Seat? Corbin vs Sargent

[pedropat]

Hey folks
 
I have not bought a FJ-09 yet but will have one soon.  I know the stock front seat is not going to hack the program.  What are the opinions on the Corbin vs the Sargent seat for comfort and value?  I'm not a two up rider so I'm most concerned with the front seat.  Sorry in advance if this topic has been beaten to death in another place on the forum.
 
Thanks

[DavidS]

I bought the Corbin seat, and I am happy with it. It is still a bit hard, but I have less than 1K miles on it, and they say it gets softer after a few more miles. I don't have the pain in the rear I did with the stock seat after about 30 minutes of riding, and I got the seat warmer as well. It simply replaces the stock seat with no extra modifications. All I had to do is connect a terminal to the battery for the seat warmer and it dropped in real easy
 
Overall I'm happy with my choice!

[tomahawk]

I'm still waiting for that first person to buy the Sargent and give us a report... It looks to be a bit broader at the rear and more dished out. They also have a grippier material available which is should help with sliding around on past Sargents that I've owned.

[keithu]

I just paid $450 for a custom seat from Mr. Ed's Moto. That's just for the main seat, whereas the Corbin is $452 for the dual seat. But it is literally tailored to my posterior. I was involved in the whole process, giving feedback and taking test rides until the shape was absolutely perfect for me.
 
Of course, you have to ride to Mr. Ed's shop in Oregon. Not a bad thing!

[deersSlayer]

Hey folks 
What are the opinions on the Corbin vs the Sargent seat for comfort and value?  I'm not a two up rider so I'm most concerned with the front seat.

I've owned 1 Corbin and 3 Sargent seats. Both are very firm seats. As long as your butt fits, firm is much better for longer rides. I was very happy with all 4 seats, great for long rides. 
The Corbin will be much heavier due to its 'fiberglass' base, and it's a full seat.
The Sargent will be lighter, and cheaper if you only get the front.
 
I'll be picking up my Sargent for my FJ-09 next weekend.

[desertfjr]

I have a Corbin on the 09. I ordered it with a "softer layer" on top as my previous Corbins were a tad firm for me. This one seems to be the cats meow on the 09. Broader and flatter than the stocker it does ride a tad higher than the stock high seat position but eliminates the forward slide of the stocker. It has been nothing but comfortable early on. It will get a true test this summer when it will complete it's first SS1000 in July. Will get a very true reading of its comfort then. Until then I give the softened Corbin two thumbs up. If you're under 5'10" it might be a tad tall for you. Lowering links might be in order.

[cdemi]

The Corbin does raise you up a tad, but I am 5'7" and do just fine. Mine is just starting to break in around 3k miles and it is amazing. My only gripe is that the seat almost makes me sit further back in my seat, which causes a, sometimes, uncomfortable stretch to the handlebars. Definitely would recommend getting it with a soft topper if you have a chance.

[oldfart]

Hey folks 
I have not bought a FJ-09 yet but will have one soon.  I know the stock front seat is not going to hack the program.  What are the opinions on the Corbin vs the Sargent seat for comfort and value?  I'm not a two up rider so I'm most concerned with the front seat.  Sorry in advance if this topic has been beaten to death in another place on the forum.
 
Thanks

Yes, this certainly has been beaten to death elsewhere on the Forum.  That said, I'll repeat what I said numerous times before.  Prior to laying out $450 for a seat you've never even sat on (duh!), go to a good local upholstery shop like I did and tell them the stock seat is too hard and to make it more comfortable.  Best $50 I've spent on the bike, it's just fine now, they were able to re-foam it without changing the stock cover and it's shaped perfectly and feels just fine. For $50 bucks!  Contrary to what the "custom seat" folks want you to think, a comfortable motorcycle seat does not take a rocket scientist to create.  Certainly at least TRY this route before spending ten times as much on an unknown.  (Okay, that's the last post I'm writing on this topic, ever!) 

[weinman123]

another cheap and effective suggestion, also made elsewhere, bike shorts.

[duhs10]

I like @oldfart 's suggestion....
 
However, I spent the money on the Sargent seat and am very pleased with it. Never owned a Corbin but I've heard many great things about their product. I chose the Sargent over the Corbin simply for aesthetics. The Sargent seat is still a stiff seat, but the width and the shape of the seat disperse the weight so much more effectively than the stock seat. Huge improvement in riding comfort.

[keithu]

If you can find a shop to re-foam your seat for $50, that's a pretty good deal. But it should be said that a custom seat maker like Mr. Ed's or Russell does a lot more than simply replace the foam. My seat was a 3.5 hour project of reshaping, test sitting, reshaping again, rinse, and repeat. Then he sewed up a new cover to my specification. I stuck with black vinyl but had him do red stitching. There's no way a craftsman can provide this level of service and customization for $50. Frankly, I think $450 is a steal for what I got.

[yamahafjrider]

I just installed the Seat Concepts foam and vinyl. It is firm, almost too firm. I think some softer foam on top may be the answer. After few thousand miles brake in, I will report back.
 
Kurt

[martyl]

I have a Corbin seat. A little over 6k on the seat and bike. the stock seat cut into my inner thighs and didn't like it when i demoed the FJ. Ordered the Corbin when I got the bike. Non-heated. Like that it doesn't cut into my thighs but I'm finding that I'm still getting uncomfortable after 100 miles as its still on the hard side.. I just e-mailed Corbin about this and waiting to hear back. I may have them refoam the seat. Their Fl. Location is about an hour from me. The seat looks great but my butt doesn't have eyes... ;-)

[jimf]

My Sargent just arrived this morning.  I put it on and took a meandering way to lunch, maybe 30min of riding so far.  Not a lot yet, I'll be doing a tour next weekend for the real test, but enough to make a few quick observations.
 
Some background, because I'll be comparing the Sargent to several others: I've used the stock seat, the Seat Concepts reupholstering kit, and the Yamaha "Comfort" seat.  I had a Corbin on my old SV650S, but not the Corbin for the FJ.  I don't know how much the Corbins of today compare to the one I used to have but my understanding is that their manufacturing hasn't changed a lot.
 
First, the foam:
 
I found the stocker foam to be a little soft, but not terribly so.  The Seat Concepts was firmer and yet more compliant at the same time, and I really liked it.  The Yamaha Comfort seat is a rock.  I thought that would be ok, coming from bicycling, but the shape of the seat (it doesn't curve away like a bicycle seat) puts tons of weight on the bones in my butt and the foam doesn't give enough to avoid getting hot spots. In general I liked the Comfort seat better than the other two, but I wouldn't have been ordering a new one if I were truly pleased with it.
 
I'll have to check when I get home, but from memory the Sargent seems a little firmer than the Seat Concepts but significantly less so than the Yamaha Comfort.  I'd put it slightly softer than the Corbin I had, with the caveat that I haven't sat on that one in 5 years now.  I liked the foam density right away.
 
The Sargent's seat cover -- I got the basic weave-looking one -- doesn't have a plasticky feel when sitting on it, and it's hot enough today for me to tell that it breathes, unlike the vinyl of the stock seat which I found to be awful in hot weather.  It has some grippiness, more on the sides than the top, but not so much that I can't slide back and forth when shifting weight between legs (I have to slide to do this, can't get both feet down at once).  It's ever so slightly more slippy than the Yamaha Comfort seat.  I had the "carbon" cover on the Seat Concepts and that was slippery as hell; I thought I would like that, but it turns out I do want a little grip, especially when engaging warp drive.  I rate the Sargent's cover material as essentially the same as the Yamaha Comfort seat, which is "very good" in my book, although my favorite material is still the leather of my old Corbin.
 
The seat height is a little lower than the Yamaha seats, with a deeper curve going up to the tank than the Yamaha or Seat Concepts seats.  It's not a lot lower, but enough that I get a firmer toe-down than I do on the Yamaha seats, and on an unloaded bike I can *almost* get both toes down.  For a short guy like me every little bit helps.
 
The big thing differentiating these seats, other than foam density, is seat shape.  There are major differences there between all of the seats I've tried.
 
The Sargent has a MUCH wider seat pan than the Yamaha (and hence Seat Concepts too).  They said so on the website, but I did not expect it to be anywhere near that much wider.  It has little wings that extend out over the bike plastic by perhaps 2 inches on either side.  I think it looks a little over-wide relative to the bike's lines, but it's not crazy.
 
The seat pan is plastic like the Yamaha, and the extra width allows more flexiness.  I didn't find this to be troublesome or distracting, but I don't sit back on the seat -- it might be moreso for someone who does.
 
The seat pan has a large flat surface, similar in basic shape but much wider than the Seat Concepts.  I didn't like the Seat Concepts shape because the edges of the flat cut into the top of my thighs after a couple of hours, really bad hot spots.  I expect that anyone with reasonably normal leg length wouldn't have this problem, but it was severe enough for me to stop using the seat.  I was really worried that the Sargent would feel the same.
 
It does, if I sit waaaay back in the seat pan; those wings feel like I've got (softish) knobs digging into the bottom of my butt.  I would not like that at all if I had to sit that way all the time.
 
Luckily I rarely sit that far back, preferring to tuck up near the tank.  The Seat Concepts seat's flat area extended forward enough that I got hot spots no matter where I sat, but the Sargent doesn't.  It kind of feels like I'm sitting just on the edge of a chair, with good support under the buttocks, but with lots of center support through the crotch too.  Also, the foam density has enough give that it doesn't have an "edgy" feel to it at all, whereas the Seat Concepts gave me big hot spots.
 
The stock seat has style edges to it that drove me completely nuts in only minutes, digging into the tops of my thighs.  The Yamaha Comfort seat doesn't, I really like its shape in general except for getting too much weight on the bones with too little give in the foam.
 
The Sargent, though ... it's different from all of them.  From the admittedly short period of time I've ridden it so far I am quite impressed.  The wider seat pan distributes the weight across more of my butt than the Yamaha seats, reducing the push on the bones, even when sitting full forward -- something even the Corbin didn't do, or didn't do so well.  The foam is firm but not so firm that it gives me hot spots on the bones or along the edge of the flat area.  The combination of the two elements is a rather dramatic improvement over all of the other seats.
 
I'll put the better part of a thousand miles on it this weekend and report back as to whether these initial impressions hold up.

[dtownmtb]

Got my Sargent last night. Did two 30 minute rides. So far I'm very pleased. Got pain after 20 minutes on stock saddle. No pain after 30 on this one. Still need to do some longer rides, but so far it is looking good for comfort. 
 
As for looking good - the back of this seat is freakishly wide (imho). Not sure what that is about, but don't much care if it takes the pain out of riding.