Well had a reasonable run on the SE today and enjoyed the sedate ride compared to the sport bikes I am used to but ouch my ass is sore as hell . Has anyone modified the original seat to make it more comfortable instead of the board it feels like .
Classic Bike Shop Ltd 01527 454158 They're in Redditch, got a replacement seat from them. Not cheap, much more comfy and far better looking. I rode it to Spain easily enough
I've seen the Corbin seats, don't really look right on a Bonneville, same as Russell day long seats. Great seats both but fugly. So that brings me back to triumphs comfort seat for approx $350 US dollars. I often wonder if it would be beneficial to get a comfort seat, remove the cover, cut an inch of foam out of the seat top and replace it with gel. Or just add the gell on top. It would only raise the seat height an inch and still retain the classic look.
I put a luimoto cover over the standard seat cover on my Speed twin, it firmed the seat up but I find it much more comfortable, I have the Triumph comfort seat as well but the luimoto for me is better and I think it looks great as well.
Norman Hyde came to my rescue here too: https://normanhyde.co.uk/hinckley-triumph/bonneville-se-2009-onwards/hyde-dual-seat.html Looks better in the flesh than the picture on the site. It's proper comfortable and it gets a thumbs up from the Mrs too and it doesn't look as daft as a K&Q seat. a little pricy but hay oh!
I’ve also got a Norman Hyde seat on my T100, it’s really comfy even ms Tiger thinks it’s comfy and she’s got dodgy hips. I rode 200 miles last month, no BSA ( bloody sore arse)
I've used an Airhawk seat cushion (not a cheap copy) for long rides on the ZZR for years can't fault it. As far a looks go, I can't see it when I'm sat on it, I can remove it in seconds and I don't think it looks that bad anyway. The comfort of the OEM seat is better than most for short to medium length runs but 800m in a day is way past the pain threshold and no problem with the Airhawk.
I had a gel pad added under the cover of my standard T100 seat. You cannot tell from the outside so no need for a picture... It went from a 90 min max machine to quite literally all day comfy. Even in last years sweltering August I did a 1,000 mile three day blast around Wales and had no seat-related issues*. * My feet however were utterly cooked, being right beside the engine cases!
I'll concede the "look" on a classic machine is more important than on a modern plastic clad UJM where you can "lose" an air-seat cushion or strap-on anal support in the styling so a bespoke seat is possibly the best way to go.
Well I've been doing some research on seats. I looked at the corbins and it's not as ugly as I thought it was, but it's ridiculously expensive! But I may go with it for one reason, the removable pillion back rest. You can have them made in any color or combination of colors and thread color. I may go this route at some point. It looks substtantialy thicker for the pillion. It has closed cell foam, supposed to be more comfortable for the long rides and yet a little firmer. But man the price! It's about $900 us as pictured. My man interest is the removable backrest that I can take off when my Betty is not with me or add it back on so she feels more secure.
I had a similar backrest on two of my HDs as rider backrests. Though the seats were Mustang. I am looking for something like on my Speedy. They were great for long rides. I know Corbin do one for my bike but i dont see the saddle as an improvement on the stock Comfort seat. I may wait and see if Mustang will do one.
Yeah I agree that the stock triumph comfort seat may be better, it certainly is price wise. But it's the removable backrest that has me wanting the corbin. I like that it can be removed when I'm riding solo and put back on for my girls comfort and safety when needed. I don't think anybody else makes a seat/backrest combo like that for the T120.
So I took my old seat removed the cover and increased the padding around my sitting area , took it to my local upholsterer and had it done in blue stitched diamonds and success now very comfy and looks better as well
I had a 2012 SE and found the seat uncomfortable compared to my previous T100. When I looked at the SE seat it seemed to be more sculpted in shape - as in it had less padding and was therefore slightly lower. Bought a second hand T100 seat off ebay, which improved things enough to work
