When motorcyclists talk about moto seats, typically a few names come up.  Corbin, Sargent, Russell and of course, Rick Mayer.  There are so many opinions about which seats are the best, but it really just depends on your butt.  Everyone is different. I personally, am a huge fan of Rick Mayer saddles.  I had one on my BMW GS 650 and became an instant fan.  As soon as I bought my Triumph America, I knew I had to have one of Rick’s saddles.  Since I am lucky enough to live in the great state of California, I decided to do a ride-in appointment so I could finally meet the man behind the saddles.

When I left Oakland, it was 53 degrees.  Three hours later, arriving in Red Bluff, CA–it was a scorching 95 degrees.  Needless to say I shed the heated vest liner.  I was greeted instantly, my leathers and helmet hung up, a cold bottle of water put in my hand and a chair in the shade.  Rick had me sit on the bike while he evaluated my ergonomics and told me which adjustments would make the seat better.  One side note–you don’t need a ride in appointment to get an awesome seat.  Rick made my first one by mail just by getting my measurements and a photo of me on on the bike.  It came out perfectly.  I just thought it would be fun to ride up and see the process for myself.

While Rick got to work, I decided to answer the call of my growling tummy.  I walked over to Valeigh’s Airpark Restaurant.  It’s right on the little runway so while you eat you can watch the planes take off and land.  The food was pretty good as was the customer service and best of all, it had AC.

After a hearty brunch, I walked back over to Rick’s and watched the process.  Rick let me come back and watch him work his magic, and was gracious enough to allow me to snap a few photos of my seat being made.

He explained the different foams he was using and how the shape would suit my butt better all while he was making the process look easy.

While he was measuring and cutting he told stories about his background and that he watched his dad make motorcycle seats since he was in elementary school. His dad, Bill Mayer, was the original maker of what is now Russell Day-Long touring saddles.  Bill later sold Bill Mayer Saddles to Russell.  Rick not only grew up around it, but also has been making seats himself for many years.  You can see in the way he works how skilled he is in every step.  Also an interesting note–he used to be a nurse in the ER and also was a volunteer Firefighter. Cool.

While his assistant was doing the final polish of my newly made seat, Rick took me in the customer lounge, picked up his Taylor guitar and played some songs for me.  I was blown away–the guy can play and sing quite well. What a great way to end my day in Red Bluff.  I was humming his songs all the way home.

The finished product.

On one of his office walls hung a personalized license plate that read “Butt Dr.”.  Riding home on my newly made seat built just for me, I had to agree.