Aftermarket seat.. Corbin or Sargent?

[tull]

OEM seat is terrible. Any recommendations on aftermarket seats?

[wordsmith]

OEM seat is terrible. Any recommendations on aftermarket seats?

Your description of the OE seat is pretty tolerant compared to many such posts here!    
Choices seem to be between: 
 
[span style=background-color:transparent;font-size:20px]- buying a complete new seat package made to your specific requirements (custom, in other words): 
 
[/span][span style=background-color:transparent;font-size:20px]- buying a kit containing new foam and cover(s): 
 
[/span][span style=background-color:transparent;font-size:20px]- attempting a DIY modification:
 
- fitting [/span][span style=background-color:transparent;font-size:20px]a removable seat-pad (Air Hawk and other brands, or a sheepskin, etc): 
 
[/span][span style=background-color:transparent;font-size:20px]- taking the seat to a local upholsterer (of car and/ or boat upholstery seems useful) and having them re-make the seat for you in another semi-custom    attempt.   
[/span]
All solutions - and there may be others - have their success and failure stories here; results are highly subjective; all approaches can be a bit hit-and-miss; and most will cost money, often running into the hundreds for the top-of-the-line options.
 
I have recently spent a lot on a Seat Concepts Touring kit - didn't work for me: then a gel insert from Luimoto into the OE seat foam - ditto outcome. 
 
I now have on order a complete custom seat from a French manufacturer - BAGSTER.   Not cheap, but for me at least proven, and indeed excellent, as I had the same BAGSTER seat on my last Tracer.
 
Use the search function here and you'll have a day's worth of reading!

[carey]

I own an OEM seat, Seat Concepts Touring, Sargent with a "nose job", and a Corbin. I'm a minority here, but compared to these options, I can ride the OEM the longest before it gets painful. My issue isn't necessarily the comfort of the foam, but the shape. I have arthritic hips and seats that splay my legs out or bucket shaped seats that my legs hang of the edge causes pain in my hips. I need a narrow seat, similar to a dirt bike seat.
 
Every street bike I've owned has been a seat problem. My last bike, Triumph Tiger 1050, I tried at least 6 different seats before I sent it to this guy
 
http://www.asweetseat.com/
 
He uses tempurpedic memory foam. The number of layers and foam density is based on your weight. This worked for me.
 
Currently I found perfection in a reworked Seat Concepts Touring foam. I reshaped the foam, added a tempurpedic foam core, and covered it all with another layer of medium density foam. I ended up using 3 different foam densities in the core layer. Soft in the front and firm in the rear. It took 4 versions before I got to what I have now. Last Friday, I rode for 5 hours and was comfortable all day and had no pain when I got home.
 
My opinions of the popular alternatives are as follows;
 
Corbin: I bought it used from another member here. Typical of all Corbin's I've owned, the foam is firm. The bucket shape seems too narrow for my wide butt. The passenger portion is nicely shaped. I keep it around for the "once a year" my wife wants to go for a ride. When she goes for a ride, it only lasts a couple of hours max, with a stop or two.
 
Sargent: I bought it this spring when they had a discount and free shipping. It may have been slightly better than stock, but it sloped forward. I found myself constantly pushing my body back up the seat with my arms. At the end of my ride, my arms hurt. I called Sargent and they offer a "nose job" for $90. This is more foam and less forward lean. With the nose job, the seat was fairly comfortable, but I felt the side edges of the seat in the back of my thighs, after about an hour. If I shaved or softened the edges, it might be a good seat for me.
 
Seat Concepts Touring: While contemplating what to do with my Sargent seat, I decided to try the SC Touring model. I liked the comfort of the foam, but the shape didn't work for me. Similar to my Sargent, I felt the edge of the seat in the back of my thighs. This is when I decided to make my own.
 
Making my current seat was the result of the last 20 years of experimenting with seats. Over the years, I've collected several boxes of old seat foams, pieces of tempurpedic foam, and a partial sheet of some type of memory foam. I spent two evenings in my garage stacking different pieces of foam on top of my SC Touring foam to get an idea of what worked for me. Once I had an idea, and got up the courage, I went to work. The tools I used are a 4" angle grinder with an 80 grit wheel for fast foam removal, a small 2" sanding wheel on my cordless drill, a $20 pneumatic stapler from Harbor Freight, SS staples, my wife electric carving knife, spray adhesive, a few different razor blades, and a permanent marker.
 
Here's some pictures of the fist version
 
 

 
I have since cut a pocket in the base foam so this piece of tempurpedic foam is flush with the top of the base foam. I also replaced the first 3" of tempurpedic foam with a piece of soft foam to eliminate the pressure on my private parts.
 
 
 

 
I used the blue foam to cover everything. Between versions 1 and 4, I only put the seat cover on with as few as staples as possible, knowing I would probably be removing it again in the near future. Once I was satisfied with my seat, I spent a little more time smoothing the overall shape to make it look nice, and then covered to whole thing with a layer of plastic before I installed the cover.
 

[DavidS]

I got the Corbin seat, and I'm happy with it. I regularly ride 400+ miles a day, and no seat issues. But it is not cheap........

[YamaGeezer]

I have the Sargent and have done over 300 miles on twisty roads with no problem. I added the heated option with no welt. I think not having welt makes it more comfortable. I signed up for emails on their website and they sent out discount notices. Worth the wait if you don't mind.
 
Ride Safe.
 

[slownsteady]

I just received my "World Sport Performance" Sargent Seat. I took it for a quick ride and I couldn't be happier.  The rear portion of the pan is really wide and the relief cut out for the perineum is pretty amazing. The overall fit and finish is top quality.

[scotto]

I went from the OEM seat to a Seat Concepts original seat, then on to Sargent seat. The Seat Concepts was better then the OEM but still forced me to slide forward and got uncomfortable 70 miles into ride where OEM only lasted 30 miles. The Sargent was better still but still forced a forward slide for me. Comfort range was stretched to about 100 miles. Now I have the Corbin saddle and think I have found the right one. I've done multiple 300-350 mile days with no discomfort. I believe it comes down to the extra length of the drivers section afforded by the Corbin. The first 3 seats were all working with the replacement of the OEM's front section of the 2 piece seat, where the Corbin is replacing the entire seat and is able to move the driver back about 1-1 1/2 inches + they are able to offer more padding of the 4 seats. They have you remove the plastic height frame before you mount their saddle in the lower tab at the front tang and yet when you climb on you are sitting up highest of all 4 seats.
Hope this all makes sense. Sargent makes an excellant product and I was able to return my seat for a full refund minus shipping. The Corbin is very expensive. Mine came in at $525 with shipping but then there's not many things as bad as feeling like your sitting on the short edge of a 2 x 4 100 miles into a great ride. Airhawks are great, I've used them for years on long trips but could be a bit much on this bike and it's tall seat. Everyone is going to get differing results depending on how they are built. I'm 210 lbs., 6'3", with a 36" inseam, so I probably needed that extra 1" of room the Corbin offered.
Hope this helps. Good luck. We all deserve good saddles.

[keithu]

I'm fortunate in that I live less than a mile from one of the best saddle makers on the west coast: Mr. Ed's Moto. Best mod I've ever done to any bike. Ever. It took him about three hours to customize the seat to my preference, and the cost was $450 (front seat only). This is a little more than some of the off-the-shelf aftermarket seats, but we'll worth it thanks to the customization.
 
If you have a respected seat maker in your area I'd suggest that route.

[dbeau]

I've got a Corbin. As far as my butt goes it is great, no butt discomfort for hours. It does pitch my back in just the right way to cause lower back pain but I have a pre-existing lower back issue so I won't say this will affect everyone. It is super heavy though... I'm guessing maybe 15 pounds. It's a shame I have to add that much weight to the bike to be comfortable.