Since there has been a fair amount of discussion about aftermarket seats lately (some of which led me to the decision to buy this one), I thought I'd toss up my impression of my new Burton, purchased from British Bike Bits in England.
First of all, before I even start with the seat itself, let me say that this company's customer service is impeccable. Due to being caught up in a teleconference with a client longer than expected, I ended up calling them much later than I'd planned, at just before 5pm their time - which I assume is closing time for them - and was very cheerfully helped with my order anyway, even through all the details and questions that I had about the seat, shipping, etc. Add to that, this was 5pm Thursday evening, and I received my order the next Tuesday! (I don't even know how that's possible from England, but these people are to be commended for their quick and friendly service!)
Anyway, on to the seat.
The quality and foundation construction are definitely on a par with the factory saddle, BUT...some of the little details were a bit dodgy that made its installation more of a pain than it should have been.
You have to use the two metal hooks from the bottom of your stock seat on the Burton (I have an extra seat, so didn't have to molest mine, and can still just easily swap it in the event I need to do any two-up riding). The hooks have two holes in them for mounting (though the factory seat pan only uses one bolt for one hole, and a position peg for the other, the Burton uses two bolts each for the attachment), but the holes in the hooks didn't line up with the threaded openings in the Burton seat pan. A little "ovalizing" of the hook holes with a drill bit did the trick, but seems like an unnecessary bit of hassle on an otherwise nicely made product.
The rear end bolts up through a pair of loose brackets, rather than the hard-point mounts on the stock seat, but a little trial and error fitting did the trick there...again, a little more work on an already difficult point of attachment, but not that big a deal.
As mentioned, first impression of this piece is very positive, and that of a great looking, nicely made seat that fits the contours and lines of the bike beautifully. There is a metallic gold "Triumph" embossing across the rear of the seat that I first thought a bit too blingy, but after mounting it, found it to be a decent complement to my gold paint, making it look all the more "factory".
Sitting down with your feet on the ground has the top edges of the seat biting into your legs a bit; but as soon as you put your feet up on the pegs, that sensation disappears and you find yourself on a very comfortable platform. The foam feels denser/stiffer than the stock seat, which is no doubt why the upper edges of it feel uncomfortable against your leg when your feet are down (it's not compressing as easily), when the similarly shaped factory seat does not. This also makes for a much more comfortable, "supported" ride, especially over bumps, which was my biggest beef with the factory saddle - it felt wafer-thin and you felt every ridge in the road up through your backside. I'm a pretty thin guy (6', about 175#), so I can't imagine how the stocker feels to some of you heavier guys. I haven't taken any extended rides on it yet, but initial reaction to what I have done is extremely favourable, and a huge improvement over the old seat.
The only other disappointment for me - though no fault of the seat's - is that it's about the same height as my mag-wheel model's stock seat. I had specifically swapped a new 2009(?) saddle onto my bike at the dealer, which is about 1" taller, and made a huge difference in leg comfort on the bike for my 6' frame. So, (heavy sigh) I'm back to stock height again. So far, the trade-off in ride quality seems to be worth it, though.
One thing I have to say is that I was trying to leave the bike alone after making the few comfort changes I've already done, but seeing the lines of the new seat on it has me thinking about a FEK now...
Anyway, enough blabbing; here's a couple of pics for those visual-stimulated members out there:
First of all, before I even start with the seat itself, let me say that this company's customer service is impeccable. Due to being caught up in a teleconference with a client longer than expected, I ended up calling them much later than I'd planned, at just before 5pm their time - which I assume is closing time for them - and was very cheerfully helped with my order anyway, even through all the details and questions that I had about the seat, shipping, etc. Add to that, this was 5pm Thursday evening, and I received my order the next Tuesday! (I don't even know how that's possible from England, but these people are to be commended for their quick and friendly service!)
Anyway, on to the seat.
The quality and foundation construction are definitely on a par with the factory saddle, BUT...some of the little details were a bit dodgy that made its installation more of a pain than it should have been.
You have to use the two metal hooks from the bottom of your stock seat on the Burton (I have an extra seat, so didn't have to molest mine, and can still just easily swap it in the event I need to do any two-up riding). The hooks have two holes in them for mounting (though the factory seat pan only uses one bolt for one hole, and a position peg for the other, the Burton uses two bolts each for the attachment), but the holes in the hooks didn't line up with the threaded openings in the Burton seat pan. A little "ovalizing" of the hook holes with a drill bit did the trick, but seems like an unnecessary bit of hassle on an otherwise nicely made product.
The rear end bolts up through a pair of loose brackets, rather than the hard-point mounts on the stock seat, but a little trial and error fitting did the trick there...again, a little more work on an already difficult point of attachment, but not that big a deal.
As mentioned, first impression of this piece is very positive, and that of a great looking, nicely made seat that fits the contours and lines of the bike beautifully. There is a metallic gold "Triumph" embossing across the rear of the seat that I first thought a bit too blingy, but after mounting it, found it to be a decent complement to my gold paint, making it look all the more "factory".
Sitting down with your feet on the ground has the top edges of the seat biting into your legs a bit; but as soon as you put your feet up on the pegs, that sensation disappears and you find yourself on a very comfortable platform. The foam feels denser/stiffer than the stock seat, which is no doubt why the upper edges of it feel uncomfortable against your leg when your feet are down (it's not compressing as easily), when the similarly shaped factory seat does not. This also makes for a much more comfortable, "supported" ride, especially over bumps, which was my biggest beef with the factory saddle - it felt wafer-thin and you felt every ridge in the road up through your backside. I'm a pretty thin guy (6', about 175#), so I can't imagine how the stocker feels to some of you heavier guys. I haven't taken any extended rides on it yet, but initial reaction to what I have done is extremely favourable, and a huge improvement over the old seat.
The only other disappointment for me - though no fault of the seat's - is that it's about the same height as my mag-wheel model's stock seat. I had specifically swapped a new 2009(?) saddle onto my bike at the dealer, which is about 1" taller, and made a huge difference in leg comfort on the bike for my 6' frame. So, (heavy sigh) I'm back to stock height again. So far, the trade-off in ride quality seems to be worth it, though.
One thing I have to say is that I was trying to leave the bike alone after making the few comfort changes I've already done, but seeing the lines of the new seat on it has me thinking about a FEK now...
Anyway, enough blabbing; here's a couple of pics for those visual-stimulated members out there: