The stock seat

For the last year,and a month, I have endured the torture device named 2016 Yamaha FJR 1300A Stock Seat...The FJR is my touring bike now. I love the bike, but I can only do 1.5 hours before the pain is too much to bare...Not Hyperbole...I am currently on an extended western road trip, and as of Today, after much consideration, I am riding on a Sargent Seat. I took a 3 hour ride today, and for the first time experienced a pain free ride...

I had the same experience with my 16 ES.

Out of all the bikes I have owned the FJR stock seat was the best.

Now that is a relative term. I did like the material on the top of the seat. I did however replace it with a Corbin.

Now my Honda cruiser that bike had a terrible seat from the factory. I swear it's vinyl with about .000005 inches of padding stretched over a 2x4.

I could ride that bike maybe 30 minutes at a time. I put a nice comfy Mustang seat on that one.

98K+ on my stock seat with a bead rider on and off including a few 1000+ mile days.

Compared to my pedal bike and my YZ250F, it's pretty comfy....

I use the "Airhawk Cruiser R" Comfort Seating System, super simple to use and install. Remove seat, place airhawk where you want it, cross the straps under seat and reinstall. Air valve adjust, very comfortable and a LOT cheaper than getting a custom seat. Used it on a 13 hour ride and it was amazing. Takes a few rides to figure out how much air to keep in the bladder, but once it is adjusted for you it is better than any gel seat. Hope this helps.

Prior to the Laam seat I used the AirHawk pillion. It worked well for me. If you are a big guy it may be too narrow.

I have only put 4,000 miles on my 2016 ES so far, most of it commuting which causes no pain of course. I did a long weekend with 3-4 hours in the saddle each day, and had no discomfort at all. I was surprised based on all the negative reviews I have seen on the stock seat...

Everyone has a different opinion on this, but I have had most seats out there trying to find the perfect ass hangar for me and it was the Russell Sport seat. Not near as ugly as the Russell Day Long, but IMHO just as comfortable for ALL DAY rides (had both).

99.9 % of all stock factory seats are too soft and made of inferior cheap foam. Feels good sitting on one in the showroom or rare short test ride. Problem is the factory seat will almost always cause the dreaded "butt burn" after a few minutes and will leave one in pain to the point of agony and not wanting to ride that bike anymore. Secret is a seat that is wide enough for your rear side and firm enough to support your weight and not be too firm but close. Pun intended. A good seat is the most important item on any bike for many reasons. IMO. Thinking about the ride and enjoying it instead of concentrating on my aching ….. is huge.

I also have the sargent seat and it is good, not the best but light years ahead of the stock seat. The ultimate seats i put on my stratoliner are the best seats i have ever had. With the ultimates you get tired of riding before your butt does.

RaiderBill said:

I also have the sargent seat and it is good, not the best but light years ahead of the stock seat. The ultimate seats i put on my stratoliner are the best seats i have ever had. With the ultimates you get tired of riding before your butt does.

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Also have the Sargent. so much better than the stocker.

regarding Ultimate: i wonder what the magic is?

price is right just no option for the FJR...

Count me as another Sargent rider... originally purchased for my 2011. When I bought my 2016 ES, the stock seat was used for the ride home from the dealership, and ever since has resided in my storage room. The same Sargent seat now resides on my 2016.

There may be better seats for ultra long distance riding... for sure there are more expensive seats. The Sargent is, however, a great combination of form (looks good) and function (feels a whole lot better than the stock fence rail).

75K on the Sargent seat at present... the marine grade vinyl holds up well in all conditions... including the Arizona heat.

someguy said:

RaiderBill said:

I also have the sargent seat and it is good, not the best but light years ahead of the stock seat. The ultimate seats i put on my stratoliner are the best seats i have ever had. With the ultimates you get tired of riding before your butt does.

Click to expand...

Also have the Sargent. so much better than the stocker.

regarding Ultimate: i wonder what the magic is?

price is right just no option for the FJR...

Click to expand...

Sorry to mislead you, yeah no ultimate seat for the fjr. I believe the secret on the stratoliner is that the seat is large and thick, just a whole lot of padding in there and I love it.

Meriban said:

For the last year,and a month, I have endured the torture device named 2016 Yamaha FJR 1300A Stock Seat...The FJR is my touring bike now. I love the bike, but I can only do 1.5 hours before the pain is too much to bare...Not Hyperbole...I am currently on an extended western road trip, and as of Today, after much consideration, I am riding on a Sargent Seat. I took a 3 hour ride today, and for the first time experienced a pain free ride...

Click to expand...

Different strokes fer different folks. Mine came w/ a heated leather Corbin, and I hated it. Got a Sargent that was a little better, but didn't like it either. So far, I like the stock seat best. (Butt haven't tried a Laam or Russel.) I usually stand on the pegs every hour or so, and can ride all day long. (Butt, my butt duz get sore.)

I really enjoy my laam. The stock seat isn’t comfortable for long. With the laam, seating just doesn’t occur to me.

Used the Airhawk for 60,000 miles (usually only on longer trips). Helped a ton. Now have the ugly Russell and other body parts give out long before my butt does. Downside to Russell is looks, cost, and may add too much height for the vertically challenged. Took me a long time to dump that kind of money into a seat, but super happy when I finally did.

My wide ass results may vary from your skinny ass results.

Mortenk said:

I have only put 4,000 miles on my 2016 ES so far, most of it commuting which causes no pain of course. I did a long weekend with 3-4 hours in the saddle each day, and had no discomfort at all. I was surprised based on all the negative reviews I have seen on the stock seat...

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No offense, but 3 to 4 hours per day on an FJR won't tell you if the seat is decent.

For what it's worth, I still have the stock seat 61,000 miles later. I wish the foam was about 35% more dense, but other than that, it's OK.

If I'm doing mostly highway within about an hour, even with my Sargent, I'm getting achy. I'm fit, just posteriorly challenged so I run into that problem practically seated anywhere.

SwollenRaccoon said:

Mortenk said:

I have only put 4,000 miles on my 2016 ES so far, most of it commuting which causes no pain of course. I did a long weekend with 3-4 hours in the saddle each day, and had no discomfort at all. I was surprised based on all the negative reviews I have seen on the stock seat...

Click to expand...

No offense, but 3 to 4 hours per day on an FJR won't tell you if the seat is decent.

For what it's worth, I still have the stock seat 61,000 miles later. I wish the foam was about 35% more dense, but other than that, it's OK.

Click to expand...

I totally agree that 3-4 hours a day is not very much - but several people have complained that their butts hurt after less than an hour...so simply pointing out that I can easily go 4 with no discomfort. Could I do a CC50 with the stock seat? Probably not...not going to try anyway