FJR seat cover material -- very durable

[Constant Mesh]

The cover on my OE seat remains in pristine condition. After 11 years of use it's in excellent condition. Seams are tight. No change in appearance.

Hasn't been exposed to direct sunlight or water all that much.

The cover material is obviously very rugged stuff. Yamaha and/or its supplier used good materials and made a durable, long life seat.

 

[ahchiu]

I would praise your butt for lasting that long on a stock seat.

 

[SoCalFJR1300]

Hasn't been exposed to direct sunlight all that much.

The real key, the Sun eats everything.

Just about any material if you keep it out of the Sun will last a long time.

 

[Fred W]

The reason the stock seat material lasts so long and stays in pristine condition is because you can't sit on that thing for more than a couple of hours.

I have to wonder why anyone would start a thread praising the stock seat?

 

[TomInPA]

My buddy still has the stock seat on his 06 FJR and likes it. Of course he also rode 8000 miles on his Sportster with a broken shock during a huge trip we took in 2012.

I sometimes ride his bike and find I need to rise on the pegs in order to pass gas. That seat is impervious and tough!

 

[SoCalFJR1300]

As far as the comfort of the stock seats go's, I have to say the FJR has the best one of ANY bike I've ever had.

 

[LKLD]

Coming up on 2yrs., and 25,000 miles....all on the stock seat. I have my moments on the long rides (>300 miles), but nothing that would have me spending $800 to fix.

 

[Twigg]

Coming up on 2yrs., and 25,000 miles....all on the stock seat. I have my moments on the long rides (>300 miles), but nothing that would have me spending $800 to fix.

For some folk, 300 miles is what they do before stopping for breakfast

They are the guys who spend $800+ on a seat, and very few of them regret it. For normal riders (aka sane riders), there are much cheaper alternatives that do an excellent job.

 

[Twigg]

Here is an $800 seat on a Gen 1 FJR. I think it has done around 50000 miles, and is covered in the velour fabric offered by Russell. This is not a hard-wearing material as the pictures show. It is nice and cool in hot climates, but it also absorbs water like a sponge.

This winter it will be rebuilt to my spec, and it will cost around $400 to have it done ... It will be vinyl, half-moon pattern and I won't regret a dime of it:

 

[wfooshee]

The seam along the right side is splitting on mine, and this is the second seat. The first one did the same.

It's not the seam separating, like stitching coming out, it's the material tearing at the seam, which makes a repair more difficult.

So I shall withhold my praise, thank you very much.

 

[BobbyBlue]

..my stocker AND Corbin Canyon have duct tape on the left front....sun ate 'em both....but i'm fixing to have the stocker redone by a local shop...i liked the stocker Fred, but i came from the spanish inquisition world of Ducati and the bunghole numb syndrome of old rice burners ala CB 750k....the corbin surprised me, but its 10 years old....and the girls in san antone had some starch bomb handicaps, on the good side, i got some of my longest wheelies with Chata aboard....

 

[Fred W]

My stock seat covers lasted less than 1000 miles. They came off to be replaced by full leather comfort by Russell. This is what comfort looks like, my friends. And I expect that leather seat cover to last for as long as I have the bike with no problems.

I fully realize that seat preference is a very personal and subjective matter, but the stock 3rd Gen FJR seat had my sitz bones screaming after only a couple of hours of saddle time. With the new Russell, and the prior one that I put ~80k miles on, on the 1st Gen, I am used to being able to sit on the bike in the morning and ride all day, stopping only for gas or to take a leak.

I did that just yesterday on the new Russell, as we had an unusually warm day for November.

As for being the most comfortable stock seat ever, my 2004 Vstrom was actually a bit better than the 1st or 2nd gen FJRs were, but I put a Russell on that bike too. My old '98 VFR still has the original stock seat on it, as that works fine for the shorter rides I end up taking on that bike. I'm only good for so long in the leaned over riding position of the Viffer.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I've had no issues on 10-11 hour riding days on either of my BMW's stock seats. Don't have any complaints with my FJR stock seat, but I haven't done big numbers yet. Your seat looks excellent. How much might that set a man back? You mentioned the leaned-over position of the VFR. Are you using a bar relocation product on your FJR?
My stock seat covers lasted less than 1000 miles. They came off to be replaced by full leather comfort by Russell. This is what comfort looks like, my friends. And I expect that leather seat cover to last for as long as I have the bike with no problems.

I fully realize that seat preference is a very personal and subjective matter, but the stock 3rd Gen FJR seat had my sitz bones screaming after only a couple of hours of saddle time. With the new Russell, and the prior one that I put ~80k miles on, on the 1st Gen, I am used to being able to sit on the bike in the morning and ride all day, stopping only for gas or to take a leak.

I did that just yesterday on the new Russell, as we had an unusually warm day for November.

As for being the most comfortable stock seat ever, my 2004 Vstrom was actually a bit better than the 1st or 2nd gen FJRs were, but I put a Russell on that bike too. My old '98 VFR still has the original stock seat on it, as that works fine for the shorter rides I end up taking on that bike. I'm only good for so long in the leaned over riding position of the Viffer.

 

[Fred W]

The Russell seats above cost me $780 but that was the dual seats being modified and in full leather covering. You can save some if you only have them customize the front and recover the rear to match with the stock foam under. And you can save even more by having the seat covered in vinyl. but I highly recommend going with the leather.

Yes, I'm 6'2", and the Russell does raise your butt up a bit, so I do need bar risers. I currently have some plain 1" risers on, but that is really not enough yet. I'll probably be going with a HeliBars Riser Bridge as it seems to give the best bang for the bucks.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

My helibars should be in tomorrow. I've thought about not putting them on, but I really miss the more upright position of my last bike. Also, I prefer the seat in the high position, which affects my angle to the bars a bit as well.

 

[supertankerm60a3]

I have an '03 too. Silver has a total of 130,500 miles on it now She sits in the sun every day as I use it for commuting. the 'seam' split in the right side, front seat, halfway from front to rear. I was expecting it as the vinyl was getting hard. Just yesterday, (I need to post in "What did you do...") I installed the REAL leather seat cover. (E Bay about 87.00 total US dollars including shipping) This thing is awesome! I will post pictures as soon as I get the real one done. Mine is grey, I really do not need any bright colors like red or blue to help catch the eye of the LEO's. My only suggestion for improvement would be making the center part actually perforated. This might not be a good idea though as it would allow water directly onto the foam.