The stock seat is softer than most dirt bike seats, however it still leaves something to be desired on even on a short road trip. So I set an appointment to drive up to Anderson, Ca to the Rick Mayer Cycle shop where he makes custom seats specifically for you and your bike. The trip from my house in Sacramento is 179 miles. I decided to load the bike on the carrier rack and drive up with my wife. We left at 6:30am and arrived on time for our 10am appointment. Rick is a really great guy, he showed us around the shop, discussed the process and had me sit on the bike to determine how to best make my custom seat. Then he walked us around his property to show us around. We ate some fresh grapes, fuji apples and figs. During this time his assistant took the seat off the bike and stipped off the vinyl cover. When we got back Rick started doing his magic, he started by glueing foam on the seat and shaping it, adding more foam, shaping etc. He worked on building up the V in the seat because I was crushing myself, then he worked on building some buttock support. I'm trying to use a better word. After the seat is foamed and shaped, they cut out a custom vinyl or leather seat cover (your choice) specific to your seat and add another layer of foam. Then they set the seat on the bike for you to sit on just to make sure that everything is perfect before the final finishing touches. When it was all done, they mounted the seat on my bike and I drove my bike home the 179 miles while my wife followed me in the SUV. Compared to my old seat it is more than twice as comfortable. I stopped once for gas and a soda after about 100 miles. It was hard to drive 50 miles on the original seat without a break. I heard of Rick Mayer from another posting on Cafe Husky. Thanks, I am extremely happy. At first I was concerned that the seat would be huge and look weird on the bike. It is not, in fact it is very trim and fits the bike well. It just adds alittle extra right where you need it. Well here it is.
Awesome. I wish mine was like that, I hate the seat. When winter comes, I am going send it somewhere. How much $?
There is a guy in Albany Oregon at MrEdsMoto who does custom seat. Mine looks very similar to yours on my 610 and has transformed the bike into something I can ride down the road through a whole tank of gas. Fill up and do it again...... and then I sold my BMW because the 610 is now a more comfortable street bike.
Funny ... but I like the seat. Has good grip and enhances the handling. Think a softer seat´d make cornering feel `mushy´.
That is my impression of this seat, you can drive it through a tank of gas, stop, gas up, take a short break, and you are ready to go again.
I have a Rick Mayer on my Triumph Thunderbird Sport. He does a GREAT job It makes 500 mile days easy, and an iron butt ride is not so bad either.
Rick Mayer Seat Update It has been two weeks now on the seat and I wanted to give an update. First, it is very comfortable and takes alot of the beating out of the trail. It rikes like a Cadillac compared to my brother inlaws KTM 530 EXC. On the road it is even better. I can go in between tank fillups and still be comfortable. By the end of the tank I am starting to feel a little stiff. The only downside is the added seat height, it added approximately an inch to the height. This might be an issue for some riders.
I had Rick do the same for my 610 and requested no increase in ht and he did a great job. Much better than the stocker. I had les lower my bike an inch and a half as ht is an issue for me.
