Sargent Seat

SARGENT SEAT

CW EVALUATION

Sitting pretty

SOME THINGS JUST DON'T MAKE SENSE. Paying almost $250 for a stock replacement seat on a 1982 Seca 650-a bike worth maybe $1000-is one of them.

That’s the predicament Mr. Editor Edwards faced when the time came to renew the seating accommodations on his venerable, 25,000-mile Yamaha: A local dealership quoted $243 for a factory-replace ment seat. Yikes! Cheaper alternatives were needed.

A phone call to Sargent Cycle Uphol stery (44 E. I St St., Jacksonville, FL 322O6~ 800/749-SEAT) soon had the company's free brochure at the CW of fices. In business for 56 years, Sar gent's reconditions seats by doing away with the old cover and repairing any de ficiencies in the original foam. The foam is then steamed for expansion. Next comes a fresh layer of low-density foam approximately a quarter-inch deep and a new plastic-wrap nioisture barrier. Steam-fitted, custom-made upholstery is the final step, available in pleated vinyl, smooth vinyl, button-tufted vinyl or Griptex, a basketweave vinyl. Major foam repair, foam reshaping and custom colors also are available, as explained in the company's comprehensive literature.

Wanting to stay as close to original as possible, Edwards opted for the black, pleated-vinyl cover, and boxed the Seca’s seat for shipment. Two weeks later, the seat was back, ready for reinstallation on the bike (two-day priority shipping is available if time is of the essence). For the most part, Sargent’s craftsmanship was excellent, the exception being slightly offkilter piping at the rear of the seat, a minor transgression. Several months of use have confirmed that the replumped seat definitely is an improvement over the sagging stocker, though just how durable the reconditioned foam will be over the long haul remains an unanswered question.

That’s a risk worth taking, though, because the Sargent seat only put a $67 dent in the Editor’s Visa account ($60 for the reupholstery, $7 for shipping and handling), a substantial savings of $176 over an NOS replacement seat. Consider it a well-placed blow for bargain biking. □