BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Some thoughts please -


After trawling many posts on here and elsewhere I recently purchased a 2014 RT LC. I was tempted with a GS LC but the luggage system and fairing protection and test rides convinced me that the LC was the way to go.


I have recently returned from a 1000 plus mile trip across Europe. I have read that long distances are a breeze on these bikes.


The performance in terms of handling, turn of speed and wind protection is great. I love the way that when tipped into a bend the bike tracks  where you send it and stays on course, undeflected by road irregularities. I makes smooth bend slinging a joy for a bike that is so big!


All good! Apart, however, from the 'all day comfort' that I have read about.


Sadly, in less than an hour, I found that the seat (set in the higher position) turned into an 'instrument of torture' for my skinny arse!


I am 5'11", 32 inch inside leg and weight about 75kg.


What can you guys recommend as a possible solution? I think I need a higher seat as well as my legs feel a little 'scrunched up' as if the pegs need to be lower.


I see that peg kits are available. I fancy a reworked single seat that may have more padding and is maybe an inch higher but don't want to splash the cash without a little reassurance that it is not wasted money.


Many thanks for your ideas.

I have a 2017MY RT LE which I ordered with the optional high seat. My height and inside leg measurements are the same as yours, my weight quite a bit (13kg ?) more.
The trip I recently made to the South of Spain totalled in excess of 4000 miles over 19 days which included a few longish days.
I would agree with your findings, although the seat comfort I found became better as days went by. The seat does feel as if it could benefit from another 10 or 20mm of padding and with less of what feels like a slope down towards the tank.
If I could get hold of a spare seat without having to pay silly money I would have it re-shaped, built up and re-covered. I did that for my previous RT (last of the air cooled bikes) which worked well for me - that seat still sits in my garage . Until then, I'll put up with a pain in the backside because everything else about the bike is brilliant !

Read on another forum, some guys put a few washers under the front thingy that you adjust for the height on the seat. This raised the front of the seat enough to stop the tilting forward toward the tank effect. But just goes to show we are all different, I have the normal seat and am 5ft 8, I just got back from a European tour and easily did 350 miles in a day with no discomfort at all. I use my bike for blood biking when not on a marked bike and can ride for a couple of hours without a stop and have no discomfort. Guess you could try an air hawk, my wife uses one on the pillion.

I too found the seat very uncomfortable. It was hard and too low at the front causing me to slip towards the tank.  After much research I found a company 'Custom Motorcycle Seats' near Coventry and took my seats to them. They remodelled the rider's seat to my requirements and recovered it and the pillion seat to match. They re-installed the heating elements.


The cost was I think £240.  It was worth every penny for the extra comfort on long trips.

They sure did a beautiful job!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks for your replies.


Like you mentioned I feel the solution for me is probably having the seat slighted better padded and done so that the slope towards the tank is resolved. This, in my opinion, is what spoils the ride on what is an excellent machine.


Gogs - what you say is also true - maybe I'm no longer 'bike fit'!!


I have just had a look at the seat height adjuster and can see what you mean about fitting some washers but I suspect that modification won't be high enough for me!


That reworked seat looks very nice and I think I will go for that option. I will see if there is anyone locally who could do that work for me or contact Custom Seats. Did you have ordinary foam, memory foam or gel pads inserted?

mhr43 wrote: I too found the seat very uncomfortable. It was hard and too low at the front causing me to slip towards the tank.  After much research I found a company 'Custom Motorcycle Seats' near Coventry and took my seats to them. They remodelled the rider's seat to my requirements and recovered it and the pillion seat to match. They re-installed the heating elements.


The cost was I think £240.  It was worth every penny for the extra comfort on long trips.

Did this have any impact on the seat heating?

No, the heating elements were re-installed and work perfectly.  The extra padding was ordinary foam. No memory  foam or gel pads as far as I remember.  If you are interested I am sure CM seats will do whatever you want.  They offer a number of coverings and designs.  One thing I forgot to mention in my earlier post was that the seat height, due to the re-shaping and extra padding, was increased by about half an inch.

Have you considered bar risers, should make you sit up and back a bit more, give you a better leg stretch too.
I am having similar discomfort, not so much bum ache more crunched up shoulders and sitting up against the tank. I've experienced sitting on the bike at steady speed with cruise on, simply to allow me to gauge how far back from the bars my hands would be if I sat in a more comfortable position. This moves me farther back in the seat onto the thicker part and nearer the pillion seat, and improved comfort in my legs.
I have 31'' inside leg, 5' 9  and 78kgs.
I'm now looking to try bar risers for an RT LC.

This just goes to show how difficult it must be for a manufacturer to suit everyone. I am 5ft 8, 30 inch inseam and weight around 79kg, and have no issues whatsoever with comfort, like I said in another post, I regularly do 200 mile stints and a couple of weeks ago did 370 miles with just 3 stops for a fill up and leg stretch. Guess it must just fit me, perhaps all Germans are 5ft 8

I'm 6' 3" with a 34" inseam and I put the stock seat on the high position, that lifts the front.
I find I can move back and forward a limited amount and be comfortable. I reckon a higher seat would improve leg comfort.
I do get a little bit of a sore bum, but nothing much, I ride 700 + km often enough with just a single stop for lunch and fuel.
The bar-seat-pegs relationship seems pretty good and allows you to move around a bit for changes on longer rides.

Glencoe wrote: Have you considered bar risers, should make you sit up and back a bit more, give you a better leg stretch too.
I am having similar discomfort, not so much bum ache more crunched up shoulders and sitting up against the tank. I've experienced sitting on the bike at steady speed with cruise on, simply to allow me to gauge how far back from the bars my hands would be if I sat in a more comfortable position. This moves me farther back in the seat onto the thicker part and nearer the pillion seat, and improved comfort in my legs.
I have 31'' inside leg, 5' 9  and 78kgs.
I'm now looking to try bar risers for an RT LC.

Yes, I too am considering this modification. I have ridden a Honda ST1100 Pan European with a standard seat for many miles and then had one with a modified, flatter seat with a gel pad insert. The aftermarket seat was all day comfort compared to the standard seat. Being a moaning old git I was then unhappy with the standard handle bar bar height so I did what they call a 'clip flip mod'. This involved placing a second set of Honda handle bar supports on top of the original ones and securing them with longer bolts. This brought the bars up and back an inch or so and made the bike spot on for me. Thats what I am trying to re create!


I agree with the comment about getting it right for every person and what suits one person does not suit another.


On my recent long days in the saddle I tried moving back in the seat but because of the angled slope forward I did not find it that comfortable for long.


With my Honda mods it was only a matter of a couple of inches (as they say!) either way that made a big difference in the comfort of long rides.