Street Triple Sargent Seat

[Tom Herold]

Mine arrived today and I've already logged 70 miles butt time on it......

My verdict is it's money well spent!  

The seat looks GREAT with the bike, I have Techspec Snake Skin pads on tank sides and the carbon look of the seat material sets it all off nicely.

It's flatter, no more pushing my sack into the tank, there's more room to shift fore and aft, and it's wider towards the rear providing more latteral support.

At the same time, I can scoot forward towards the tank and still slide off to a side for better cornering if needed.

I did have to roll the handlebars back just a bit to set my riding position to my preference, but an easy 5min job.

Clicked right into place just like it was a stock piece, quality workmanship, and definately a keeper! I have no doubt I'll be able to ride longer and in more comfort.

Let's here it from the other riders who've received theirs!

[MadOzodi]

 

[nevinfs327]

Thanks for the update.  Does the seat seem like it would impact the passenger, either improving or worsening the experience?  It seems to me that when they maintain the ability to fit the seat cowl to an aftermarket seat that it doesn't change much for the passenger.

[falconati]

 

pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseple asepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease pleaseplease

[Tom Herold]

Sorry, the bike went in for its 600 mile maint before I could snap pics. I pic it up on Monday and will take some then!

I'm serious, the more I ride the seat, the happier I am!

[Rincewind]

Glad to hear such a great review, Tom.  I look forward to your pics of the seat.  

Just did a 5-day tour with the stock seat.  I didn't find it all that bad, but I know there is room for improvement in the areas that you listed.

[Tom Herold]

Here are the pics of the Sargent seat on my STriple. I have about 450 miles butt time in the seat and can say it definately makes the ride more enjoyable and for longer periods of time.

Sorry it took a while, life gets in the way sometimes.....

[Tom Herold]

and a couple more....

[Rincewind]

Wow, looks fantastic.  Thanks for the seat pics, Tom.  It's really tempting me with that scooped butt-stop and wider pillion area.  

BTW - the red paint looks awesome.  I finally saw a red one at the dealer last week, and it really jumps out at you!

[Tom Herold]

Thanks, the red is rather exotic looking in my opinion - I like it a lot. It really jumped out at me when I was getting ready to purchase and knew it was the one for me  

The passenger seat's a lot better. It's scooped just a bit too, and bolstered in just the right places though it's not wider if you hold a measuring tape up to it for comparison.

A fellow STriple owner rode mine and ordered his seat that night; he's just as happy.

[ANZAC]

That looks like a sweet set up there Tom.

BTW, where did you get that Union Jack tank protector?

[Tom Herold]

Thanks, the tank protector came off EBay.

I went to the EBay Motors area, under motorcycle parts and accessories typed in Union Jack, and ran through the ads until I found the one I wanted.

If I recall correctly, it was about $20 U.S. shipped.

[nevinfs327]

Thanks for all the photos and insight, Tom.  I just placed an order today and should have a new seat in about 3 weeks.  

I can still feel the two thin lines where my weight rests on the seat from my ride yesterday.  When wearing overpants or leathers it took 500 mile days repeated one after the other to start to feel soreness.  My summer textile riding pants aren't nearly as kind though, so I've ponied up to improve the situation.

Nevin

[Tom Herold]

Good luck Nevin, I hope it works out for you as well as it has for me!

I agree on the riding pants; my Winter weight's have a little more bolstering and protection on the butt and outter-thigh area than my Summer mesh. I defininately like riding in cooler weather over the hot stuff....

Let us know how the seat works for you!

[Rincewind]

I'm really feeling the peer pressure here.    

3-week lead time?  I guess they have to fabricate it based on that.  I look forward to your thoughts Nevin.  

[nevinfs327]

The 3 week lead time was a little off - my seat arrived today  

It looks great - very high quality piece.  I don't think I'll have a chance to ride this weekend but I should be able to put it on and check the fit.  I'll report back after my next long day ride.

[Tom Herold]

It's always nice to be surprised like that!

Hope the seat treats you right, let us know what you think!

I'm betting your input might push Rincewind over the edge.....  

[nevinfs327]

Took a nice ride out to PA to camp at Raystown Lake, about 250 miles away, so I've got a feel for the Sargent.  

Slabbed about 200 miles with only a short stop for fuel (and lots of lane splitting and 20mph riding due to NYC rush hour then a few accidents causing congestion).  The seat is much better for that type of riding.  I still got a little sore, but I did sit in basically the same position for 4 hours.  The soreness is more spread out and less noticable than with the stock seat.  

For the slab it is a definite improvement, but I think I need to wear it in.  

The last 50 miles on Friday and about 250 miles of today's less direct return were on state roads and through small towns.  For type of riding I'm not sure the seat is an improvement.  It is a little harder to move around on and the different seating position takes some of my weight off the bars and changes the angle of my ankles making fast shifting and rear brake usage slighty difficult...I guess slower would be more accurate.  Since I had camping gear and the roads were wet in many areas I didn't push it real hard.  Maybe I'll adjust to this.

For back road riding I'll call it a draw because it was more comfortable when I wasn't trying to lean off.

One notable imprvement: the Sargent doesn't hold rain water in the seat as bad when riding so I didn't have a soaked crotch despite lots of rain on and off all day and no rain pants.

I'm hoping it'll break in over time and become even more comfortable.  While it is an improvement, I'm not sure it is great enough to warrant the cost.  

[Rincewind]

Hmm thanks for the honest report Nevin.  Do you think the main difference in riding position is because the seat sits you further back than the stock one?  I was really thinking about this Sargent, but maybe I should have a Butt Buffer seat guy re-shape the stock one instead.

[nevinfs327]

The combination of sitting further back and sitting on a flat surface instead of the sloping stocker are what make the difference.  If we connect at a ride some time I'd be happy to swap seats with you for a bit.  I was probably not far from some of your regular areas this weekend riding 850, 641 and 994 (among others) west of Harrisburg, plus 60 or so miles riding locally with a friend of mine in the Kutztown/Reading/Boyertown area.  Not sure when I'll make my next group ride.

[Tom Herold]

To help with all the things you mentioned, I rolled my handle bars back about an inch and it made a huge difference/improvement over the seating position, the ability to maneuver the bike while shifting and braking.

Give me your thoughts on if you feel less harshness in the suspension with the Sargent? To me, the improved foam and position took out a bit of the jolt....

[nevinfs327]

I just put another 1200 miles on my seat this past weekend and I'm really liking it a lot more after some break in.  I didn't end up moving the bars but it all feels right now.  

[Rincewind]

My Sargent seat arrived today.  I'm very happy with it, and I haven't even used it yet.  The flatter seat with a more cafe-bike-like butt stop is exactly what I wanted.  Ship time was very short, and they offered me free shipping and 10% off after I placed the order.  

The seat came with two screws and washers.  What are these for?  Is this provisions for a passenger hold strap like the OEM seat?  Does the OEM passenger hold strap fit to the Sargent?  It doesn't seem like it would.

[gradus]

Were any of you able to research the Gel seat from Triumph before deciding to go after-market?

[Rincewind]

Were any of you able to research the Gel seat from Triumph before deciding to go after-market?

I considered it, but have never seen or sat on one.  The gel seats go for around $240, versus the $369 I paid for a Sargent, so there is some savings there. 

The gel seat APPEARS to be the same basic shape and width of the OEM seat.  It is the basic shape which can make the OEM seat uncomfortable - sliding nads into the tank and not keeping your butt at the back of the seat.  The Sargent solves the shape issues by providing a taller butt-stop, while also raising the front of the seat to prevent sliding into the tank.  It is also wider so it supports your things slightly more - the OEM seat would cut into my thighs if I did extended highway miles.  My wife gave the passenger section a test sit and was immediately impressed.

So far I really like the Sargent - however the seat material is noticeably slippier than the OEM seat cover.  Time will tell whether that is a big deal or not.  It's the shaping that makes it a much different animal from the OEM or gel seats.  (Of course you can get the OEM seat reshaped for less money, too, even with gel inserts like from Butt Buffer, as a different custom option.)

[nevinfs327]

The seat came with two screws and washers.  What are these for?  Is this provisions for a passenger hold strap like the OEM seat?  Does the OEM passenger hold strap fit to the Sargent?  It doesn't seem like it would.

Congrats on the improved seat - definitely changes the ride for the better even on short trips.

For the screws, I thought they were for the hold strap (rather than seat cowl) based on where the bolt holes are located on the Sargent (topside instead of underneath).  I didn't bother fitting the strap to the Sargent.

[nevinfs327]

Were any of you able to research the Gel seat from Triumph before deciding to go after-market?

I rode a demo bike with the gelseat.  It improved the cushion, but as Rincewind noted, didn't change the shape.  The shape was what caused me discomfort on long days.  

[Tom Herold]

The Sargent made a HUGE difference for me, money very well spent in my opinion!