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Wanted: Recommendation for Custom Seat Maker - DFW

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ramblin66

ramblin66

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Brett
I love my bike... but the seat doesn't love me. Not sure if it's the shape, the materials, the fit or what... After 2-3 hours the backs of my legs start aching and I can't get away from it, except to stop and stretch. Pressure points on the seat. I've spoken with lots of other guys running the same seats (I've tried 3 so far, but all have been off the shelf designs... Currently running a Corbin) on the same bike, with no similar complaints... It seems to be unique to me and my specific dimensions, as far as I can tell. I've done all-day rides on BMW's (K and R bikes) and cruisers without any similar issues..

So.... What I'm looking for is a LOCAL custom seat maker that I can work with to try and fix this problem. DFW area...

I'm thinking about buying a used stock seat that can be torn down and used for the pan, and having a custom seat built to address my specific issues.

I've spoken with a few "upholstery guys" and my discussions have left me less than confident. I'm looking for someone with hands on experience/specialty on motorcycle seats.

Any recommendations/shared experiences would be appreciated.

Thanks.!
 
A. Read this http://www.diymotorcycleseat.com/index.php
B. Ge spare pan and materiasl and make the base to fit YOU.
C. Go to a auto upholstery place and pick out what you want for a cover.
D. Give them the pan with your foam. Let them put a thin layer to smooth it out and stich you a cover and install.

I did just this and have a perfect fitting high quality boat type vionyl covered seat that fits me. Any GOOD auto upholstery place can do this.

Or send it all to Sargent.

Larry
VFRrider
 
There's some combination of shape and seat content that will alleviate the problem for me, I'm sure of it. But, I'd like to get a professional to have a look at it, one that's very familiar with MC seats... rather than a repetitive/iterative DIY attempt.

Thanks.!
 
I'm not aware of anyone in DFW. I've had many seats reworked by various places/people around the country. Most seem to specialize in certain make/model(s).
 
The name that sticks with me is Cash Upholstery in Carrollton, TX. I've never needed their services, but have read so many raves that I figured I'd try 'em if I ever did.
 
No recommendation here, just a caution. Many auto upholsterers are VERY good at what they do, but really don't understand the proper dimensions for a motorcycle seat. I worked with a local auto upholster here in League City, who has won many custom upholstery awards, with less than spectacular results. The seat LOOKED very nice but just didn't have the right fit. Never was comfortable, even though we worked it over several times.

In the end I bought a Renazco, best seat ever, it just took a while (six months). I have had Corbins, Sargents, Ultimates and others and all were better than the "custom".

YMMV.
 
I have gone down the road of the do it myself and the local upholsterers route several times. For me it was just a waste of money.

Over the years I have found Russell Seats to be the one for me, but I have also had a Diamond Custom, and Rick Meyer. All were far better than what I could do and what a local upholster did. I admit it is an expensive way to go, but well worth it.

You might want to check out Baldwin Seats. I have not purchased one from him, but I think I will give him a shot on my next one.

http://www.motorbikesaddles.com/
 
I had a Sargent (good) and a Rick Meyer (not good). Sargent did not porvide complete information for the effects of an adjustment which resulted in a less than optimum seat, still better than stock though. R. Meyer seat was uncomfortable for me and he would not communicate.

Ultimately I went Russel. Still took two adjustments but i had at least three lengthy conversations with my seat builder (at least an hour each). They listened and the seat is VERY good. Watch the extras and youcan get out for a reasonable price.

Sargent's Premium Foam Upgrade was good but you need to think through adjustments and it isn't always intuitive to a non seat builder.

Good luck, a good seat is worth its weight.
 
I am a member of the Venture Riders forum and there is a gentleman over there that reworks all types of motorcycle seats. Here is his contact info:

Rick_Butler@verizon.net

He is located in Wylie, TX. Send him an email with your details and see if he can help.
 
DancesWithCurves said:
The name that sticks with me is Cash Upholstery in Carrollton, TX. I've never needed their services, but have read so many raves that I figured I'd try 'em if I ever did.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll look into it..

Fort Bend Rider said:
You might want to check out Baldwin Seats. I have not purchased one from him, but I think I will give him a shot on my next one.

http://www.motorbikesaddles.com/
Click to expand...
Interesting... Thanks.
8 hours drive.. possible...

jfink said:
Many auto upholsterers are VERY good at what they do, but really don't understand the proper dimensions for a motorcycle seat.
Click to expand...
Exactly why I'm looking for a person with MC experience.

I've tried the stocker (horrible), a custom seat from Spencer (FL) (good but still had same issue), and now corbin. I like the Corbin best so far, but if I can't ride comfortably for more than 3 hours, what good is it?

I think the fix for me will come from talking/working with a specialist that knows MC seats. I'm betting that if I can show them the corbin and describe my issues with it, a MC seat specialist can some up with the best way to address my needs.

Russel is tempting to try, but costly if it doesn't come out right.. and with Russel I'm worried about their seat adding too much height.

Thanks all for the suggestions. Much appreciated.
Any other locals I should check out??
 
bjhughes said:
I am a member of the Venture Riders forum and there is a gentleman over there that reworks all types of motorcycle seats. Here is his contact info:

Rick_Butler@verizon.net

He is located in Wylie, TX. Send him an email with your details and see if he can help.
Click to expand...
I'll give him a call.. Thanks.

For anyone looking to contact Rick, he gives his contact info here: LINK
 
Fort Bend Rider said:
I have gone down the road of the do it myself and the local upholsterers route several times. For me it was just a waste of money.

Over the years I have found Russell Seats to be the one for me, but I have also had a Diamond Custom, and Rick Meyer. All were far better than what I could do and what a local upholster did. I admit it is an expensive way to go, but well worth it.

You might want to check out Baldwin Seats. I have not purchased one from him, but I think I will give him a shot on my next one.

http://www.motorbikesaddles.com/
Click to expand...



I had a Tall Baldwin made for my Versys went with a leather cover and blue stitching. Loren does great work very comfortable. I rode from Tx to Ca went 850 miles the first day and 550 the next. My butt never got sore. Here are some photos of the stock seat and the baldwin....http://www.flickr.com/photos/54181788@N06/sets/72157637128576715/
 
Weljo2001 said:
I had a Tall Baldwin made for my Versys went with a leather cover and blue stitching. Loren does great work very comfortable. I rode from Tx to Ca went 850 miles the first day and 550 the next. My butt never got sore. Here are some photos of the stock seat and the baldwin....http://www.flickr.com/photos/54181788@N06/sets/72157637128576715/
Click to expand...

I have met Loren on a couple of occasions. I even was able to sit on his C-14 to check out his seat. I was very impressed. His seat was made for him and there is a huge difference in our sizes, both height and weight. Taking that into consideration when I was sitting on his bike, I was impressed with the quality and fitting. The only issue I may have is I am not sure if he does any backrests.

For now, I can switch my Russell between the bikes, but sometime in the future I think I am going to give him a call.
 
Ive never had any luck with anyone local.

Corbin (1150 GSA) too flat for my boney butt. Corbin (KTM 525) too short, hard, and slick. Mayer Day-Long (Xchallenge) too tall, too narrow/thin/flat at the front, back looked like a stingray and too soft/wide/bulky, plus it was slick leather.

Renazco on my 950 is perfect. Even though it was made for the PO who is 6" taller and 40lbs heavier. All day comfort. Flat(er) in the back, squishy but supportive underneath. I haven't ridden any 800 mile days, but Ive had my share of 400 mile days on jeep roads. Couldnt ask for better or even think of a way to change it for the better.
 
ramblin66 said:
I'll give him a call.. Thanks.

For anyone looking to contact Rick, he gives his contact info here: LINK
Click to expand...

I traded a few emails with Rick. he seems knowledgeable and, more importantly, interested in working with me to solve my problem.

I'm going to look for a stock seat to cannibalize and will plan a visit with Rick once that is in hand.

Additional recommendations still welcome/appreciated.

Thanks.!
 
DancesWithCurves said:
The name that sticks with me is Cash Upholstery in Carrollton, TX. I've never needed their services, but have read so many raves that I figured I'd try 'em if I ever did.
Click to expand...

I've used Cash twice to modify factory seats. I don't know about building seats from a bare pan, but I do seem to remember that they aren't in the business of fabricating seatpans if you don't already have one.

http://www.cashupholstery.com
 
I did wind up going to Rick for a custom seat. So far, I'm pleased with the results, although I've not yet had it out on a long trip. Longest trip so far on the new seat is about 2 hours, but my legs felt fine at the end, which is a big improvement already. Hoping to get out for an Arkansas trip in May to really give it a thorough test.

Here's the writeup I posted over on the ZZR site. (zzrbikes.com)
Let me know if you've got any questions.

And thanks again for the recommendations.
Looks like "Problem Solved", hopefully.
Confident enough that I already sold my Corbin. :rider:

__________________________________________________

I've been at the end of my rope trying to find some long-distance comfort on the Big Zed.
Stock seat, gel-insert modified stock seat, Corbin.... All left me with different problems.
The Corbin I'm currently running is clearly built for a bigger guy. I'm 5'8" with a 30" inseam and after about 2 hours on this Corbin my hamstrings are in real pain. It's as if I'm sitting on my hammies and not on my rear.

So... as a last ditch effort, I decided to go custom. I've been working with a local guy here in DFW to customize a stock seat and I think I've solved my problem.... I've only got about 200 miles on this reworked seat, but, so far, so good.

Part of the problem with being a shorter guy on a bigger bike is that on the Corbin I wind up with about 2 inches of seat space between my back and the Corbins' back support. When I take off fast, I slide back on the seat. And, when I'm riding, no matter how far forward I sit, the seat shape is just too wide, pressing against the back of my legs at the top of my hammies, instead of on my butt.

So... Starting with a stock seat, he cut out most of the rider area and filled it back in with a denser foam, moving the back support about 2 inches forward. Then the seat was reshaped to fall away quickly under my hammies and the butt area was shaped for the size of my rear. The finished seat has a slight cant forward. Less flat/neutral than the Corbin, hugely less canted than stock. The finished seat is slightly taller than the Corbin, but because the seat falls away faster under my hamstrings I actually get more leg to the ground at full stop.

So far, it feels like a winner. My only complaint so far is that the stock seat cover is pretty "sticky" and the legs of my pants tend to ride up a bit. Maybe some armorall on the seat, or possibly a new seat cover would fix that.... But, I'm as happy as I've ever been about riding the 1200 now.

The guy I worked with is up in Wylie. I'd definitely recommend him to do custom work, but I would recommend against just mailing him a seat, since "custom" requires your *** to be in it for him to get the right fit for you. I'm certain we would not have had the same result if I'd just mailed him my seat.

Rick Butler LINK
Wylie, TX
214-926-3905

Cost was less than $100, not including the cost of the stock seat, or tolls on the George Bush :roll: :lol2:

Here's a few photos.

1a-ReworkedBase_zps317b2f49.jpg


2a-SoftMemoryFoamLayer_zpsc7d90022.jpg


3a-Finished_zps6baec77e.jpg
 
I had a seat made by Russell All-Day for my VFR800, $700. Can now indeed ride all-day for 3 days and not feel one single issue, best seat I ever had. Beats Corbin and custom seat builders I have tried before used.
 
Just took my vstrom to see Rick today based on this thread. The guy knows his stuff, and my ride home was the most comfortable I've had on this bike.
 
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