Any info on Rich's custom seats in WA?

jesmine

Having just purchased a used '09 ST1300, I am entirely happy with everything except the seat. The previous owner had a custom seat made by www.richscustomseats.com and it is a horrible and uncomfortable fit for me. It is also a little higher than the stock seats I have sat on and since I am a short legged individual, I am not quite able to touch down flat footed, even with my 2 inch heeled biker boots. I called the shop that made the seat and they quoted me minimum $350 to have the seat redone. Being that I am just a few hours north of Seattle, travel time and a 4 hour+ refit can almost be accomplished in a single day so it would just cost me the fuel and a day on top. The other complicating factor is that it's a custom heated seat as well - which is a nice option given my tendency to be a year round rider in a less that hospitable Canadian climate. So.......

My question is, has anyone got one of these seats custom fitted to their own butt instead of a previous owner's? And ....Given that a round trip down and back plus worst case a hotel for the night and the seat itself may cost upwards of $600: would this be a worthwhile venture for me or should I just give up on the heated seat and locate a stock seat from the dealer to try before I go for a plunge?

Any info would help me make up my mind, but given the amount of grumbling I have heard about the stock ST seat, I am leaning towards making an appointment and going for a little ride down to Kingston, WA.

Jes
 
Well, no one ever responded but after a few day trips out I know for certain that anything will be better than the fit I've got with my seat currently. My appointment is for 10am this morning at Rich's in Kingston, WA and I'm packing for the trip now to leave at 4am. (gawd I hate Seattle traffic).

I'll let y'all know if it was worth the $$$, but I can already guarantee that the ride back (taking the scenic shortcuts) will make messing with the nasty I-5 traffic on my way there worth the trip. :D:D

Jes:bk11:
 
Well I'll let you know after Thursday this week. Wishing I would have seen this post before, Maybe we could have traded seats. Mine is a custom from Rich's made for a shorty and I'm 6'1.
 
I had Rich make me a custom seat, but I did not ride in.
It had beautiful leather work, but was way off the mark. Very tall, uncomfortable and nothing like we talked about beforehand.
I sent it back for a re-do, but still not even close.
Wasted about $450.
I may take it apart someday to grind on the foam myself.
Can't do any worse than he did.
Jefro.
 
I had a custom seat made by Rich for my ST1100 and it is clearly superior to the stock seat.
 
I had a Rich's seat on my last bike R1150R. Got it done a few years back. I went the whole hog and got it made in two colors of leather to match the bike. Took all day to get it finished, it was well made and cost over $700. Then not long after dropping all that money I sold the bike and bought my ST. The custom seat was more comfortable than the stock, but to achieve that comfort, the styling of the seat (and bike) changes. It looked a little "tractor-ish". It was more comfortable but not the magic bullet I'd expected, and I still developed my first and only case of monkey butt while on a two week trip. I found riding multiple 500 mile days in the heat are going to be uncomfortable no matter what.

Instead of buying a Rich's seat for the ST, I just got the stock seat Spencerized and added an Alaskan Leather sheepskin cover, and that seems to work well.

Sorry I didn't see your original post.
 
Sorry I didn't see this earlier. Maggie has had Rich do 4 or 5 seats for her over the years and I had him rejuvenate my Russell last year. Well worth the money in my book. Rich stands behind his work and if you're not happy, he'll work with you until you're comfortable.

John
 
Yes. Rich is an easy (and fun) guy to work with. I didn't mean to sound negative about the guy or his services.
 
I've put a couple of 1,100 - 1,200 days in his saddle with no ill effects. That gets a thumbs up in my book.

John
 
John,

Seeing you guys have had a lot of Rich's seats, I was wondering if you've tried both leather and vinyl?

Reason I ask is my aforementioned monkeybutt stemmed from a poor clothing choice at the start of a long trip, which resulted in a really painful second week of travel (didn't even want to get on and off the bike at gas stations). The seat material didn't have anything to do with the MB, I would have suffered regardless. I learned that even wearing the correct fabric, I still should've paid attention to other parameters.

So, after that painful education, starting on the lifelong quest for the perfect underwear (now using BMW brand and LDs from a guy in Hoquiam), and knowing that stock seats generally suck, what do you think about a custom vinyl seat being a good budget compromise?

BTW I really liked the leather. :)
 
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