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Thread: 2016 GTL Exclusive OE Extra Tall Seat vs. Aftermarket Seat

  1. #1
    Swanee swanee53's Avatar
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    2016 GTL Exclusive OE Extra Tall Seat vs. Aftermarket Seat

    I just picked up a new-to-me 2016 K1600GTL Exclusive with the OE Standard height seat. At 6' 3" and a 34+" inseam I feel like I'm sitting in a hole. The dealer tells me the OE Extra Tall replacement seat would be perfect. But, before I drop $1,000 on a factory seat, are there any better aftermarket options?
    Steve Swanson
    BMW MOA #92277

  2. #2
    IBA# 5819 61996's Avatar
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    Also 6'3" and 34".
    I went with the Sargent option.
    Fits me fine but I also lowered the pegs.

    Joe
    “Fate whispers to the warrior, 'You cannot withstand the storm.'
    The warrior whispers back, 'I am the storm.'

  3. #3
    #13338 PGlaves's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by swanee53 View Post
    I just picked up a new-to-me 2016 K1600GTL Exclusive with the OE Standard height seat. At 6' 3" and a 34+" inseam I feel like I'm sitting in a hole. The dealer tells me the OE Extra Tall replacement seat would be perfect. But, before I drop $1,000 on a factory seat, are there any better aftermarket options?
    Any of the quality seat builders can add height to a stock seat during a rebuild. Going shorter is the hard part. And virtually all of them can do it for less $$$ than the BMW tall seat.
    Paul Glaves - "Big Bend", Texas U.S.A
    "The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution." - Bertrand Russell
    http://web.bigbend.net/~glaves/

  4. #4
    Swanee swanee53's Avatar
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    Well, since I'm keen on keeping things as close to OE as possible (in this case, matching seat material with back and arm rest material), I went with the BMW OE Extra Tall seat, finding it for almost $400 off the $1,035 BMW List price my dealer, Engle Motors, and Bob's BMW both quoted me. Sierra BMW in Reno, NV, sold it to me for $665, delivered. And that's $100 less than Sargent quoted, as well.
    It was a breeze to retrofit, completely opposite the forum threads I found complaining about the difficulty of the electrical connector and needing to take the seat to the dealer for lock tumbler R&R. It took me 5 minutes, total.
    And boy, is the seating position a world of difference. Instead of feeling as though I'm squatting in a hole with my knees above my hips, I'm riding "on" the bike now, not "in" it.
    Steve Swanson
    BMW MOA #92277

  5. #5
    Registered User
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    im only 5-11 and found my 2016 gtle seat very low, my wife who is only 5-2 hated not having me block the wind on her. being cheap i bought a fuzzy seat pad that is gel which raised me about a inch.

    maybe someday i will buy another seat but suspect it will be attached to a new bike....so for now this is a solution that has worked.
    2016 K1600 GTLE
    previous 2013 Kawi 1400

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