Triumphrat

cognosticator · 10-24-2012, 03:32 AM

The seat just won't cut it for long mile days. When I got the bike I rode 330 miles up I 95 back to Savannah and was squirming by the time I hit 70 miles. I had a Russell Daylong on my Concours 14 (which I traded in) but I think it would be way ugly on the S3.

Anybody find something that works but looks half way decent?

mjfields_228 · 10-24-2012, 06:31 AM

Right now there is only the Triumph Comfort Gel Seat available. Both Corbin and Sargent do not offer seats yet for the 2011+ years of the S3. I bought by 2011 S3 in Feb of 2012 and have 15K miles on it and my foam is getting worse every day. I did a 790 mile day right after I got the bike and it got brutal after about the 6 hour mark!

I am a Corbin person. Had one on my Versys, my KLR and have one on my GSA. Love the seat. The reason Corbin (and I imagine Sargent as well) do not offer the 2011+ seats is that their R & D shop needs an actual loaner bike for up to 3 weeks to fit up the seat and go to production.
This requires a very kind person to leave their bike at the shop for that length of time. If I lived near Hollister, CA I would do it because I have 2 bikes. For those with only one bike I can see the notion of going up to 3 weeks without it almost equivalent to going without air for that length of time!

Just keep your eye out on the Corbin and Sargent Web sites until one finally hits. That's what I do--every friggen Day!!!

dgrisim · 10-24-2012, 06:37 AM

I emailed Sargent. They said they had several requests for the s3 and were workin on a seat. Hopefully soon

djn876 · 10-24-2012, 07:02 AM

One thing that may help a little is what pants you wear. If I wear jeans, long rides become uncomfortable very quickly. If I wear actual riding pants, textile, leather, etc. I can easily do 200+ mile days without hardly any discomfort. A better seat would be nice, but just thought I would mention it for others in case we have to wait a while.

j3T · 10-24-2012, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djn876

One thing that may help a little is what pants you wear. If I wear jeans, long rides become uncomfortable very quickly. If I wear actual riding pants, textile, leather, etc. I can easily do 200+ mile days without hardly any discomfort. A better seat would be nice, but just thought I would mention it for others in case we have to wait a while.

I've noticed that as well. It gets uncomfortable really fast if I am only wearing my Triumph motorcycle jeans. But it recently got colder and wore 2 soft thermal long underpants underneat my jeans. Rode about 250 kilometers (about 150 miles I think) and didn't notice any discomfort.

Still, I love my Triumph jeans and would buy a better seat in a heartbeat (I'm currently on the gel seat).

cognosticator · 10-24-2012, 08:29 AM

I talked to a Sargent rep the other day and he said if I sent in my seat, they would custom make a seat out of the pan for around $280, depending on what I wanted on it. I am just not sure how much better the Sargent is, as I had one on my '86 Connie and it gave me butt burn after a while

I know Russell requires your seat to do a custom, and that is the best seat made for long distance riding. ON the Connie it wasn't that bad looking, but on the S3 it would be too big to look good. I know, my butt doesn't have eyes.

There are a couple of other guys who make custom seats, but they need your seat also.

This guy will modify your seat http://greatdaytoride.com/Home_Page.php
and supposedly it really improves a stock seat and he charges $75 and you pay shipping both ways. He is in Florida. I have seen some reports that it is really an improvement, some say no change.

I am not planning any mutliday rides until next year so I have some time to decide.

mjfields_228 · 10-24-2012, 09:14 AM

I already wrote Spencer at a great day to ride. He is not accepting the 2011 Seat Pans for cushion modification due to the stock Triumph seat pan splitting when he re-staples the cover. Bummer. He would be a perfect work around!

As for Sargent Seats, I had a Sargent on my GSA for a month and I was just not happy with it. They are good seats but not firm enough for me. My Corbin suits me perfectly. Rode my GSA from Florida and Montana and could not be happier.

Now if I could get the S3 set-up with a Corbin I would ride it to California over Christmas!!!

merlot · 10-24-2012, 09:20 AM

I've got the Triumph Gel seat - it's pretty comfortable.

Darkhorse · 10-24-2012, 09:47 AM

I have a Sargent reworked stock seat on my '08. It was a great investment.

I've done iron butts on that thing. Your knees will hurt before your ass does.

Ben_ · 10-24-2012, 04:31 PM

A cheap way out of this and great investment for long rides is to pick up a pair of cycling shorts. Most of them are designed to look after your bits on the iron fists that are race bike seats so wearing them under your leathers/pants is super comfy on a motorbike seat. As an added benefit they are also made from bacteria resistant materials so a long... Sweaty ride is no problem.

Any cycling store will be able to help you out