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Best Bonneville seat(s)

136K views 176 replies 81 participants last post by  Terez 
#1 ·
I don't know if this is a tech question or what, so I'll just post it here...

I know this is subjective, but what's a good choice for replacing the stock Bonneville seat in terms of comfort? MADSS has a sale going on right now on Thruxton gel seats, as mentioned in another thread. It's certainly good looking but is it comfy? I have no idea but its GOT to beat the stock seat. Corbin solo seats? Do you like 'em? Triumph solo seats? Anything else? What do you like? Most of my riding is one-up so I'm considering a solo seat but wouldn't rule out a dual seat.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Depends what you want. for long distance comfort, and if you're ever riding with a passenger, the King & Queen is the best.

I rode several thousand miles on the stock seat and never understood the complaints...maybe my fat a$$ just has enough padding!

I have a thrux gel seat (got it from madss) now mainly for looks - it is very comfortable on the few short rides I have done so far - I haven't done any setious distance on it yet but I assume it will be fine.

Hedge has a solo seat and I rode his bike last summer - it is close to the K&Q in comfort but very soft (as is the K&Q) - not something I'd want for the twistys but good for long hauls.

Correction - Hedge had the scrambler solo/rack, not the bonneville solo seat.
 
#3 ·
For solo riding, the Triumph solo seat has worked well for me. It looks like it was designed to match the bike's lines (because it was), fits like OEM equipment (because it is), and stays comfortable for hundreds of miles/day.

Rich


 
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#13 ·
I also bought the Scrambler Gel Seat recently. It looks good on the T100, and after a few 100+ mile rides on it, I'll say it is quite an improvement in comfort over the stock seat. The MADSS price was less than $180. It is perfectly flat, and about 1 inch higher in front than the stock seat. That is why I wanted it. I would probably have been happy with a non-gel stock scrambler seat, but Triumph wants around $350 for those. :eek:

The Scrambler Gel seat has a soft top material that has a "non-slide" effect. You sort of have to lift yourself a bit on the foot pegs to change your fore/aft position. I wasn't expecting that, and I'm still not sure if I like that feature or not.

Overall, I think it is an excellent seat upgrade for the price. I also think it looks more "retro" on the Bonnie than the stock seat. That is one thing that cannot be said for the King & Queen seat....
 
#6 ·
I've had three seats so far and am waiting on the fourth to arrive from MADss

stock seat, looks very nice and is great for my commuting

thruxton gel seat looked sporty, but I felt like it tipped me forward and placed pressure on my junk, causing the boys to tingle a lot.

king and queen is as comfortable as your couch, unfortunately it is super ugly. I use mine for all road trips, but run the stocker at all other times.

I currently have the Scrambler solo seat with rack on eternal backorder from MADss. I'll report when I finally get it in my hands.
 
#10 ·
I was considering the Thrux gel seat, but I send a pic to my Brother and he asked an interesting question about the gel being there cuz the seat had more of a contour to it and thus needed the gel to be comfortable at all.

So....now I'm considering the Scram gel seat. (I'm so confused!!).:brick:
 
#12 ·
Corbin G & L

I have the Corbin Gunfighter and lady, looks way better than the Triumph K & Q, is genuine leather and is extremely comfortable. It seems hard when you initially sit on it, but that is the last thought you give the seat, other than wondering why your 'sit upon' is not screaming after a couple of hours. Apparently they get more comfortable with use too.(moulds to ya butt)
 
#14 ·
Thanks for all of the feedback. I may go with the Thruxton gel. Have two questions if anyone can answer:

If the Thruxton gel is put on a Bonnie, can the color-matched cowl be used? (I think the answer is yes...)

Is the Thruxton gel a little bit higher than the stock Bonnie seat? The passenger portion appears to be but what about the driver's?

Thanks....
 
#16 ·
I have been looking into a better seat for my 2014 Bonneville. It's not hard to find a better looking seat Faust they look pretty bad stock.
The cafe looking seat that caught my eye Was the Corbin" Smuggler. It's expensive but it looks good and has a nice looking storage compartment. Has anyone had any experience with that seat?
 
#29 ·
I seriously considered the Corbin Smuggler but went with the Corbin classic Gunfighter. It's a great seat, takes about 2K miles to really break-in, but is fairly expensive (mine was $451 but that included tax and shipping to Florida). The original seat that came on my T214 is safely boxed and put away since it has the 'fancy LE red piping.
 
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#18 ·
Holy necro-post. I have the Scrambler solo/rack seat on my Thruxton. I took the rack off and put the Thruxton cowl on it. Makes for a tidy, it tiny, trunk. I keep a pair of rain pants back there, plus my insurance papers, etc. There's not as much room as it looks like there should be.
 
#19 ·
I found the oe seat on my 2015 t100 to be much more comfortable than the oe item on my previous bonnie, a 2012 se. However I still replaced it with a burton seat, mainly for the extra height and the looks. I think that comfort wise the 2015 oe seat and the burton are very similar.
 
#22 ·
Okay, I'm looking at OEM seats:

Is the OEM Bonneville seat decent enough for daily commuting and the occasional day trip, or it is wretched to the point I'll be seeing my doctor for spinal surgery?
If the OEM seat is indeed an item to be replaced immediately if not sooner, am I correct that the swooshy Single Seat is a decent upgrade? Does it increase the overall seat height (for those of us with shorter inseams)?
How does the Single Seat with Rack hold up in comparison to the OEM seat?
 
#30 ·
I have the Triumph single seat with rack. After 2 or 3 hundred miles it became a little uncomfortable. I sent it to Spencers Motorcycle Seats and had the padding reworked. It's the most comfortable thing I have ever ridden on. His seat modifications are really well thought out. One day turn around on work. You might want to try this on any seat you are not satisfied with.
Tom
 
#32 ·
I'm kind of counting on that.
Tracking says mine should arrive tomorrow.
Still riding on my stock white pin stripe plank and my 65 year old bony ass is protesting.
Bought a used Thruxton cowl off ebay I'm going to paint and have for changing up the look now and then.
Thinking of stripping the chrome and powder coating the rack black.
Anyway....
Still lusting after a Burton and may do that as well if this doesn't satisfy..
 
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#33 ·
I will plug Spencer at greatdaytoride one more time as the cheapest effective comfort improving option other than an Airhawk or sheepskin. He repacks and reworks your stock saddle replacing the foam with something else (supracor) and for a $100, your saddle looks the same but becomes infinitely more comfortable. I don't start squirming until after the 400 mile mark now, which is about the max I want to spend on a Bonnie in one day anyway. I also had him rework my VFR saddle with similar positive results.
 
#34 ·
Sure that's a good alternative Steve
Certainly less costly
I just don't like the shape or pin striping on the stock seat very much so not inclined to go that way.
Have a local guy that's going to rebuild my Tacoma drivers seat and he does motorcycle seats as well so would probably go with him if I went that way.
See how the truck seat comes out.
 
#66 ·
Yes I have the first one, the tuck n roll. Looks great, but not very comfortable. Certainly not any more comfortable than the stock seat. Also you have to be careful with those brown slammer seats as they are leather only, there is no vinyl version of the brown ones (at least not for now, they pulled the vinyl ones because of a defect). So you have to treat the leather regularly.
 
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