The decision to buy an aftermarket seat was difficult because the two (2) seats I considered (Corbin and Sargent) required pre-payment and long-distance communications. So maybe my experience will be helpful to a few riders. The seat was for a '95 VFR with standard handbars. I am 6'1" and weigh 185 lbs. with an inseam of about 31". I needed a replacement seat because I experienced a "butt" burn within 100 miles of riding and my passenger had this glowing feeling even sooner.
I first tried a used Corbin which had never been used according to the owner. It had high density foam which actually aggravated the hot spots for me. In addition, this particular seat's nose pushed me back about 2" or away from the tank which increased my reach. After a short time, I sold the seat since it did not solve any of my problems.I visited with a gentleman at Sargent named Bill and received terrific technical assistance from him who IMO is very knowledgeable about this very personal piece of equipment. It seems that I may be one of the few who tend to have more problems with circulation in my butt than many ... which is one of the *primary* causes of "butt burn." I had thought that high density foam was the solution to hot spots, but not in my case.
It seems that some heavy riders need the high density foam to help with their "butt burn" problems. However, according to Sargent, high density foam may actually aggravate the "hot spot" feeling for some riders who weigh less than 170lbs + or - a few pounds.
After two (2) very helpful telephone calls to Sargent, I decided on the following modifications to my seat.
- Added 1/2' of new foam to the pilot's seat to put me into slightly cleaner air. Added another 1/2" to both sides of the butt bucket to make it a little wider to improved support.
- Added a gel pad to the pilot's seat instead of high density foam to allow for improved circulation.
- Added 1" of new foam and a gel pad to the pillon ... who btw loves me for it! The extra 1" foam and a second gel pad really makes the rear seat worthwhile.
- Placed a small ridge between pilot and pillon to help pillon stay in place under hard braking.
The quality of the work was superior and is just a piece of work! So far, this seat is working very well (actually better than I had hoped). I have about 750 miles in this seat and really haven't felt like I needed to get off the bike within the first 200 miles.
Now, if I can only decided on riding boots!
