Took the opportunity this morning to do a ride with a Bobber/Speedmaster forum member and his friends (DFW Triumph Rep and his wife). How this came about: Last week I went over to Irving to help a forum member (Vinkopeach) on the Triumph Bobber forum (Triumph Bobber Forum) get his footboards installed on his Bobber and adjust his controls for comfort. He had all the parts but had very little mechanical aptitude and was posting problems he was running into with pictures, so after trying to explain things I decided the 30 minute drive was worth the effort to get him sorted so made the trip to his apartment complex and got his bike put together. He asked about doing a ride together when we were done and I said "sure." He texted me a couple days later and we made the arrangements to meet up early in the morning to avoid blistering temps. We met up this morning at the Dunkin Donuts on Southlake Bvd about 7:15 to start the ride, I was late because I forgot how to set my alarm clock (it's been 7 years since I had to wake up on time) but they were patient. The group consisted of me on my T-120 (wanted to see how the new seat feels vice the aftermarket pine board I have been riding on), Vinko on his 2023 Bobber, Adam Fischer (he's a rep for DFW Triumph Group) and his son riding pillion on a Tiger 900, and Adams wife riding a brand new Speed 400. So new in fact Adam didn't want her to go over 65 mph. No worries, fastest spots we got to were 55 mph zones. We traveled thru Southlake, Grapevine, North Richland Hills, Flower Mound, and Keller for about 50 miles total. The ride ended at my house since I wanted to get done early enough to avoid major heat of the day. They enjoyed the experience they said and after a few minutes of parting conversation in my driveway, they were headed out to Rosa's Cafe for breakfast and then it was back to home for them.
Evaluation of my bum's burn factor after an hour plus of riding on the new seat was a huge negative, no burning, no aching, or any sorness at all. The stock OEM seat is far and away superior to the aftermarket plank I've been torturing my butt with (it looks cool and came with the bike). I have another iteration of that same stock seat in black with white piping I'll try next to see if it's just as comfortable. The only reason to change the seat now would be for aesthetics, not comfort, if the black seat doesn't feel as good, the brown one will go back on. The plank will gather some dust.
Evaluation of my bum's burn factor after an hour plus of riding on the new seat was a huge negative, no burning, no aching, or any sorness at all. The stock OEM seat is far and away superior to the aftermarket plank I've been torturing my butt with (it looks cool and came with the bike). I have another iteration of that same stock seat in black with white piping I'll try next to see if it's just as comfortable. The only reason to change the seat now would be for aesthetics, not comfort, if the black seat doesn't feel as good, the brown one will go back on. The plank will gather some dust.
