Seat Options

Discussion in '7th Generation 2010-Present' started by montero1, Sep 24, 2015.

  1. montero1

    montero1 New Member

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  2. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    For nearly 450 pesos and I guess shipping from France. (??) I'd be talking to a custom shop. Check oot Rich's Seats in Washington State. Rich does some mail order. Lots of other cookie cutter choices: Corbin, ect.
     
  3. tyarosevich

    tyarosevich New Member

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    I got a Sargent seat this year and while many people rave about them, my personal opinion is that it is a small'ish improvement over stock. Others may disagree, but my own personal butt says, "Eh....a little better." If I had it all to do over again, I would go with an upholsterer, as you said you were considering. You'll be able to stipulate what you want, and my guess is the build quality will be better (the seat pan of the Sargent seat looks cheap to me).
     
  4. Make56

    Make56 New Member

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    Myself I do not have any personal experience of TopSellerie but a friend of mine ordered a seat for his CBF and he has been very satisfied. He ordered a seat with gel padding and when I tried it, it seemed very nice but you really cannot say whether your butt likes it or not before driving at least few hours. You can order a seat and pay just the upholstery if you send your original seat to them or save the original seat and pay bit (40 - 60€) extra.
     
  5. TNRabbit

    TNRabbit New Member

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  6. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

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    Although I have a Sargent seat for my 6 Gen, I think if I had to do it over again, I would go to a local upholsterer. Mostly because the passenger seat is still less than stellar for my wife and could use a better comfort level. Even if that wasn't part of the reason, I think going with a local shop would allow a more customized seat than the generic off-the shelf varieties i.e. Corbin, Sargent, etc. The only downside I can see about a custom seat, is that resale of the bike with said seat might be more difficult unless the person buying the bike likes the custom ergos of the seat. Resale however on generic seats is easier as they are the "one size fits all type" of product.
     
  7. montero1

    montero1 New Member

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    I think what I like about the seat I posted, is that it uses memory foam. I've had Corbins and Sargents in the past, and while they look great and are well made, they still seem hard. I have a local guy that will tailor a seat to your butt, he has you sit on the bike in several positions, and he can alter the foam while you wait. Only thing with this approach, is I thought I remember him bad mouthing memory foam, and he does a lot of custom work (show quality embroidery and multiple leather colors and stitching) ... I just know once I get there, I'm going to want something along the lines of the one in the original post done in the way of embroidery, and it will likely cost me more than $450.

    I feel memory foam is the way I need to go. I may just reach out to him and see what he thinks. The one thing that confuses me about the Euro seat is that it says "gel" seat, but then mentions memory foam.....
     
  8. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Check oot Rich's seats to see how both can be used on the same seat. The gel is usually referred to as a gel pad. The technology has changed over the years. The original gel pads were temperature sensitive. The technology was applied to hospital bed for care of long term bedded patients.

    The question is now does the seat or your buns really need both? A good reason to make inquiries of a custom shop with some mileage and experience.

    ...and yet another of a relentless string of great things to say aboot Rich's. Rich is a friend and a bike guy and my ass is just fine or so I am told..

    The embroidery will cost you more pesos, even more if you need your artwork scanned or have to pop for a font not on the machine. Stock stuff and the actual application is computerized. Any shop that does not do leather should maybe be avoided. Upholstery shops that do leather can do fixes on "leathers" and also sew webbing and for loft shop DIY straps, soft panniers, tank bags ect.
     
  9. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Damn! Had the mach 1 91 since 91 and now I am going to lose money because I have a custom seat? I'll show them! I'll just keep the damn bike!!!
     
  10. tinkerinWstuff

    tinkerinWstuff Administrator Staff Member

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    Local upholsterer.

    Even with a custom seat, if you don't go rainbow or something, people will find it as an improvement over stock. Even if it doesn't fit their hiney as awesome as it does yours.

    I had my local guy do it like this:
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Sep 27, 2015
  11. RobVG

    RobVG Member

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    Great pic of your bike. Looks like angry hornet. Is that a luggage rack or a porta-potty on the back? ;)

    I have to agree with tyarosevich, The Sergent seat is an improvement over the stock one but you still get sore after awhile. Someone needs to make some gel pad shorts like they have for bicycles.
     
  12. Elkwood

    Elkwood New Member

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  13. Knight

    Knight New Member

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    Would you like an ideal seat?

    Get a referral to a good chiropractor. The doctor should be 50-60 years old and have been in business for a while. Take your motorcycle to them and pay them for an hour of their time. Sit on the actual bike, and ask the chiropractor how he would shape the seat. If the chiro is a motorcyclist that would be best because he will have thought about this already. They will want to know if you have any medical problems, especially relating to the back. Then use additional foam and implement their design recommendations to the best that you can.

    The hardness is not the biggest issue. The issue is the shape. A seat shaped correctly for the human body could be relatively hard but you would not feel any discomfort. Soft materials are a cover-up (no pun) for fundamental design flaws.

    My guess is that the doctor would have the center raised, more like a triangle, to put more pressure on the coccyx/spine and relieve pressure on the hips. Not only would an ergonomic design be more comfortable, but most likely riding will take far less energy, leaving you more energized and aware, from the correct seating position. You must trust me on this.

    The general design of seating is incorrect. I can assure you that no one critically analyzed the shape of the seats you sit on daily, such as the motorcycle, car, office chair, couch, and easy chair. They may have designed the back support to align with the back, but I have yet to see a correct seat platform design.

    If any of you are entrepreneurs, once you have tested this, you could provide a service to alter seats in this manner. You can let the customer go to another vendor for custom stitching if you do not want to get into that, or you can re-cover easily with a new cut of generic vinyl. You would have to modify designs based on the seating position of different bikes, but you could contract the chiropractor to advise on a generic design for say the super sport position, sport touring position, and cruiser position.

    This is what we truly need.
     
  14. sheldonsl

    sheldonsl New Member

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    Have you checked with John Longo right here in Maryland? He can do anything you want to a seat. Alternately, there are gel pads available that attach to your existing seat for not much money. I've always had Corbin seats on my bikes, my VFR came with one already and I love it. They're stiff out of the box but get better after a ride.
     
  15. montero1

    montero1 New Member

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    Yes, John Longo did a custom seat and saddlebags for my wife. I'm going to check him out.
     
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