Laam Custom Seat

Redfish

Redfish

Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
237
Location
Prairieville, Louisiana
Bike
'15 FJR ES
Like many of you I have never been happy with the OEM seat on my ST1300. I researched, considered, researched, thought about money, and then did nothing. After a couple long trips and more misery, I bought a used Sargent. I got my $$$'s worth out of the Sargent, I did my first (and only) SS1K on it and in general was fairly happy. But I knew it could be better. Everyone raves about the RDL. I know it has to be a great seat. I am sure it is worth the $$$. I am sure it is worth waiting on the long lead time. I don't like the way it looks. Sorry, there it is. So I saw a picture of a Laam Custom Seat on an FJR. I decided I had to have one. I sent an e-mail. Here are some of the results.
 
After I sent an e-mail to Laam, I received a phone call from Seth Laam. A super nice guy who seemed very knowledgeable and very focused on customer service. After 5 minutes on the phone with him I knew I wanted to spend my money with Laam Custom Seats. I sent Seth my seat that day. He received it late on a Thursday evening. He called me Monday morning to re-hash some of the requirements. I had e-mailed him some pics of me on the OEM and the Sargent seats. He shipped the seat back that Thursday. Now, my requirements were simple. I needed a seat that was more comfortable than my couch yet thin enough that I could still touch with both feet when stopped. I needed more legroom but I did not want to sit any higher. I needed it to look great while feeling great. Simply stated, the seat needed to be impossibly perfect. I think Seth did that for me. I have not put any long miles on it yet. My work commute is 9 miles and I have not been able to ride much more than that lately. I can tell already that it is far better than the OEM or the Sargent.
 
Nice looking seat and good prices only time and distance will tell. Let us know how it is on a 700+ mile day. The worksmanship looks very good.
 
In spite of all my best efforts, I cannot seem to get more than a 30-40 mile window of riding on my new seat. We all know that is not enough time for a truly useful evaluation. I will try my best, but you all know as well as I do that I don't have the answers the true LD rider needs. Making the transition from OEM to the Sargent was wonderful. The Sargent is firm and wide, it does not slide me into the tank and does not compress and crush my...You get the picture. In preparation for the Custom Seat I had to put the OEM back on to take accurate pics. Just sitting on the OEM after a year on the Sargent was terrible. Really, really terrible. How did I ever enjoy this? I rode it around the block on the OEM and was disgusted. Therefore, my transition into the Laam Custom was from the Sargent which really is a very good seat. Not as abrupt and significant a change as from OEM directly to Custom. I can honestly say that the Laam Custom is infinitely better than anything I have ever ridden on before. It is probably the most comfortable "chair" I have ever sat in. My couch does not make me as "at home" comfy as this seat after 10 minutes. I have a trip to New Mexico and Colorado scheduled for July 6th, I will attempt to give a fair evaluation after that.
 
That's a sharp looking seat, great to have more seat options out there. I really like my Sargent seat but sounds like this is a close and competitively priced upgrade... thanks for posting.
 
I honestly always felt I got my money's worth out of the Sargent, especially since I got it used. BUT!!! I actually paid less for this fully custom Laam than I did for that used Sargent. Since I had never read anything about this seat on any ST1300 forum, I wanted all of my fellow ST riders to know we had another option. The Concourse Owners Group (COG) forum has lots of praise for the Laam. Some of the FJR guys really seem to like it. I hope that some of you can benefit from my "experiment" and based on my experience with Seth Laam, I hope he gets some orders as well.
 
Today, I got a call from Seth Laam. The man took the time to call me personally. He wanted to know if I was happy with the seat, to thank me for my business and to assure me that if it needed any adjustments he would take care of it. I was so impressed with Seth's customer service that I had to share it here. When was the last time you can remember having customer service like that? When was the last time any vendor/salesman/business owner cared enough to call and check that you were happy with their product? When I got off the phone with Seth, I called my Dad. I told him that as soon as we get back from our Best Motorcycle Trip Ever, we are shipping his OEM FJR seats to Seth Laam.
 
He's getting mine Monday, the 1st. He IS a nice guy. I'll post pics & a eval.
 
I promised when I got back from this year's Best Trip Ever I would do a better evaluation of the Laam Seat.

Well, here we are! Re-plowing old ground and beating dead horses... I could have made this trip on the OEM seat. But I would not have enjoyed it. The scheduling would not have worked out as well because I would have had to stop more often and for longer breaks. I could have made this trip on the Sargent. But I would have been increasingly more sore as the days progressed. I am not sure how well I would have felt by day 9 or 10.

I will not lie and say that I never thought about my posterior and how it felt. I will not lie and say that I never squirmed, never stood up a little on the pegs, or that I never started looking forward to the next water break. I WILL say that I have never had it so good. I never hurt when I got off the bike at night, I was never sore when I sat on it the next morning. I don't know if this is THE LD seat for everyone. I do know that it is perfect for my needs, my riding style, and my riding requirements.

I hope this helps.
 
Redfish: Based upon your recommendation, I contacted Seth and started the process to have the seat on my 08 VFR800 reworked. Exactly as you stated Seth is an outstanding individual, whose customer service is second to none. On the phone he discussed my options (3 vinyl choices, colors, etc.), price, went over the process (ride-in vs. mail-in) and made me completely aware of what to expect throughout the entire process. This was followed up with an e-mail. I sent the seat up to him last Fri, he received it on Wed and I'm awaiting a phone call from him on Mon to advise that it's been completed and ready to ship back. He doesn't charge until the seat is finished and ready for return. Price is amazing for a factory-built type seat (like a Sergeant), let alone a custom one.
I currently have a Sergeant on the ST, which I've been reseasonably happy with, but not wowwed. I suspect that I'll be making a ride up to Redding in the not too distant future and have Seth build a Laam for it.
 
I liked my Sargent. I was surprised by how well I liked it. I like the Laam much much better.

There is no way to explain the feeling of being on vacation with a group and worrying that YOU will be the one who says, "We have to stop for the day. My heine hurts." I have come close to being that guy in spite of the fact that my ST was clearly the best long distance bike in the group. The Sargent took that fear out of my ride planning. The Laam swept it completely out of the picture. I know I can stay on it until my cousin's GoldWing runs low on fuel. That is as good as it needs to be for me.

For an extra good feeling, ride around on the OEM for a week or so before you send it off...
 
Just reported on my LAAM seat too. It's flat awesome. Best bang for the buck ever. LOVE IT!!!
 
gointhere said:
How wide is the seat, is it harder that a Sargent or Corbin?
Click to expand...

Please refer to post #2 for a side by side comparison pic with the Sargent. The OEM is 14 inches across but has a high center. The Sargent is 16 inches across and is flat with a slight dish. The Laam is built on the OEM pan but the surface is very dished and roughly as wide as the Sargent. It is firm to hard. I would say softer than my Sargent but harder than the OEM. Do keep in mind that I only had the front customized so the rear is still OEM width.
 
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