Who would you want to make your next seat?

[Indian Scout]

Thumbs down on a C-Bailey seat. :angry2:

Who sent you there?

I was there getting a windshield, which are very good, and let them talk me into letting them do my seat.

Now I have to bite the bullet and either have Bill Mayer or Russel redo it. By the time I get finished it will be one expense seat.

 

[Feejer/Weejer man]

I had a Rick Mayer, a Corbin and then the Russell on my FJR. All by ride in. The Mayer first, a re- do then a sale. Corbin used my FRJ for a prototype and got a free seat on a ride in. sold it within 500 miles as I knew it would never break in as hard as it was. Then the Russell. Never have had a better saddle for those extra long days. Hell even the short days feel good.

With that said I thought the look of the Russell would not fit the look of the ugly little Wee Strom. So back in Feb. I had a week turn around by Bill Mayer. I will say it is comfy but not as comfy as the Russell on the FJR. But still very nice.

 

[shuttle1988]

Bill Mayer.

Do a ride-in if you can. Great service, nice people, excellent quality, very comfortable. From making the call to getting a ride-in appointment was less than two weeks. You get to test ride and they make adjustments until it's perfect. They really seem to care that they get it right. Very happy with mine.

 

[2006FJR]

My #1 Seat: RussellMy #2 Seat: Bill Mayer

My #3 Seat: Rick Mayer

My #4 Seat: Sargent

My #5 Seat: Corbin

For now it seems Russell is running away with the #1 tittle and I sit here with a Russell order form all filled out and ready to go. I have called them and received a production start date of Sept. 27th.

I was wondering, all you Russell fans, which cover is your choice. There are four: all Vinyl, Vinyl with velour, vinyl with leather, or all leather?

I ride mostly in the USA

I am sure I want a Russell after this post and I am in the same boat. I think I am leaning towards all leather with the heat option for both driver and passanger.

 

[Bounce]

I need to get a seat and right now I am leaning towards a Russell ... but I wish there was a lower-cost alternative.

things in this world that are "truly custom" are seldom cheap. knives, guns, cars, bikes. if that are ground-up custom built (expecially if built to customer specifications) they tend to run into some cash. in the case of moto seats, you can spend much more than the price of a Russell seat trying to avoid buying a Russell seat.

btw: with 2 Russell's i've had a velour and vinyl seat on a bi gassed GL1500 Wing and it wasn't as comfy as the smaller territory available on the FJR. the difference was being sure to explain to them what i didn't like about the OEM seat and choosing all leather for the FJR.

 

[EasyRider]

I wanted to go with a Russell seat based on advice I got on this board at the end of June.

I gave the Russell shop a call and much to my disappointment, they told me I could not get my FJR seat done till the end of August.

I went with a Bill Mayer seat instead because he got mine in almost right away.

I drive for a living as a private chauffeur for an investment banker between NYC and Connecticut. I have to use a Tempur-pedic memory foam office chair pad to make it through the day in the German sedan I spend a lot of seat time in. So part of my problem with the bike seat may be that I already have a lot of seat time five days a week for work.

I told Bill Mayer’s shop my butt doesn’t have much natural padding on my flat tail end and I need a soft seating area for my pelvis touch down spots. I told them a hard seat will not work for me. They told me they would choose the foam density based on my weight.

I got the seat back and found that is was harder than stock before I even got it on the bike.

It feels like a peace of wood to my buns. I could only take about 50 miles of it before I was getting very sore and had to head home.

I tried this three more time with about 50 mile each time with the same results. I use the right under garments and powder. I don’t get monkey but, just a sore butt from sitting on a hard surface.

Out of desperation, I ordered an Air Hawk motorcycle seat pad to bail me out if I got far from home with the new seat and got to sore to get home.

After getting the new pad, I headed out with out using the pad for a long run. I got about 75 miles from home before I had to give up and break out the AirHawk pad. I just can not take the break in period any longer. I said to my self, no friggin way I am putting up with this for a minute loner. It was a choice of getting the bike towed home or use the pad.

I pulled out the AirHawk pad for the rest of the day. My butt felt much better immediately. It slowly recovered from the hash pain over the rest of the day as I put on another 250 miles in during the rest of the day.

I put on another 350 miles two days latter with the Air Hawk on the bike from the start. I never got sore at all that day. I was comfortable all day with not butt soreness at all.

If possible, I would rather not use a pad. I hope I can get a soft enough seat down the road so I can skip having a pad on the bike.

I have no doubt that the Bill Mayer seat works very well for 99 percent of their customers. It looks like a really well made quality product. My rear end just can’t handle a long break-in period on a hard foam seat before it conforms to my shape. And I also just don’t want to sit on a hard surface no matter how well shaped it is for my butt.

I might try the Russell seat later in the fall if they can assure me I don’t have to feel like I am on a wood board for a 1,500 mile break in period before I get some relief.

 

[2006FJR]

I wanted to go with a Russell seat based on advice I got on this board at the end of June.
I gave the Russell shop a call and much to my disappointment, they told me I could not get my FJR seat done till the end of August.

I went with a Bill Mayer seat instead because he got mine in almost right away.

I drive for a living as a private chauffeur for an investment banker between NYC and Connecticut. I have to use a Tempur-pedic memory foam office chair pad to make it through the day in the German sedan I spend a lot of seat time in. So part of my problem with the bike seat may be that I already have a lot of seat time five days a week for work.

I told Bill Mayer’s shop my butt doesn’t have much natural padding on my flat tail end and I need a soft seating area for my pelvis touch down spots. I told them a hard seat will not work for me. They told me they would choose the foam density based on my weight.

I got the seat back and found that is was harder than stock before I even got it on the bike.

It feels like a peace of wood to my buns. I could only take about 50 miles of it before I was getting very sore and had to head home.

I tried this three more time with about 50 mile each time with the same results. I use the right under garments and powder. I don’t get monkey but, just a sore butt from sitting on a hard surface.

Out of desperation, I ordered an Air Hawk motorcycle seat pad to bail me out if I got far from home with the new seat and got to sore to get home.

After getting the new pad, I headed out with out using the pad for a long run. I got about 75 miles from home before I had to give up and break out the AirHawk pad. I just can not take the break in period any longer. I said to my self, no friggin way I am putting up with this for a minute loner. It was a choice of getting the bike towed home or use the pad.

I pulled out the AirHawk pad for the rest of the day. My butt felt much better immediately. It slowly recovered from the hash pain over the rest of the day as I put on another 250 miles in during the rest of the day.

I put on another 350 miles two days latter with the Air Hawk on the bike from the start. I never got sore at all that day. I was comfortable all day with not butt soreness at all.

If possible, I would rather not use a pad. I hope I can get a soft enough seat down the road so I can skip having a pad on the bike.

I have no doubt that the Bill Mayer seat works very well for 99 percent of their customers. It looks like a really well made quality product. My rear end just can’t handle a long break-in period on a hard foam seat before it conforms to my shape. And I also just don’t want to sit on a hard surface no matter how well shaped it is for my butt.

I might try the Russell seat later in the fall if they can assure me I don’t have to feel like I am on a wood board for a 1,500 mile break in period before I get some relief.

Have you considered using there return policy? h34r:

 

[Hotshock]

Tried the Rick Mayer on a ride-in, and after sending it back for a re-do, it still did not meet my expectations. So based on a few's advice here, I gave the other brother Bill Mayer a try and he did ONE OUTSTANDING JOB conforming that seat to my scrawny little ***. I am a very happy Bill Mayer customer.
Obviously Russell is top notch also, but they are a bit more $$$, and frankly they kind of piss me off with how they charge extra for a ride-in. Still, wouldn't mind trying one of their seats one day.

I have had a Bill Mayer Saddle for over 3 years on my 04 FJR and love it ( get Leather!) . Now that the bike has been crashed the seat is for sale.

Rocky at BMS does a great job and is nice guy.

Richard L. [email protected]

 

[El Toro]

As a person who is a solid 4+ day one way ride/drive from Corbin, either Mayer, or Russell, my preference is for Sargent. I'm a day from Sargent, and they've really treated me very well. I've bought their stock seats for a couple of bikes, and I've had them do a custom seat for me on a third bike. All of these seats have turned out to make the seat a non-issue on longish rides.

I've also had some Corbin seats. I got along real well with those too. What pushed me over to Sargent was that Sargent was much easier for the custom job I needed, and once I had the first Sargent seat, I liked the experience, and stopped buying Corbins.

Both Sargent and Corbin are using a very firm type of foam. I am a heavy guy and I seem to break the firm foam in within a few hundred miles. Lighter people seem to have more trouble with this.

I'd like to do a ride in with either of the Mayers some time on some future bike, or maybe let Russell do a seat for me.... just to see if I would like them even better, but once a seat is pushed back into the non-issue category, its hard to rationalize a lot of extra travel or expense to get an even better one. This might not be true for guys who want to ride 11,000+ miles per week.

Tractor companies can make good seats that are comfortable for all day operation, and these seats aren't that expensive. Why can't motorcycle companies make stock seats that are just as good? Its a mystery to me.

 

[Bounce]

My #1 Seat: RussellMy #2 Seat: Bill Mayer

My #3 Seat: Rick Mayer

My #4 Seat: Sargent

My #5 Seat: Corbin

close to my opinion too except with these changes.

My #1 Seat: Russell

My #2 Seat: Bill Mayer

the others wouldn't even be on my radar screen. i'd contact Rich's in the Seattle area before those others.

 

[vol210]

Rich has made three seats for three different bikes for me. Although the FJR was the most difficult to get right. Spent almost 12 hours at the shop getting it done & redone. He probably knows my butt better than I .... no, wait that doesn't sound right :huh:

 

[Warchild]

Wow, ancient thread resurrection! :blink:

Based upon previous work I have seen from Rick Mayer, I went with him went it came time to address the Hayabusa last summer.

Here's a few shots of Rick Mayer's transformation of the stock Hayabusa seat into a true Iron Butt Rally seat..... his work here is what allowed me to put 25,000 miles on this seat in 4 months. Here is Rick Mayer working on my stock seat pan, trimming away some excess foam:

Here he is cutting my basket-weave vinyl seat cover - all by hand - while the Busa sets waiting in the background:

And... the final result!!

Seats are about as subjective as tires.... and almost qualify for NERPT. In any one thread, you will hear people rave about a seatmaker, while others denigrate the same seatmaker. It's all about choices.

You should probably note that Rick Mayer, Bill Mayer, Russell, Rich's, etc are *true* custom seatmakers. Corbin and Sargent are not; they are cookie-cutter seats. The latter can still work fine for some, but not for others. If you're going to drop coin on a seat, it might as well be shaped specifically for you.

 

[Kromm]

It looks like I am part of a Minority, I vote for the Corbin. But I haven't tried any of the other seats either so I guess my pick is biased. I have always had Corbin seats on my bikes, (since there only about 90 min from where I live might have something to do with it). I am 6'2" with a 36" inseam. I had Corbin "customize" my seat. Their normal practice is to lower the pilot approx 2 inches from stock if you just order it "off the self". I had them "beef it up" to to Stock Height. Which they do with extra padding. My Corbin Seat is as cushy as the stock seat and very comfortable. I have heard of some real horror stories about Corbin, but for me they have always been very good. I think that might come from me communicating with them exactly what I want in my seat when I order it.

 

[Geezer]

I think it depends at least in part on how you will use the seat, and bike it is attached to. If you are into long distance riding then I believe that Russell is the way to go. It is big and, after some adjusting, very comfortable. I use a Russell on my FJR. It is great for 1000+ mile days, but the furniture type suspension with a spring and board in the seat gives different feedback in the twisties than a more solid foam seat.

I do enjoy long days in the saddle, and sometimes ride several long days on a row, but I also enjor the mountain roads and sometimes even like to wick it up and push my limits. If I were to do it over, I'd try the Bill Mayer. I have seen a few of his seats and the riders really like them. I think they are better for aggressive riding because they don't have their own suspension springs built in, and also pretty comfy for long rides, just not quite as comfy as the Russell.

 

[El Toro]

Seats are about as subjective as tires.... and almost qualify for NERPT. In any one thread, you will hear people rave about a seatmaker, while others denigrate the same seatmaker. It's all about choices.
You should probably note that Rick Mayer, Bill Mayer, Russell, Rich's, etc are *true* custom seatmakers. Corbin and Sargent are not; they are cookie-cutter seats. The latter can still work fine for some, but not for others. If you're going to drop coin on a seat, it might as well be shaped specifically for you.

Overall I agree with everything Dale said and defer to him as the master of long distance riding, but I might characterize Russell, the Mayer's, Rich's as "boutique saddle builders" because Sargent will also build you a *true* custom seat even though they also mass produce stuff.

Bill at Sargent will work with you on a ride-in and make a customized seat for you from a stock seat pan, just like other "true custom" seatmakers noted above. He won't do it while you wait, but he will generally have it done within a few weeks during the season, and maybe shorter in the off season.

Sargent will also work with you on modifications to their stock seats (which are built on their own seat pans). You can ask them to improve performance in specific areas, and they'll make modifications to try to achieve good results. No one else can do anything more than this to make something more custom.

There is a limit to just how much you can build up the periphery of many OEM stock seat pans. The seat pans that Sargent makes in-house for their mass produced aftermarket seats are more versatile and allow greater peripheral support as a rule. FWIW, it costs Sargent more than $100,000 to get set up for a particular bike with the development and manufacture of the molds. Its a major investment.

Corbin supposedly has a custom ride in capability to build a seat on an OEM stock seat pan at their California facility. I was directed to it by their phone monkeys once, but the follow up phone call did not breed confidence in the service, and I did not try it. They do not have any custom capability at their Ormand Beach facility (that's just a sales outlet).

My experience with Corbin has been that they say they will work with you to customize or fix a seat, but an awful lot of folks aren't that impressed with Corbin's ability to fix problems with their stock seats. My own experience is that when I talk to folks at Corbin, they're most comfortable taking a part number for an order, and less comfortable discussing options for fixing or developing a custom seat. FWIW, Corbin makes their own seat pans for their aftermarket seats, and if you like a firm, tractor style seat, and you're not too picky about the portion that contacts your thighs, a Corbin could be OK for you. I've had a couple of them, and they were good for me, even after 18 hours in the saddle.

 

[McRide]

This kind of a sore spot with me... I did the day trip to Ojai to Bill 'Rocky' Mayer for a custom seat based on good feedback on this forum. What was supposed to be a 4 hour, in by 8 out by noon, took 9 hours. Granted there were some test rides included. The guys are very nice and want to carve the best seat possible. Unforetunately, and probably my fault for not explaining my butt configuration better (it's big, round, split down the middle and just above my legs) we never got it right. I was constantly slipping forward into the tank. Kind of like getting a front-side wedgy. Ouch! After 2 or 3 reshapes, I took it as is, after asking them to seriously shape down a nut pocket very near the front, at the tank. Rocky was pissed and lamented that he had never had to go to this extreme. Huh? As I rode home back to San Diego 4 hours I felt I had been dupped. The seat was basically a Harley setup assuming all the weight was on the back of the butt, where on the FJR, at least the way I ride, my weight is more on the top joint of my legs. I, and probably you, don't sit down 'in' the seat, you sit 'on' the seat. There is a big difference between the FJR and a lowrider. The seat also had edge beading right where the weight resides. To even have beads in that spot tells me Mayer did'nt really understand the FJR seat at all. I have taken it apart and added and re-shaped. It's perfect.