not funny.

 

After pledging never to do that again, I purchased a Sargent seat for myself and passenger. I have been very happy with the product.