Sargent Sport Seat for K1200S (images)

[KSnake]

I would never suggest someone base their decision to buy or not buy on how I like a seat. I can only guess why people disagree on what seats are likeable or not likeable, but I know I don't like some seats a lot of other riders rave about and I like some seats a lot of others don't like. Since receiving the Sargent seat, I have found it merely ok as far as my comfort is concerned. I keep waiting for the edges to soften a bit where the flat part bends down into the sides. It is not really uncomfortable, but I would have preferred the edges to be softer. The Sargent tends to make me want to set farther back on the bike, where the flat area of the Sargent seat is located. A couple of days ago, I switched back to the stock seat. I think I will keep the stock seat on when my wife is not going to be with me. I never disliked the stock seat. I bought the Sargent with the hope my wife would like the Sargent. I didn't tell her I was buying it, and I don't think she noticed I had the Sargent installed until I asked her to go for a ride. I didn't hype the Sargent, or otherwise try to persuade her to like it. Her reaction could have been recorded as a sales pitch for Sargent. She spontaneously raved about the texture and shape. She talked about how much more secure and comfortable she felt on the new seat. Prior to this, she had lamented about how this bike was not as attractive as my previous bikes, and how uncomfortable she was riding this bike. In fact, she had only been on the K1200S a few times, and she had gotten to a point of almost always refusing to ride with me. A couple of times she drove a car the same place I was going just to avoid riding with me. When she returned from her first ride on the Sargent, she spontaneously started talking about trips we might take on the bike, and color matching gear. She referred to the K1200S as being pretty, which she had never done before. I'm going to keep the Sargent, because the drivers seat really doesn't bother me that much, and the flexibility to have my wife ride sometimes is worth it.

[allikanbe]

Ksnake,
That about sums my feelings about the Sargent. I was expecting more, got less, but now my wife can ride and feel almost as safe as when on the KRS.

[Leoking13]

so, how do you guys like the rider seat compare to the stock if you were going on a 550 mile trip in two days? Thanks.

[allikanbe]

Hey,
Cool looking bike you have there. It looks a lot like mine.
I've only put about 300 miles on in one day with the stock seat. I'll put about 250 on the Sargent tomorrow. either seat is fine. I'll know a bit better after tomorrow.

[Leoking13]

So allikanbe, how was the test of Sargent seat?

[allikanbe]

It is more comfortable on a 250 mile ride than the stock seat. I think this is mainly because of the "bucket" style seat that eliminates the pressure on the tailbone. I prefer the looks of the stock seat, but comfort is important.
I velcroed the floppy-assed rubber thing and that is ok. I still may paint the gray undersides black so they are not so noticeable looking at the bike profile.
Don't ask about the poorly designed backrest.

[Big Yellow]

As I haven't sent my Sargeant back yet, I am going to do an experiment on Saturday the 8th.

I am going to ride to Corbin in Hollister (150 miles or so) with the Sargeant installed. Corbin said they'll install their stock seat with the backrest for me to try out. Then I can really compare fit & finish and the ride with & without a passenger. I'll probably have them do a custom fit the next week if I like it. I'll post the results mid-week. I realize everone fits differently, but the springy backrest is still unacceptable to me. I'm off to Freddie Spencer school in Utah Monday & Tuesday.

[George K1200S]

Hey everyone I have my seat & pod but there is a problem.

The mechanism on the bike that latches the seat down doesn't like my Sargent seat. It will go in place but all I have to do it yank on the rear passenger side of the seat and the seat will pop right out.

I've actually taken the pod off to watch the entire process and the hook-y thing on the k12s does latch in place, but the Sargent seat is built in such a way that it's putting some pressure on the hook, so the hook never actually is firmly in place.

Anyone else with this problem?

[Bad Breath]

I ordered mine 3 weeks ago and am still waiting for delivery. BTW does anyone know if they send you an e-mail with the tracking number for the USPS? Its always nice to know when to expect your new toy!

[Big Yellow]

As promised, I rode the Seargant to Hollister. We had to strap a pillow to the backrest for my wife to be comfortable. Very elegant.

Corbin gave me a new K1200S seat to try. It was easy to install. The bracket installs with 2 bolts. Easy enough to remove to use the standard seat. The backrest angle is adjustable. They did not have the matching backrest in stock so the one pictured was just for the test ride. I love the look of the seat on the bike.

We rode with it for about a 45 minutes. It was pretty comfortable right out of the box. Most stock Corbin seats are too wide for me. This one was close. My wife loved the rear seat and backrest position/ rigidity. The amount of cushion was perfect. The seat pictured has the extra tufts sewn in. That is what made it comfortable. When I had my other Corbin made, I opted for a more restrained look so it doesn't have the extra padding. It is definitely harder. The Corbin is better material and better made by far. Sargeant uses vinyl and staples, Corbin uses leather and rivets.

My wife wanted me to purchase it right away, but the almost $1100.00 price seems high. Corbin recently reduced its prices, but not much on this model. Since I live in CA, I would still opt for a custom fitting (no extra cost and a free lunch). The styling of the tufts is the big choice. I want yellow flames, the wife objects.

Well, the Sargeant is on its way back to Florida. $70 worth of shipping wasted. As a footnote, after the ride to Corbin, the front edge of the seat cover material started to fray on the Sargeant. Nice quality.

[K12s Mac]

The information about the Sargent saddle is concerning me. I have read the reveiws, posted here and the seat seems to be OK at best. I just returned a Corbin seat because of the weight and the way it sat on my bike. Because of the seat pan design it made me sit too far back where my arms were not confortable. Corbin was good enough to take the seat back and give me a refund. I was really hoping the Sargent saddle would be comfortable, more like the stock seat with a more suitable seating position.

[Leoking13]

Great job, Big Yellow! Thank you. My seat is on the way back to Sargent. I really did not like the passenger seat and the back rest. They are, in my opinion, very low quality. You can not ride with a backrest if you don't have a passenger. It rattles...

[OzTim]

As promised, I rode the Seargant to Hollister. We had to strap a pillow to the backrest for my wife to be comfortable. Very elegant.

I like the look of the seat and the back rest of the Corbin in your pixs

[Bad Breath]

I e-mailed Sargent about the matter, and recieved a very prompt and informative reply. I think Im going to wait and see how my seat looks and feels and decide for myself.

Thanks for bringing your concerns to our attention. As you may know, our seats design philosophy is, in may ways, very different form our competition. We focus on comfortable, light-weight, feature packed, high quality seats for the Sport/Sport Touring market.

We offer (and recommend) vinyl upholstery covers because they are virtually maintenance free and do not leak. Unlike vinyl, leather often requires decorative stitch work to compensate for lack of stretch and difficulty of fitting - stitch work that can compromise integrity and cause moisture issues. Also, because of leathers lack of stretch, it tends to make a seat feel too hard by interfering with the foam suspension. You can read more about all this at our FAQ section the web site http://www.sargentcycle.com/wsfaq.htm##3

The comments about the backrest quality may be mis-guided. Ours is designed to be quickly installed and removed. It slips in and out, snapping into place via ball detents, eliminating the need to "bolt-up" the part. As such, this design will vibrate/rattle somewhat when there is no passenger seated. If this is an issue for the user, by virtue of its design, it can be quickly pulled out when no passenger is riding. No need to remove the seat and use tools to remove the backrest.

Also the backrest has some inherent flex that is part of the system's strength (and comfort). This system has passed pressure test that far exceed typical loads. Specifically, 1000 cycles of rear force to the pad at an average of 130lbs (range 100lb - 160lb) each, without compromise to system structural integrity, or damage to motorcycle components.

The backrest hole cover is designed to be attractive and functional, and (unlike Velcro closures) water tight. These same components are used on many of our other seat models with no problems. However, we are aware a few early units early K12 units where customers complained of some difficulty with the backrest hole cover. A correction has been made on the K12S application and a simple "space kit" is available for customers that received these early units. We have since made a slight change to the elevation of the CAP and COVER unit (out of its surrounding recessed area) as an extra measure to insure ease of use, as the recess was causing some conflict on the K12S.

NOTE: The rubber "CAP" fits over a "HOLE COVER PIECE" via pressure fit. There is a small "lip" on the outside edge of the CAP that grabs a mating ridge on the outside edge of the "HOLE COVER PIECE". This action is similar to the way a plastic coffee can lid fits over a can of coffee. It does take a little massaging to seat it, but is very easy to do once the correction is made- takes maybe 5 seconds.

It's the first I've heard of a forced removal of the seat. I will need to investigate further.

I think your seat is slated for shipping late this week or early next. I hope this helps. Please advise if you should require a change.

Respectfully,


Mark - R&D

[SHIVA]

Good response from Sargent. Good move!!! S

[KSnake]

BB: I'm glad you are going to risk the shipping charges to look at the Sargent. I've had mine on and off and on. The price of these aftermarket seats are no doubt high, but it does give you an option of another seat shape. You should be able to easily decide in time to return the Sargent if you don't like it, but I don't see any way you can decide for yourself without using the seat.
As to the quality issues, it looks like the Sargent quality is ok to me. I could be wrong and it could fall apart or fray tomorrow, but I see no more chance of this happening than the stock seat coming apart. The most I have put on the Sargent in one day was a 90 mile trip followed by a 20 minute meeting and the 90 mile return ride. A couple of days before that I rode about 120 miles with a couple of farely short breaks. I didn't feel any bottom problems on those rides, and I think I could have gone a lot further without any seat concern.

[KSnake]

Big Yellow: I look forward to seeing a picture of whatever seat from Corbin you decide to buy. The model you pictured is a very good looking seat. I know you can get it recovered later if you want, but you might consider the chances you might decide to buy a later model bike, which might be a color that does not go so well with the yellow flames.

[jewilson]

As Sargent seats go I've owned two and neither one was great, I mean they are ok, also they were for Yamaha's. There are not bad, however I never felt that their quality, construction and performance never meet their price tag.

I had my stock K12s seat recovered in leather; it looks great, however after being in the sun the leather has gotten hard. The seat is hard enough that went back to a factory seat.

The Corbin seat looks nice and has lots of material choices. However, the base price of $700 for the Corbin is just too much. I have also heard to many times that there seat are way too hard and I seen others that have big gaps between the gas tank and the seat. They seem to have quality issues from unit to unit.

I'm just going to buy an Air Hawk and see how that works out, lots of guys I know swear by them.


Cheers

[Bad Breath]

Still waiting for my seat.... I hope there is some riding season left by the time I get it....

[jewilson]

Well I hope your Sargent seat turns out better than the one I have.

LOL

[Bad Breath]

Received my Sargent seat today. I was a little worried about the fit and finish based on some of the other posts. I would like to say that it is put together as well as the BMW seat in my opinion. It is comfortable, but I haven't taken it for a ride yet (this morning to the gym). The passenger seat goes on really easy, the Back rest does jiggle a bit, but should not be a problem with a passenger on (who needs a reverse thruster anyway?). The only complaints I have is that the cams are hard to get locked in on the pod attachment, and I think they should have used the same material on the passenger seat and backrest. The finish on the pod is really nice (almost a perfect match, but I'm really picky, and I am happy with it. I must point out I drive by cars and point out the ones that have had paint work done.) Everything else is great. Ill take some photos later and post them. I don't think I would discourage anyone from buying this seat so far. Ill keep you updated.

[jewilson]

Well I have mine on a Yamaha for over two years now. The bike lives inside most of the time however the seat has become hard and the leather die is wearing on it.

LOL

[Bad Breath]

Odd, seems my Digital Camera has gone AWOL. Maybe it is at my cottage- if so you guys are going to have to wait till after the weekend.

Ride update- very firm seat. much flatter than stock. It also feels lower, dont know if that is the same for everyone else, just my 1st impression.

Love the look of the color matched POD. Got 2 compliments in 20 min this AM

[KSnake]

For what it is worth to someone looking for a Sargent, I rode on the seat over 250 miles last Friday, and over 350 the following Saturday. I did not put an Airhawk seat cushion on it, which I would normally do for trips that long. I was very pleased with the relaxed comfortable support of the bare seat.

[OzTim]

I have received my complete Sargent set up (standard material front, rear, pod, and back rest) for 2 weeks now.

Pluses:
1. The quality is good, feels comfortable
2. Fits to the bike is better than the OEM seat (I can unlatch the rear Sargent seat with ease whereas the OEM seat took a bit of effort).
3. It is as light as the OEM seat, not as solid (and heavy) as the Corbin's base pan (could be a minus if you prefer solid seat).
4. Really good value compare to Corbin's.
5. Front seat texture looks good. Rear seat looks so so.

Minuses:
1. Why the large gap between the lower side edges of the seat to the bike's body, that you can easily see the base pan?
2. The back rest looks boring on a sports bike, I'd prefer the Corbin's more sporty style.
3. The back rest is fixed and not angle-adjustable like the Corbin's.
4. Why can't they make the rear seat and back rest with the same (better looking) material as the front seat?
5. Pod lid feels a bit flimsy.

Overall rating 8/10