It seems as if nobody has this seat yet, at least on this forum... I really liked the styling of them, and had watched some impressive videos of Saddlemen's construction process, so I figured I would give it a shot. There was formerly only one crappy photo on the web of the actual MONSTER (pre-696 era) seat on the web... Not so much anymore
If you right-click (or ctrl-click for you old school mac guys
) and select "view image", it will show you a slightly larger version also.
ON BIKE PICS ADDED MAY 18, 2012
Initial impressions upon unpacking the seat are EXTREMELY GOOD. The construction of the seat is much more impressive than I was even expecting.
The cover/upholstery materials used look top notch. The seating area itself is covered with a "carbon-look" vinyl that offers good mobility on the seat, but isn't too slick. The main seating area seems to be constructed mainly of of a gel-type cushioning that rather than compressing under the load of my ass seems to just redistribute. It's very supportive, but not too firm, and has essentially NO pressure points (much unlike my stock seat). The "gel channel" technology (also referred to as "taint-saver" technology) is... wonderful. The channel is MUCH deeper than it appears in this lousy internet photo. It's roughly 3/4" (2, maybe 2.5cm) deep. When sitting on the seat on my bike, the inexplicably sensitive no-mans-land between my balls and asshole isn't even TOUCHING anything. The benefits are obvious. Reducing pressure on this region increases blood flow to a lot of your sensitive bits, and could have long term health benefits (read: improved boner health). Also... it BREATHES. Going to be way easier to fart on the bike now. Should also help prevent swamp ass. The seat also has a slight bucketing right before the pillion section that your ass fits snugly into. You can actually tell you're in the seat!
The pillion section doesn't feel much different from stock as far as cushioning goes, but that wasn't something I was looking for. This section of the seat is covered in a standard "leatherette" type vinyl. It looks very nice in comparison to the smooth, textureless vinyl of the stock seat.
The seat pan itself appears to be a vacuum molded plastic that has a little bit of flex to it, but not in a bad way. It has a nice glossy black look to it, and there is even a provision for small storage as on the stock seat. It comes with a flat, hand-cut plastic lid that requires use of your hardware from the stock seat. The lid isn't the nicest thing, but it actually works great. It has two tabs and the bolt hole just like stock, but is a little more flexible. I found it puts a little bit of tension on any items you may store in there, so they will likely rattle less. I have stored in mine a Stockton Tools multi-tool (sockets, wrenches, etc.), a red shop rag, and a small bundle of about 15 zip ties.
There are also provisions for the seat cowl hardware (you would need to use the screws from your stock seat). I however was NOT able to easily put my seat cowl on. This does not mean it won't fit though. The seat is slightly thicker. The solution is to just slot the holes on the seat cowl brackets a little bit more and create maybe 1/16th to 1/8th more clearance. It definitely will fit with that adjustment. However, i REALLY love the look of this seat without my cowl, and am planning on leaving it off, at least for a good while.
Regarding fitment on the bike: The fit is a little tight. I'm sure it will break in a little bit, but currently I really have to make sure I line the rear pin up, and then give it a good hard push to get it to lock in place. The front "hooks" that hold the front of the seat down could likely be a little sturdier, as the front corners of the seat when mounted can be flexed upward a good bit by hand. This is probably the only area of ever-so-slight disappointment for me on the seat. It doesn't line up QUITE as perfectly as the stock seat with the tank cutouts, but it's VERY damn close. Close enough for me to not care. The seat definitely isn't going to fall off or anything, but I imagine that it could be PULLED off with some serious effort from some asshole you pissed off earlier in the day. Essentially, the hooks at the front would probably be easier to break (or bend to the point of release) than the stock seat. I'll reiterate though, the seat isn't going ANYWHERE from normal use. There is absolutely NO freeplay in the seat base either. Doesn't move a millimeter.
Also, this seat doesn't feel any higher than stock... If it is, maybe like an 1/8th of an inch max.
So let's do some ratings:General Build Quality: 9/10
Upholstery Materials: 10/10
Upholstery Application: 10/10
Comfort Engineering: 10/10 — Actual comfort level will be rated at the end of a nice long trip I have coming up, but for now, the logic behind the seating design is very sound IMO.
Seat Pan Construction: 8/10 — It looks great, but could be made of a slightly stiffer or sturdy polymer/composite
Fitment: 7.5/10 — The seat fits snug, but requires a little more effort to latch than the stock seat. Slightly-less-than-perfect fitment in tank cutouts. Fitting seat cowl may require SLIGHT modification of cowl brackets (slotting holes a little further). NO freeplay or movement in seat base when on bike.
I'll have to rate durability at another time.
Really only some extensive riding will tell how good this seat is, but initial impressions are positive and I think it's going to be very comfortable.
PICS TO COME!
