BMW High Seat or a Sargent

R100SMan · Post by **R100SMan** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 9:24 am

Hi Folks,
New R1150R owner here. Looking to make my first mod and its going to be the seat. I have the low seat and find that my legs are feeling a bit cramped (i am 5'10) so I want some extra height and comfort.

My riding consist of mostly 50-150 miles rides. So I am trying to decide on which seat would be best for me. Do I go for the cheaper BMW high seat or spend twice as much for the Sargent?

Anyone experiences or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Post by **ProductUser** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 10:29 am

I tried the comfort seat, but it gave me a pain in my arse pretty quick. I went the Sargent route and have no complaints (2+ years now). Oh -- I'm also 5'10" and weigh 200#

I've done several 600 and 700 mile days without any problems re my knees, back, hands or shoulders.

ProductUser

joel · Post by **joel** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 11:33 am

The Sargent is IMHO the best way to go. Way more comfortable, the best mod I have made.

Post by **DJ Downunder** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 11:50 am

I'm very happy with the tall BMW seat...I must have a tuff arse or something cos I keep hearing bad things about it.

Maybe if you have a large arse you need a wider seat..the BMW seat is fairly narrow...but I still like it.

btw...I'm not saying sargent seat owners have big arses...actually I'm not sure what I'm saying..maybe I better stop now..

DJ

chris · Post by **chris** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 12:46 pm

DJ Downunder wrote:I'm very happy with the tall BMW seat...I must have a tuff arse or something cos I keep hearing bad things about it.

Maybe if you have a large arse you need a wider seat..the BMW seat is fairly narrow...but I still like it.

btw...I'm not saying sargent seat owners have big arses...actually I'm not sure what I'm saying..maybe I better stop now..

DJ

I thought the BMW seat was wide, but I am comparing it to an XR...those sargent seats look made for huge arses tho...

no offence.. back to the thread, I'm 5-11 and 32" inside leg and fine for legroom with the mid height seat.

peterbulgar · Post by **peterbulgar** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:37 pm

I'm 5'9", 150lbs, and 32" inseam. I replaced the stock low seat on my '04 R1150R with the BMW tall seat before I'd heard of this list or Sargent - maybe he was still a Corporal back then. My knees are happier and the seat is comfortable enough - I just returned from a 4700 mile trip to NW Alberta and BC. Two years ago at the BMWMOA rally in Spokane and at the beginning of a long trip I replaced the BMW comfort passenger seat with a Sargent seat at the insistence of my son, who was my regular passenger at the time. Judging by the immediate cessation of complaints from the back of the bike, the Sargent passenger seat worked out very well and I think that the rider seat would be equally comfortable.

If I ever have $300 in my pocket and nothing to spend it on, I may order the Sargent rider seat, but, as I said, the BMW tall seat is acceptable for me. YMMV.
Peter '73 R75/5, '04 R1150RA

ender848 · Post by **ender848** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 4:33 pm

I just put on 2800 miles in 9 days on my Sargent seat and could not be more pleased with it. On the stock seat my ass was killing me after 3 hours.

The Sargent seat is the best money you can spend on your bike.

Rockiesrider · Post by **Rockiesrider** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 5:08 pm

I have both the tall and short BMW seat, as I'm in between both (5'7")...and I don't find any real discomfort with either...Just got off my bike an hour ago...300km day, on the tall seat, and it really seems to put me up in the 'cleaner air'...above any buffetting, etc...so I'm starting to prefer it being up higher...I will also NEVER put a windscreen on my Rock again...so much quieter without...(so if anyone want s to buy a BMW touring shield for a rockster...I have one !

Keith

Post by **DJ Downunder** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 6:19 pm

I have both the tall and short BMW seat, as I'm in between both (5'7")...and I don't find any real discomfort with either...Just got off my bike an hour ago...300km day, on the tall seat, and it really seems to put me up in the 'cleaner air'...above any buffetting, etc...so I'm starting to prefer it being up higher...I will also NEVER put a windscreen on my Rock again...so much quieter without...(so if anyone want s to buy a BMW touring shield for a rockster...I have one !

Hey Keith...I agree with you...I took my screen off and mounted this tiny wind deflector that barely cover the gauges and it's so quiet.

I can't see myself ever taking it off or using a screen again.

DJ

The Velvet Monkey · Post by **The Velvet Monkey** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 8:26 pm

I also offer my unreserved recommendation of the Sargeant seat as the number one accessory. I swallowed hard when I dished out the nearly $600.00 for my seat, but I was on my way from Florida to Wisconsin and back with the proven understanding that the stock seat--while plenty comfortable around town--was a torture device after a few hours on the road.

Well, I made it to East Troy and back monkey butt free and forgot about the expense.

My advice--Go Sargent because you'll soon be putting down some big miles. It's impossible not to with this motorbike.

Panzerleder · Post by **Panzerleder** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 11:01 pm

I have both the high and low seats ... and don't like either one of them. I've never seen a BMW that couldn't be greatly improved by an aftermarket seat. That said, I went with Cee Bailey. Had them redo the stock seats in a black basketweave with red piping. It's a huge improvement -- both visually and operationally.

Rog(UK) - Yorkshire Dales · Fri Jul 28, 2006 4:33 am

The stock seat on my Rock' makes me ride a lot faster........to get back home! I think the Columbian torture squads could do a lot worse than adopt it as the ultimate way to makes someone talk. Grrr... I'm going to have to go the Sargeant route, but WHY should I have to do so on an otherwise very highly regarded bike. Shame on you BMW.

DJ. I think I have agreed with you on this one before. I love the Rock' with no screen. In fact I love everything about the bike except that bloody seat. Oh. and the tapping on startup and er... the poor quality paint on the front forks oh and not fogetting the self-cancelling indicators or the indicators on left and right hand side...... not to mention the stupidly curved rear topbox bracket. Oh yes..... and the BMW head guards. What else did the Romans do for us....!

It's OK folks a bit of poetic licence there. I love the bike - with all its little foibles!

Ride safe

Rog.

m49512 · Post by **m49512** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 5:16 am

I tried the sargent seat, but found it was too wide for my rear end. I'm still not comfortable with the stock seat (can go about 2 hours before I have to stop and "rest"). I've been thinking about the Corbin. Anyone tried that???

johno · Post by **johno** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 5:30 am

I had Corbins on my GS, Sargents on my RT, and now waiting for my Sargents to turn up for my R.

.
I think everyone is different in there "rear end" needs, so what suites me , wont suit someone else.
In saying that, BMW should be ashamed to produce such quality bikes with such uncomfortable seats.

Changing the seats would have to be the number one item on the BMW owners list of must do items.

Post by **mcollect** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:33 am

My used RR came with the high seat. I took one longish ride and bought the sargent. If you want to test the high seat I'll send it to you. Ride with it , if you like it just send me the low and we'll call it even. If you don't like send it back. The only cost will be shipping. I also have corbins on all my other bikes but they won't make a solo for the RR so I went with the sargent. I think my butt likes the corbin a hair better then the sargent, but to be fair I still don't think the Sargent is fully broken in yet. It takes the Corbins at least 1000 miles to get real comfortable.

priapismic · Post by **priapismic** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 1:11 pm

I'm with Velvet Monkey on this one, ++1 on the Sargent seat. I also swallowed hard to buck up for the Sargent, but three years and 30,000 miles later I'm still happy with it. I recently did a 3,000 miles in 8 days road trip, and even though I wiggled a bit at the end of some 500 and 600-mile days, the next day I was ready to get up and after it all over again. No monkey butt.

If the issue is leg room though, I would consider getting a peg lowering kit in addition to a taller seat. The MV Verholen kit was one of the first mods I made to my bike - after the 118 mile ride home from the dealer convinced me that the stock seat was crap and that my legs were seriously cramped. And I'm just 6'0" with a 32" inseam - not exactly a big guy.

R100SMan · Post by **R100SMan** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 5:20 pm

Thanks everyone for thier help. I think I am going to go with the Sargent. I found a used one and am closing in on it.

philm35 · Post by **philm35** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 12:57 am

I tried the tall seat, and found it even less comfortable than the stock seat. Then I bought a Sargent, and I was happy.

--Phil

2004 R1150RA (Silver)

Post by **baltm604** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 8:47 pm

Did 2700mi in 8 days down to NC and back on a tall bmw seat. I hurt for a week afterwards. The only reason I made it home was the $40 alaskan buttpad I bought at the honda hoot that year in knoxville.

Switch to a sagrent and solved a lot of the problems.

Here is the deal with sargent compared to a tall/comfort bmw seat. The bmw seat is narrow with extra cheap foam on it. it is taller when there is no weight on it, but it compresses a ton and really does not give you that much more height than the stock seat.

While the sagent is a little lower than a tall seat based on specs, it actually rides much higher due to two things. First, it is a much wider seat and pushes your legs farther out to the sides. Depending on your inseam, it will give you more leg room, but it feels different than a bmw seat. Second, the sargent has much firmer foam and support, it does not compress like a bmw seat, and therefore will ride higher as well.

either way, unless you really know why you are uncomfortable, you are just guessing when buying different seats. A sargent/corbing/russell may solve your problems, maybe not.

The best thing about buying a sargent, you have 30 days to send it back if it does not meet your expectations, and if you decide to sell it used it is still worth 90% of its purchase price and will only take you a couple of hours to sell here on the board. AFAIK, corbin on the other hand will accept back a mistake as easily as a national politician:).

Bill

Catapult · Post by **Catapult** » Sun Jul 30, 2006 8:36 pm

I hate the idea of breaking up the lines of the bike with an aftermarket seat. Has anyone every thought having the seats rebuild with better padding?

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BMW High Seat or a Sargent

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