The benefits of a custom motorcycle seat
Editor’s note: Dave Wensveen is a long-time, long-distance motorcycle rider. As editor-at-large Ted Edwards’ cousin, life-long friend and riding partner, Dave has participated in many a ride and review for Road Dirt. In this Dave’s first “solo” review, he shares his insights and impressions of a custom built Sargent seat, after 3000 miles on the fresh foam. Is a custom seat really worth the investment? Read on.
My butt knows seats. Having accumulated over 60,000 miles of riding on a wide variety of butt pans and piling up 7,000 to 10,000 miles a year on every seat from stock to Corbin to Russel Day Long, I can attest to the benefits of a custom motorcycle seat. When I got my new (to me) 2023 Suzuki GSX S 1000 GT I was again in the market for a custom seat. After giving the Suzuki’s stock seat a fair chance of 1000 miles, my hindquarters told me it was time to find another custom seat. But which one to get? Sargent Cycle stepped up and shipped me their custom seat for my sport tourer.
Build quality of the Sargent seat is impressive compared to the stock setup. Sargent builds their own seat pans and the pan feels extremely solid and well-constructed while the upholstery material has a premium look and texture that outclasses the OEM appearance and quality. The seat is beautiful and helps keep the bike looking sharp with a custom logo on the pillion seat. Stitching is clean and consistent with custom color options available from some bikes, and the carbon style seating panels add a modern, high-end finish without looking overly flashy.
The Sargent seat strikes a good blend of custom looks while also blending into the contours and colors of the motorcycle. Seat fabric has been durable for thousands of miles, is waterproof in the rain (tested that one, unfortunately) and virtually maintenance free.
After 2,000 miles on the Sargent the seat foam started to conform slightly to my riding position, making it noticeably more comfortable on long days. Although Sargent states there is no break-in period, I felt the seat had conformed to my bottom and became more comfortable after multiple days of several hundred miles. Wider seat dimensions make it more comfortable, about 2 inches wider than the stock seat. While that doesn’t sound like much, there is limited seating room on a motorcycle and every inch makes a significant difference on your comfort level for those 300+ mile days. However, with any seat, the real secret is the foam.
Seat foam is what separates a custom seat from stock. Sargent goes to great lengths to make sure there are no seams in the foam to create pressure points. Image by Sargent Cycle.
Sargent calls their foam Super Cell Atomic Foam. It’s a fancy title and it’s firmer than stock, not even close to as firm as a Corbin Seat but not as soft as Russel Day Long. Sargent’s seat foam is a perfect Goldilocks- not too firm, not too soft, just right. Their Central Pressure-Relief Channel also aids comfort. You can actually see it after breaking in the seat, although I do wish I wasn’t able to see it, as I feel it takes away some of the beauty of the seat.
Central Pressure Relief Channel is visible here as the light colored strip in the center of the seat. Details like this are not typically present in stock seats and make the Sargent more comfortable for longer rides.
If you are a budget guy, a stock seat may work for you for a time. But if you ever put more than two hours in the saddle, or ride for multiple days, then spend the money for a custom seat. After trying out many seats from multiple manufacturers for many years and tens of thousands of miles, my expert butt can testify that a Sargent seat will comfortably extend the miles you can ride. Any seat that can do that is worth every cent.
Some days on the Suzuki GSX-S 1000 GT have been over 400 miles. Sargent’s seat has made them doable. It is never coming off my bike.
What are your thoughts, impressions, questions or experiences with custom motorcycle seats? With Sargent in particular? Share them in the comments below.
For more on Sargent’s full line of motorcycle seats, check them out here:
Dave Wensveen
*Please visit our sponsors, below and above this article. Like we so often say, they help us keep the lights on.
0 Comments