T7 pillion seat - how comfortable is it?

[SpencerChedid]

Hi everyone!

While I'm waiting for my T7 to pop at the dealer, I'm wondering how comfortable is the OEM pillion seat? By the looks of it I'd assume it's from average to none.
My wife does enjoy some rides so that would be a concern for me (and mostly for her lol). Does anyone has experience carrying a passenger in a T7 that could share an opinon regarding comfort?

Edited March 11, 2022 by SpencerChedid

[AZJW]

@SpencerChedid My Mrs. (pillion w/ thousands of miles of seat time) said her 2 hr ride on the OEM seat was fine. However, if taking off on another 4,500 mile trip she said she'd reserve judgment until she tried more miles before committing to another trip to Canada. Hth.

[Dougie]

+40mm rally seat  (genuine yam) is a hell of a lot better than the two piece. 

[SpencerChedid]

Thanks for the feedback folks. I'm gonna probably look for an alternative for the two piece OEM seat when the time comes. I'm considering some Seat Concepts options.

[jdub53]

My wife has ridden pillion for many miles on lots of my bikes (hasn't been on the T7 yet), and an AirHawk seat pad has never failed to make a not-so-good seat into a comfy day long affair for her. 

[HarvC]

My wife says the OEM comfort seat option is good for about an hour then not so nice, it was about 30 mins for the standard fitment so some improvement but not great. I've got an air Hawk for the riders seat which helps but I'll be looking at after market options if I can not spend all the money fueling the bike

 

Harv

[S.Ga.Rider]

I have the sargent seat and rear cover so was considering an air hawk to give more comfort for the misses.

[Yasenia]

As a female, I think that the T7 has one of the worst seats of any bike I have owned. But since I ride my own bike and refuse to jump on some guy's bike, I can only testify about the front seat, not the back. The material is the same front and back, tho.

 

The front seat is the narrowest seat of any bike I've owned, and the most uncomfortable. Men have told me that it isn't too bad, some like it. I think that the problem is that women have wiser hips than men. May be that is why the seat bothers me so much. The rear seat looks wider so may be it's a bit more comfortable. Since the foam material is the same front and back, I would not bet on it. Even when I move my rear end back on the seat, I still find it uncomfortable after about an hour ride. Sometimes in less time.

 

I am seriously thinking about investing the 600-700 bucks for a Corbin seat. They look very comfortable, their seat looks wide and comfortable. You can even get a removable back rest for it. Nice! Yes they are expensive but I think that Corbin seats beats anything else out there for the T7 that I've seen so far.

 

They also have a bench seat, supposedly for more aggressive riding styles.

 

 

[Dougie]

They actually look quite smart. I wouldn’t mind trying one and having it in the armoury for planned long road rides. Don’t think I’d have one on permanently. Shame they don’t do sale or return trials. 

[Landshark]

8 hours ago, Yasenia said:

As a female, I think that the T7 has one of the worst seats of any bike I have owned. But since I ride my own bike and refuse to jump on some guy's bike, I can only testify about the front seat, not the back. The material is the same front and back, tho.

 

The front seat is the narrowest seat of any bike I've owned, and the most uncomfortable. Men have told me that it isn't too bad, some like it. I think that the problem is that women have wiser hips than men. May be that is why the seat bothers me so much. The rear seat looks wider so may be it's a bit more comfortable. Since the foam material is the same front and back, I would not bet on it. Even when I move my rear end back on the seat, I still find it uncomfortable after about an hour ride. Sometimes in less time.

 

I am seriously thinking about investing the 600-700 bucks for a Corbin seat. They look very comfortable, their seat looks wide and comfortable. You can even get a removable back rest for it. Nice! Yes they are expensive but I think that Corbin seats beats anything else out there for the T7 that I've seen so far.

 

They also have a bench seat, supposedly for more aggressive riding styles.

 

 

The Canyon seat looks to be the answer for your bottom.  I suppose you could call the seat a "top for a bottom"!  

But yes, the first seat looks super comfy yet good for standing up.  I like it.  

[jdub53]

One thing to be wary of with any seat like the Corbin Canyon is where that seat pocket is actually going to place you.

 

I bought Corbin's equivalent one piece seat for my GS, only to find out that pocket was so far back when I actually sat in there I had to lean so far forward to reach the bars it was like I was back on a sportbike. It was obviously made for someone about 6' 6" tall, not so good for my 5' 8" frame. I sold a Sargent seat after one ride on my T7 for the same reason (but not nearly as bad as the Corbin Canyon on my GS)- sitting in its pocket just put me back further than where I wanted to sit.

 

After trying five other seats on my DR650, Corbin's Dual Sport saddle for that bike was the only winner (looks identical to the T7 Dual Sport shown). I could sit anywhere on it without being locked into one spot, and it was all day comfy for me. I thought the Seat Concepts one piece might be as good, but after buying one during the group buy my butt went numb on it within 30 miles and it was sold.

Edited April 1, 2022 by jdub53

[Yasenia]

7 hours ago, Landshark said:

 "top for a bottom"!  

LOL!

[Yasenia]

6 hours ago, jdub53 said:

One thing to be wary of with any seat like the Corbin Canyon is where that seat pocket is actually going to place you.

 

I bought Corbin's equivalent one piece seat for my GS, only to find out that pocket was so far back when I actually sat in there I had to lean so far forward to reach the bars it was like I was back on a sportbike. It was obviously made for someone about 6' 6" tall, not so good for my 5' 8" frame. I sold a Sargent seat after one ride on my T7 for the same reason (but not nearly as bad as the Corbin Canyon on my GS)- sitting in its pocket just put me back further than where I wanted to sit.

 

After trying five other seats on my DR650, Corbin's Dual Sport saddle for that bike was the only winner (looks identical to the T7 Dual Sport shown). I could sit anywhere on it without being locked into one spot, and it was all day comfy for me. I thought the Seat Concepts one piece might be as good, but after buying one during the group buy my butt went numb on it within 30 miles and it was sold.

I wondered about the things you mentioned when I first saw the pictures. Once I have the money I'll call Corbin and ask them if it's possible to ride to their factory and have it custom made. They used to do that. You could ride there and they custom fitted the seat to your rear end. That was like 20 years ago when I had a Kawasaki ZX-9R. If they still do that I wouldn't mind taking a ride to their place.

[Yasenia]

15 hours ago, Dougie said:

They actually look quite smart. I wouldn’t mind trying one and having it in the armoury for planned long road rides. Don’t think I’d have one on permanently. Shame they don’t do sale or return trials. 

Yes that is a shame! 

[Yasenia]

One question I will be asking Corbin is if they seats are water proof. Some after, market seats aren't and you need to put a cover when it rains. I ride rain or shine and I hate the idea of having to be playing around with a cover. If I get caught in some unexpected rain I don't want to worry about the seat getting wet. I used to have a Katana 750 with a seat like that, and it sucked. If I put the cover on the seat first, I got soaking wet. If I put my rain gear on first, the seat got soaking wet. Haha! What sucked is that it would take the seat a few days to dry up. The colder the weather the longer it took.  And you have to hope that mold doesn't become a problem.

 

Anyway, take a look at this seat by Saddlemen. Very interesting! I guess it has a "tool's compartment." Wait, I think "jewels' compartment" would be a more appropriate name. The point is that the twins and the Twinkie will be able to breath and stay cool.  Not for a T7, but I thought it was interesting. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Yasenia]

7 hours ago, jdub53 said:

I thought the Seat Concepts one piece might be as good, but after buying one during the group buy my butt went numb on it within 30 miles and it was sold.

I found this picture. It shows the Corbin seat and the Seat Concepts seat side by side. The Corbin seat looks more comfortable and better to move around on. The Seat Concepts look like it forces you to sit back further from the handlebars.

 

On long rides I like to change my seating position every once in a while. Sometimes I am all the way to the front against the tank and sometimes all the way back. It reduce discomfort and keeps things interesting fro my butt.  

[Dougie]

Don’t forget you’ll always double your distance comfort on any seat by keeping fit, and strengthening your butt, legs and back. ‍‍

Edited April 2, 2022 by Dougie
Sausage fingers typing.

[jdub53]

This is the Seat Concepts one-piece I'd referenced in my earlier post. No problem moving around on it but in spite of what was advertised, it was about 20mm higher than the OEM seat toward the front. I've finally accepted after trying them unsuccessfully now on four different bikes I just don't have a Seat Concepts butt.

 

[AdvCurious]

All my seat experience comes from the moto world on moto bikes. I will say, I've never owned a seat concepts seat but a lot of people praise them in the snowbike world. They do have an option of a waterproof barrier, unsure if it's offered on the T7 seat yet. 

As for the pillion seat, I just picked up my T7 and was able to find a OEM rally seat. I'll have to swap between the stock and rally to see what my girlfriend likes best. The rally sure does have a lot more padding, I liked the idea of it being more like a dirtbike seat you could move forward and backward on it easily.