The Trophy got a new seat this last Friday. This is a custom seat made by Seth Laam at Laam's Custom Motorcycle Seats.I had long ago determined that I wasn't going to mess around with seating as I did with my K1200LT, After years of research I had determined that the Russel Day Long saddle was what I was going to get.
A post on the LD Rider forum caused me to look at Laam. I guess since he is getting started and building his business his prices are EXTREMELY low. I figured at 40% of the cost of the Russel I'd take a chance on Seth's seat. So far I am very pleased. It will take some 1000 mile days to determine if this was a good gamble.
From the time of my initial order until I got the seat was a bit lengthy but this was mostly due to some communication problems. Seth was out of town for a bit and then I was. Once we got this sorted out Seth put me at the top of the list and did my seat in one day. I talked with him on Tuesday AM and my seat was in hand on Friday.
Seth is new to the business but after talking with him I was comfortable with his experience (worked for another well known vendor) and his knowledge of the needs of a long distance motorcyclist.
The seat is very attractive with some nice stitching. It has wings made of firm foam with softer foam in the center of the seat.With the stock seat on the TT I kept sliding forward. Seth's seat keeps me in position. Per my request he moved me back on the seat as far as possible. The seat is higher than stock but this is not a bad thing. For the US market the stock TT seat is 1.2 inches lower than the Euro version. I think this was a mistake since the footpegs will need to be lowered for most riders. With my 32" inseam I had no problems getting both feet on the ground. I didn't notice that I had to scooch forward at a stop.
I took it out Saturday for a good ride. Over 2 hours I had both freeway, city streets, and stop/go traffic. I wasn't rigged for a long ride, just jeans and regular underwear (no LD Comfort shorts). As such, I was getting a little sweaty and hot on the butt. I attribute this mostly to my riding gear and the weather, not the seat.
I was pleased with how it sat and felt. In my short test ride on this bike at the time of purchase my butt was hurting on the stock seat. This is definitely an improvement.
I'll update as I get more saddle time.
2 comments:
What would you recommend with a 30" inseam? I am 6 foot with the lower stock seat but want to make change to more padding while still being able to push my bike back. Carl_in_AZ
I don't know if you monitor this or not after 10 years.. BUT, I've had a 2016 TTSE since the end of 2017. I use seat beads to help with long rides but, like you said, I tend to slide forward. I was searching custom seats and came across LAAM customs and was thinking of reaching out. After reading your post, I think I will.
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