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Aftermarket Low Seat That's Comfortable

motor10

New member
So I have an RT and I had the factory seat on the low setting and it was still too tall for me. I'm 5'8" with a 29" to 30" inseam and weigh 200lbs. So, I recently purchased, from BMW, a low seat at a cost of over $500.00. This was perfect for height; however, after an hour of riding it becomes uncomfortable. It works for short rides and I love the purchase my feet have when using this seat, but its no good after ridding for any length of time. This past Sunday, I took a 200 mile ride with my Father-in-law and my rear-end was not happy at all. I had to stand and ride a few times during the last hour to reduce the discomfort to my posterior.

With all that said, I am looking for a low seat that is actually comfortable. Something that I can ride in for 2 hours and not be uncomfortable or sore. I am not sure if I am looking for a unicorn of low motor seats or not; but, I am looking for suggestions and your personal experiences including pros and cons please.

Thanks in advance for your responses.
 
I have an alternate suggestion for comfort that works for me without using a lower seat.

I am (now) 5'6" with a 28" inseam. A shoe repair shop added an additional half inch or so to my boots which allows me to put the balls of my feet on the ground. My R1100 has a normal Russell seat which I ride in the middle height position. It does require sliding forward to the gas tank at stops, but the seat does allow for comfortable rides.

My K's seat is not adjustable, but with the Corbin, the additional sole height works with that seat as well.
 
Does your bike have the regular or factory-lowered suspension? I have similar dimensions and the OEM one-piece "Comfort" seat works pretty well.

I am working with Terry's Custom seats to build me a Russell-like seat and will report the outcome once it's done. For under $300 and great customer support his seats are a huge value. THe image is the seat he built for me. It amazing in both comfort and build quality. Only problem is there's too much padding in the nose (close to the tank) but I'm sending it back to have him carve it down. It'll be a month or so before I get it back (he's booked for new builds into December) but it'll be worth the wait. His prices are subject to change of course but these cost $250 each (driver and passenger).

IMG_20190515_200826.jpg
 
I had one of Terry's seats on my last bike. Best mod that I did to that bike. I have seriously planning to do the same on my F800ST. He does outstanding work.

Randy
 
Does your bike have the regular or factory-lowered suspension? I have similar dimensions and the OEM one-piece "Comfort" seat works pretty well.

I am working with Terry's Custom seats to build me a Russell-like seat and will report the outcome once it's done. For under $300 and great customer support his seats are a huge value. THe image is the seat he built for me. It amazing in both comfort and build quality. Only problem is there's too much padding in the nose (close to the tank) but I'm sending it back to have him carve it down. It'll be a month or so before I get it back (he's booked for new builds into December) but it'll be worth the wait. His prices are subject to change of course but these cost $250 each (driver and passenger).

View attachment 74819

I have the regular suspension. When I purchased my bike, if I had known they make a RT with a lower suspension I would have purchased one of them. I will check out Terrys. Thanks.
 
My sweetie is pretty short, and we are considering Seth Laam for her seat. RDL would just be way too tall. We got her new bike with the low seat. It is definitely lower, but probably even less comfortable than stock.
I've not met a BMW factory seat yet, that is comfortable for any sort of extended riding. One of the great plusses to using a custom seat person, is that he can use a denser foam, and get more comfort, but not raise the seat height. Many say that the stock BMW foam is too soft, and that has a lot to do with the stock seat (lack of) comfort.
 
My sweetie is pretty short, and we are considering Seth Laam for her seat. RDL would just be way too tall. We got her new bike with the low seat. It is definitely lower, but probably even less comfortable than stock.
I've not met a BMW factory seat yet, that is comfortable for any sort of extended riding. One of the great plusses to using a custom seat person, is that he can use a denser foam, and get more comfort, but not raise the seat height. Many say that the stock BMW foam is too soft, and that has a lot to do with the stock seat (lack of) comfort.

My bike came with the stock height seat. it was comfortable enough for the 2 hours rides and commutes I was doing but it was too tall. I then got the BMW low seat and although the height is good for me, the seat is the most god awful uncomfortable seat. I regret purchasing this seat after about 45 minutes of riding in it. I will look into the Seth Laam seat. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
Well, I contacted Terry's Custom Seats and will anxiously await a response. thanks for the advice guys.

regards,

Jay
 
Yeah. I had that "extra-low" seat and it belonged in a medieval torture chamber not a motorcycle. Geez...my tailbone aches just thinking about it. But then again, I met a guy form Chicago at the rally that had one on his RT and he raved about it. He's probably one of a thousand but regardless, it does work for some people.

Terry reworked my seat (in just three days!) to improve ground reach. I'll post pictures when it gets here in the next couple of days. If it's good you can just tell him to make it like mine. Haha.
 
He reworked mine to improve ground reach. I'll post pictures when it gets here in the next couple of days. If it's good you can just tell him to make it like mine. Haha.

Yes, please post photos when you get yours in. So should I say can you make me a seat like Pappy's?
 
Well, I contacted Terry's Custom Seats and will anxiously await a response. thanks for the advice guys.

regards,

Jay

I just ordered a seat yesterday from Terry for my F800ST. It's going to be a 6 months wait. Evidently business is good.:(

Randy
 
I just ordered a seat yesterday from Terry for my F800ST. It's going to be a 6 months wait. Evidently business is good.:(

Randy

It'll be worth the wait. I originally ordered mine in December or January and got it right before he went on vacation in late May. It was too tall for me so I reached out to him about tweaking it after he got back. I expected a three month wait but he works these in when he can. I got it to him last week and it's already on the way back. He's a guy that takes his craft very seriously and it shows in both the product and how he responds to his customers.

He's got a Facebook page. Go check it out.
 
low seat

At the national rally I bought a Sargent seat. It didn't feel like much padding but (no pun ) they offered a 30 day trial. I was able to ride 550 miles on the way home in one day. I was
amazed at how good it felt. The trial period was a great opportunity and I feel I have a much better seat. I am about 5ft 7 and I can reach the road with both feet.
Ride Safe
Steve from Iowa
 
A friend recently purchased a 2008 R1200 RT. Last week we were together and I asked what he thought of the new, fourth bike in his stable. He loved it except for the height that made him feel insecure at stops, stopping on his tippy toes. Later that day I dropped of my boots, explaining that I wouldn't be riding that week and try them with the slight lift in the soles. Before trying my boots, he was thinking of trading the 1200 in on possibly after F800. He was amazed at how much the slight boot lift allowed his feet to reach the ground with no fear of dropping the bike at stops. A cheaper fix than either another bike or a new seat. :thumb

His boots are now in for an additional piece added to the sole and he plans on keeping that bike.
 
Here are a couple of pics of my Terry's Custom seat after he modified them to improve my reach to the ground. Awesome seat! If you are in the market for a custom, made to order seat, you won't find a better value or better customer support than Terry and Debi!

IMG_20190725_191846.jpgIMG_20190725_191838.jpg
 
Here are a couple of pics of my Terry's Custom seat after he modified them to improve my reach to the ground. Awesome seat! If you are in the market for a custom, made to order seat, you won't find a better value or better customer support than Terry and Debi!

View attachment 74952View attachment 74953

Al,
The seats looks great. Did it solve the reach problem? The next big question is, how comfortable are they on a extended ride? Thank you for sharing your opinion and the photos. I hopefully will be calling them to order a seat today some time.

Jay
 
Seat is ordered through Terry's Custom Seats. Come on mid to late January, because my butt cant wait.

Jay
 
I have 19 miles on it now and it's definitely the most immediately comfortable one of the four I've had: OEM, Extra Low Bench, BMW Comfort, and Sargent low (yes, I've been chasing comfort like a cheetah chasing a gazelle. haha). I'm going to do a 5 or 6 hour run tomorrow to get a better idea of long distance comfort.

I think I need to tweak the way it sits with this and maybe adding a shim to the aft mounts. The seat's nose area as initially delivered (under the arrow in this pic) was way too thick and made it completely unusable. Terry carved out all that foam and thinned it out a bit everywhere else. What I have now is a seat that's usable for me with my 29 inch inseam and that I can now do some tweaking to fine-tune it's comfort.

IMG_20190515_200837.jpg
 
I have 19 miles on it now and it's definitely the most immediately comfortable one of the four I've had: OEM, Extra Low Bench, BMW Comfort, and Sargent low (yes, I've been chasing comfort like a cheetah chasing a gazelle. haha). I'm going to do a 5 or 6 hour run tomorrow to get a better idea of long distance comfort.

I think I need to tweak the way it sits with this and maybe adding a shim to the aft mounts. The seat's nose area as initially delivered (under the arrow in this pic) was way too thick and made it completely unusable. Terry carved out all that foam and thinned it out a bit everywhere else. What I have now is a seat that's usable for me with my 29 inch inseam and that I can now do some tweaking to fine-tune it's comfort.

View attachment 74955

Al,
So how did your long ride test go?

Jay
 
It's a great seat. I did about 5 hours in the saddle after two days commuting on it and it went better than expected.
 
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