Sargent Seats – The Best of the Best?
The Sargent seat has been around for some time now, but is it a worthwhile upgrade for your BMW Motorcycle? Here are some thoughts from some Sargent seat owners to help you decide.
Report by Andy Lawson
After reading numerous reviews and talking to other riders, I decided to buy a Sargent seat for my 2017 R1200 GSA.
Why? You may ask. Well, for myself and many others I’ve spoken too, the original stock seats are of very good quality, but the seat shape and the materials used, can become uncomfortable and cause a bit of a pain in the a….. umm…. backside… after about an hour or so riding. So forcing a stop for a break and walk around, probably a coffee too. Well, OK, so stopping for regular breaks is definitely recommended, but if you do need to crack on to make a scheduled time for a ferry or train etc., you really don’t want to be riding in any discomfort.
What are the advantages of the Sargent seats?
Sargent use a firmer foam base as well as a different shape to the seat area. The result is less pressure being applied to specific pressure points on the buttocks, so much better weight and heat distribution.
What’s involved when replacing the seats?
The Sargent seats are direct swap replacements, so just unlock and slide off the originals, and place on the replacements the same way. No changes to the fittings or locks.
What are the choices of seat types?
You can purchase either rider, pillion or both. I personally decided to purchase both, even though I tend to ride most of the time without a pillion. The reason being, the shape of the seat is different and so the aesthetics don’t look as good if just one seat is changed. There is a Standard seat, which is effectively the same as the BMW stock seat, and a Low seat version (just the rider seat). Both can be adjusted, as with the original, to High or Low position. Other options include colour piping, so to try and get a close match to the colour of the bike.
I personally chose the Low Seat version and with black piping. My reasoning being, I’m not the tallest person, so I need some help getting my feet flat to the floor. Secondly, I chose black piping, so the seats could match to any colour bike and if I ever decide to change my bike, I can transfer the seats to the new bike – provided it’s the same model of course. Or, I could always put the original seats back on and perhaps sell the Sargent seats separately.
What are the seats like once fitted?
Some interesting observations I’ve made. Although I’ve fitted the Low seat and in the Low position, I’ve not really noticed that much difference when it comes to trying to get my feet flat to the floor. Although better, I’m still on the balls of my feet. This is because the width of the front of seat, is slightly wider, which causes my legs to be slightly further apart and so negating any reduction in height advantage. However, I should stress this is not uncomfortable.
There is also an option to remove two screw-in hard rubber bungs underneath the seat, to lower it further. However, these are towards the rear of the seat and so it is only the base area lowered. This therefore has no effect to the height for my legs, as the front of the seat is still at the height controlled by the BMW bracket. Another observation: when the bungs are removed and the seat fitted, there is quite a large gap between the rider and pillion seat. Something I find somewhat unsightly and I would be concerned for any water ingress during very wet weather. The Sargent seat is a quality product and has useful under-seat storage compartments on the rider and pillion seats.
I’ve yet to go on tour since fitting the new seats, but I did do a just over a hundred miles on a ride to Cotswold Airport and back with no problems with aches or pain and I would say at the moment: they look good, feel good and by golly they will do me good!
Now, where have I heard that before?
(Note from Steve Moxey – Catherine and I have covered more than 50,000 miles on our Sargent seats and they are brilliant. Over time they do get broken in, but they are much superior to the standard BMW seat from the start.)
For further information, there is a FAQ on Sargent web page:
Originally posted 2018-03-19 14:46:51.
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