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Street Twin Bench vs Stock Seat comparison

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40K views 25 replies 16 participants last post by  Lincsbiker  
J
#1 · (Edited)
So, I have both seats,

I hate the way the stock seat looks,

and I love the way the bench seat looks.

But for me, the bike handles significantly better when Im on the stock seat. The weight of the bike seems to go where I want it to without as much thinking when Im on the stock seat.

I wish there was something in between the two, Anyone tried the British Customs, or Roland Sands seats on a bonne or street twin yet?

Anyone else have a similar experience?

Jonny
 
M
#2 · (Edited)
I also disliked the aesthetics of the stock seat and also found it very uncomfortable after about 20 minutes. I like the bench seats a lot, much more comfortable. You do sit more on top of the bike as opposed to 'in it' sort of speaking compared to the stock seat, but not by much and I didn't find it altered or affected handling. Maybe you just need to get use to it, it does feel different at first if one is use to the stock unit. I was thinking of adding a lower cafe bar, at which time I will prefer to go back to a 'in it' seat to be more comfortable or inside the bike due to the bars to be comfortable and confident, I don't like the hanging over the front feeling in the tuck and prefer a more cockpit feel if that makes any sense. Hopefully the aftermarket catches up soon and the addition of the Street Cup for 2017 should bring some more seat options (cafe style) from Triumph. For now, the flat seat is just about perfect for the standard bar, for me at least. I don't think Roland Sands makes a seat for it yet. The BC seat looks comfortable but is essentially another flat seat.
 
#4 ·
I know British Customs came out with the Slammer Seat for the Street Twins, but aesthetically, I don't think it looks as nice as the bench seat made by Triumph. I'm now on the bench seat and after a couple thousand miles on it, I love it. It was a little different at first but I got used to it quickly. The stock seat was uncomfortable for me, I like having the option to move around on the seat for longer rides to get comfortable.

I don't anticipate Roland Sands coming out with anything for the new models for quite some time, they mostly deal in Harley parts and only have a handful of Triumph parts.
 
#5 ·
I like the look of the Triumph Bench Seat (especially the Quilted Seat) but I don't like how all of the bench seats I've seen from Triumph and BC look along the top of the frame / side covers. Gap bothers me. Seeing as I think the stock seat looks great on the Street Twin, I am having high density foam installed into my stock seat. Got a quote of $250. Looking forward to having this done as soon as the Seat Guy can fit me into his busy schedule....
 
W
#6 ·
I liked the feel and comfort of the stock seat but I wanted more height for leg and knee comfort. I also did not care for the way the seat looked at the rear of the gas tank. Just looked to low and weird for me. I went with the T120 comfort seat from Triumph. It looks perfect on the bike and is a good 1 to 1and 1/2" taller at the front. I love the thicker foam and my knees love the additional height. I can still easily flat foot it at stops and I am 5' 10" tall and 30" inseam. Here's a pic.
wbarnier

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Image
 
W
#8 ·
Yes I had to remove about 3/8" of the back bottom of the seat. Just used the radius of the top of the rear fender where the seat fits on top of it to judge how much to remove and followed the radius of the fender. Restapel the cover over the portion removed and no one can tell the difference. Took maybe a half hour to do.

wbarnier
 
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W
#12 ·
Busaganashi, I seriously doubt that the Thruxton seat would fit no matter what because it looks to be shorter than the ST seat. The only way to tell for certain would be to ask a dealer who has both in the show room to let you physically remove both seats and try to match them up.

wbarnier
 
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W
#14 · (Edited)
Larre, I already answered this in a different post but I will repeat it for you. The Tach was bought on ebay for $50.00 and the bracket to attach it to the upper triple tree bolt, I made from some flat aluminum sheet. First I made a template out of card stock and once I knew where to bend and drill, I finished the bracket by hand and filed it to finish shape. It takes a bit of time but I love doing stuff like that. I am a retired machinist. It's an electric tachometer. The Tach only reads at 1/2 the actual reading but I am working on a fix for that. I think it fits in perfectly with the stock gauge and theme of the ST don't you?

wbarnier
 
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W
#19 ·
Featherock, I trimmed 1" off the top of the windscreen first. Then you have to bend or spread the main mounting brackets open to fit the outside of the headlight brackets. You then need to make some spacers or use washers, and see how it fits height wise. And you will need longer bolts to attach the headlight brackets. You might have to drill or file the existing mounting bracket holes to fit the screen evenly and somewhat close to the headlight top. then you have to make some small L shaped brackets to mount some upper support rods to the inside of the upper most mount of the screen. The metal part. Then you'll have to come up with some way of attaching some support rods to the L brackets and come back with them to attach to the handle bars some way. I used my old Givi windscreen clamps for that.

wbarnier

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M
#22 ·
T120 Comfort Seat on my Street Twin

I have installed the Comfort Seat on my Street Twin.
For me it would be possible to fit the seat only lowering the fender as said in other posts. However, it would be necessary to lower too much for my taste (about 10mm I think), and I would have to buy longer screws (to make sure there is enough threads). Thus, I decided to make the surgery on the seat and take away part of the seat pan as described by wbarnier and MIK@. The staples are very easy to take off. I attached some photos to show the work. I removed around 10mm. The polypropylene of the seat pan is easy to work using a good quality box cutter. I used a Dremel with abrasive disc to make the first incision and the finish was made with the box cutter. I also took out the foam that was remaining out after the plastic material was removed. To staple it again you do not need to buy a stapler. Better to take it to an upholsterer. Probably he will staple it without charging you anything for it.
My impression about the comfort seat on my Street Twin:
Now the bike is perfect. The taller seat definitively improved the riding position providing best position for my knees (I have 32” inseam). Together with a 25mm handlebar riser I installed, the riding position is much better and now and I feel that my weight is in the right place. I found that the new bench is much softer and better to ride. It absorbs the unevenness of the floor much better than the original. Here in Brazil, even in a good city, the roads are very bad and we have all sorts of problems: irregularities, potholes and speed bumpers everywhere. I am thin and my butt can not absorb much on its own. For me it was worth every penny.
I found the seat has very good quality. Made in Spain. On the bottom it is possible to see that there is a gel pad below the passenger spot, and it is possible to believe that it also has some gel pad below the rider part (although it is not possible to see from bottom). It has water sealed seams. It also has 4 straps that can be used to attach some travel bags.
Best regards from Brazil!
 

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#23 ·
Mateus, was there any trick to determining how much seat pan to remove and exactly where and shape of cut to make? your fit looks perfect. This is a must do upgrade on my radar for my street twin.

Also, by installing the T120 seat, does the extra ride height trigger a necessary handlebar height adjustment as well, in your opinion? I am 5’8”, 30” inseam.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
M
#24 ·
Hey FourCircle,
Q: Was there any trick to determining how much seat pan to remove and exactly where and shape of cut to make?
A: It was adjusted by “trial and error” manner. I removed some material and put the seat on the bike. It was possible to notice that seat pan was still touching the fender. So I had to remove a little more.
Q: Does the extra ride height trigger a necessary handlebar height adjustment?
A: I think the riding position and the comfort would be better anyway (even without the riser). But I can not say for sure. I installed the raiser before buying T120 seat. So I never drove the bike using the new seat without the raiser.
 
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