MotoMan’s Custom Honda NC700x Saddle
Legendary celebrity photographer and vintage motorcycle collector Guy Webster brought his Honda NC700x by the shop for a custom saddle. Fantastic bike. The stock seat sucks, but we made it ready to ride all day…..and added a little BMS flash!
800 Miles on a BMS Vespa MP3 Saddle – Testimonial
Hi Rocky and team,
Tough Miles. 24 Countries. 25,000 Miles on a Bill Mayer Saddle ENDURA.
Commencing on the 13th April 2012, we, Peter Foulkes and Jon Brookbanks, will embark on a 9 month round-the-world motorcycle adventure in order to raise money for Cancer Research.
After researching rider reviews, Peter contacted BMS about building two seats for he and his partner Jon Brookbanks. Their cause is dear to my heart and I decided to help sponsor with two custom saddles. This kind of distance ride is ideal for our ENDURA line and we installed a super tough, non slip, marine grade vinyl. We will be following Peter and Jon on their ride via their website and posts. Support their cause and live vicariously thru these two adventurers! Photo’s of the build process and video are at the bottom of this post.
Heading East, the first part of the journey will take us through Europe, Russia, and Mongolia, following a similar route to that taken by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman in the Long Way Round. Depending on road conditions and circumstances at the time, we will then make a decision as to whether we tackle the Road of Bones through Siberia to reach Magadan, or cross into South Korea, where we will ship the bikes to Anchorage and begin the second part of our journey from Alaska to Argentina. The final destination being Ushuaia, commonly regarded as the southernmost city in the world.
Testimonial – BMS, Customer Service
Hi Rock,
I just had to tell you that you and your staff are top notch and I
could not have asked for better customer service. From my first
conversation with you on Tuesday March 27th until today I have been
treated like family by BMS. I shipped my seat out this past Sat and
it’s ready to come back already, that is outstanding service. I will
do everything I can to promote BMS to anyone with a bike. I also
mentioned I work for a company that teaches all the MSF courses and I
come in contact with hundreds of new and experienced riders during the
year and I will be talking you guys up in my classes and every chance
I get outside of class. Folks like you and a company operated like you
run BMS is rare which is sad but I’m glad our group found you. I hope
the Tenere guys come through for you and send a bunch of seats your
way. God Bless and many thanks!
Regards, Vince from VA
The Striking Viking Rides a BMS
WOW! If you have not read “One More Day Everywhere – Crossing 50 Borders on the Road to Global Understanding” it should be on your To-Read list. Gregg, aka The Striking Viking. This book is an adventure in culture and the beauty of human spirit.
We are proud that Glenn chooses BMS for his custom saddles.
Check him out at www.strikingviking.net
Super Tenere – BMS Review/Testimonial
Rode over to Ojai this morning to have a ‘seat-fitting’ done by Bill Mayer saddles (BMS). Of course I had to leave right after the big storm this weekend and I caught the tail-end of it …40-50mph winds and bitterly cold. Found some issues with my Gerbings, but that’s another story.
Left home at 4:30am and arrived in Ojai at 7:45. Met at the door by Adrian and promptly got to work.
First thing they had me do was roll the bike into a front wheel stand and observe how I was sitting on the seat/bike and if I was sitting to forward, backward etc. Since I did the seat-tilt fix with the reduced seat-height rubber bumpers, Adrian had me replace them with the stock ones (I brought them with me, just in case) so he could fix the seat tilt with the foam shape. He said BMW’s have the same issue with the seat tilt. They also wanted to know what type of riding I was going to do, street only, street & dirt, etc…this would help determine how they shaped the seat – as you stand and tend to use body english when riding off-road so the seat must no get in the way of this.
First thing Adrian did was remove the cover and stock foam from the seat pan. He then re-glued the foam to the set pan to make sure the foam was correctly adhered to the pan. He then really trimmed down the stock foam to act as a base for their special pre-formed seat foam. They have many different density foams to use based upon your riding weight. They bonded this to what was left of the stock foam and then used what looked like a right-angle carving knife to start trimming the seat foam. Watching them work was amazing, they make it look so easy.
After the initial trimming we did a trial fitting on the bike to see how it fit and I fit, especially how level the seating position was. They looked, made mental notes and went to work. Some more trimming, sanding, shaping, bonding of some different density foam and it was ready for the first test spin. 20 minutes later I was back and told them how it felt. At first it felt great but within about 10 minutes after the ‘newness’ wore off I started to tell what felt right and what did not. Adrian made some adjustments, I thought he was not removing enough foam as it was just a sliver here & there. 15 minutes later I was back out for another 20 minute ride. Wow. What a change. I could not believe that such a seemingly little change could make such a difference, but it did.
I got back and told them it was great. Now to make the cover. I picked out all vinyl, including a basket-weave top which might have been a mistake, as the seat is a bit ‘slippery’ compared to the gripper cover that comes on the bike. They also had the gripper material.
In no time they had the covers made and fitted. I had a passenger seat re-covered to match.
I was out the door a bit over 3 hours later. The 200 mile ride home was uneventful. Meaning no seat/butt burn, un-comfort, no nothing.
I’m happy.
Ron Ayres Rides a Bill Mayer Saddle
From : “Ron Ayres”
Reply-To : “Ron Ayres” ron@ronayres.com
To : “Rocky Mayer” billmayersaddles@hotmail.com
Subject : The Seat (R1150GS)
Date : Thu, 24 Jan 2002 07:40:33 -0600
Rocky:
After riding to Stockton, Alabama for the “last ride-in of the year” at the Stagecoach (650 miles each way) and after just returning from the White Stag in Beatty, Nevada (1,650+ miles each way) I can honestly say that the new seat works great. I didn’t experience any discomfort on the 800+ mile “leisurely” rides to and from Beatty.
I’ll provide another evaluation after I’ve got 40-50K on the saddle.
See you in Hyder.
Ron
IronButt – Bill Mayer Saddle Testimonial
From : “Steve Smith” ironbutt@carolina.rr.com
To : billmayersaddles@hotmail.com
Subject : K1200lt seat
Date : Tue, 25 Sep 2001 21:42:08 -0400
Mr. Mayer,
Sorry, I took so long to get back to you regarding the seat that you built for me in July, 2001. If you will remember, it took less than 3 weeks from ordering to reinstalling on my K1200LT.
I was getting ready for the 2001 Iron Butt Rally and put it to the test with 1000 miles the first weekend. There was no burning, no moving around trying to get a comfy position, it just worked for me.
The real test came at the last of August during the Iron Butt Rally. I spent 14 days including going and coming from the Rally and have now put probably 15,000 miles on your saddle. Of course, a person is going to get uncomfortable when sitting in one place for 20 hours a day, but other than that, I have never been as pleased with any product as I am with your seat.
The workmanship was great and your recommendation to go with the leather was a wise choice. I can’t recommend your seat enough. You may have anyone on the East Coast call me if they want to see the saddle or ask me any questions they want to.
Great Job!
Respectfully,
Steve Smith
Charlotte, NC
1150GS – Bill Mayer Saddle Testimonial
From : Paul Chu
To : Rocky Mayer billmayersaddles@hotmail.com
Subject : 1150GS Adventure saddle Date : Mon, 26 Aug 2002 21:26:10 -0700 (PDT)
Hi Rocky, The saddle was very comfortable just as I had expected! Rode straight through from Morro Bay to Santa Rosa without experiencing any soreness.
I took your advice and went home the coastal highway to Santa Rosa. Morro Bay was delightful, stayed overnight, had a good time.
Attached is the picture of a brand new seat. Thanks again for a well crafted saddle, and a wonderful experience with your team.
Regards.
Paul
BMW R1200GSA Testimonial
Rocky, It has been about 2 weeks since I was in your shop for a new saddle and I have to say I am more pleased at the workmanship and comfort the more I ride. Coming to your shop early on a Friday morning from Fullerton, Ca. wasn’t a pleasure, but going home 3 hours later and 1.5 hours longer was pure delight to my butt. I felt I could ride another 1.5 hours for a total of 5 hours on the bike. Thanks to your man Adrian and his helper and your new office girl I am recommending your seat to all my friends. This week I am heading out to Arizona going to Bisbee and then back again for a week of riding with a couple of friends. One guy is 81 and the other is 75. I am the youngster at 61. Hope I can keep up with them. God bless
Mark Miller P.E.
Jackall Testimonial – BMS for Italians
To: billmayersaddles@hotmail.com Save Address
Subject: My Jackal and my butt.
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2001 11:54:03 -0600
In the last week and a half since you folks have rebuilt my Jackal saddle I’ve only managed to put about 700 miles on, so not fully broken in yet. However I am very pleased with the comfort, appearance, and quality of my Bill Mayer Saddle.
One of the things I wanted to be able to do if I wished was to ride the Jackal tank to tank, and now for the first time since I’ve owned the bike I am able to do that.
500 mile days are much less tiring now. My wife also appreciates the work you did on the pillion saddle, you’ve made it usable where before it was a true killer.
I think the greatest thing about my Bill Mayer Saddle is that I am the one to decide whether to get off the bike and gawk at the scenery or to keep riding rather than to have the discomfort of the seat dictate when I have to get off the bike.
The convenience of having a location in the Idaho Montana area where I could ride in and ride out with a new seat was truely a benefit. What a great excuse to go for a ride, and riding home in comfort was a real bonus.
Thanks folks, for a job well done.
Jon B.
Helena Montana
Love Leather – BMS Testimonial
Rocky:
Sorry for taking so long to get back to you and report out on the new seat. The cold weather and lots of “honey-doos” has kept me off my R-1100Rt. Recently I went to the Laughlin River Run. The round trip was a little over 1500 miles. I rode with a guy on a sport bike and he couldn’t do the trip there in one day, so we stayed overnight in Bakersfield.
The seat, coupled with the “seat jacks” you told me about worked perfect!! After the 2 days and about 700 miles I was in no pain. We stayed in Kingman, AZ and rode around the area quite a bit. On Friday that week I had to come home unexpectedly. I took off at 8:30 AM from Kingman, stopped for lunch in Needles and made it home at 7:30 PM. The one way trip was 645 miles. I got of the bike in the driveway and wanted to get back on and head back to Kingman.
The hard day in the saddle was a true testimony to the great seat you build for me. I couldn’t be happier with any seat! I just wanted to say thanks for the great product and for the way you treated me on my ride in (you remember, letting me take your GS home for a couple hours while you made my seat). That was first class.
Lastly…..I’m sure glad I sprung for the leather. Works great.
Thanks Again!
John Parks
Oakley CA
Awesome after 350 Miles – BMS Testimonial
Hi – Just a note to thank you for the new seat. It is hard to believe but my but felt a lot better after riding home 350 miles (I took the scenic route) with the new seat than it did after riding 300 miles to Ojai on the stock seat, and it was still sore from the morning ride when I left Ojai. I hope Rocky didn’t hit the same traffic I did at Baker, 5 – 15 miles per hour and 108 degrees.
Once again, thanks for the great job.
Vernon Danielson
KLX – Bill Mayer Saddle Testimonial
Rocky and company, First let me apologize for taking so long to write. The seat you made for me back in Sept. is FABULOUS!!! I cannot think of enough positive words to express how much this seat has added to the comfort of riding for me. I installed the seat the day it was delivered, and left for my vacation on the trusty KLX two days later. I rode about 1600 miles from northeast, OK to New Orleans and back. The further I rode, the better it felt! This is without a doubt, the best single investment I have ever made in any motorcycle I have owned.
My wife could not wait to open the box and see what magic Rocky had worked on the stock KLX seat. She was so impressed, she called me at work to tell me the seat had arrived and how great it looked. Looks are only the beginning, the workmanship, fit and finish on this seat is second to none. I have shown this seat to everyone that has stopped to look at the bike, (it draws a lot of comments now!). Not one person can believe how comfortable the seat is!
Please convey my appreciation to everyone involved in getting my seat done in such a fast and quality fashion..Hope to have some photos soon. Thanks for building such a great product.
Sincerely,
Marshall Moorhead
Slidell, La
xxxxxrider@aol.com
BMW 1150R – BMS Testimonial
The bike is a BMW R1150R. In one month I have commuted with it, done day trips of up to 200 miles, and last week a 1,600-mile, four-day tour. The saddle is so good that I forgot about it. I love the look and feel of the saddle with the smooth leather, simple lines, and lack of frills. It really fits in with the whole Beemer thing. Practical comfort.
The first thing I did was put the leather treatment on it and this stuff is nice. I need more please, just tell me how much money to send. Once treated, rain just bounces off and with the high grade aniline dyed leather you use there is no problem at all with the leather. It gets hot here in South Florida and I wear Dockers or similar very light colored pants to work. No dye migration to the britches in spite of the heat and occasional rain squall. This speaks volumes about the quality of the leather you use. The leather does breath by the way and I find it much superior to vinyl in hot weather.
The foam did take a while to adjust to my anatomy, but right from the beginning it was comfortable. I think this is a remarkable achievement. I have ridden motorcycles since 1967 and have over 250,000 miles on BMWs alone as well as a whole bunch more on a variety of other brands. This is the finest saddle in my experience. Thanks for a great product.
Regards, Bill
You Rock! BMS Testimonial
Hey Rocky,
You ROCK, pun intended!! We got our saddle today, thanks sooo much for all your hard work and overnighting it. We LOOOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEEE it, imediately my wife and I said yes perfect!! It’s like you were reading our minds or butts in this case!!! We’ll keep you posted as we break it in and no we won’t put a cover on it, It is truly a work of beauty and I’ve been telling everyone how awesome you are!! We’ll send you some pics when we finish a few tours and get the film developed. Let me know what I owe you for the shipping fiasco.
Much thanks
Natasha & O-Shen
3,015 Miles – BMS Testimonial
I wanted to send the attached pictures from my recent trip and thank you for the incredible seat. On my ride-in appointment, I was thoroughly impressed with the care and attention to detail demonstrated by you and your staff. As you know I only had about 300 miles on the seat prior to leaving for thetrip. On the first day I rode 798 miles to Albuquerque to meet my brother who was riding in from Dallas. Although I was tired upon arrival, the seat comfort was exceptional. On the other hand my brother’s Corbin seat (which already had 3,000 miles on it) bruised his butt. Over the total 7 days, I rode 3,015 miles through NM, CO, UT and AZ. I never had any thoughts about my seat, but my brother complained every night. All I can say is that anyone who is serious about riding any distance at all, the very best investment that they can make is a BMS seat.
Once again I and my butt thank you.
Mark Oliver
Moto Guzzi Testimonial
Hi Rocky,
You might recall talking to me about the saddle you made for my 2000 Moto Guzzi Jackal. I live in Huntsville, Alabama and use my bike as my primary form of transportation, riding it to and from work, the store, etc. as well as long distance touring. As I mentioned to you when we talked back in June, the stock seat on my Jackal was one of the most uncomfortable seats it has been my displeasure to sit on. I was looking for significant improvement in comfort with no increase in seat height, which you said you could accomplish for me.
I received my new saddle July 6. Since then I have put approximately 10,000 miles on my bike. I put 200 miles on the new seat the first few days I had it, then spent the next three weeks riding to the Moto Guzzi National Owners Club National Rally in Grass Valley, California, up highway 101 along the coast of northern California and Oregon, back through Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and finally back to Dixie, including one 1,000 mile day and anywhere from 350 – 700 miles the other days on the road. Two weeks ago I rode to Florida for some Gulf beach scenery.
I just got back to Huntsville and I now feel qualified to provide a preliminary report on my new saddle. As I mentioned, my two requirements were significant improvement in comfort and no increase in seat height. On both counts I give my new saddle an enthusiastic thumbs up. I now ride comfortably, with none of the ass cramping and leg pains that plagued me on the stock seat.
I have always liked the bike very much, except for the seat. I feel the Bill Mayer saddle is one of the best customizations I have done on this motorcycle. It makes me think I’ll enjoy riding this machine for years instead of trying to figure out what I can do to make it rideable….(edited to shorten)…I appreciate your willingness to work me in to your production schedule so I could have my new saddle in time for my ride out west. There was a lot of interest at the rally, and to anyone who expresses an interest I tell this story and say that, for me, the Bill Mayer saddle is the answer.
Jack Anderson
Loneliest Road In America – BMS Testimonial
Just thought I’d drop you a line and tell you how much I like my new saddle. When I left your shop, the seat felt fine, but it wasn’t until I’d ridden the first 800 mile day that I really appreciated it.
The last day of the MOA rally (Sat) I found out I had to be in Dallas for a meeting Tuesday afternoon. I also had to go back through the national parks in southeastern Utah to take pictures for a story I was witing. Without consulting a map, I estimated about a 2000 mile trip. I got up Sunday morning and made it down to Gerlach, NV and on to the “Loneliest Road in America”, then spent the night in Ely.
That night I consulted the map and found I had an additional 1700 miles to cover. Plan B was then to get to Albuquerque, NM and catch a plane. That would leave me with a doable 900 to 1000 mile ride. Well, when I got to Albuquerque at 10 or 11 I felt fine and decided to go on to Amarillo and catch a plane from there. Of course when I got to Amarillo I said, “What the hell” and went on to Dallas. After 1700 miles and 32 hours I was a whipped pup, but neither my back nor butt was in pain. In fact, without your seat a ride like that would have been impossible. I have ridden my R1150GS 900 miles with the stock seat, but my yee-ha was sore for days. Your seat was not only comfortable, but isolated my body from much of the engine and road vibration.
Thanks again,
Phatrat
Gary S.
VFR800 Testimonial
” Rocky, I’m thrilled to hear that you are going to continue your father’s thirty year quest for the perfect motorcycle seat. Enclosed are a couple pictures of Bill’s past work: my now 18 month old Mayer seat on my Honda VFR 800 and the seat Bill rebuilt/recovered when I restored the world’s first Superbike winner in 1980…Steve McLaughlin’s Butler & Smith R90S BMW. Twenty plus years later, it’s still perfect. I now know I can keep riding for another few decades because I can keep getting Mayer seats –the very best.”….
LD Rider Testimonial
Subject: LDRider: Bill Mayer Saddles
Well, I now have over 3,000 miles on the new Bill Mayer Saddle, and it works great for me. I can ride all day without any pain at all. Bill Mayer Saddles is owned by W.J. (Rocky) Mayer III. Rocky has recently completed a Saddle Sore 1000, and rumor has it we will be seeing him in August in the Buttlite III. It is clear he is a rider who understands the need we have for a good place to put our ass-ets. I hope he doesn’t start making couches.
Ride on,
PP
Happy Butts
To: billmayersaddles@hotmail.com
Subject: Happy Butts
Hi Rocky, Just a quick note to let you know how much my wife and I love our new seat.It has transformed my R-100-R into the all day bike it was meant to be.No more numb buns and the bike fits my 6`2” frame so much better, Thanks again.
Tony and Suzy.
Road King w/Custom Bill Mayer Saddle
Kent Williby
55,000 Miles on a Bill Mayer Saddle
From: ronbitzer@verizon.net
To: billmayersaddles@msn.com
Subject: 5 year anniversary
Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:19:49 -0700
Dear Saddle Masters,
Just wanted to let you know that after 5 years and 55,000 miles my saddles still look brand new and are just as comfortable as the day I left your shop. My arse thanks you!
Best Wishes,
Ron & Claudia Bitzer
2006 BMW R1200RT
KTM Saddle
Subject: KTM seat
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2011 08:05:13 -0500
From: Clifford.Gunter@bgllp.com
To: billmayersaddles@msn.com
Rocky
After 2 hard days of riding in the Big Bend State Park I can say my new seat is fabulous. It’s just right for getting up on the pegs and great when seated. Everyone with me wants one. Randy says hello. Also, Dick McCall–you built a seat for his dirt bike–sends his regards.
Best,
Cliff