Suzuki GSX650F Forum - www.GSX650F.biz

Received my Sargent seat last night and had my first chance to test it out today on my 50 mile commute into work. Before I give my initial impressions I want to point out that I am tall and fat. Six foot four and 340lbs. Both are particularly relevant to my thoughts of the seat because a lot of my observations revolve around the ergonomics.

I’ll start with the overall build quality and fit of the seat. Keep in mind that this part is not really meant to be a direct comparison to the stock seat as the build of the sargeant is much better. Rather my opinion reflects what I believe the seat should be for the $380.00 I paid for it and frankly I am not impressed with the quality. There are staples where I would have expected to see rivets holding the cover to the frame. If you look at the seat from above you can see the outline of portions of the frame right through the material at the front. It does not look as if they took particular care in fastening the trim of the vinyl as it is uneven in-between the staples. The actual stitching in the cover looks pretty well done unless you are extremely picky. As to the fit, although the seat is well aligned to the bike in the rear and on the sides, there is a substantial amount of space between the front of the seat and the tank. It doesn’t seem to effect the overall operation or comfort in any way but it is a little unappealing ascetically. The actual mounting of the seat seems sturdy and its slides in with a positive “click” when you put it on. The mounting horn at the front appears a little less robust than the stock seat but functions as expected. Overall it looks much better than stock but hardly worth the extra expense on looks alone.

Now to the important stuff. How does it feel? Even with only 50 miles on it so far I can say it’s a vast improvement over the stock seat. Some of the things that make it more comfortable to me came as a complete surprise. The seat is both wider and taller. In my estimation the Sargent website is way off. I think the difference is height is more substantial than they report. I’ll try an break out the tape measure and test my theory but for now I’m basing my opinion on both the feel of the seat and the view in my mirrors when I first got on the bike. Regardless of my findings it won’t change the fact that the seat is loads more comfortable than stock. The most obvious change is where the pressure points are. Rather than the region I refer to as “assntaint” where the majority of the pressure was originally, it is now spread out over the entire contact region of my rear. It’s not evenly spread but a substantial amount of the pressure is moved to the outside part of my rear making the ride infinitely more comfortable. Spreading the pressure towards the outside has completely eliminated a sensation I refer to as “prisonlovin” which I would get even after only 50 miles on the stock seat. Im no longer fidgeting and squirming around in the saddle trying to get comfortable.

There are also a couple changes resulting from the height and width of the seat that I wasn’t expecting. For one the angle at the back of my knee has changed for the better. If you imagine the relation between my upper and lower leg as being near a “V” it is now closer to an “L”. The distance is of course exaggerated but the point is there is extra leg room. The increased legroom also allows me to slide my feet back and forth on the pegs with less difficulty. I am much more comfortable riding with the balls of my feet on the pegs which I can only see as a benefit in terms of clearance in turns. My knees also fit better in the indentations in the side of the tank.

A couple results that I’m not so certain how I feel about yet are the increased forward lean necessary to reach the bars and the need of extended range of motion to operate the foot controls. Being both higher and leaning more forward definitely changes the feel of the bike. I get the sensation that I am “on” it rather than “in” it if that makes sense? I’m going to hold off on the bar raisers for a while and see if I get used to it. I would imagine that the forward lean might help a bit in the twisties considering the perceived height change. As far as the foot controls go the new angle slightly changes the feel of reaching to shift and pressing to break. Again I’ll wait to see if I get used to it before I make any adjustments. I did miss a couple shifts from 1st to 2nd today because I now need to come up slightly harder on the lever (or at least it seems that way).

Well that’s it so far. The seat is great in my opinion but only you will know if its worth the extra coin to you. Its definitely a good upgrade but at this price I could see someone going the custom route instead. For me its not so much the money as the time it takes to get a custom saddle done right. I may still opt for that in the future but for now I’m happy with the Sargent. Ill update once I’ve had more time in the saddle and if I make any adjustments. I’ll also add some better pics (all I had to shoot with was my phone).

Thank you for a great review!

Thanks for an excellent write-up. Well-written & thoughtful. Lots of us out here are thinking hard about this particular item & trying to make up our minds. I especially appreciate the fact that you mentioned your height & weight. Judging comment on a seat is useless when the reviewer fails to mention that he's a big guy like you or 5'8 & 145 lbs (like me). I hope you'll give us more info when you've got some miles on it.

That's a nice looking seat! You need to remember that the seat height that Sarent references is in relation to the seat height on a Bandit 1250S, not the GSX650F. Even in the low position, the Bandit's seat is heigher than the GSXF's.

With regard to the build, staples are the way it's done. Don't sweat it. For $380, you got a lot of value.

I recently got the same seat and was meaning to write a review, so I'll just piggy-back you!

For those who are thinking about the "standard" Sargent seat... Be advised, jpstr1 was putting it mildly.

The seat is nearly 3 inches higher. This fundamentally changes the ergonomics of the bike. When I first put the seat on, I hated it. My knees were no longer astride the tank, they were brushing the upper-lip; my feet were farther forward because the Sargent moves you forward; it is much wider and the sides will bite into your thighs until it breaks in, which also means you have to slide forward to flat-foot; the further reach to the bars seems like it would be more aggressive, but with less tank grab it makes inputs at the bars even more important.

That said, the seat does in fact break in and you do in fact get used to it. Internet Lore has it that it takes 1,000 miles to break in. I'm 6'1" and 180 lbs and it took me closer to two thousand.

This seat gets nice. Really nice. So nice, in fact, that when I first sit on it, it's like sitting in an amazingly comfortable chair. It's firm but soft. The edges break down and no longer cut into your legs. Your butt sinks in enough that flat-footing is less of a concern. My knees can still grip the tank (though not the same but I'm over it) and I have more control than ever with more focus on bar inputs.

In fact, I've ridden more aggressively shortly after getting the Sargent on a trip to West Virginia than I had before I got the Sargent. Ergo, once I got used to it I was fine.

That said, butt fatigue isn't much improved. It is instead how the pressure points effect me. The stock saddle used to pound my tailbone so hard after a six hour weekend ride that it would become swollen and painful even into the next day. After the first hour of constant riding and a half I would be in pain and would need a leg-stretch every hour afterward or suffer more terrible pain. By the end of the day it would literally be painful to pass gas, I'd be that swollen. Yeah. I love my long rides and used to endure some medieval butt torture to have them.

With the Sargent I still get butt fatigue after an hour and a half. There is no pain, however. After a six hour day my butt is a little sore but there is no severe pain, no swelling. When wearing my leather pants (no pressure points from pockets and such) I can go three hours easily without needing to stretch my legs.

I know this sounds like a glowing review. It is. I have more than three thousand miles on the saddle now. I love it. There are some quirks. There is indeed a large gap between the horn and the tank. I haven't had much water getting down there while riding in the pouring rain, so it isn't an issue so far. The saddle does not unlatch and latch as easily as the stock saddle. It does fit, but it takes enough extra effort to annoy you if you rely on the under-seat helmet hooks very often.

Over all? Wonderful. But shorter folks will want the Sargent Low seat. With a 32/34" inseam I can barely nail the flatfoot (and couldn't before it was broken in without sliding crotch-to-tank).

If it feels firm, it needs to be broken in. It does take a while. Totally worth it in my opinion.

When I bought my '08, I was really disappointed in the comfort of the OEM seat. I ordered the Sargent and consider it well worth the money. I also have the sargent on my '08 FJR 1300 and my '03 FZ1. If you ride more than 100 miles at a time, you'd do well to try the Sargent seat.

The thing with Sargent when I ordered the seat for my wife's ride was that You get what you ask for.
If I wanted a CUSTOM seat then thats what I had to ask for.
The STANDARD seat is just that. When we sent ours in they had no STANDARD seat available so we had to send pics of the side of the bike and tell them exactly what we wanted ie. Lowered, Leveled with the bike so as not to be consistently pushing you forward and narrowed in the front with the atomic foam in the riders position of the seat for comfort. She doesn't take passengers.

We were absolutely impressed with what we got. It was exactly what we asked for and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. It was time consuming to figure out all the details and convey them to them but it all payed off in the long run.
Not many places in the industry that will do custom like that. Most of the time you get what they have.
That is what I like about Sargent. You can get what you ask for but you have to be specific.

I am a very picky individual at times. Almost boardering on OCD status as some of my friends say.
When you are like me there are some things that just have to be accepted unless you have more money than the average individual.

Hey guys, I know this is an older thread, so I'm going to bump it rather than start a new one. What do your passengers/pillions feel about the Sargent seat? Is it much more comfortable for them?
Also, who's ordered the seat and then felt the need to order handle bar risers? I'm thinking of getting the 1" up and 1" backs from twisted throttle.
Cheers and beers guys
Steve

I know this post is old but I thought I would chime in. I just bought a barely used sargent off of Kijiji for my GSXF I am so excited. I got it yesterday. NOW I cannot wait to get out on my bike this spring! I am hoping that the seat really helps. I am a new rider and this is my first bike. I really like it. I am hoping to ride it for several years.

Katie

I didnt feel a need to get bar risers. I was comfy with the reach to the bars (5' 10", 32" in seam). Sorry I cant help on the pillions, I always ride it solo.

Hi jptsr1

Is it possible to take a picture from the side with de sargent. i wanna know how de sargent looks like from the side.

Hi Brekster...I ordered a Sargent "regular" yesterday. I should have it in a week or so...... I'll post up pictures from the side for you.
Cheers
BIgo

Here's some pics of my new Sargent.....http://s1146.photobucket.com/albums/o525/Bigolechalupa/

thanks, looks very good!!

I HIGLY reccommend the Sargent seat. I hated the stock seat so much, that I would have had to get rid of this bike if I couldn't have the Sargent.
Cost me over 500$ to get it up to Canada, but it was worth it!