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RTW Seating Options?

kbnesbitt

New member
I have been logging some mileage on my '15 RTW over the past few days, and thoughts are beginning to form on retiring the current vinyl-covered brick which BMW calls the standard seat. I am considering the Sargent replacement, but I am open to suggestions from the board. As long as the seat is comfortable, durable, and inexpensive, I am fairly easy to please...:thumb
 
Your doing good tell you mentioned inexpensive!!
Custom seat will cost $600 plus US
A company in Alaska makes seat covers, lots of riders swear by them
I've had two Bill Meyers saddles on previous bikes, my RT is going in soon for a new seat, not inexpensive but 110% more comfortable than the Bmw's wooden bench
 
I am happy with https://day-long.com/gallery/bmw/

Russell-saddles.jpg


I am also looking at a http://kontourseat.com/. Interesting option for hot-weather riding.

I use https://alaskaleather.com/ for sheepskin buttpads on all of my BMW R60/2s and my BMW R67/3. They work great on their Denfeld and Pagusa solo saddles.

butt-pad.jpg
 
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Custom Seating

I put a Seth Lamm seat on my '15 RTW not long after purchasing. He uses the existing seat pan and builds it to your specs. He is in Redding, CA and can do drive ins as well as mail. I only paid @ $325.
 
Had a Sargent seat for the last few months and am very happy with it. Haven't ridden longer than 2 hours straight on it but I'm positive I could go for several long days without issue. Solid product.
 
I have been logging some mileage on my '15 RTW over the past few days, and thoughts are beginning to form on retiring the current vinyl-covered brick which BMW calls the standard seat. I am considering the Sargent replacement, but I am open to suggestions from the board. As long as the seat is comfortable, durable, and inexpensive, I am fairly easy to please...:thumb

I have been using a Sargent seat on my 14RT for 63,000 miles ( 20,000 miles on the stock seat ) and it performs like it did when it was new. The good thing about a Sargent seat is you can test it for 30 days and if it doesn't suite you return it for a full refund. I also have some miles on a Russell Day Long which is also an excellent seat I just don't like the price and having to send them your stock seat , to time consuming in my book.
 
... comfortable, durable, and inexpensive, ...
As the old say goes, You can have any two of the three.
Comfortable and durable will be expensive.


... open to suggestions from the board...
The only problem with this is that it is not a style issue, but a fit issue.

Other's opinion and advice on the style of a shoe is fine, but how can anyone tell you how that shoe will fit your specific foot without knowing not just the size and dimensions but also the shape.

Everyone's behind is slightly different and what each of us is looking for can be different as well. Some want a significantly harder seat (Corbin) others want slightly harder seat while others want a softer seat.

Just like shoes, the best results will come from you actually trying the seat out. Often not easy or impossible, with the exception of Sargent and possible others.

Everyone has thir preferences, however, if they've not ridden the competitors' seats than they can't say theirs is actually better for them, only that they like/love it. I have two bikes with Corbins and two with Sargent seats (and two with stock). If I had to take just one it would be the Sargent, but I know folks who the Sargent is comfortable for them and they went to the RDL, and some who went from a RDL to a Sargent.

Get the picture? Everyone is different, and, it will be trial and error. Good luck.
 
I've had Corbin, Sargent and Russell Day-Long's on Honda ST's and BMW RT's over the last 20 years. If most of my riding were less than 200 mile days and/or riding where stops are common the Sargent would be my choice. It's comfortable and easy to get my feet on the ground at stops.. Doesn't need a rain cover and requires no maintenance. If I'm going to do long day/long trips the Russell is the way to go. It's a bit more uncomfortable in stop and go traffic, requiring me to "roll" off the seat and driving my pants legs up. Day long rides and day after day rides are no problem, my contact with the seat is way down on the list of aches and pains at the end of a spirited day of riding.
 
What happens when you sit on the 'brick' for 60 minutes? 90 minutes? I almost always make it a point to get off the bike at least every 90 minutes just to stretch a little, move a little, get the blood moving, get fuel, food, etc. I've gone thru a few full tanks w/o dismounting, and I could feel it then. Sitting in one position more than this is never good for your circulation let alone your attention span no matter what the seat, including a Lazy Boy recliner! I guess I could understand it for IB riding.
 
I put a Seth Lamm seat on my '15 RTW not long after purchasing. He uses the existing seat pan and builds it to your specs. He is in Redding, CA and can do drive ins as well as mail. I only paid @ $325.

+1 on Seth Laam seat. Did 2,000 mi on my '16 RT stock seat before a ride-in to Laam's shop. Since then, 12,000 happy miles. Seth guarantees his work. He learned his craft with Mayer and went on his own. I'll add that I got my first Mayer Day-Long in 1978, another in 1983, and another 1993. All Beemers. This as good as any of them.
 
What happens when you sit on the 'brick' for 60 minutes? 90 minutes? I almost always make it a point to get off the bike at least every 90 minutes just to stretch a little, move a little, get the blood moving, get fuel, food, etc. I've gone thru a few full tanks w/o dismounting, and I could feel it then. Sitting in one position more than this is never good for your circulation let alone your attention span no matter what the seat, including a Lazy Boy recliner! I guess I could understand it for IB riding.

I have the stock seat. On long trips, I only stop for gas, which for me is every 200 km. I don't like to get near the bottom of the tank. That means I am stopping about every 2 hours. I am good for about 800 km a day in this mode. After that I get tired of sitting but the seat doesn't seem to be a problem. I know this is counter to other's experience. I am not sure what the difference is. But as someone said already, everybody is different.
 
My problem with OEM seats on 4 of my RTs going back to the oilhead is that they were all too springy/bouncy for me. When I'd hit certain bumps the seat springs would compress and then launch my butt off the seat, with sometimes even a second rebound after my butt came back down, which was unsettling. Changing to aftermarket seats like Corbin and BMS always fixed that problem completely -- no launching -- in addition to being more comfortable to me on long rides.
 
The Sargent seat is the best value in my opinion. You can order them off the shelf, have a return policy, are quality products and you don't sacrifice your stock seat to build them so you can resell them if you sell the bike. I had a custom leather seat made for my K12GT and the custom seat was far superior in comfort to the stock seat. Leather will allow rain to soak the foam so that is a concern when it is wet out but it also allows the foam to dry. I recall I paid $800 for leather on the front and rear, retaining the stock heat elements on both seats but only changing the foam on the front seat.

My Sargent seat experience was on my R1150RT. The week after it came, I went on a 1500 mile long weekend (yes, I was crazy) and had no issues with having a sore butt. It worked for me.
 
I just took a 2600 mile trip on my new kon tour seat. I sent them my low seat and I got back a seat that is as hard as a rock, lucky fo me I had a Air Hawk seat with me and that saved the day.
Bob n Waco, Tx
 
Custom seat fitment

The commercial after-market seats can be quite good, but there is little substitute for having a seat built exactly for you (and, maybe, pillion passenger) by a builder you can visit. In my case, living in the Portland, OR metropolitan area, I used Don Weber at Mr. Ed's Moto in Albany, OR. He's a BMW owner and MOA member, and past honcho in the Oregon BMWOR club, so very familiar with others' comments (and complaints) about the stock seats. Other seat builders local to you can likely do very good work - but they can do their best if you can be physically there to get measured and test-fit during the build process. For me, 76,000mi later, it was well worth the time and money, for both me and "Wifey".
 
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