PLEASE NOTE – The Seat Concepts One Piece Comfort Seat review is in 3 parts:
Part 1 – Unboxing, First Impressions & Quality (pictorial) ←
Part 2 – Installation, Looks & Feel (video)
Part 3 – Touring With The One Piece Comfort Seat
Transparency
This seat was supplied to me free of charge by Seat Concepts with the understanding that I would honestly test it and post my thoughts in the form of an unbiased review.
Unboxing, First Impressions & Quality
I have to say, I’ve secretly lusted after this seat for some time now. I’d convinced myself that the Cool Covers were absolutely fine, and to a great extent, they were and are. They’ve served me well for the last year or so and greatly improved the comfort of the stock plank, but I could never quite get the Seat Concepts offerings out of my mind, especially the One Piece Comfort Seat that, to me, really looks the part and fits the look and feel of the T700 perfectly.
After a recent quick chat with Austin, the Seat Concepts CEO, an order was placed for the One Piece Comfort Seat and the wait began. During the process I was asked for my weight and intended usage, so that the seat could be custom made to suit. Production time for seats is currently around 3 weeks and I was duly placed in the queue. Exactly 3 weeks later I received a Fedex shipping notice and today the seat arrived safely on the Isle of Wight.
It arrived in a large box with the seat well protected with bubble-wrap and I was immediately struck by how perfectly and precisely made it was. It’s a very slick design with nice contours that suit the T700 well and it’s not greatly wider than the stock seat, so standing up on the bike when off-road is still very much on the menu.
The area where your butt will be planted is wider, though, and that is (apparently) one of the keys to the comfort of this seat on longer trips. I’ve yet to ride with the seat but I’ve sat on it a few times and already I can feel that the foam has more give than the stock seat by some way.
There are a few choices when it comes to fabrics. I went with the semi-grip option which is preferred for those who wear motorcycle jeans and casual wear, which I generally do when touring, particularly when the weather is warm. You also have the option of the full gripper top (which I’m told rather glues you to the spot) or the diamanté material which is close to the Yamaha OEM seat cover. All seats come with the carbon fibre look side material, which IMHO looks sharp. Take a good look at the image above, though, and look at that stitching; it’s mm perfect in every way, the kind of stitching I’d expect to see on a Mulberry agenda or Polo Ralph Lauren garment. I love it when companies take this level of pride in their work and it really bodes well for the longevity of this seat.
Here’s a better look at the “carbon fibre” look side material. Again, it’s perfectly stitched and formed. On product photos like these I’m often dismayed to see stray stitching or loose ends and those little defects really show up on close-up or macro images. On my seat there is not a single stitch or thread out of place or sticking out. It’s 100% perfect and, for me, that’s a huge testament to Seat Concepts’ quality control and manufacturing process. It literally doesn’t get any better than this.
This view from the rear will give you a good idea of the overall form of the seat. Still relatively narrow but you can clearly see the wider seating area where my emaciated posteria will get some much needed love.
Here’s a closer look at the “nose” of the seat; again, perfectly formed and beautifully stitched. Every aspect is literally spot on from my perspective.
The chassis of the seat simply mirrors the OEM chassis, of course, and there are no surprises there. Again, the quality of the moulding is spot on and you see that Austin has insisted on every part of his seats being top quality. On the left side of the image above you’ll notice a small piece of plastic/polythene poking out. Without taking the seat apart, I’m not sure what that is but I’m wondering if it’s maybe an extra layer to add to the waterproofing? I’m sure Austin will let me know and I’ll update the review to reflect his answer in due course.
The chassis looks and feels extremely solid, which is exactly how you’d want it, but the seat feels much lighter than it really has a right to. The actual weight is a tad under 2.5 kilos versus the OEM 2.2 kilos (both sections).
Installing the seat on the bike was an absolute synch and took all of 30 seconds, once the two OEM seat securing posts were removed. Those are not required for this seat, which also makes removing and fitting a much quicker process than the standard T700 seat. I’ve seen posts online where customers have categorically stated that the Seat Concepts seats do not fit properly. After a couple of bottles of single malt that may be the case but as long as you’re compos mentis you’ll very quickly realise that the chassis is as well designed and executed as the rest of the seat. If in doubt, just watch Steve’s simple installation video and you’ll be done in seconds.
Part 1 Conclusion
If a manufacturer such as Seat Concepts sends me a product to review, firstly, they’re probably quite confident that the review will be a positive one and I really applaud that. I’m not in the business, however, of harming companies, regardless of my personal opinion of their products or services and, as such, if I receive a sub-standard product I simply send it back and decline to review, unless it’s a product I purchased myself at full price. That said, I will not mislead the readers of my reviews. $370 USD (£310 GBP) is a lot of money for most of us to spend on any bike accessory or upgrade (especially during these spurious times) so if I’m going to sing its praises it needs to be well worth the asking price. If we’re purely talking about quality, workmanship and value for money, I can’t rate this seat highly enough. The attention to detail is something I’d expect to see on a high end car at a price a fair bit north of $370 plus shipping. Obviously, if you’re outside of the US you’re going to be hit with import tax on top of everything else but even then, I’d rate this seat as money well spent. The caveat to that is it must do the job it was purchased to do and that is to be comfortable on long rides. I’ll be heading into Europe in June on a 10 day overland trip so we’ll soon find out whether my bottom smiles or screams by the end of it, but if the comfort is anything like the build quality then my emaciated posteria is in for a treat. The next part of this review will be a short video to show the seat in place. Please do check back shortly as I’ll hope to post Part 2 over the weekend if the weather allows. My thanks again to Austin and Seat Concepts for their, thus far, excellent and friendly customer service and remarkable product.
Update 1 – 11/03/2023
During discussions on various social media groups, the question of custom made seats was raised. When chatting to Austin he told me that options such as a “tail bone cut out” were available at an extra cost. In order to request any custom options you’ll need to contact Seat Concepts via email or phone.
Where To Buy
Seat Concepts One Piece Comfort Seat
Looks exquisite. And for anyone doing long miles if it’s a cure for numb butt, it’s well worth the $.