DR650SE Index Topic #2- SEATS
 

This is the next in a series of topic-specific threads compiling information about the DR650SE. Our topic this time? The seat. What, or who, made spending a day in the saddle, at the very least, a non-issue? Maybe you tackled the project yourself. Please tell us the story.
Again, if what you want to share has already been said, just give us a link to the specific post, please.

<dl><dd>LINKS: </dd><dd>Seat concepts </dd><dd>http://www.sargentcycle.com/ </dd><dd>http://www.renazco.com/[ThumperTalk threads regarding Renazco by mxrob & OUTTATHERE]. </dd><dd>http://www.corbin.com/ </dd><dd>http://www.rickmayercycle.com/ </dd><dd>http://www.day-long.com/ </dd><dd>http://www.alaskaleather.com/ </dd><dd>http://www.shapefitting.com/ (Airhawk seat pad) </dd><dd>http://greatdaytoride.com/ </dd></dl>

some info on corbin seats and Rich's Custom Seats redo of the stocker: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showp...&postcount=169

Some pics of Rich's Custom Seats redo of the stock seat here: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showp...&postcount=178

http://tiltpen.net/DR650/640x480/Seat1.JPG

http://tiltpen.net/DR650/640x480/Seat2.JPG

No.1 Upgrade
 

I found a donor seat (here in the classifieds) and sent it out to Renazco. A couple of emails back and forth and they fitted it out with some rather stiff foam (I am way past being "fat"), made a pretty suede cover and got it back to me ahead of schedule. It did NOT turn a DR into a Gold Wing (thankfully) but right out of the box it about doubled the "how long can I stand this" time. Now that it is getting broken in I rarely even think about the seat which to me is a VERY GOOD THING!


Bruce

Seat Concepts
 

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showp...ostcount=38865

Still liking the seat...so much I bought one for my son-in-law.

What kind of seat is it? i'm looking at replacing mine soon.

Rick Myers is having a sale until the end of the month if you have purchased a seat from them in the last 5 years they will give you half off your next set so that will only put it around $250.

I have a Corbin seat, and I'm pleased with it. Vast, vast improvement over the stocker. I'm not exactly petite, and I really appreciate the extra width of the Corbin. While most saddle companies base their designs on the stock seat pan, Corbin manufactures their own (significantly wider) fiberglass pan. Pans, actually, since they make two versions. One fits the stock tank, the other fits the popular IMS plastic tank. The seat height is a little lower, but the extra width splays your legs further apart, so it doesn't seem any closer to the ground or pegs to me. YMMV.
If shaving weight is a priority for your DR, you might not be a fan of the Corbin, as it weighs noticably more than the stock seat. Some have also reported misalignment issues that make the Corbin difficult to mount.
As I mentioned, I like my Corbin. I was able to do about ten hours each way on a recent weekend at Big Bend with a minimum of squirming. An unthinkable trip on the factory seat. I also use a sheepskin pad, which helps, too.

www.Corbin.com

Corbins are sold by many bike retailers, and they're not inexpensive. Used ones turn up often, and fit all '96-current models, depending on what gas tank you have.

Here's a link to the SEAT section on the DR650 Wiki: http://dr650.wikia.com/wiki/Seat

are you going to track these and make an single index post that points to these threads so they don't get lost? or are you using these threads to collect info to create the index thread?

My idea is to have a single link on the "Bike Specific" page that would open a closed page where all the catagory links are listed. Once each topic has reached a point where a subject is exhausted, it would likely be closed until some new item or issue comes along. Some topics would likely get repetitive before others, I'd expect.

Gadget Boy will have much input along these lines, since it's his thread, and he's one of the Thumper mods. But he is on board with the DR650 Index idea :deal...

Seat Concepts
 

I said Id do a review of the Seat Concepts seat right after I got it, bit...I didnt, why??, well I really didnt want to say anything bad about it as the guys at the company were great to deal with , but I wasnt immediately impressed with the comfort level, but now its better so here goes.

As I said communication was great from the get go, very helpful in making my choice of seat cover. So it arrives with very reasonable shipping to Canada( a rarity among US co.) and it looks great and installs easy, nice fit/finish.

After riding locally for a couple days, I took off on a trip 600 klicks on Friday, off road Sat. the 600 km.s back home on Sun. and my ass was still getting sore after a few hours . Im not sure what I expected, but I was used to a Airhawk so it took some getting used to.

So initially I though, "well..its better than stock, but foam is still a little stiff".

Now that said, here we are a little over a month later and Im happy to say its getting better and Im not really noticing it, which is a good thing. I do believe whatever you have after a few hours of hard sit down slab riding your ass will start to ache. Especially if you want to keep the seat off road friendly for standing etc. compromises have to be made in width etc.

So in conclusion, Id say there is a break in period and the foam gets more compliant over time. Workmanship seems very good, not in the way when standing, great customer service so far and, the price is right.

The last ones a biggie as Im sure some of the custom renazco,s etc are a little piece of heaven, but thats what 400 bones and a big lead time get you.

Done blabbing now, Todd


http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...0/IMG_0303.jpg

http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...0/IMG_0306.jpg

http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...0/IMG_0305.jpg

(bump)

I have ridden the stock seat for over 30,000 miles...

I'm pretty happy with my tall Corbin saddle.

I also like the wider than stock seat which supports my hips much better. Being a large fellow I have no issues with the wide Corbin while standing. I prefer a flat saddle that alows me to slide all the way back. With a large dry bag with all my camping gear on the rack I'll scoot back and use it as a back rest like this:

http://sagebrush.smugmug.com/Motorcy...96_xi6tE-M.jpg


This is the best seat pic I have of the Corbin + 1" seat, my daily set up for around town:

http://sagebrush.smugmug.com/Motorcy...42_k5jYP-M.jpg

I have a Sargent, was on the waiting list when they first came out.

Great quality, and the seat is light weight. Comes on a new seat pan, you don't send your seat in to get redone.

The stock seat was torture. I could not ride far with it.

I did a 2 day 750 mile ride on the Sargent this summer. Loved every minute of it.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...0/DSCN5533.jpg

who's doing that rear rack shelf?