New seat

[danny357]

I just got back from a 1800 mile road trip over 4 days (my first ride). My backside is sore and was wondering about a more comfortable seat. I don't think I would take my wife on a long trip until I get a different seat. Could someone recommend a better long-trip touring seat?

 

[networkguy]

Well, this will probably get moved to NERPT, but, YMMV. There are alot of nice seats. Some love some and others hate the same one. It's really a YMMV situation.

I suggest you search for "seats"

 

[Ignacio]

See link in my signature.

 

[Duster19]

My quick response to this NERPT...

Had stock (sucked)score: 5/10

Corbin (was better than stock, but too slick when riding with wife) score:7/10

Rick Mayer (was better than Corbin and I used for several long rides)Score:8/10

Russell(I've had for about a month and it's already better than the rest)Score: 9+/10

Save your money and wait for the next group buy and get a Russell.

Dave

 

[Andyfjr]

I've got 250 miles on my Russell seat. I went for heavy duty and leather. I'm off to France next month so maybe a couple of thousand miles, will report back after trip. No complaints with early miles

 

[mab864]

I've tried a Sargent and a custom build from a local shop on the stock seat. Sargent was about a 6/10, custom 7/10. Now I have a Russell. It's the best farkle on my bike and I'd rate it 10/10. Way better than any other seat I've tried.

 

[fjrrider]

Heres an opinion from the other end of spectrum.

Comfort on the bike has much more to do with attitude and just wanting to be there. Your never gonna find a seat thats like your lazy boy at home, aint gonna happen. You cant sit in/on anything for more than several hours and not get uncomfortable.

For me.....after spending hours and hours on dirt bikes the FJR stock seat is like sitting in a tub of butter, its about perspective.

So unless you just got money burning a hole in your pocket and got to have a custom seat, focus your attention and funds else where on the bike for now, you got alot of miles to go to begin getting used to your bike!

 

[Bounce]

It's about how you ride first and the seat second. If you never do many days longer than about 500 miles then a semi-custom seat or one of the after market "rack" seats might work. The premier seat is still Russell for a reason. A few 1500+ mile days and you'll know.

While the thread may not be never ending. It might not be pointless. It is recurring, so I moved it.

 

[ctfjr]

It's about how you ride first and the seat second. If you never do many days longer than about 500 miles then a semi-custom seat or one of the after market "rack" seats might work. The premier seat is still Russell for a reason. A few 1500+ mile days and you'll know.

While the thread may not be never ending. It might not be pointless. It is recurring, so I moved it.

I have ridden a whole bunch of different 2 wheelers in the last 45 years - from a 175 Lambretta to GL1800. I never had a custom seat for any of them except the FJR. I flew from Connecticut to Alabama to buy it, then rode home via St Louis (where I met Knifemaker & Mrs Knifemaker). One 600 mile day convinced me on that ride.

I also went for the Russell - based on comments like you see in this thread. I have no experience with other custom seats so I can't comment on them. I can tell you I ride all day & never think about my ***. That's the test.

I don't agree with those that say its a mind thing. Its an *** thing. I've done my share of 1000+ mile days and I can tell you that an uncomfortable seat really sucks about 650 miles into a long day.

 

[ricks.06]

Heres an opinion from the other end of spectrum.

Comfort on the bike has much more to do with attitude and just wanting to be there. Your never gonna find a seat thats like your lazy boy at home, aint gonna happen. You cant sit in/on anything for more than several hours and not get uncomfortable.

For me.....after spending hours and hours on dirt bikes the FJR stock seat is like sitting in a tub of butter, its about perspective.

So unless you just got money burning a hole in your pocket and got to have a custom seat, focus your attention and funds else where on the bike for now, you got alot of miles to go to begin getting used to your bike!

Agree totally. Sitting on your *** for 800 miles a day sucks even in a cage, much less on a bike. I have done several 12 hour days on all different types of bikes and it really is about attitude. You can have fun and be relatively comfortable on anything if you're having fun.

 

[mab864]

Although I've only had 3 different street bikes, I can tell you that the FJR had by far the most uncomfortable stock seat for my HQ. But different people have different anatomy. My ischeal tuberosities (sit bones) are very prominent. I needed the extra support of the spring in the Russell seat. Now I don't even think about the seat. It's a non-issue. The stock seat was pure misery after a couple hundred miles. No mind games or fun attitude would have overcome the pain and sciatica caused by the stock seat. The OP was asking for recommendations on a more comfortable long-trip touring seat after an 1800 mile trip. He wasn't asking for help with his attitude

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

Hard to believe motorcyclists ever toured anywhere before the days of $500 ~ $800 custom seats...!

How'd they do it...?

 

[Techru]

Hard to believe motorcyclists ever toured anywhere before the days of $500 ~ $800 custom seats...!

How'd they do it...?

How? With sore *****!! When you don't have options, you deal with it. Luckily, we have options.

I also did a fly and drive. And I extended the return trip to make it more fun. So, even though I was excited about the new bike, and then excited to have the ability to take it to some of the best roads in the country, in the mountains of NC, TN & VA., my *** was still sore at the end of each day.

Since then, I have replaced the stock with a Sargent. I agree with others. For me, the stock is a 4/10. The Sargent is a solid 7/10. Of course, I want that 10/10, so I believe that I will get a Russell some time in the future. But since most of my rides are going to be less than 500 miles, I think the Sargent will fit the bill nicely for now.

 

[TXFJR]

I know this will initially seem like it's "beating a dead horse", but I believe it has merit. I have searched all the posts that I can find regarding seats and lowering height. They all seem to have a common pattern, the input (although well intentioned) seems to revolve around LD comfort and also to lowering the bike with aftermarket links.

Being that I am one of many "vertically challenged" people that own FJRs, I want to enjoy my bike and feel more in control in parking lots and while trying to back this monster up! NOT that I think comfort is irrelevant, it's just that for people like me that value a lower riding height over all else, comfort takes a (no pun intended) a "back seat". With the right M/C boots, I am probably an inch or two from being able to "flat foot" the bike. So, I want to attack this by means of lowering seat height first, and then move to more drastic measures.

I have already received good advice on how to modify the stock seat pan to gain just under an inch, and I plan on sending my stock seat to Spencer (FL) for mods that should give just under 1". I was going to order a Corbin seat, but I put those plans on hold not because of comfort issues, but because I want to spend my money wisely and find out if there is someone out there that can modify the seat or sells a seat that will meet my needs.

This is my question: REGARDLESS of LD or even medium distance comfort, who makes the absolute lowest seat or can modify the stock seat the lowest?