It defies logic. How could a seat that is harder than my stock seat be more comfortable? Rocky (Bill Mayer III), of Bill Mayer Saddles (BMS), had been bugging me for over a year to test a saddle using his own newly minted version of the BMW seat pan.

I kept declining, since the stock seat of my new 1200 GSA was reasonably comfortable and, on long trips, I’d just add a sheepskin for additional comfort. Finally, I agreed to meet up with Rocky at his Ventura, CA shop, where he had a finished seat waiting for me.

When we set the time to meet, Rocky guessed my weight and inseam; he was spot-on, basing his numbers on a visual size-up from our last meeting at a motorcycle event. This information is important.

The finished saddle kept the author comfortable on a long day riding the interstates and back roads through farmland.Knowing inseam and weight, the crew at Bill Mayer Saddles will select one of five different foam densities to inject into their mold prior to carefully custom-contouring the output before the upholstery. If you are not local, BMS will have you fill out a form and send in photos of you and your bike so that the saddle can be custom-crafted to your fit.

Before I tested the seat, Rocky gave me a tour of their shop and a bit of their design philosophy. “If you sit down in the sand, you’ll create an impression of your butt. That’s natural and how we shape our saddles.”

He also referred to the old-fashioned stamped metal tractor seats, which also follow the contours of the human posterior, uniformly spreading the load. I mentally calculated that farmers had been sitting on these seats for millions of miles and that concept of shape must have merit.

Mayer starts with a molded foam core in a chosen density. It is then shaped to suit the rider and upholstered in a choice of vinyl or leather.The tour of BMS continued with a comparison of their new injection-molded seat pan for the R1200 liquid cooled bikes. Rocky commissioned a company to build the mold after a 3D laser scan of the stock pan was completed. The duplication is exact. 

This permits the owner of one of the new Beemers to buy a seat complete and not have to send in their existing pan, as some other makers require. Even though their turnaround time is only a few days, there is a convenience factor, well worth the $100 additional cost. Besides, when you decide to sell the bike, the purchaser might not be your size and could want the stock seat.

We put the new seat on my bike and I immediately understood what it was about. Rather than compressing the relatively soft foam of the stock seat until you got “settled,” which will make some spots harder than others, the Bill Mayer seat supported my butt with a uniform and mildly firm cradle of support.

A comparison of the stock seat pan (base for the seat), on the left and the Mayer unit for the R1200 liquid cooled bikes, on the right. Note they are identical.I got it—this concept makes sense. You don’t buy a one-size-fits-all pair of pants, so why use that concept for a motorcycle seat? I left a few days later for a quick run up to the San Jose area, 360 miles north. During the ride up and back, I realized the seat experience was remarkable in that I forgot about it. That meant that my comfort remained constant.

BMS will custom craft a saddle for virtually any motorcycle. They advertise “Any Bike, Any Butt” and have a gallery of photos, along with pricing on their website to back that up. Custom saddles are available in different colors or textures, vinyl as well as leather. Although not pocket change, it may well be the best investment you can make in your riding comfort. MSRP: $500 and up BillMayer-Saddles.com

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