Sargent, Corbin, or ?!? - 696

[Kev M]

Hey all, it's been a minute.

Almost 11 years later and Jenn is still loving her Monster.

But with 8 and 10 y/o kids now it can be tough to get away, still we manage a bit each year. (I doubt anyone remembers but the Monster was her first mother's day present when she was pregnant with the eldest of the two - both rode it over 1k miles before they were born).

She has insisted for years that the seat is just fine despite my attempts to get her to consider a better one. Maybe that's cause she was in her 30's when we bought it.

We just got back from a little 1500 mile or so runabout (leaving the kids with family) and LOW AND BEHOLD, one of those days a voice came over the old Cardo communicator and said "maybe I should consider a better seat".

BOOM - that's all I needed.

Now we need to decide - Sargent - Corbin - or something else.

I have had 3 Corbin seats in my life. I know the good and the bad, and I'm probably leaning toward the Sargent.

That said, she sat on my Guzzi V7 with the Corbin and was positive about the firm feel, so that in and of itself isn't a negative to her.

It's hard to tell much from the website. Random concerns:

* Seat Height - she's not tall, and loves how well she currently fits the 696. I get the impression both seats are a tad wider than stock, so that will cost a tiny bit of reach. I also see that the Sargent comes in 2 heights - standard (0.4" taller than stock), or low (0.6" lower than stock) - while the Corbin claims to be approximately 30" which is ~0.3" lower than stock, but MAYBE the "~" = stock). She's not opposed to slightly taller, though I wonder if taller plus wider = too much.

* Corbin notes that "Corbin seat will not work with saddlebag setups where the mounting bracket goes under the seat. Most will interfere with the basepan.
" which I DON'T THINK is a problem for us but can't be 100%. We've got the accessory passenger grab rails (which we use strictly to attach a tail bag when touring). They mount under the FENDER and there appears to be at least 10mm clearance between the rails and stock cowl. And I believe the stock cowl fits over the Corbin. But I'm still curious.

Anyway, if you read this far, I'd love to hear your experiences or opinions. WSJD (what should Jenn Do)?

Couple of pics from recent tour for entertainment.

[Charlie98]

Doesn't Ducati offer a 'comfort seat' with a lower height?

I would agree with your initial assessment... I'm lucky if I can get a tank of gas through my 796 before my bun is screaming at me to stop...

[Kev M]

Doesn't Ducati offer a 'comfort seat' with a lower height?

I would agree with your initial assessment... I'm lucky if I can get a tank of gas through my 796 before my bun is screaming at me to stop...

Good question - no idea - though Jenn doesn't really need a lower height than stock (not at all). The height becomes a question once the seat gets wider AND taller.

I don't ride her 696 much but I can't even get through a tank of gas without OUCH. I don't know how she does 200-300 mile days on the stock one.

[diamonddog-2]

Nice photos. Thanks for posting!     FWIW .....  Corbin seats are no better than OEM in my experience. I've had 3.   I had even sent one seat back to Corbin to re-pad, thinking "this CAN'T be right"  It was.    My OEM seat on the M900 was terrible. I looked elsewhere this time around. Sargent has a nice seat that I've come to love on my 900. It's the standard height model. They may make a low version for the 696 if that works better for her leg inseam.  It's my current question on the DMF: Does the Sargent seat's lower height = less comfort [aka less padding] compared to the standard?  I wouldn't think so but ......?   Ducati Performance Comfort Seats are around too. I hear they're pretty nice. I don't know if they're still available for the 696 but you could reach out to your local dealer and see.

As koko64 pointed out, when it comes to seat comfort, one man's ceiling is another man's floor. What is crazy-uncomfortable to me works great for somebody else. Go figure.

Good luck.

[Kev M]

Nice photos. Thanks for posting!     FWIW .....  Corbin seats are no better than OEM in my experience. I've had 3.   I had even sent one seat back to Corbin to re-pad, thinking "this CAN'T be right"  It was.    My OEM seat on the M900 was terrible. I looked elsewhere this time around. Sargent has a nice seat that I've come to love on my 900. It's the standard height model. They may make a low version for the 696 if that works better for her leg inseam.  It's my current question on the DMF: Does the Sargent seat's lower height = less comfort [aka less padding] compared to the standard?  I wouldn't think so but ......?   Ducati Performance Comfort Seats are around too. I hear they're pretty nice. I don't know if they're still available for the 696 but you could reach out to your local dealer and see.

As koko64 pointed out, when it comes to seat comfort, one man's ceiling is another man's floor. What is crazy-uncomfortable to me works great for somebody else. Go figure.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the thoughts. Yeah, I realize there's a subjective nature to this and no-one can answer for sure. But it's still sometimes nice to get a consensus (or at least feed the confirmation bias lol).

Then again, she's not high need. I mean if she spent a decade on the stock seat, I gotta figure anything is gonna be better.

Probably leaning towards a Sargent in the regular height, ordered from ZLA so we can easily exchange it for the low if, after fitting it on the bike and standing it up, she thinks its too tall.

[Charlie98]

If you wind up ordering it, keep us updated... please!

[Kev M]

If you wind up ordering it, keep us updated... please!

Absolutely!

Definitely going to order something.

Will definitely report back.

[koko64]

That's a good plan with the option of swapping seats. The only issue I have with Sargent seats is to avoid the piping option. I reckon the piping can cut into you depending on your shape. Smooth is good. A Ducati comfort seat is worthwhile too. How do the prices compare over there?

[Kev M]

That's a good plan with the option of swapping seats. The only issue I have with Sargent seats is to avoid the piping option. I reckon the piping can cut into you depending on your shape. Smooth is good. A Ducati comfort seat is worthwhile too. How do the prices compare over there?

Can't seem to find anything online about the availability of the Ducati comfort seat and I don't really have a dealer anymore as my "dealership"  (Ferracci) isn't a "dealership" anymore.

EDIT - PS - forgot to say you're dead on with the pipping. That's the one complaint I have on my current V7 Corbin seat, it cuts into my legs on long days.

[diamonddog-2]

"snicker"  The red piping was on the Sargent when I bought it ...... no problems at all.   

Go figure.

[Kev M]

"snicker"  The red piping was on the Sargent when I bought it ...... no problems at all.   

Go figure.

Doesn't look like the Piping on the Sargent seat for the 696 goes along the rider seam like it does on my Corbin V7 Seat so yeah, I can see it being a non-issue on this one.

[Kev M]

Ordered.

Will report back in a week or so when it arrives.

[koko64]

"snicker"  The red piping was on the Sargent when I bought it ...... no problems at all.   

Go figure.

With my pillion in mind I had a Sargent for the M900 recovered to remove the piping. Also had a stock seat completely rebuilt and reshaped for pillion duties. The whole process involved ride testing in close consultation with my wife who provided detailed feedback for the upholsterer. Although an improvement over stock my wife would be uncomfortable in less than an hour.  On a whim  I refitted the pillion pegs to my tuned and angry M1100 Evo, and my wife tried being pillion on that. All I did was remove the seat cowl. She reported no discomfort in over two hours of non stop riding!
 

[diamonddog-2]

"snicker"   Yep.    [shrugs shoulders]   As long as everyone is eventually comfortable?

[Kev M]

Saddle arrived.

Looks decent enough, though maybe the pan and fabric around the holes for the cowling were amateurish considering the price. I mean the OEM one doesn't leave loose fabric suspended and dangling over the hole for the screws.

And the cowl fit is poor at best (really they couldn't have the piping match the cowl line?!?) making it difficult to line up and causing groaning/creaking if you attempt to push down on the cowl to lock the seat in place.

And pushing down with some force is necessary to get the seat to lock in place because of the pan shape/positioning.

Truthfully I would have accepted all this for say $300, but pushing $550 it's borderline unforgivable. Have some standards Sargent.

Height didn't change in any appreciable way and all Jenn could say from a quick sit was "seems firm".

So we'll keep it and ride with it soon.

Guess I'll report back about comfort when we get around to that too.