Yamaha Gel Seat

[michaelsphoto]

Has anyone use the seat? I like the way it looks over the aftermarket. But how much better than the stock seat is the question!

https://www.yamahasportsplaza.com/oemcatalogs/p/yamaha_motorcycle_street_2007_fjr1300ae/yamaha_accessories-seats_backrests/4ff87e26f87002374860058d/fjr1300-comfort-seat

 

[ionbeam]

This is something that a car upholstery company can do to your stock seats. I put some notable hours on beemerdons FJR that had gel inserts. I wasn't too impressed but my passenger was in love with it to the point that I bought a stock seat and had it stuffed over this past winter. My passenger now loves the stock seat with the gel insert way more than our Rick Mayer or Russell(!) seats. I had the seat done by Superior Interiors, an auto company that is local to me. When we went in to drop off the seat they had LOTS of motorcycle seats in to be inserted. They did a good job and left the seat looking stock, it isn't until you feel the seat that you notice the gel.

 

[TheBlueStreak]

I had one on my 2008, did one ride, took it off and sold it on Craigs List!! Not comfortable at all! The stock seat was better.

 

[obijohn]

Why would you pay $300 for the factory-shaped gel seat when you can get a custom seat made specifically for your anatomy for just a little more?

I stopped by Rick Meyer's last weekend on the way back home to Seattle from the Bay area and got a custom seat, and got the pillion seat reshaped for more comfort (not actually fitted to anyone). On the way down, I had to stop every couple of hours because my backside ached... too much pressure on the 'sit bones' and hip joint area, and painful to the point of distracting (and thus dangerous). After the new seat, I could ride for an entire tank (240+ miles) without having to stop because of saddle issues. That is a huge advantage.

It's the best money I've spent on a motorcycle, and I'm going to send down the seats on my other street bike to get Meyer-fied.

 

[ajpagosa]

I have one, like it quite a bit. Huge improvement over stock. Look around on eBay or whatever you can find them cheap.

 

[escapefjrtist]

To answer directly, the Yamaha touring seat is much better than stock. If you're not going the full $$$ custom route this seat is a great alternative.

--G

 

[CopB8]

I see you live in my neck of the woods. I have a word of warning on using a gel seat in Texas. I have one on my Triumph and if I leave it in the sun for a while and then start riding again it takes FOREVER for the heat to dissipate and stop burning my *ss. They are more comfortable but they just aren't great here.

 

[08FJR4ME]

Has anyone use the seat? I like the way it looks over the aftermarket. But how much better than the stock seat is the question!
https://www.yamahasportsplaza.com/oemcatalogs/p/yamaha_motorcycle_street_2007_fjr1300ae/yamaha_accessories-seats_backrests/4ff87e26f87002374860058d/fjr1300-comfort-seat

Yes I have used the Gel seat and still have it. It is wider near the tank than the stock original seet and maybe a bit lower. It took a week to get use to it. The stock seat I could go about a hundred miles before I needed a break. Gell maybe 150 to 200 miles before needing a break. I cut a 3/4 thick excersize pad and used one of the alaskan sheep skin pads with the Gel seat and could then to 500 mile trips easily. Now I have a russel and can ride all day long as they say. I just did a trip to TN doing 17 hrs on the way down 985 miles. On the return trip I did 1027 miles in 15 1/2 hrs in the saddle. IMO the Gell seat alone isn't worth the money. If you do long distance at all save up and buy a russel.

Dave

 

[DragonflyTN]

Has anyone use the seat? I like the way it looks over the aftermarket. But how much better than the stock seat is the question!
https://www.yamahasportsplaza.com/oemcatalogs/p/yamaha_motorcycle_street_2007_fjr1300ae/yamaha_accessories-seats_backrests/4ff87e26f87002374860058d/fjr1300-comfort-seat

Yes I have use the Gel seat and still have it. It is wider near the tank than the stock original seet and maybe a bit lower. It took a week to get use to it. The stock seat I could go about a hundred miles before I needed a break. Gell maybe 150 to 200 miles before needing a break. I cut a 3/4 thick excersize pad and used one of the alaskan sheep skin pads with the Gel seat and could then to 500 mile trips easily. Now I have a russel and can ride all day long as they say. I just did a trip to TN doing 17 hrs on the way down 985 miles. On the return trip I did 1027 miles in 15 1/2 hrs in the saddle. IMO the Gell seat alone isn't worth the money. If you do long distance at all save up and buy a russel.

Dave

+ 1 on the Russell Day Long. Well worth the extra money. I've tried a lot of other options on various bikes: stock with added gel, memory foam, waffle foam, sheepskin etc., Airhawk, Corbin, Saddlemen, custom seat from local auto seat builder. I have not tried Sargent or some of the other specialist motorcycle seat builders, but if they can do better than Russell, I'd be shocked.

 

[obijohn]

With the original factory seats, I could ride for about 90 minutes and then had to get off the bike... and then I'd have to take a break about every hour thereafter. Not conducive to riding any distance in a day, and a safety factor (thinking about how much your butt hurts detracts from focusing on riding the bike).

I bought a second-hand Sargent seat, at a significant discount from retail, in the hopes that I could spend less and get my problem solved. It is more comfortable than the factory seat for longer rides, because it is wider. IMO the problem with the factory seat is that its narrow width focuses the rider's weight on a very narrow part of the posterior. In my case it was the hip joints/sockets. However, the Sargent seat is not at all padded, and comfort will depend on how padded one's clothing is. The width also made it harder for me to reach the ground (30" inseam). In short, for me it wasn't better enough to preclude getting a custom seat. Oh, well...

I looked at the factory gel seat, and for the price I couldn't see doing it. The gel seat lists for $300; my Rick Mayer custom seat was under $350 (nylon basket-weave material, pillion seat recovered to match and widened, slightly 'concaved' to hold a passenger and allow for carrying a soft bag strapped down). The seat looks like a million bucks (it really is quite attractive), feels like a padded office chair, and now I can ride until I need to refuel (a full tank of gas... ~240 miles). I can't see how anyone would want to save less than $50 when they could get their problem solved once and for all. The reason I chimed into this thread is to hopefully prevent someone else from making my mistake... 'the thrifty man spends the most.'

I'm not saying a Rick Mayer seat is the only choice; I think there are many good custom seat makers and certainly the Mayer brothers, or the Russell (the original 'Mayer' seat), are up there in terms of best options. What I am saying is, spend just a little more, once, and be happy.

 

[Chuck35]

They say buy the best and you cry only once. I too bought a gel seat (ebay) It helped, added about 100 miles to my cruise range. Sitting on it after it has been sun soaked is like dipping your *** in a bucket of hot oil.

I now have a Russell and am finally done in the search for a seat.

 

[CopB8]

Sitting on it after it has been sun soaked is like dipping your *** in a bucket of hot oil.

There, he said it far better than I did!

 

[Iris]

I wonder if the Russell seat is more comfortable because it's made with leather (besides what ever they fill it with). I don't have a Russell myself.......I still have the stock seat.

Most seats are vinyl (which is like plastic) and doesn't allow for any breathability (is that a word?). The vinyl is very uncomfortable and I think gets hotter than I think leather would.

Thoughts?

edit: I always have sweatier feet when my shoes are not made out of leather.

 

[fjrrrr]

I have the Yamaha Gel seat and have used it on 2 different FJRs. I agree with others that there are better seats but I like mine because on the material of the seat. The stock seat is vinyl and to me you cant slide around on it. The Gel seat has a different material that has the appearance of carbon fiber, to me its easier to slide around and adjust your seat position in corners. Comfort is marginally better than stock. Appearance is 10x better than stock. Gel does get hot in summer.

 

[DragonflyTN]

I wonder if the Russell seat is more comfortable because it's made with leather (besides what ever they fill it with). I don't have a Russell myself.......I still have the stock seat.Most seats are vinyl (which is like plastic) and doesn't allow for any breathability (is that a word?). The vinyl is very uncomfortable and I think gets hotter than I think leather would.

Thoughts?

edit: I always have sweatier feet when my shoes are not made out of leather.

You can get the Russell in vinyl too. The real difference is in the foam and construction, not the cover material.

 

[Steel_Gin]

I wonder if the Russell seat is more comfortable because it's made with leather (besides what ever they fill it with). I don't have a Russell myself.......I still have the stock seat.Most seats are vinyl (which is like plastic) and doesn't allow for any breathability (is that a word?). The vinyl is very uncomfortable and I think gets hotter than I think leather would.

Thoughts?

edit: I always have sweatier feet when my shoes are not made out of leather.

I ordered a Russell Day Long during the off season, it is vinyl and I can now ride until I hit reserve (240 miles) without any pain. With the OEM seat 90 minutes tops until I had to get off. Very happy with my new seat.

If you can hold off until the winter time there is usually a group buy on a Russell Day Long if you are looking to save about $100. Keep in mind depending how tall you are you might need to buy some handlebar risers; you sit just a little higher with a Russell. (I had to) Chuck35 said it well, "They say buy the best and you cry only once". I didn't want to spend the money on the seat and risers, I had a lot of second thoughts but did it any way and very glad I did.

 

[ionbeam]

I wonder if the Russell seat is more comfortable because it's made with leather (besides what ever they fill it with). I don't have a Russell myself.......I still have the stock seat.Most seats are vinyl (which is like plastic) and doesn't allow for any breathability (is that a word?). The vinyl is very uncomfortable and I think gets hotter than I think leather would...

...Keep in mind depending how tall you are you might need to buy some handlebar risers; you sit just a little higher with a Russell...

I'm thinking that the reach to the bars would be the least of the issues Iris would have, the ground always seems to be farther away around her bike

The seat manufacturers say that leather is the better seating surface for comfort. The only seats I have ever had with a vinyl cover have been Corbin Long Discomfort Brick seats and they were hot and uncomfortable.

 

[obijohn]

I wonder if the Russell seat is more comfortable because it's made with leather (besides what ever they fill it with). I don't have a Russell myself.......I still have the stock seat.Most seats are vinyl (which is like plastic) and doesn't allow for any breathability (is that a word?). The vinyl is very uncomfortable and I think gets hotter than I think leather would.

Thoughts?

edit: I always have sweatier feet when my shoes are not made out of leather.

The Russell, Bill Mayer, and Rick Mayer seats implement the same solution to the problem in a different way. IMO the Rick/Bill Mayer seats are probably pretty close in actual implementation... you pays your money and you takes your choice. I personally liked the features of the Rick Mayer seat better.

All three designs (Russell, Rick, Bill) solve the problem of too much weight concentrated on too little surface area. The Russell design does it by adding a wider seat, with a metal spring assembly that acts as a truss and the more downforce on the seat the wider the contact area gets. The other seats use different densities of foam and a wider base to accomplish the same result.

Re vinyl versus leather, if you're wearing impermeable riding pants then the seat covering is irrelevant. Leather would breathe better than solid vinyl, but I chose the basketweave nylon and the voids do let air circulate... no hotspots. At any rate, if I feel a little hot, I merely rise up off the seat for 10 seconds and then everything is nice and cold again. (Not as easy to do on a cruiser, admittedly, but this is an FJR site.)

 

[Chuck35]

I wonder if the Russell seat is more comfortable because it's made with leather (besides what ever they fill it with). I don't have a Russell myself.......I still have the stock seat.Most seats are vinyl (which is like plastic) and doesn't allow for any breathability (is that a word?). The vinyl is very uncomfortable and I think gets hotter than I think leather would.

Thoughts?

edit: I always have sweatier feet when my shoes are not made out of leather.

They do them in leather or vinyl. The reasons they are so comfortable is they add a wing to support the side of your cheeks (think of a mother cradling a baby's bottom in her hands) and they are custom built using the measurements you provide.