I'm having Sargent's customize my stock seat. I had trouble communicating how to lower the seat. They not only didn't lower the seat 1/2" like I wanted, I could swear it's about 1/4"+ higher now. I never thought to measure the seat thickness. Now I need to tell them exactly how much foam to remove.
Kawasaki manual says stock seat height is 31.5" and mine is about 31.8" now. I measured the thickness of the seat and it looks like 3 1/2". That measurement point is taken about 4-5" off the tank with the end of the ruler flush with the pan edge. I'm guessing that the seat was about 3 1/4" thick before they changed it.
Could someone take a careful measurement at the same point I did and tell me how thick their stock seat is? Mine is a 2007. I THINK anything from '06 to '11 is the same?? I appreciate the help.

I'll try bud but I can't guarantee I'll be using the same reference points. I'll get back to you Monday after work... I have the necessary tools there.

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I had Sargent do the same thing last fall. It took 3 trips back and forth to get it close to right and I still have to peel the cover back to round the edges more. To make it easier for them to understand, I got some wide masking tape which I applied to the foam and made all notations on the tape. I ended up with 3 1/4" from the bottom edge to the top of the foam just before the rise, tapering forward to 2 7/8" just before the slight rise to the tank. I also wanted the seating area flat so I move front to back and had them taper the sides ala my Corbin so I could slide side to side. In the end, what I got was close. I ended up pissed off as did Sargent. Bear in mind I sent my cowl so I could still use it. I think I have some pics of the foam covered with the tape with some notations on it and would be happy to email them to you to clarify what I am describing. Hank

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I'd check Ebay foer a used seat. $50 and DIY.

I have my seat off the bike. If you can show pics of where you want me to measure it I can post pics w ruler.

* Last updated by: Rook on 1/13/2013 @ 7:38 AM *

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I think I have some pics of the foam covered with the tape with some notations on it and would be happy to email them to you to clarify what I am describing. Hank

Hank, thanks for the offer but I understand what you did.
I have to admit I didn't want to hear you also had trouble communicating with Sargent's. Any chance you dealt with a guy named Bob Livingston? I won't bore you with every detail of what I've gone through trying to customize my seat and I'm trying to hold back final judgement until this whole ordeal is over.
I'm sending my seat back for the second and last time if they can't get it right. I asked for a basic lower and slight narrow. Bob said it "sounded good" over the phone. They, without telling me in time, decided to dish and widen part of the seat. Seat came out shaped funny and they screwed up my stitch requests. I complained, they claimed they fixed it. They shipped it to me and the seat was still widened and they never lowered it at all, in fact they raised the seat about .3" by my calculations.
Now I'm not sure how thick the seat was to begin with and we're trying to get it right. They offered to send a "call tag" which I assume is free shipping. I told them it needs to have those damn bulges on the side removed and still needs the original lowering I requested.
So far I've spent $260 with shipping to get a seat that's uncomfortable and ugly. I really don't know what to do. Send it back for no charge and maybe they get it right? Or, I've found someone nearby that, going by their website, can do the work but I'm sure they'll want at least $200 to correct Sargent's foam work and a vinyl re-cover. That has me over budget. Your complaint has me really thinking what to do.
I sent Sargent's pictures, instructions and I talked on the phone. STILL they have trouble. I don't know if the problem is this Bob guy or if his worker is an idiot.

Rook, hagrid...I took my measurement about 5" from the tank. Using a ruler I put the bottom of the ruler flush with the bottom edge of the seat pan. Holding the ruler straight up I made my eye reasonably level with the top of the seat cover and it looked to me to be 3 1/2" high. I think that's higher than a stock seat.

Yeah, it's all familiar. My salesman's name was Paul Jones. He left but trained Bob Livingston first.
I could write a book but suffice to say the whole deal was an ordeal.
My seat is now firmer than stock and doesn't compress as much as the stock one, so A to B comparisons are very difficult. I found placing a spray can under the rear of the seat got the level line...er,level. Measuring from the bottom edge to the top of the foam, in front of the rise and at the rear of the seating area, my seat measures 3 1/4". Measuring at the front of the seating area just before the small rise up to the tank, my seat measures 2 7/8". I think this is very close to the standard seat. The Corbin I have for sale measures 2 7/8"-3" at the lowest point which is toward the rear of the pocket. I suggest you have them round the edges as my seat has pressure points under my thighs. Yeah, you'd think they would know by now right? If you want the seat to be lower than standard, I believe you'll end up under 3". One of the things I tried to get them to do was measure the foam thickness of both ZX14 seats they sell, for the std and the low version. I thought this might lead me in the right direction...not only did it never happen, but the "Atomic cell foam" they use in their seats is green and softer than the "Atomic cell foam" they modify customers seats with...who woulda thunk it? lol Yup, it just adds another dimension of misunderstanding and frustration. Best advice I can give you is ship the seat back and forth in the foam only stage till you're happy and only then, have then do the cover. When I finally got mine, I asked for a welt that was supposed to fit right against the cowl...I guess within a 1/4" was "right against the cowl" cause that's how far away the welt is...I'm going to have a buddy who does high end show car interiors correct the cover after I sand down the edges of the foam to my tastes.
I could go on and on but you get the point...
I'll be watching this thread for updates...good luck.
Hank

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Hank, thanks for the info. Jeez...they use different density foam depending on if it's for their "World Sport" seats or a custom seat? I wonder what the thinking is?
I wasn't sure what to do. I read your reply yesterday and decided against Sargent's re-doing the seat. I e-mailed them for a $100 partial refund as a compromise of my bill. I thought since they said they were prepared to offer free shipping and, I assume, a free re-work of the seat, they would rather wash their hands of me and give me some money back. Instead, Bob e-mailed me back this AM that there would be no refunding and he was "confused" about the lowering part of the foamwork, saying it was done as requested. That pissed me off but I had to get off to work.
I decided to call them and I asked for someone in management. I got "Richard" (I forgot his last name) and we ended up talking nearly 1 hour if you can believe it. I began the call by explaining the communication problems with Bob and that I would like a $100 back. Call me a fool but this Richard fella was really understanding and I was surprised how he seems genuinely interested in fixing this mess. This 1 hour talk was not me trying to hang on to him, he asked questions and offered ideas on how we can communicate better by sending specific instructions/pictures with the seat. He said at least a few times "If you'll consider giving us another chance"... He even said that if this time didn't fix things he'd be open to talking about a discount on my bill like I asked.
Long story just a tad shorter,I decided to try once more. There will be no charge for shipping or re-work and I will get to see several pictures of how the foam looks before they cover it. I know smaller details of the foam wouldn't be easy to see even with quality pictures but I will ask for a direct overhead picture to at least be sure the widened portions of the seat have been removed. A direct side shot should tell me if the profile and lowering look right. As for how they smooth and contour the sides I can only look and decide if it looks good for covering. If it gets back to me but it still ends up looking wrong then I'll hope they stick to what Richard said and they give me a partial refund and I can go elsewhere to get the seat right. I'll only be out with my time and with the cold here I wouldn't be riding to work anyway.
One thing worrying me about the lowering is I'm not sure what's been done so far. They did "dish" the rear part of the drivers area which obviously effects the foam thickness. I don't want to remove too much foam. The seat appears to me to be a little higher in the "crotch" area but it could be lower in the rear area I just mentioned. The taller widened area on each side throw me off trying to tell what I'm working with. I want to tell them to remove 1/2" "straight back" to where the rise begins but that may be the wrong thing to do. I remember the stock foam wasn't near level in the front; it made me slide slowly toward the tank. Now it's much more level, which is good, but I'm worried to just tell them to cut 1/2" all the way back. Maybe I should make the cut 1/2" in the first 8" or so of the seat but then decrease the cut as it continues back to the beginning of the rise??? Hell, I don't know!
Sorry for long post but I'm trying to get this out. Maybe others here will learn from our experience too. I'll update this. They seem really willing to work with me. The seat will take 6-7 days both ways and they say they'll get right on it when it arrives. I'm going to show some faith in my fellow man (which I often don't do) and try it. I'll be sure to tell you the outcome and post pic's if anyone else is interested. Final product should be 1/2" lower in the front, slighly beveled to smooth the new, lower edges similar to stock, with no stitching at all. Black vinyl with lighter grain, one-piece cover.

* Last updated by: KAK on 1/14/2013 @ 6:49 PM *

Any help with the seat thickness? I measured about 5" back from the nose of the seat. With a ruler, holding the rulers bottom flush with the seat pan bottom, I got my eye level with the top of the seat and it looks like 3 1/2" on my ruler. I'd appreciate the help.

IDK what a seat pan is but I'm guessing you mean the bottom edge of the seat? I just measured hooking the end of my tape measure on the top front edge of th seat, measuring 5 inches back. Then hooking the tape measure on the bottom edge of the seat to measure vertically at the the 5" mark. I get three and a quarter. If I get 3 and a half, I am catching a bit of the top view as well as the side. Side view only is 3.25 inches. This is viewing at arms length.

What you need is a calipers. Sory aint got one of those. NOt the big pincher type like you would use for a measurement like this.

* Last updated by: Rook on 1/14/2013 @ 8:50 PM *

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I'll have to call it 3 1/4", at least until the obvious rise begins around the tailbone area.
I appreciate the help. I'll let anyone interested know how this turns out. I was out of town 'til last night but now I'll put together some instructions Sargent's can follow and we'll see.

If you want KAK, I could post a pic with measurements of the stock seat every 1 inch.

I was thinking about cutting my seat down some day.

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I was thinking about cutting my seat down some day.

Thanks Rook, but I think I'm OK. I've been communicating with Hank too and he's helped me with ideas. Regarding Sargent's ability to make a custom seat the way you want it, it sounds like my best efforts may/may not work in the end. They seem to want to make the customer happy but may not be capable of the task. I got tired of things and asked for a partial refund ($100) but then I talked to their general manager and he asked that we try once more. That effort will cost them much more than the $100 I asked for. They're even including free shipping both ways...zero charges to me. I'm out my time but I decided to try it.
So they obviously are trying and we'll see if they can get it right. I came up with an idea I hope will help...
I'll make a video describing what I want and send them a CD in addition to pic's and written info. If that doesn't work then I don't know what to say.
I mention all of this since you say you may want to change your seat someday. If my efforts can somehow help the customer get what they want from Sargent's then that might help you if you think about having them do your seat.
I plan to keep everyone posted once the seat is done.
I like the idea of customizing the stock seat vs buying from Corbin or ? I've heard some bad things about Corbin and I can see for myself their "Canyon" seat will force me to sit too far back. That removes Corbin from my list, PLUS I e-mailed them and they insisted they place their label on any custom seat I order. I hate labels. They DID say they would make the label in black instead of white to make it less visible. As for other shops, Rick Mayer looks like a good seat and looks comfy but it's too "couch looking" for me and way too many stitches. I don't like the shape of the New Image seat's either. There's more of course but I guess I'm too picky.
Anyway, hope this helps with anything you're planning and I'll talk later. Keith.

Keep us posted as to how it comes out. I already spent a bundle on a Saddlemen seat and I like it better than stock. Still would like to shape it so the back scoop was even up to the cowl like the OEM seat but I don't want to mess with it when the seat is so new. I'm pretty sure I can do what I want for a race seat. Simple--make it as low and thin as possible and just cut out the entire passenger section leaving room for more high performance electronic gadgets or NOS bottles.

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Got my seat back from Sargent's last week. Finally got a chance to ride to work a couple days to check it out.
I'm going to go ahead and make a new topic about having my seat done by Sargent's. Quite an experience.