Guest TripleH Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 (edited) Let me just say, thanks to this forum I have learned the Sargent seat is a very good option for the VFR, if not the best option, and I have read over and over an an aftermarket seat is a good upgrade for those who ride longer distances, so I have decided to go for it. I contacted Sargent and so far I have been blown away by the customer service I have received from Paul. I had questions about the 2-piece seat because I don't run a passenger and I did not want to buy both seat sections, I always use the cowl. His reply was great, I could just buy the forward section. How cool! Next came the whole material question, and Paul quickly volunteered to send me samples as they do not have good pics posted of all the material options. I received them today and shared the following thoughts/questions with him today. __________ Carbon F/X and Smooth K-015 are a no way, they just don't speak to me. This leaves me between Allante and K-02, I understand Allante is twenty bucks more, but for this conversation lets ignore that, twenty bucks one way or the other does not matter to me, I just want to get the best seat for me. I could live with either one of the textures, but what I notice is Allante seems a bit more stretchy than K-02. Is this extra stretch a positive or a negative? Is Allante more likely to sag out of shape over time? Is K-02 going to offer less comfort because it is less stretchy? Is Allante really worth the extra twenty and if so why? Can you speak to the differences, pluses/negatives, of these two materials? __________ I can't wait for his reply, and of course I'll update with new and pics as soon as I have them 2000VFR GEN5- love it, not only yellow, but screams with gears Edited March 31, 2012 by TripleH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer MaxSwell Posted March 31, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted March 31, 2012 I bought a Sargent (lightly used) from a VFRD member and I like it. It has a faux carbon look. I do not know what material it is but it is slippery under my Aerostich. Works great with leather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monk Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 IMO. I'd go with the "less is best" for comfort as far as the stitching goes ...... Two areas to watch, bottom of butt, and inside thigh. If you think the thigh seams will rub, then till them so the can shim out that area ......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted March 31, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted March 31, 2012 I have the carbon fx material and also find it a bit slippery with textile - fine with leather. I had mine modified to remove the sharp line at the edge (which dug in to the leg) and also had the blue foam shaved down and 2 progressive layers of softer foam added - WAY more comfortable - no more hot spots on the sit bones. I should be able to go all day on it now. I wish I could say the same for the customer service - my experience with them was lousy. If I had it to do over I'd just use an OEM seat and have it custom built - it would have have been a better result and been cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer NorthernVFRDave Posted March 31, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted March 31, 2012 For sure best thing I have ever done to my 07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I have the carbon fx material and also find it a bit slippery with textile - fine with leather. I had mine modified to remove the sharp line at the edge (which dug in to the leg) and also had the blue foam shaved down and 2 progressive layers of softer foam added - WAY more comfortable - no more hot spots on the sit bones. I should be able to go all day on it now. I wish I could say the same for the customer service - my experience with them was lousy. If I had it to do over I'd just use an OEM seat and have it custom built - it would have have been a better result and been cheaper. How much cheaper is it just to use your own base pan? Im thinking some day I might just ride through Florida and stop at sargeant, for customization. But with the bike nearing 100,000 miles, I dont know if I want to spend the money, unlesss only $150. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted March 31, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted March 31, 2012 I didn't have Sargent do the mods - I found an upholstery shop locally that does custom m/c seat modification that modded my Sargent. He's done thousands of seats - mostly cruisers, but some sportbikes too. I would have been better off just having him mod an OEM seat from the start using the $ I paid for the Sargent. It was enlightening having the Sargent cover off - they use a single density of blue foam all the way through which I thought is very similar to the OEM foam - maybe a bit thicker though. At least for me, the real trick to long haul comfort is to have progressively denser foams - soft on top, mid range in the middle and firm foam on the seat pan. That allows the foam to conform much better and eliminate the hot spots of a single density but still preventing completely compressing the foam on bumps - similar to progressive fork springs. I also had him trim the pillion section so my seat cowl now fits easily. Someone here posted a DIY job they did last fall on their 6th gen OEM seat which looked great - they just had to find someone to stitch up the cover - something called grip-tex. I think he said it cost him about $150. Having someone do the foam would probably add another hundred or so to the tab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 I couldnt take the stock seat anymore after 20,000 miles, so I made some cushioning, much improvement over stock, but I know exactly what I need in the seat to make it right. The stock seat is too short in height(for seat to peg) and it has right angles in the crotch area, and the down angle is a bit too steep. Ive not found anything premade that adresses all these issues, so customization is really the only way. Really, I could put some foam under the stock foam, raising the seat height, and just shave down the Right angles in the crotch area on the stock foam and it would probably be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Knife Posted April 1, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted April 1, 2012 If you think the thigh seams will rub, then till them so the can shim out that area ......... Wish I'd have been aware of that when I got mine. That's the only uncomfortable part of the seat. The seams dig into my thighs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NZTitanium Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 I also find the Carbon slippery with my textiles. However it is great for moving side to side and can sit on it all day. Have done one 14 hour day riding with no problems. Just needed a stretch every now and then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TripleH Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Ok, sorry, I have been away for a while, and lousy weather has not afforded me much riding opportunities in the last month Since putting on the seat, I have done about 150-miles, and holy cow, it was indeed worth every penny The thing I like best is the back lower butt support, the backstop shall we say I was riding in some strong wind yesterday, a weather condition I hate by the way, and I felt so much more comfortable just by pushing myself back a little bit so I was pushed into that backstop I went with the Allante material for $20 more, all black, and I just love it! I'll get some decent pics tonight and get them posted, for now here is a crappy one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TripleH Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 I couldnt take the stock seat anymore after 20,000 miles, so I made some cushioning, much improvement over stock, but I know exactly what I need in the seat to make it right. The stock seat is too short in height(for seat to peg) and it has right angles in the crotch area, and the down angle is a bit too steep. Ive not found anything premade that adresses all these issues, so customization is really the only way. Really, I could put some foam under the stock foam, raising the seat height, and just shave down the Right angles in the crotch area on the stock foam and it would probably be great. For what it's worth... I thought I was comfortable on the stock seat, until I got the Sargent, now I know better For me the best part of the Sargent is the back butt stop The VFR is, for me, a very fast bike, and I love the feeling that I'm not going to slide off the back of the bike when I get on the throttle hard There is nothing that could have been done to the stockj seat to give me the klind of support I'm getting from the Sargent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 The standard sargent seat doesnt meet my needs to be worth the money , its probably better than the stock unmodified seat though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zRoYz Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 My vote goes to Sargent, had the Corbin for many years & did like it but compared to the Sargent (you don't know till you try both) the Corbin for me was inferior, the added bonus is the Sargent weighs about the same as the standard seat as the Corbin with it's base weighs as much as a stack of bricks. The icing on the cake is the Sargent is much cheaper, anybody who I let ride my bike comments on the seat cumfort so I'm one very happy Sargent seat owner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TripleH Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Here are the better pics... Overall look is amazing, and I love the fact that I could buy just the front, as I don't do passengers and the cowl is always on It just fits and looks so good, so much better than stock For me, the best part, the lower rear butt backstop, I just fel so much more comfortable, and that is comfortable as in comfort and safety I am so glad I spent the extra $20 and got the premium fabric the Allante, I just did not like the Carbon F/X, not my style, felt really thin, and it was slippery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VietHorse Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Someone must be a fashion designer: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 I've had a Sargent (w/CarbonFX and red welt) on my '04 for over 5 years and 50k miles. I bought it during a group buy in the spring of '07. It's been terrific and I love the looks, but I think it's about time for new padding, as lately it feels like the edges are digging into the backs of my thighs. That's probably something I'll have done during the next off-season, unless it gets so bad I can't stand it anymore this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TripleH Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 50k miles, not bad, that would take me about 12 years... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabirk23 Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I've got a 2-piece Sargent on my 99. The rear seat holds the front seat on. I would think that if I were to rely on the cowl to hold the front seat on that the tabs on the cowl would not hold up very well. Is your seat held on without the aid of the cowl? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
painterbob Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 When I used just the front half of the seat only, I used 2 large wire ties wrapped around the 2 hooks under the seat that go over cross bar that the frankenbolts go in to. Worked very well, seat didnt moove. just keep wire cutters with you just in case you need to remove while out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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