Foreword
I have found that often people overlook important things when customizing their motorcycles. The seat of a motorcycle plays a large role in how enjoyable your riding experience is, how long you can ride, and the fatigue you feel. Often overlooked, an aftermarket seat can help these things tremendously. I recently purchased a seat from Seat Concepts in preparation for an upcoming ride. I should have done it sooner.
The Company
Seat Concepts started a little over 4 years ago, however the owners have been making seats for vintage mx and quads for the last 12 years. All Seat Concepts seats are molded similar to oem to fit the standard seat pan. Each seat goes through an R&D process before the final product mold is made. The molds and foams are made in house, although the covers are made by a vendor. The Seat Concepts crew consists of the two owners; Lendon and Robert, three full-time employees, one part-time employee and Lendon's wife.
“I am very proud of both our success and also being able to give back to our US economy by providing goods and services all American made!”
Construction, and Options
Your Seat Concepts seat can come to you in a “do it yourself” kit, or as a complete seat. At an additional charge Seat Concepts will supply a seat pan for most bikes. Your Seat Concepts seat can be ordered in a number of different marine grade vinyls. The foam is custom cut for each seating position, height, motorcycle and rider weight. The seat can be purchased in different configurations, usually low, standard, and high seating height options are available in your choice of vinyl. I chose the klr650 low seat in carbon/carbon and sent my seat pan to Seat Concepts for them to install the foam and cover.
Comfort
The comfort of the seat varies greatly between riders. Some people are fine with a factory seat, while others can’t ride 10 minutes without taking a break. So the comfort of the seat is very subjective. In my opinion I found the seat to be much more comfortable than the factory seat. It is just as narrow in the front, but widens quickly where your buttocks would be and the Seat Concepts foam is firm. The low seat has a step to a higher seat height at the back. I found this to be a little too far forward, and would have liked it to be about 1"-2” farther back. Since I ordered the low version seat it made it much easier to put a foot down in tricky situations, and when getting on and off the bike. The seat has made the bike much more friendly to ride, and I find myself riding more because of the comfort.
Price
The price category is where the Seat Concepts seat really shines. Costing about half of what other aftermarket seats cost, but giving equal to, or close to the same comfort level.
My seat kit was $159.99, install was $20, shipping was $15 and shipping my factory pan to them was $12. I used a coupon code available online with a little help from google and was able to take off $15 from the purchase price. Bringing the total for this seat installed to $191.99. I believe that is a great price.
Fit and Finish
The stitching, foam, install and overall look of the seat are all excellent. Everything lines up as it should and the carbon/carbon vinyl has a really nice texture.
What Could Be Improved
I spoke earlier about the seat’s upper seating portion being a little restrictive of the front area. I found that this wasn't a problem, just an observation that I think could add a little bit of comfort to the seat. If there was a taper instead of a straight step it may help with the seating. I also think that there could be another option, maybe a step between the low and the standard.
Conclusion
I am very happy with my purchase of the Seat Concepts kit. A seat will be my first upgrade when I buy my next bike, and I will not wait 2 years again. If you are interested in purchasing a Seat Concepts seat kit they can be found here: http://www.seatconcepts.com/
Written by Jacob Roby (OklahomaKLR), Contributing Editor for Spirit Strike.