Mayer's and Russell and Corbin...Oh My!

["Tom Brown" <tbrown@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

John:

>I have had three Corbin seats and a Meyers.  I didn't particularly like the
Bill Mayer's seat.

Was the Mayer's seat custom made for you or did you buy it used?   Guys I know
with Bill Mayers seats (pre-Rocky) love them.

>The Corbin seats were a little wide in the saddle and
made it a little difficult to reach the ground.

Corbins are good on some bikes and not so good on others. On RT's, I believe
there are better choices.   I use on on my Mille R because it's the only one
made for it.   It's better than stock, for sure, but a while different animal
from an RT saddle.

>I traded my 1100 RT on a 1200RT and need a more comfortable seat.

Me too!

>What
experience have you had with the Russell Day Long Saddle?  I ride a lot in
the mountains of NC, TN, WV and Kentucky and tend toward the slightly
sportier ride and am afraid that the Russell might anchor me in the saddle
too much.  Non-the-less, my main concern is for comfort.

There's one seat you didn't mention.  The Sargent.    It's not custom made.
It's not as wide and touring-oriented as the Russells and the Mayers.   I had
one on my 1100 and moved it to my 1150.   I'm sure the Russells and Mayers,
fitted properly, are more comfy on thousand mile days, but I dont' generally
do thousand mile days.    I also like to be able to move around on the bike
for various reasons, like hanging off in turns and shifting the bike over to
better survive heavy crosswinds.   The Sargent was a nice compromise between
the full-tilt Russell and the stock seat and it's not quite as expensive.  I
think they look a little more sporting than the expensive saddles too.  I've
seen a Russell on an otherwise sleek R1200RT and it looked a little wrong to
me.    I've done some long days with my Sargent.  Eventually, my butt gets
sore, but most of the time, it's a better solution.

Unfortunately, the new Sargent isn't coming out for the 1200RT until spring.
I'm waiting to see what they come up with before I decide on my new seat.  The
stock seat isn't that bad for me.

I'm also wondering what I'm going to do about the heated seat equation.
Probably just use the stock seat for cold weather and an unheated aftermarket
seat for the regular riding season.  Heated seat is nice for the first 20
minutes on a cold morning, but I can live without it most of the time.  Only
our Thanksgiving ride requires every possible heated gadget we can muster.   I
can put up with the stock seat for one ride per year.

- -TB

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