The Prophet

For what it's worth:

Just received my new Triumph K&Q Seat yesterday. Purchased through my trusty and honest dealer, and received/delivered to my door in 2.5 weeks.

Other "expert" sources had said :

"These are no longer made".
"The company that makes them in Italy went out of business".
"I can get it for you, but it will be at least 8-12 weeks".

Once again, it pays to work with professionals.

Thus far, seat is great, very comfy, and looks to be of excellent quality.

I searched beneath the seat for any identification information. Found...

"Made In Spain"

"SHAD"

Low and behold, after searching on the misinformation highway, here is some info on "SHAD"

About SHAD Motorcases - Scooter & Motorcycle Topcases & Luggage - Binetto.com

Anyway, they are NOT made in Italy, but Spain, and I wonder if you could order direct? Or through a different source than Triumph?

My only complaint (of course!) is the price at USD $319.00 is definitely gouging. Realistically, it's worth maybe $200 tops. Must be a huge margin on these. That said, it IS a great seat, just a bit pricey IMHO.

Roide Safe (and comfy)!

Bob

__________________

• A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~Lao Tzu
• Motorcyles are not my whole life, but they make my life whole. ` me

Speedtrip

My dealer had one hanging on the wall last time I was in there (a year maybe), bet he would have even come off the price.

How does it feel?

The Prophet

I only took a short ride today after installing the seat, so no comments yet.

My son and I are leaving in about an hour for Wisconsin, the "Slimey Crud Run" is tomorrow, so I will provide both a review of the seat after roughly 350-400 miles, and hopefully plenty o' pics. We're heading up to Janesville tonmight, and staying the night at a Hotel so we don't have to get up so early in order to make it.

Weather is holding up so far - around 75 right now, and cloudy. Supposed to rain late tonight, into the wee hours of the morning, and clear by breakfast time. Sunday it is supposed to be mid 70's and sunny. We meet at the dealer's at 8:45 AM, then ride together to Pine Bluff.

At Pine Bluff, it's every man for himself, the objective being to create the most scenic, and round-a-bout way of getting to Leland, Wisconsin. We all meet up again in Leland for a late lunch, and hanging around oogling bikes, have a beer, figure out all the problems of the world, etc. My son and I have spent hours creating a cool route, which includes a ferry boat with bikes onboard, across the Wisconsin River at Merrimac.

Then it's back to Janesville for my son and I at around 7:00 Pm, stay the night, then head home in the morning.

There are mostly vintage bikes here - Triumph's, Nortons, BMW's, Ducati's, you name it. Then mostly Sport Bikes, very few Cruisers or Harley pirate types - it's not that kind of run. This is more for riders and motorcyclists, not "Bikers" if you know what I mean.

Great crowd, excellent riders and knowledgable folks, people who know how to have fun without making fool's of themselves, or irritating the locals/neighbors.

Anyway, looking forward to this years event. This run is growing every year, and still has been able to remain good natured and fun. If you're in the neighborhood, you should join in, it's great.

Ride Safe!

Bob

Forchetto

Behind the name SHAD there's a Spanish Company called NADSA that has been making seats for all sorts of OEM applications. The web site is here: SHAD
but there's no indication among their product line that they sell seats to the general public.

The price quoted in your post pales into insignificance compared with what Corbin are charging for theirs. My Corbin Gunfighter obligatorily bought from a Spanish Distributor (they don't ship direct) was something like 900 euros(1,126 USD...).

The Prophet

A very quick review of the K&Q seat:

I did roughly 450 miles that weekend, but solo. Very comfy, no discomfort whatsoever, so I'd have to confirm that it is significantly better than the stock slab seat. $319.00 better? ... O.K., yes.

One thing I'd change is the width of the front part, just behind the fuel tank. Maybe just a tiny bit too wide, but maybe this will "wear in" with age. It's difficult to "clench" the Fuel Tank knee pads with this seat on, which I like to do in milder corners / milder leanovers. We'll see.

Forchetto - USD$1,126.00!! Robbery! Extortion! Stop... thief!!! No way in the world that I would pay that. If you purchased say a seat overseas for less than USD$400, couldn't you bring it in duty free? Then again, the trip would cost you something, but I'm thinking on a Holiday Trip. Too bad, sorry to hear that. Corbin's are very nice seats though.

[Just FYI, the Corbin seats here in the USA run for roughly the same as the K&Q, as in $300 to $400.]

Oddly, the "look" of the K&Q seat either grows on you, or you become accustomed to it (or your sense of proportion has been warped?). At first, I thought it looked "funky", but now I don't even notice it. At 58, I'm long passed the point of caring about "looks", or appearances, so I really don't care at all, just as long as it's comfy, and allows me to ride all day, posterior, and back-ache free.
An often heard quote from my wife, when we are about to leave the house for some venue is: "Is THAT what you're wearing?", so you get the point. Looks good to me!

Quality of the K&Q SEAT overall is excellent, and it fit perfectly, without any fiddling. I also broke down and bought the two "Extended" seat bolts. Anodized black so as to be stealth, with big, knurled finish ends machined on. They work great. My digits were getting too chubby and arthritic, and my contortionist days well behind me, to fool with the stock bolts anymore, so these are great. Although, paying USD$12.50 each for a simple bolt / fastener reeks of exploitation. Then again, what other use would there be for this particular style bolt, so it must be part of a very small run.

Ride Safe (and in total comfort)!

Bob