Laam Custom Seat

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Redfish
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I took a little ride today about 110 miles down I-10 headed west. I had the great pleasure of meeting a super nice guy, one of our own forum members. He can chime in if he wants. We swapped seats and then took about a 50 mile trip back east to Henderson where he bought my lunch. This was so he could check out the Laam Custom Seat. I do not believe it was the perfect solution he was hoping for. This was almost a good thing. I did not want to have to fight him to get my Laam back after riding on his OEM seat. I will say that his OEM seat did not have as much of a crown or hump in the middle as my OEM seat. I could actually ride for a while on his without crippling pain. I was still very very happy to get back on my seat for the ride home. I have said it before, I'll say it again. This may not be perfect but it is far better than I have ever had it.
 
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these seats that cradle your bum... there are times when you need to slide over the edge of the seat when leaning over for curves, etc.. are these seats restrictive in that regard?

I'm shopping... gotta get rid of the stocker.. bony butt in OK...
 
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Redfish
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Let me start off with, "Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi are not calling me for riding tips." With that out of the way, I don't do much "hanging off" but I do shift position and move around when setting up for a corner when I am riding...aggressively. The Laam was especially appealing to me because it was less restrictive and more "sporty" than the Russell. I am not having any issues with moving around on the Laam. YMMV...
 
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Redfish
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Since we have a few threads on the Laam seat floating around I decided to resurrect my own old thread...

I had the pleasure of calling and talking to Seth Laam this morning. I will be shipping him the OEM pans for Dad's FJR seat tomorrow. I am very much looking forward to what I hope will be a beautiful and comfortable seat. I will update with pics when I get it all back.
 
OP
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Redfish
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FJR seat arrived yesterday. Took it over to Dad's this morning (I am working nights) and we put it on the FJR. The seat top is a dark burgundy but the pics do NOT show the actual color. The camera and the phone distort the color on this thing for some reason and it looks... feminine. It looks much better in person.







At least Mom was nice enough to make me breakfast before I went home for a day's sleep.
 

SupraSabre

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I figure when I get back from out ride, I'll contact Seth and see if he can make an adjustment to my saddle...I need it about an inch higher! :eek:4:
 

ST Gui

240Robert
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The seat top is a dark burgundy but the pics do NOT show the actual color. The camera and the phone distort the color on this thing for some reason and it looks... feminine. It looks much better in person.
C'mon now. You can be straight with us. You went for the mauve/black combo. :rofl1: No joke that seat is a thing of beauty. Really! A great custom look without looking like you bolted on a bucket seat or wingback chair. Color shift or whatever it doesn't look feminine. It looks great.

You need to give us a ride report after a couple hundred/couple thousand miles. Did I mention that's a great looking seat?
 

970mike

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I think the color is off looking at the pictures, also his sewing machine needs to have the tension on the thread adjusted as it is to loose looking at the first picture.
 
OP
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Redfish
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Prairieville, Louisiana
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'15 FJR ES
Just to illustrate the differences between the stock and the custom I will throw in a couple more pics.

This one has the Top Sellerie he has been using on the left and the OEM seat on the right:



This is the OEM after Seth Laam worked his magic:

 
Joined
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Idaho Falls, ID
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8741
...He shipped the seat back that Thursday...I think Seth did that for me....I can tell already that it is far better than the OEM...
I got my Laam seat in the CarbonFX vinyl (versus the colored burgundy vinyl on your new seat) from Seth last Nov. I am very pleased with the workmanship, quick turnaround, and price. In my experience, it took about 15-20 hours of saddle time before the seat fully "broke in" and was really conforming to my posterior. It has been unchanging ever since, and very comfortable for me and wife when she is with me. Only difference I see in mine from your pix is I requested Seth widen and re-contour the rear section to suit my wife's needs. That worked out very well.

Regarding the sewing machine tension adjust, the vinyl Seth uses is about twice the weight of the OEM, so the seams have the appearance of being a little loose. They are not - it is the thickness of the vinyl. It cannot bend as tight of a corner as the thin OEM vinyl. Note: The CarbonFX is even thicker and stiffer (when it is cold especially) than his standard smooth vinyls. Now that it is formed to my "shape" there is no issue - cold or warm.
 
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Mellow

Joe
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I got my Laam seat in the same CarbonFX vinyl from Seth last Nov. I am very pleased with the workmanship, quick turnaround, and price. In my experience, it took about 15-20 hours of saddle time before the seat fully "broke in" and was really conforming to my posterior. It has been unchanging ever since, and very comfortable for me and wife when she is with me. Only difference I see in mine from your pix is I requested Seth widen and re-contour the rear section to suit my wife's needs. That worked out very well.
The one he did for my Super Tenere also needed a little saddle time to break in and now I have to say it's easily am 1000 mile seat.
 
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Idaho Falls, ID
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'08 ST1300ABS
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8741
He's getting mine Monday, the 1st. He IS a nice guy. I'll post pics & a eval.
I posted a fairly extensive eval on mine back in May I think. Search for "Laam seat" and it should come up. I don't think I added pix, but maybe I'll do that in a little while and add them.
 
Joined
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Location
Idaho Falls, ID
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'08 ST1300ABS
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8741
these seats that cradle your bum... there are times when you need to slide over the edge of the seat when leaning over for curves, etc.. are these seats restrictive in that regard? I'm shopping... gotta get rid of the stocker.. bony butt in OK...
I rode my Laam seat at a track school back in June, and there was some degree of "hanging off" (maybe not motogp level, but inside butt cheek not on the seat top) during our track sessions. Laam's seats (mine anyway) are not particularly "cupped" but are maybe a bit more so than the OEM. I think it is more front-to-back, and not so much side-to-side. Seth's foam selection layout is per rider weight and size, and mine is stiffer by a bit than OEM, but conforms much better to my rear end. He uses multiple foam densities in different locations so you don't get isolated pressure points, e.g. back of hip bones, that is what usually causes the problems. Given the stiffer surface, it takes very little vertical movement to un-weight your butt to move it laterally. My experience, YMMV.
 
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The Laam Custom for my 2015 FJR arrived yesterday. As awesome as I had hoped.
Gorgeous looking seat. It really adds to the bike.

I have a few questions. I'm a short guy, and I had Spencer shave an inch off the seat height and make it narrower. The bike is still marginally too tall for me, but I'm not complaining about that. I have found that on long rides, the seat is now too narrow now and does not give me enough support. This contrasts with the Sargent that came on my bike. it was flat, wide, and felt hard to the touch, but was surprisingly comfortable. My problem was that I could only tippy toe touch down when I stopped unless I slid off the saddle to one side. So, when faced with the prospect of dropping the bike regularly (off camber stops, potholes, etc.) I decided to have Spencer do his work and I got rid of the Sargent. This was really an easy decision.

Your Laam seat (the ST) clearly provides a full width seating position. You also noted you did not want the seat higher than the Sargent. How did that work out for you? What is your inseam (mine is a bare 29)? The seat looks cupped in the pictures - does it hold a puddle of water if your bike is caught out in the rain overnight? Easy to fix with a bike cover, but I have forgotten more important things in my life, so my forgetting to cover the bike one fine sunny day would not surprise me (I've already done this, once).

I've also found that I tend to shift my position forward and back on the Spencerized seat on long (4 hours +) rides. Are you able to move around on the Laam, or is that not necessary for you?

Thanks for your great write up. I went with Angel GT tires primarily because of Larry's (Igofar) complete, articulate review. If I pop for a custom seat (and I'm leaning in that direction for next winter's project) it will probably be a Laam because of your review. I'm planning on going to a few ST rallies this year, and I hope to see and sit on a few custom seats.
 
OP
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Redfish
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'15 FJR ES
1. Gorgeous looking seat. It really adds to the bike.

2. My problem was that I could only tippy toe touch down when I stopped unless I slid off the saddle to one side.

3.Your Laam seat (the ST) clearly provides a full width seating position. You also noted you did not want the seat higher than the Sargent. How did that work out for you?

4.What is your inseam (mine is a bare 29)?

5.The seat looks cupped in the pictures - does it hold a puddle of water if your bike is caught out in the rain overnight? Easy to fix with a bike cover, but I have forgotten more important things in my life, so my forgetting to cover the bike one fine sunny day would not surprise me (I've already done this, once).

6.I've also found that I tend to shift my position forward and back on the Spencerized seat on long (4 hours +) rides. Are you able to move around on the Laam, or is that not necessary for you?
1. Thanks, Seth Laam makes a great looking seat and that was one of the main reasons I went to him for my original seat.
2. That is a problem for all of us "vertically challenged riders". I used to worry about "flat footing" until I saw a guy who was about 5'6" on a BMW R1200GS. Now, I don't worry about flat footing, I worry about riding.
3. On the ST, attempting to keep the seat low resulted in a less than perfect seat. The forward angle of the ST seat requires some extra work on the part of the seat maker. When I wanted the seat kept low, I limited his options. I did not know this of course, but in hindsight I wish I had just let the man build the seat and not complicated things by requesting a low seat height.
4. 32 inches.
5. Yes, it will hold water. Yes, some water gets past the stitches. Yes, you will get a wet behind if you don't take precautions. I think that will be the case with all of the better custom seats. The Russell Day Long has an optional Rain Cover to prevent this.
6. I moved around a lot on the ST seat but the new one on the FJR seems to "lock" me into that one position. I have not put any miles or time on the new seat so I don't know how good it will be. Based on past experience, this seat will be very very good.

I caution you that sitting on a custom seat built for someone else may not give you all the info you need. Pop was not completely happy with the Laam on my ST1300 but he loves the Laam on his FJR.
 

SupraSabre

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I need to send my Laam back for a second time (third try) It is still too low and I feel like I'm sitting on a 4X4.
 

mlheck

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I also have the Laam seat and love it. Water does leak through the stitching though and the vinyl is a little slippery when wearing textile riding pants. My wife can now ride all day with me without complaining about needing to stop every 100 miles toward the end of the day.
 
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