New member, new bike. New seat?

[Hamishhog]

Hi

I am a new member here. I just sold my 95 R1100R and am about to buy a 09 R1200R.
Can't wait.

I'm going to fly out and drive back with the bike and have been reading a lot about the R1200R's seat. I'm thinking of trying to upgrade to the BMW comfort seat before I pick up the bike.

My confusion is around which comfort seat height to get. I liked the R1100R seat height when it was set to the highest setting. I am 5'10" with a 32" inseam.
I have read all I can about the different seat heights but am still not sure.

Can anyone advise on which seat height I should get? I only tried the R1200R once with a standard seat, standard height and felt I would like something higher. I'm thinking I want either the standard or high comfort seat but am worried the high will be too high.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance for your help.

[mistral]

I would get the bike and ride it first. It would be insane to buy a seat on a recommendation from someone. Suffer if you have to but spending money on seat that is not right for you . Good luck with the bike.

[websterize]

Hello, new member, and welcome. I have the same question: how will the bike feel with a high seat? I took delivery of a new '09 with the standard seat and should have insisted the dealer provide a high seat for comparison. (They said they had no highs in stock.) At 6-1, 32-inch inseam, I suspect I could flatfoot on a high, but not having sat on one, I'm not certain.

To further muddy your decision on seats, someone here reported (kieran?) that the standard *high* seat (32.7 inches) was more comfortable than the standard height seat (31.5). Less padding on the high, perhaps? I seem to recall that he could ride all day on the standard 32.7 but not so far on the standard 31.5. Is a *comfort* 32.7 seat worth the premium?

A seat change is on my someday/maybe list. I feel discomfort on my seat after about 200 miles. That's when I know I need to look for fuel. Who needs the onboard computer when you've got a butt tripmeter?

[Hamishhog]

I would get the bike and ride it first. It would be insane to buy a seat on a recommendation from someone. Suffer if you have to but spending money on seat that is not right for you . Good luck with the bike.

Thanks but any way it goes I think I'll need to buy a seat without trying it first.
The only reason I'm jumping ahead is that my first ride is going to be 600 miles and I'd hate for anything to spoil my honeymoon with the bike

[Hamishhog]

Hello, new member, and welcome. I have the same question: how will the bike feel with a high seat? I took delivery of a new '09 with the standard seat and should have insisted the dealer provide a high seat for comparison. (They said they had no highs in stock.) At 6-1, 32-inch inseam, I suspect I could flatfoot on a high, but not having sat on one, I'm not certain.

To further muddy your decision on seats, someone here reported (kieran?) that the standard *high* seat (32.7 inches) was more comfortable than the standard height seat (31.5). Less padding on the high, perhaps? I seem to recall that he could ride all day on the standard 32.7 but not so far on the standard 31.5. Is a *comfort* 32.7 seat worth the premium?

A seat change is on my someday/maybe list. I feel discomfort on my seat after about 200 miles. That's when I know I need to look for fuel. Who needs the onboard computer when you've got a butt tripmeter?

Thanks very much for the info. Maybe I'll end up just using my sheepskin and seeing what happens.

[Boxer-Lust]

The BMW comfort seat is great.A must,especially if you ride 2-up...
I definately would get the tall one with 32 inseam.The tall one could be even taller for a guy with 34 inseam...

[boxerpaul]

Hamish, I used a sheepskin for my first long trip too. It helped quite a bit, but I think the main problem with the stock (standard height) seat is that it has a slight dome shape to it which causes a lot of pressure points. The sheepskin can't really help with that part of things. I found that an airhawk cushion helped a lot more. Incidentally, I bought the airhawk right before the return leg of that same journey, and the way back was indeed a lot more comfortable.

Nevertheless, I'm still very close to ordering a comfort seat.

[mistral]

I am 6'4" so getting the perfect fit has been tough. I had a Bill Mayer low seat on the bike when I bought it. Sold that seat got the standard stock seat, no good. Bought I Rick Mayer seat made for me, still not perfect, bought a tall seat, still not there. I am using the Rick Mayer, but I would like to try a tall comfort seat, damn sure don't want to buy one though.

[xprof]

OMG, get the comfort seat! If you don't, you'll be spending $500 later, and kicking yourself until then. I had the standard "tall" saddle, and couldn't wait to get rid of it. BTW, with a 32" inseam I didn't find it too tall...

[AncientMariner]

My bike came from the factory with the "Comfort Seat". Several all day rides have confirmed that it is indeed, comfortable. Get the dealer to make the swap part of the deal. Even if it turns out you don't like it, I'd bet you'd have no trouble selling it here.

Bruce

[websterize]

BTW, with a 32" inseam I didn't find it too tall...

With a 32-inch inseam, are you able to flatfoot on the high comfort seat?

[fastdogs2]

I would recommend the Comfort Saddle, especially if you are making a 600 mile ride. If you have an uncomfortable seat, you will be cursing yourself all the way for making the wrong decision that could have been avoided.

Here are the choices, with part #'s, seat heights, weights and pricing for the Two Comfort Saddles:

52537721957 COMFORT BENCH SEAT, LOW - 800MM 7.16 lbs. $554.00

52537721958 COMFORT SADDLE, HIGH - 830MM 7.94 lbs. $554.00

Go for the Comfort Saddle. You won't regret it.

Bill

[rockbottom]

But is the BMW comfort seat really worth $100 more than a Bill or Rick Mayer rebuild?

[TAG-Caver]

But is the BMW comfort seat really worth $100 more than a Bill or Rick Mayer rebuild?

My dealer gave me the "nice guy" price of $470.00 + tax for a high comfort seat. Well worth it. As others mentioned, that hump towards the front is flattened and the seating area is larger. Doesn't seem like much of a difference, but it sure makes a big difference on a long ride. I'm only 5'6" with a 29 inch inseam so I tend to sit towards the very front of the seat and not having that gland squishing hump is a wonderful thing.

Kevin

[Ric]

Anyone have pictures of the 800mm comfort seat installed on your R12R ???

[Sander Abernathy]

I'm 5'9" with a 32" inseam and my first seat was a standard seat/standard height. The low comfort seat and the standard seat/standard height are both listed as 800 mm high. I ordered the low comfort seat based on the assumption they were the same height. I found the low comfort seat compressed when I lifted my feet onto the pegs and it left me bending my knees more. I sent it back ASAP and got the high comfort seat.

List price of the comfort seat purchased separately is $550 +/-. What do they charge for it as an upgrade with the purchase of a new bike?

The problem with the standard seat is that you WILL be replacing it. If you purchase an aftermarket seat after you have purchased the bike the problem is that you will have to send in your seat as a trade or so they can rework it. That takes the bike out of commission for days or weeks and who wants that with a new bike?

I just bought my bike in April and here is a list of what I would do differently:

A number of people on this board have complained about the available colors and the dealer has agreed to have the bike painted in a choice of BMW Motorrad colors. I would definitely pursue that to see if I could get my bike done in the Acid Green Metallic off the S1000RR.

My bike came with the saddlebag mounts for around $170. The saddlebag mounts with the topcase mount is around $300+. I would either go without the saddlebag mounts or get the more expensive mounts with the topcase mount included. If you are delaying the purchase of the saddlebags and you get the topcase mount, you can purchase the BMW or an aftermarket topcase as a stop gap measure until you get around to buying the saddlebags. There are a lot of saddlebag options out there that are a few hundred dollars cheaper than the BMW saddlebags (which list for about $900 for the pair) BUT none of them use the BMW mounts. So while the aftermarket bags are cheaper, the savings largely evaporate when you purchase the aftermarket mounts. Basically, BMW "gives" you the saddlebag mounts for $170 so they can overcharge you later for the BMW saddlebags. If you want those mounts that only mount the saddlebag and not the topcase, you can pick them up a lot cheaper on ebay or beemerboneyard because people upgrade from that most basic and commonly installed of mounts pretty regularly.

Did I say the saddlebags are $900 for the pair? That's true if you purchase them after you buy the bike. If you buy the saddlebags when you buy the bike, they aren't $900 saddlebags...they are $17 a month saddlebags and $17 a month saddlebags look pretty good right now.

I've used BMW financial services repeatedly and I've always had a great experience with them. I always got a deal that a bank either couldn't touch or couldn't beat by a margin wide enough to justify a trip to the bank. In this credit environment captive finance companies offer the easiest access to financing.

Buying a windshield is a total crapshoot. However, the OEM bracket for the touring windshield is commonly used to mount many of the available aftermarket windshields so even if you hate the OEM touring windshield the brackets will be put to good use.

You can spend $190 to replace 1 scratched valve cover or you can spend $190 to get the guards to avoid having 2 scratched valve covers. I bought a new valve cover to replace the one I scratched and the guards at the 600 miles service so I spent $380 on a $190 problem. The good news is that removing the valve cover is a common exercise so whether you do it yourself or have the dealer do it, the labor cost and hassle of installing a new valve cover and guards is very low.

At one point, BMW was selling a retrofit kit for the traction control but they wouldn't release a code to allow the dealer to actually retrofit an in-service R1200R with traction control. They may have gotten loser with the traction control codes but I don't know. If you want traction control, get it when you buy the bike. No one seems to rave about traction control but no one complains about it either. If I was ordering the options on my bike today, I would get it.

Panic stops require skill. I have no skill but this bike has really great ABS. The only skill required for panic stops with ABS is grab the lever and squeeze as hard as you like. Squeeze hard enough and the bike stops RIGHT NOW. The ABS on these bikes is so good and I am so spoiled that frankly, I'm completely unqualified to ride a bike without it. (I'm unqualified to ride with the ABS but the technology makes riding this bike possible for me).

The marginal cost of labor to the dealership is nil so make them install whatever you can think of. If nothing else, I would have them install any additional lights you may be thinking of such as fogs, driving lights, and supplemental brake lights as well as louder aftermarket horn. Also consider getting a fuse panel installed such as a Centech so you can install additional electronics later.

I wouldn't pay to "upgrade" to the clear or LED turn signals...again. I actually paid for the clear turn signals. However, I personally think there are some much better looking after market turn signals from Kellerman and Rizoma. Since I'll be replacing them spending extra on them at the outset doesn't make much sense.

Most don't like the OEM mirrors and some have fixed the problem by installing OEM F800GS mirrors. If the F800GS mirrors are more to your liking, getting the dealer to make the swap shouldn't be too tough. If the dealer won't cooperate, Aprilia has an OEM mirror that is std. equipment on one of their bikes but it is much cheaper than the dealer price for the F800 mirror. Some on this board have indicated that it is identical to the F800 mirror while others say it is threaded differently. No one has been unable to get the Aprilia mirror installed to their satisfaction.

Clear or smoked LED taillights are 89 to 99 euros from Hornig and $89 from Clear Alternatives so if the dealer wants more than that for the OEM LED taillight, I wouldn't pay it. It seems that the K1200R/S tailight is identical to the R1200R taillight.

That's all the tips I can think of but I'm sure that you will find many more reading this board.

[daveyator]

Well if you search my posts I've done quite a bit of comfort seat "research" with photos. I'm 5'11" with a 31" inseam. Tried the high comfort seat and felt like I was on a GS and a little upper arm shoulder pressure and couldn't flat foot the bike. Switched to the Low comfort and felt more balanced on the bike, no arm pressure but slightly cramped. Wound up with Wunderlich peg extenders and now its close to perfect but I do still wonder if I shouldn't have put up with the tall seat. This is the 800mm. And yes worth more than the Bill Mayer rebuild.