Gen II Seat advice

[cyclemed]

Hi there:

Looking for custom seat advice for my Gen II 2006. I am 5'6" on a good day and weight about 180. Ok, so I have a gut and 29" inseam. Looking for comfortable seat and possibly going lower so stopping is not such a scary thing. I know there's Bill Mayer, Rick Mayer, Russell, Corbin, etc. Anyone of my size and weight have a preference as I'd rather go at this with some proven stats.

Thanks,

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

Hi there:
Looking for custom seat advice for my Gen II 2006. I am 5'6" on a good day and weight about 180. Ok, so I have a gut and 29" inseam. Looking for comfortable seat and possibly going lower so stopping is not such a scary thing. I know there's Bill Mayer, Rick Mayer, Russell, Corbin, etc. Anyone of my size and weight have a preference as I'd rather go at this with some proven stats.

Thanks,

It's almost like asking what oil you should buy. Many have favorites. There is usually a Russel group buy every Fall if you can wait. Search old (very long) seat threads by brand, and you will get a lot of info. Good reading on a lazy day.

 

[strike3]

Hi there:
Looking for custom seat advice for my Gen II 2006. I am 5'6" on a good day and weight about 180. Ok, so I have a gut and 29" inseam. Looking for comfortable seat and possibly going lower so stopping is not such a scary thing. I know there's Bill Mayer, Rick Mayer, Russell, Corbin, etc. Anyone of my size and weight have a preference as I'd rather go at this with some proven stats.

Thanks,

It's almost like asking what oil you should buy. Many have favorites. There is usually a Russel group buy every Fall if you can wait. Search old (very long) seat threads by brand, and you will get a lot of info. Good reading on a lazy day.

Russell seat is great but Like me I am only 5'7" and it will raise your seat height about an inch, but you also will never again complain that your butt hurts. So choice your poison, I would rather be comfortable while I am riding then worry about being on my tip toes while stopped. If you get the russell seat I also suggest you buy the helibars( group buy happening right now).

 

[DaSpyda]

Corbin with front sectioned shaved does it for me.

5'8" with 29' inseam, 235 lbs

I'm on the balls of my feet, with good boots. Flatfoot with 130lb passenger on hard rear shock setting.

 

[Duff]

Hi there:
Looking for custom seat advice for my Gen II 2006. I am 5'6" on a good day and weight about 180. Ok, so I have a gut and 29" inseam. Looking for comfortable seat and possibly going lower so stopping is not such a scary thing. I know there's Bill Mayer, Rick Mayer, Russell, Corbin, etc. Anyone of my size and weight have a preference as I'd rather go at this with some proven stats.

Thanks,

IMHO, a Bill Mayer could help you.

When I got my seat finished, it actually raised my sitting height, but allowed my legs to reach the ground better. It's all about the cut at the front. I'm taller than you, but you could reap the same benefits. They were a breeze to work with and let me come back until I was satisfied.

There are group buys from time-to-time, but there is nothing like the comfort of a good seat during the riding season.

 

[johndaub]

There are group buys from time-to-time, but there is nothing like the comfort of a good seat during the riding season.

Actually, there has only been one Bill Mayer group buy a year ago. I got on it and am happy but only have the stock torture rack to compare to. It raised the seat an inch and I use the higher seat setting and am not flat footed. Fortunately, my inseam is 33". I think they raised the seat an inch based on my measurements since some have claimed that their Bill Mayers are the same as stock or a half inch lower.

 

[Rick_W]

Howard,

I'm 5'10", 175 lbs, 32" inseam.

I generally have little problems putting 500 miles a day on the stock seat. With that said, I can really feel the foam start giving out under my thighs at about 350-400 miles.

Making an additional 200 miles the day after a 650 mile day was not comfortable.

I just sent my seat off to Spencer's Moto Care (www.greatdaytoride.com). For $75 he reshaped the seat slightly with different foam and added the Supracor "LD" upgrade. It took 5 days to get from my local UPS store to him and back to my house. He can lower the seat also.

I hope to get out and ride tomorrow for a quick test, otherwise it will be next weekend. Have heard & read lots of good reports about this mod.

 

[rushes]

I've been wafflin' on who to let rework my seat ever since I got the bike...

I think I'm gonna try Spencer just because I've heard a lot of good and nothing bad, and his price seems more reasonable...

 

[TCMike]

A Russel custom saved my ass. Took a 3000 mile trip on it last fall, with very little discomfort. Wouldn't have even thought of taking the trip with the stock seat.

The seat was a bit higher, but not bad. I'm 5'10, with a 31" inseam. I'd call Russel, or Mayer to discuss your height issue, and maybe they can save your ass too.

 

[Jon]

I have a 29" inseam and tried a Rick Mayer seat because Rick said he could make a lower seat that was still comfortable. After two tries at it, he could not. He did take the seat back but I had a very difficult time getting a refund from him. I suggest you try others.

What I ended up doing was modifying the seat pan and the side, but not top, foam. This lowered the seat almost an inch without compromising the comfort one bit.

I made a .pdf of my seat mods and would be happy to email you a copy if you want. PM me if you do.

Jon

 

[Rick_W]

Just a quick update on my Spencer seat:

On my 25 mile ride to work I can no longer feel the high RPM vibes coming through the seat, a very noticeable difference.

Softer is not always better though so I will be taking a little 150 mile (one-way) road-trip tomorrow for lunch.

Temps are supposed to get up in the mid 50's. :coolsmiley02:

 

[Spook]

Just a quick update on my Spencer seat:
On my 25 mile ride to work I can no longer feel the high RPM vibes coming through the seat, a very noticeable difference.

Softer is not always better though so I will be taking a little 150 mile (one-way) road-trip tomorrow for lunch.

Temps are supposed to get up in the mid 50's. :coolsmiley02:

AND?????????

 

[Rick_W]

Spook,

Sorry for the delay.

I put a little over 300 miles on the FJR Saturday and I have absolutely no complaints on the Spencer mod.

No hot spots - no sharp edges - no muscle fatigue. While I was originally planning on buying a sheepskin "just in case", I am not going to do it now - I am that happy with the seat.

Time will tell if 500+ mile days will leave me with the same feelings, but I am really looking forward to putting some longer rides on this seat.

 

[Spook]

Spook,
Sorry for the delay.

I put a little over 300 miles on the FJR Saturday and I have absolutely no complaints on the Spencer mod.

No hot spots - no sharp edges - no muscle fatigue. While I was originally planning on buying a sheepskin "just in case", I am not going to do it now - I am that happy with the seat.

Time will tell if 500+ mile days will leave me with the same feelings, but I am really looking forward to putting some longer rides on this seat.

Thanks that is good to hear. I am over all very happy with mine stock in fact it fits me better then my 87 Venture did. I do start to get the burn toward the end of the day now so hopefully this will push that off another couple of hours. Looking to get er done in the next few weeks.

 

[GPRIDER]

I couldn't tell much difference at all after I sent my seat to spencer. I finally decided to try to modify it myself. When I took the cover off, I saw that all they had done was remove the foam from the pan and cut a small area of foam out of the bottom and put some of the Supracore stuff in there. No other mods were done. I was not impressed. No other mods were made, Might have took all of 10 minutes to do it. Not worth $75 in my opinion.

I ended up carefully cutting it down with an electric knife, then sanding down any rough edges. Got it down about an inch and just a little flatter without the forward cant. Works pretty good with an Alaskan sheep skin. I'll go for a good custom seat when I can get close enough to do a ride in. My experience with ordering a seat from Rick Mayer didn't work out very good on my old 04 either. Sent it back twice and still didn't get it right. I'll wait for a ride in to get the next one right, whoever does it.

GP

 

[Rick_W]

Thanks that is good to hear. I am over all very happy with mine stock in fact it fits me better then my 87 Venture did. I do start to get the burn toward the end of the day now so hopefully this will push that off another couple of hours. Looking to get er done in the next few weeks.

Everyone's butt is different. :dntknw:

I put 26K miles on my Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Classic with a stock seat in 23 months. My longest one-day ride was 650 miles and it was painful! I used a sheepskin after that and only had one day that exceeded 400 miles, and that was still a lot of pain.

I didn't have many issues with the stock FJR seat either - primary problem being the foam would breakdown after 500 or so miles. I have duty this weekend and I have to travel next week, but I plan on making an extended ride (400-500 miles) the following weekend.

I'll post my experiences after that ride.

 

[terrebandit]

Whats the skinny on the Corbin for the 2nd Gen? I noticed its not adjustable like the Sargent or stock seat. I have had Corbins on several other bikes and have been very satisfied.

 

[Spook]

Thanks that is good to hear. I am over all very happy with mine stock in fact it fits me better then my 87 Venture did. I do start to get the burn toward the end of the day now so hopefully this will push that off another couple of hours. Looking to get er done in the next few weeks.

Everyone's butt is different. :dntknw:

I put 26K miles on my Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Classic with a stock seat in 23 months. My longest one-day ride was 650 miles and it was painful! I used a sheepskin after that and only had one day that exceeded 400 miles, and that was still a lot of pain.

I didn't have many issues with the stock FJR seat either - primary problem being the foam would breakdown after 500 or so miles. I have duty this weekend and I have to travel next week, but I plan on making an extended ride (400-500 miles) the following weekend.

I'll post my experiences after that ride.

Been a long time since I have been out VA way used to be stationed down at Northwest the NavCams station down on the NC boarder in the great dismal swamp. Shot high power rifle competition over on the coast south of VA beach.