Should You Buy a Custom Motorcycle Seat or a New Seat Cover?

Summary

• Custom motorcycle seats aren’t always necessary to improve the way your bike looks or feels. A high-quality aftermarket seat cover can provide all of the same aesthetic benefits and improve your comfort as well when paired with Luimoto’s gold gel inserts.
• Custom motorcycle seats can be useful if you need to change the entire shape of your seat—but most riders don’t. They’re also much more expensive than buying a seat cover, since you’ll need to pay for new seat foam as well.
• Luimoto seat covers are made from weather-resistant marine-grade materials to provide superior weather protection, and can be customized with your choice of stitching, materials, and embroidery—just like a custom seat. We also sell gel inserts that integrate with your OEM seat foam to improve comfort, giving you nearly all the same benefits of a custom seat at a lower price.

Seats are one of the first areas most motorcyclists look at upgrading—but replacing your stock seat completely isn’t always necessary, or cost-effective. Buying a custom motorcycle seat is expensive, and you can achieve many of the same practical and aesthetic benefits by purchasing a new seat cover instead.

Don’t believe us? Stay tuned as we provide a point-by-point comparison between custom seats and our premium aftermarket motorcycle seat covers. We’ll show you how to make the saddle of your ride look and feel great while saving money you can use on other upgrades.

The Best Options for Custom Seats & Seat Covers: Our Recommendations

Custom Seats

We’ve got nothing against custom motorcycle seats—there are plenty of awesome options out there if a full seat replacement is really what you’re after. Here are a few of the most popular brands around, along with ballpark estimates of what you can expect to pay for each one:

• Corbin: Widely considered to be one of the best brands in the world for custom motorcycle seats, Corbin saddles can be purchased for pretty much any make and model. Expect to pay around $500 USD for most sport bike rider saddles, and another $300-500 for the passenger seat before add-ons. Two-up seats for cruisers and larger models typically start around $750 and go up from there.
• Saddleman: Saddleman doesn’t offer customization services themselves, but you’ll find plenty of brands willing to customize their aftermarket saddles if you buy through them. Canadian brand Odin MFG is one example—their custom Harley Saddleman seats start at $859.00 CAD.
• Mustang: Another well-known name in aftermarket seats, Mustang offers custom services including colour options for the thread and vinyl used. Their cheapest stock seats go for about $700 USD, and you’ll need to get an estimate from them on how much more your custom project will cost.

Premium Aftermarket Seat Covers

When it comes to buying an aftermarket seat cover for your bike, we’re confident that ours are the best on the market. Luimoto seat covers:

• Are designed to work with your OEM seat foam
• Offer superior weather protection via marine-grade materials
• Use high-end Japanese synthetic suede for lasting texture and traction

Best of all, our seat covers are significantly less expensive than a custom motorcycle seat, since you won’t need to purchase new seat foam to use them. Many of our rider seat covers are less than $300 CAD, while most passenger seat covers cost less than $200 CAD. Find a cover made for your bike below:

• Rider seat covers
• Passenger seat covers
• Custom seat covers

Note: our custom seat covers can be modified with your choice of stitching, patterns, materials, or embroidery. Pricing depends on the specifics of each project—when you submit a description of what you want to our team, we’ll give you a quote and you can place your deposit to continue with the order.

Custom Seats vs. Seat Covers: Pros & Cons

Now that you’ve got an idea of the best options in both categories, let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of each:

Custom Motorcycle Seats

Pros:

• Can let you change the height of the seat and its distance from the handlebars for better ergonomics.
• Can sometimes be configured to match your specific body weight (ask the manufacturer you’re interested in if they can do this).

Cons:

• Typically about twice as expensive as buying a high-quality aftermarket seat cover, due to the cost of foam.
• May not use marine-grade materials for weather resistance.

Luimoto Premium Aftermarket Seat Covers

Pros:

• Custom seat cover options allow for the same control over stitching and materials that you would get from a custom seat manufacturer.
• Costs considerably less than a custom motorcycle seat (even for custom seat cover options).
• Made from marine-grade vinyl and premium Japanese synthetic suede that are designed to outlast OEM seat covers.
• Can be combined with Luimoto’s gold gel inserts to improve comfort and ergonomics.

Cons:

• Must be installed on your existing OEM seat foam (this can present difficulties if your OEM foam is severely damaged, or if you want to change the shape of your seat for any reason).

Comparison Chart

Here’s a chart showing value of custom motorcycle seats and our seat covers so you can weigh your options:

Considering Your Needs As a Rider

Choosing the best seat upgrade for your bike is highly personal—so making the right choice comes down to what you need as a rider.

If you need to change the physical shape of your saddle to make major ergonomic adjustments, a custom motorcycle seat might be the way to go. But chances are, you wouldn’t own the bike you have if that was the case.

Most riders who upgrade their seats want to improve the way they look or the way they feel. Luimoto’s seat covers and gold gel inserts can help you do both—and cost significantly less than buying a whole custom seat.

Contact Luimoto to learn more about our products or inquire about a custom seat cover for your bike—and check out the FAQ below for quick answers to the most popular questions we get asked. Let’s help you enhance your riding experience.

Frequently Asked Questions about Buying Motorcycle Seat Covers

How easy is it to install Luimoto seat covers?

We designed our seat covers so that you could install them by yourself with a few basic tools. Visit our how to install page to find an installation guide and video that matches your seat type.

Can Luimoto install my seat cover for me?

Yes—we offer seat cover installation services at Luimoto. Just place a deposit and we’ll send you instructions with the steps you need to follow. Please allow 5-10 business days once your seat is received for us to complete your order.

Why do you use Japanese synthetic suede instead of genuine suede?

Suede looks great, but quickly gets ruined by exposure to the elements. Japanese synthetic suede looks just as good, but is considerably easier to care for and more resilient, in addition to being more cost-effective and cruelty-free.

How do Luimoto’s gold gels improve my comfort and ergonomics?

Our gold gels are designed to absorb road shock and improve your comfort on long rides by integrating with your existing saddle foam. You can either install your gel inserts with our guide or we can do it for you.

What kind of custom fabrics can I use for Luimoto seat covers?

We stock an incredible variety of different fabrics and colours for custom seat cover projects. Explore our fabric samples here.