Top Saddlery Seat

[rschween]

As luck would have it, my Top Saddlery seat arrived 1 day after I left on the 8 day trip I ordered it for. Since I wasn't smart enough to order a Russell or one of the Mayer Custom seats during our cold Canadian Winter, I panicked at the thought of doing this 2500 km trip on the stock seat. Although my riding history leans more to the "Sport" than the "Touring", my wife and I bought the ST so that we could do some 2 up riding, and I could still ride the twisties. That said the Corbin and the Sargent seats which I consider to be more "Sport" seats didn't appeal to the "look" I wanted. That's when I stubled upon a couple of reviews of the "Top Saddlery" Seat
http://groups.msn.com/ST1300US/seats.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=63974&LastModified=4675527327081011412

http://www.topsaddlery.com/en/index.php4

I agree with John's (nael1300) review that this seat changes the seating postition dramatically, and I also wonder how well it would work for a larger rider (I'm also 5' 9" or so) and it is definately "tighter" quarters than the stock seat. The only other impression I can add before I get more miles on her, is that it feels higher than the stock seat. With 2 up on the stocker in the lowest position, I'm easily able to flat foot, not with this seat, at least not yet. It also doesn't seem like I end up forced forward into the tank like many of us have complained about with the stock unit, or with some of the non custom build aftermarket seats. As you'll see from the pictures it works with the "stealth backrest" and for fun I tried the stock pillion with the Top Saddlery driver seat and it fits fine, which I believe will allow you to add the Smuggler trunk, (but I haven't tried it yet, that's a farkle for the future).

I also thought I'd mention a couple of small happenings with my order, that I didn't appreciate, but I can over look if this seat works as good as I think it's going to.

I ordered over the weekend of May 28/29 2005, and sent an email along with the order indicating that my trip was July 6th, could they supply on time. Their wesite indicated an "in stock" order (no custom stitching or combo of fabrics) and I selected this hoping they would get it off quicker. I received a nice email saying that production time was 15 days and that there should be no problem getting my seat in time. After 15 days I again sent an email asking how production was going, and received a reply that it in fact was 15 WORKING DAYS for production and that my seat should be on the way in a couple of days. In the end the seat ended up being shipped on June 22nd, 18 working days after the order, no big deal.

On July 1st, I sent an email asking for a tracking number so I could plan my departure for the 6th, and decide if I would leave early or wait those extra few hours for the mail to see if things would show up. As it turned out I also had an order in with Gary Munroe at Bike Quip for a new windshield ( http://www.st1300-accessories.co.uk/st1300_windscreens.html ) which also left England on the 22nd of July, he provided me with a tracking number I was able to use with the Royal Mail Parcelforce and Canada Post websites, and I knew that his package was in Vancouver the day before I left. It was going to be tight.

Top Saddlery however, never responded with another email, I even tried Microsoft Words translator to send them one in French (never did learn Canada's second language) and still nothing. Perhaps its a two email limit per customer, and I realize its not their fault how long it takes to mail, I just thought it would have been good customer service to send me an email. With that in mind, I am more than happy with the quality, and for the price $500 Canadian including the shipping (263 euro or $427 Canadian plus $63 PST and GST) I think I'm going to be more than happy.

So if you consider this seat, go for the stitching or fabric combo if you want, it's not coming any quicker if you order the "in stock" version, and it's only 23 euro more for the stiching and fabric combo's.

I've added a couple of pictures and will update this post when I get a few more miles on her.

Rod Schween
2004 ST1300
2004 Uni Go
Top Saddlery Seat
Throttlemeister
Stealth Backrest
Bike Quip 21" Flip Top Screen +2" wider Light Grey

[g17]

That's a good looking seat. Have you had time to try it out more? I want one!

[rschween]

Thanks, I agree the seat looks great, and so far it feels great. I have only had a change to do some short rides :( but we're planning a 3 day trip this weekend, should be around 30 celcius so it'll be a good test for the seat and the turbo city regulator :cool:

[g17]

Is that a Type I or Type II seat? Also, how do I select the options to be all black? I went to the website to order and can't figure out exactly how to do it......lets me select all black options except for a gray border. Anywho, let us know what you think about the seat when you get back from your ride.

[rschween]

This is a type one seat. I selected the third version to design the seat from. I was hoping the "In Stock Version" ment that it was one that was pre-made, no such luck. (More on that in my review) To change the border color and fabric click on the boarder color bar by the drawing of the seat in step 2. Again I went with the basic black, no color options etc. because I hoped it would get to me faster, but they are all "made to order" even the "in stock", so from a delivery time standpoint, go for the options if you want, as I understand it, it's 15 working days for "in stock" or custom options.

Not sure if you are a member of the MSN ST1300 board or not, but this was the post that got me interested in the Top Saddlery Seat http://groups.msn.com/ST1300US/seats.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=63974&LastModified=4675527327081011412&lc=4105

The only thing I stress about this seat, it is not for the full figured :eek: it is pretty tight. I'm a 38 waist and I think a 43 seat, and it's incentive for me not to gain any more weight. I can't even put my sheepskin on and it feels tight.

[g17]

I ordered one of these seats this weekend. Hopefully it's what I'm looking for. If not, it will be on ebay.

[duffy05489]

So Rod, how did the seat work out on your 3 day trip? What were the pros and cons?

[rschween]

Well, I had a great ride on the weekend, just over 1600 KM, to Calgary, through Waterton Park and over the "Going to the Sun Road" in Glacier National Park in Montana (Great Road, some of the most unbelieveable scenery I've ever seen).

While the Top Saddlery Seat performed alot better than stock, I think I'd still like to try a Russell. My wife road with a sheepskin and a 1/2 inch of memory foam the first day and switched to the sheepskin and a gel pad the second day. She was fine for a couple of hours before the sit bones went numb.

As for me I did the whole trip without sheepskin, memory foam or gel pads. The first day I met up with the family in Calgary, so about a 4 hour solo ride from Cranbrook, with a stop to fix a computer at our Fernie operation (about an hour into the trip) on the way. I found my hips were really bothering me towards the end of the 3 hour leg.

The second day we were two up and did about 550KM, with various stops for sight seeing, gas etc. Again my hips gave me some discomfort, and the sit bones were a bit tender at the end of the day.

Day three was just a short trip from Waterton back to Calgary (about 250km) again we were 2 up, I experienced little or no hip pain.

Day 4 I was solo again with the family following me back to Cranbrook in the car, again about 4 hours on the road. We made a couple of stops for coffee and pee breaks for the kids, I had no hip pain or sit bone pain, and felt like I could have easily kept going despite the rain coming at me in buckets.

My thoughts.... 1. I need to get in better shape if I'm going to comfortably drive this or any motorcycle for long distances with minimal break time, I think the biggest factor is my (lack of ) conditioning.

2. The seat may be a bit too pillowy, I think this winter I'll try to dish it out some, but first I want to try to get some more miles on and see if it was just me, or if the seat was breaking in during this trip.

Unlike the stock seat which was uncomfortable after a very short time, the Top Saddlery was good for the couple hours, but 3 was pushing it, at least at the beginning of the weekend.

[tyreguy44]

Ordered my Top Saddle in Feb., just received it this past Friday. After several emails that went unanswered by the company, I asked for a refund, 1 week to the day of that email the seat arrived via airmail, something about the post office lost the frist one. Have only took it on a short ride. I think the wait and hassles are going to be worth it.