Low Seat

[Spider]

Anyone tried the Yamaha low seat? I like the idea, but wonder how it compares in padding to the stock seat.

Thanks!

 

[TierHawg]

Posted some pics in this thread:
http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=1650.0

It feels almost the same padding in the back area of the seat. The nose is dished out to allow extra reach. I'm liking mine, and its breaking in with more miles. I do tend to sit in the rear of the seat, and only slide forward when I need to get a foot down.

 

[AL-58]

Posted some pics in this thread:
http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=1650.0

It feels almost the same padding in the back area of the seat. The nose is dished out to allow extra reach. I'm liking mine, and its breaking in with more miles. I do tend to sit in the rear of the seat, and only slide forward when I need to get a foot down.

I'm playing with the idea of rebuilding one of my seats. I just measured the thickness of padding by probing the foam with an upholstery skewer and measuring the depth of padding. At the rear of the seat, the padding thickness is exactly the same, in the middle the low seat is around 15mm thinner. There is not enough foam at the rear of the seat to allow me to cut it any lower. Myself I'm not enjoying the forward slope this gives the seat, I'll try shorter support rubbers on the standard seat this weekend to see how well that works in comparison.

Al

 

[HoebSTer]

I'm playing with the idea of rebuilding one of my seats. I just measured the thickness of padding by probing the foam with an upholstery skewer and measuring the depth of padding. At the rear of the seat, the padding thickness is exactly the same, in the middle the low seat is around 15mm thinner. There is not enough foam at the rear of the seat to allow me to cut it any lower. Myself I'm not enjoying the forward slope this gives the seat, I'll try shorter support rubbers on the standard seat this weekend to see how well that works in comparison.

Al

Al, people have done various things for the tilt. I simply cut my OEM knobs in half so the nipple could still snap into the plastic of the seat. I was able to cut 3/8" of inch or so from my rear knobs. I tried the gluing thing from HD, but they came loose.

 

[William42]

I like the low seat. I don't have that many miles on the bike. At this time the low seat seems to have less padding than the stock seat. I still find the low seat comfortable. I can offer a better opinion after a 600 mile day. It will have to warm up some before I can do that long of a ride.

 

[Kevhunts]

I like the low seat. I don't have that many miles on the bike. At this time the low seat seems to have less padding than the stock seat. I still find the low seat comfortable. I can offer a better opinion after a 600 mile day. It will have to warm up some before I can do that long of a ride.

Is the low seat lower only because of thinner padding or is it's mounting position different from stock?

 

[troll]

Is the low seat lower only because of thinner padding or is it's mounting position different from stock?

Both seats use the standard high/low mounting of the stock bike. I and others have used a variety of other methods to lower it further and to change the forward slope.

 

[mercurydog47]

I just got my first Super Tenere a week ago on December 22nd, 2015 and I switched to a low seat. I went for about a 150 mile ride with the stock seat and I felt it was comfortable enough but I felt insecure maneuvering the bike in a parking lot with my feet down and I did sllide forward a little while riding. I can't feel any difference in padding between the low and the stock seat but I did replace the 4 rear bumpers with the thinner ones and that seems to make more of a difference in the height than the low seat itself. Also, the problem of sliding forward has been cancelled out by the bumper replacement.

That being said, I wonder why Yamaha doesn't just go ahead and offer an option to the low seat right from the beginning upon delivery of the bike and do the bumper thing at the same time. As it is I have about $250 invested in the seat to get it right and I am 6' tall and I would not be happy in a gravel parking lot with the stock height. Probably dump the bike over.

Meanwhile, I have a stock seat that looks brand new with the regular bumpers on it that I would sell for $200 if somebody wanted it.

 

[Jeff Milleman]

concept seat company is making a seat which is lower then the one they offer now ,as people were not happy with the height. It should be ready in a couple weeks as what the rep told me . Was going to get one but Seth Laam called me back ,so off my pan went ....

 

[Dirt_Dad]

My wife has used the OEM lowered seat with the stock tilt for about 25K miles. She has done countless 400+ mile days on it, and many one or two week trips riding every day. Never heard her complain about the seat.

I frequently ride her bike. The tilt bothers me more than the actual seat. Never noticed any issue with padding. Overall I think it is a good quality seat.

 

[mercurydog47]

If you want to eliminate the forward tilt replace the 4 bumpers at the rear of the seat with the thinner ones. Deal done.

 

[mhoy]

I have a 2012 and have used the low seat for 28,000 miles and love it, no issues or problems to report, 500 mile days are no problem.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

If you want to eliminate the forward tilt replace the 4 bumpers at the rear of the seat with the thinner ones. Deal done.

Yeah, I gave my wife that option years ago. She tried it both ways and preferred the tilt. Apparently Yamaha made it that way because some people like it. I took the tilt out of my bikes immediately.

 

[HoosierWolf]

Does the low seat come with shorter bumpers or can you replace them with the VStar bumpers and low it even more?

 

[Nissbird]

I tried the Yamaha low seat, but found it did not increase the amount of "boot" contact on the ground. The padding is lower but firmer which I found less comfortable whereas the standard seat padding is softer so it compresses to give the same "boot" contact with the ground. In addition the low seat dug into my thighs more than the standard seat when stopped. I returned the low seat to the dealer for the original cost - handling charge.

 

[mercurydog47]

Same here, I just couldn't feel any difference between the low seat and the regular one. The biggest difference was experienced by switching out of the 4 bumpers across the back to shorter ones. In the end I sent the low seat back to Bike Bandit and they refunded my money. They have been good as gold about returns.

 

[Oliv]

I do not agree: with the regular seat I wasn't able to touch the ground with the toes. With the low seat I can, and and a bit more than the toes only, just not the whole feet's.
Maybe my legs are a bit more taller than yours?

 

[mercurydog47]

Try the rubber bumper trick. It really works and costs very little to do.