Sargent seat for Tenere - quick review

[Shuter]

Just got the my new '17 ST home on Thursday, rode roughly 100 miles home from dealer on stock seat and my Sargent seat arrived on Friday (ordered before I even got the bike, based on forum info and 30-day return policy). Sure enough, the OEM pushes the boys into the tank. Also, the stocker feels nice and cushy at first, but that gets old after awhile.

Put the Sargents (got both front and pillion) on and rode 215 miles yesterday. Much firmer seat, which at first doesn't seem as comfy...but was much better as the miles piled up. Also wider. I'd heard that the Sargent sits you back further and causes you to reach too much for the bars. No doubt it puts you further back, but it has to in order to keep you off the tank. For me, at 6'1", with fairly long arms, it's still pretty comfortable. I may go to Helibar or Rox risers at some point, but don't feel the immediate need to do so.

Overall, the Sargent will not be going back...I think it's a big improvement over the OEM seat. The only real negative I can think of is that the front seat fits "loosely" compared to the stock seat. When installed, there is definite movement. I may try to shim it somehow; but this doesn't seem to affect function in any way, so not a big deal, IMHO.

As far as the Tenere itself, only a little over 300 miles on her, but it's every bit the big, comfortable, smooth, torquey bike that I hoped it'd be!

 

[barkingllizard]

excellent, Shuter.....

 

[Cdutch]

I had to transfer the rubber bumpers from the stock to remove the slop.
Called Sargent and got the run around.

Stock bumpers are 16mm
Sargent's are 13mm

 

[Shuter]

I had to transfer the rubber bumpers from the stock to remove the slop.
Called Sargent and got the run around.

Stock bumpers are 16mm
Sargent's are 13mm

Update: Just went out to transfer them over from stock seat and instead cut 4 pieces of dense foam rubber with adhesive on one side. Affixed to the 4 middle bumpers on Sargent seat and it provided perfect additional thickness (roughly same as OEM bumpers now). 5 minutes and now it's as solid as stock seat. Thanks for the idea to get me started!

 

[Cycledude]

One of these days I’m going to buy a different seat but so far have been unable to decide which one.

 

[Shuter]

One of these days I’m going to buy a different seat but so far have been unable to decide which one.

One of the things I like about the Sargent is that, for not much more $$ than most of the other options, you get an entire seat, as opposed to sending the OEM off and having it reupholstered (and being without it in the meantime). I still have my OEM to go back to for whatever reason, and/or to send off for reworking at some point in the future if need be. When I ordered my Sargent, they were having a special for $495 with free shipping. Normally $550 plus $20-25 shipping. The Sargent seat pan appears to be of very high quality, by the way.

One other thing: If you want a warranty and the 30 day refund policy, you must buy direct from Sargent...purchases from Revzilla, etc. are not covered by either, per the folks at Sargent.

 

[Cdutch]

I just did a 60-mile ride one way never had to move on my new Sargent seat stayed in one position the whole distance

 

[Edbo1960]

Put a Russel Day Long on my FJR, expensive but worth it, custom made, will do with my new Tenere....has a Seth Lamm (who I believe worked at RDL) but just isn't the same and not made for me.

 

[RIDEMYST]

I have 85K miles on my Sargent and pretty much have the same impression as Shuter.
I’m 6’-2” 225lbs and do not have the handlebar risers and find that combo works well for me. -JEP-


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Wrathchild]

Mine came with a Sargent and by 40 miles my sit bones felt like they were going to poke out of my flesh. I traded it for a stock seat and will likely do a Seat Concepts kit on the stock base

 

[Solo]

I installed a Sargent Saddle on my 2013 Tenere today and rode it for about an hour. We're all shaped differently and I'm 5'9" with a 32 inch inseam and found that the seat, though wider than the stock one, is about a half inch or more lower. Thus my reach to the ground is about the same as before. The seat does kinda plant you in one position, fore and aft and for me the distance to the tank is about 1.5 inches (same as with stock.) The wider and slightly concave shape seems to be an improvement, but the foam is SO very hard, about like a Corbin, it's gonna take some time for me to develop callouses on my back side. I can't imagine buying a car or truck with interior as hard as a horse saddle! I sat on a used Strom that had a Sargent seat and it seemed Much softer, so maybe they Do break in after a while. My reach to the bars is about a half inch greater now but I hesitate to install risers since the bars are Exactly where I need them for stand up riding.

 

[rydfly]

I have about 3,500 miles on my Sargent seat and as much as I've tried to like it, I've concluded that I just don't think it's for me. It's disappointing because I've absolutely loved Sargents on all of my previous bikes. Gripes for me on this one are that the fitment to the bike was terrible (loose) and was only moderately improved after I swapped over both the rubber pads and the latch from my OEM seat (had to drill the Sargent base for the OEM pads to fit too!), and that it's so slick I that I'm constantly slid forward upon hard braking.

It is a comfortable position for me once seated and cruising, and being slightly lower than stock it helped me with my 29.5" inseam. I'm looking hard at a Touratech "low" seat as a future replacement.

 

[Shuter]

I have about 3,500 miles on my Sargent seat and as much as I've tried to like it, I've concluded that I just don't think it's for me. It's disappointing because I've absolutely loved Sargents on all of my previous bikes. Gripes for me on this one are that the fitment to the bike was terrible (loose) and was only moderately improved after I swapped over both the rubber pads and the latch from my OEM seat (had to drill the Sargent base for the OEM pads to fit too!), and that it's so slick I that I'm constantly slid forward upon hard braking.

It is a comfortable position for me once seated and cruising, and being slightly lower than stock it helped me with my 29.5" inseam. I'm looking hard at a Touratech "low" seat as a future replacement.

I stuck a small square of rubber onto each of the 4 rubber pads on my Sargent seat and the fitment is perfect, even after 2,500 miles and taking the seat on/off many times. I would like a rougher texture, more like the stock seat, but it seems to lock me in place well enough that I don't have to shift back after braking.

 

[Super08]

I just used some double sided 3M tape to attach a fender washer to the tongue at the back of the seat and it took the looseness away.
As for risers I went with some 30mm ones. It is the highest you can go without having to mess around with the brake and clutch lines. There is a guy on ebay that sells 25mm ones for about 60 bucks which was much less than I paid for mine. I am a touch over 6' and it makes the bike much more comfortable, especially standing up.

 

[pastorgumby]

I like the sargeant, on my 2016 ES - had sciatica w/ the OEM seat on a 2000 mile to West VA,... ordered the Sargeant, and was ready for another 2000 mile Pacific West Coast trip - VERY Firm and slippery as everyone says, but much better for my back/butt than stock. It will break in a bit.