New Seat for the NT700, it's "oh so comfortable!"

[JQL]

I bought a new seat for my FJR for Christmas and was so impressed with it I immediately bought one for the NT700VA (Deauville). It's a Top Sellerie, Deluxe, Comfort, Gel Seat. If you're umming and ahhing about getting a replacement seat. STOP. Go and buy it. It's probably the best accessory I've ever put on a motorcycle!

This seat feels nice to the touch and looks fantastic. The seat is a little taller than the original. I used to be able to “flat-foot” both feet with the original seat now, I can’t quite flat-foot both feet simultaneously, but I can very easily get the balls of both feet on the ground. For reference I’m just over 5’8″ or 174 cm with a 29½″ inside leg.

The Gel seat is heavy! It’s about twice the weight of the original seat. The piping on the edges, the embroidery and stitching look very good indeed to my untrained eye.

The gel is firm and the covering material feels very good. The cover is stapled to the seat pan and they’ve used a lot of staples. They’ve also used three “studs” to secure the “hump” behind the rider’s seat.

The seat takes a lot of finagling to fit for the first time. This is due to the extra size of the front portion of the seat. See the videos for how to fit it.

I’m very impressed with the seat.

Some videos of it:

Un-boxing the Top Sellerie Seat:

What's it like to sit on:

The full range for both the 650 and 700 on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3btOrKC

 

[Phil Tarman]

Jim Moore has a Top Sellerie, but his isn't the gel version. It really is a nice-looking saddle and he's very happy with it.

 

[Gabe]

I’m very impressed with the seat.

John/JQL,

Thanks for the review and the videos, this helped in making a decision to go with a Top Sellerie instead of a Corbin or other seat. I requested a slight custom one with "NT700V" instead of the default "Deauville" and added Gel and the seat heater. Should take about 1-2 months to get here in the states but looking forward to it for extended rides.

Also thanks for the tip on the adjustment and fitting. I'll see how it fits and may do a little tweaking with the dremel if I need to.

Will report back when it arrives and with a separate short term and eventual long term review for different ride lengths.

 

[GaryC]

Hi John & JQL

I have been looking at the Top Sellerie seats and like the shape and style of them

Can you please advise me on your choice of seat (standard, raised, lowered, long, short ect.)

Im about 178cm and was thing of going for a lowered standard seat with gel and I was wanting the raised backrest

any advice would be much appreciated

Many thanks

Gary C

 

[JQL]

Hi John & JQL

I have been looking at the Top Sellerie seats and like the shape and style of them
Can you please advise me on your choice of seat (standard, raised, lowered, long, short ect.)
Im about 178cm and was thing of going for a lowered standard seat with gel and I was wanting the raised backrest

...snip
Gary C

Gary,

I'm 5'8" with a 29½" inseam or about 174 cm / 75 cm and I went for the Deluxe, Lowered, Gel seat on my FJR, it gives about ½" (1.3 cm) extra to the "hump" so not really noticeable.

Based on how comfortable that seat was on the FJR, I bought a seat of the Deauville (NT700). I went for the Deluxe, Gel seat for my Deauville (NT700) not lowered. I would recommend you don't get the lowered one on the Deauville unless your inseam is less than 29" (73.5 cm). Whichever height you go for get the Gel. That's very important.

It does take a number of miles to break-in the seat as the Gel moulds to your shape. So don't expect the seat to be super-comfortable out of the box. It is much more comfortable than the stock seat immediately, but it gets even more comfortable after about 500 miles or so.

I'm writing this after riding 5½ hours of back country roads on the FJR (200 miles) in the Champagne region over this lunchtime.

I hope that helps

 

[DirtFlier]

JQL - I am interested in one of these seats for my NC700XD so went to the Top Sellerie website this morning. Perhaps you can explain the categories they call: Transformation, Remanufactured Exchange, and Full Seat.

I would assume that "Remanufactured Exchange" means you have to send them your standard seats so they can use the original pan. And "Full Seat" means front & back because the seats on the NC are two-piece.

So is "Transformation" just the rider's seat? What is puzzling is that the price for only the front seat, if it's truly that, are not that much different than for both seats.

 

[JQL]

JQL - I am interested in one of these seats for my NC700XD so went to the Top Sellerie website this morning. Perhaps you can explain the categories they call: Transformation, Remanufactured Exchange, and Full Seat.

I would assume that "Remanufactured Exchange" means you have to send them your standard seats so they can use the original pan. And "Full Seat" means front & back because the seats on the NC are two-piece.

So is "Transformation" just the rider's seat? What is puzzling is that the price for only the front seat, if it's truly that, are not that much different than for both seats.

I've looked at a seat for your NC700X on their site and using this page, all the prices on the page are for the complete seat unit (both the front and the rear). Unless specifically specified, their price is always for the complete seat unit, front and rear if it's a split seat like on the NC700X and my FJR.

Buy the Gel option. I can't stress this strongly enough. Once the gel has formed to your shape it is "oh so comfortable". A really different level of comfort. If you live in an extremely hot and humid area, still get the gel option then get a ventilated pad to put between you and the seat.

Transformation You send them both seats and you can't ride your bike until the seats are returned to you which is about a month. Ideal if you park your bike up for winter. Also, the cheapest option.
Remanufactured Exchange You pay a deposit (~117€) plus the full purchase price and they will create both seats for you using their seat pans and send the seats to you when they're ready. To get your deposit back, you send them your old seats. You can keep riding while the seats are being made and, when you receive the seats, you can use their packaging to send them your seats to reclaim your deposit.
Full Seat They create both the seats for you using their seat pans and send the seats to you when they are ready. You then have two complete front and rear seats, the OEM and the Top Sellerie. You could then: sell the OEM, use the OEM when the weather is really bad or keep the OEM as a spare.

I have used both the Transformation option on the Deauville (NT700) and the Full Seat option on the FJR with no extra customisation except the model "logo" (which you can see in the video) on both. I preferred the Transformation option as I got my original seat pan back (I felt better about having the original seat pan - it has nothing to do with the quality, just a warm, fluffy feeling inside me!). If you are parking your bike up for the winter, use the Transformation option (provided your seat pans are in good condition).

EDIT: As you aren't in the EU it'll probably be cheaper to go for the FULL SEAT option due to shipping and Customs charges (check first).

I hope that makes more sense to you.

 

[DirtFlier]

OK, thanks for the explanation of their terms.

I don't mind the long delays in production but having to ship my old front & rear section seats to Europe will make it prohibitively expensive.

 

[Beermebeerme1]

I'm drawn toward this seat but have a few questions. I've scoured the site but can't find s definition for "raised". How much higher is it? Also, other than the OP, has anyone else used their seats? If I do it, I'll go with the option that let's me keep my stock seat because of shipping and it's actually pretty comfortable.

 

[JQL]

I'm drawn toward this seat but have a few questions. I've scoured the site but can't find s definition for "raised". How much higher is it? Also, other than the OP, has anyone else used their seats? If I do it, I'll go with the option that let's me keep my stock seat because of shipping and it's actually pretty comfortable.

Send them an email and ask them. They speak a number of languages including English ...

 

[Phil Tarman]

Jim Moore has one and likes it. You might send him a PM.

 

[Furious Tiger]

I bought a new seat for my FJR for Christmas and was so impressed with it I immediately bought one for the NT700VA (Deauville). It's a Top Sellerie, Deluxe, Comfort, Gel Seat. If you're umming and ahhing about getting a replacement seat. STOP. Go and buy it. It's probably the best accessory I've ever put on a motorcycle!

This seat feels nice to the touch and looks fantastic. The seat is a little taller than the original. I used to be able to “flat-foot” both feet with the original seat now, I can’t quite flat-foot both feet simultaneously, but I can very easily get the balls of both feet on the ground. For reference I’m just over 5’8″ or 174 cm with a 29½″ inside leg.

The Gel seat is heavy! It’s about twice the weight of the original seat. The piping on the edges, the embroidery and stitching look very good indeed to my untrained eye.

The gel is firm and the covering material feels very good. The cover is stapled to the seat pan and they’ve used a lot of staples. They’ve also used three “studs” to secure the “hump” behind the rider’s seat.

The seat takes a lot of finagling to fit for the first time. This is due to the extra size of the front portion of the seat. See the videos for how to fit it.

I’m very impressed with the seat.

Some videos of it:

Un-boxing the Top Sellerie Seat:

What's it like to sit on:

The full range for both the 650 and 700 on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3btOrKC

Hi, watched your seat videos, on you tube a couple of weeks ago & was very impressed with the quality of them. My Deauville was 15 years old last week so I decided to buy her a new seat from Top Sellerie, should arrive here in Jersey, Channel Islands at the end of November. Thanks for putting up the videos without seeing them. I would never have known how good these seats are, cheers

 

[JQL]

Hi, watched your seat videos, on you tube a couple of weeks ago & was very impressed with the quality of them. My Deauville was 15 years old last week so I decided to buy her a new seat from Top Sellerie, should arrive here in Jersey, Channel Islands at the end of November. Thanks for putting up the videos without seeing them. I would never have known how good these seats are, cheers

Glad it was of help.

I've been using mine for about 18 months now and don't know how I survived the previous 9 ish years and 100,000 miles without it. It's still really comfortable and I've added about 10,000 miles to the bike with the seat (the "lurgy" has meant I haven't been doing my usual mileages). I may do an update video about it if we get a decent day weatherwise.

Don't forget, it'll take a few miles to "bed in" to your shape. So, although it is better straight out of the box, it'll become even better the more you sit/ride on it.

 

[Clive]

Hello,

I saw the videos of the Sellerie seat. As I never take a pillion passenger, do you know if there is available a solo seat for the NT700? For the (ahem) larger rear? I find I would like to sit back further, but of course the barrier between the rider and pillion does not accommodate this.

 

[JQL]

It might be easier to get one made in the UK. I know that there are a few people who do seats. I've just done a search on "uk motorcycle seats" and there are a few listed. There may be one near you...

 

[Clive]

Thanks JQL. I'll search.

I fancied a Deauville for years, before finding one in England. It was the name that hooked me, (we tried to live in France at one time). Deauville. Great name. Must visit the actual village someday.

 

[JQL]

Deauville, the French town, is beside the sea and rather pleasant. It has an extremely large beach with an interesting Boardwalk. It is also known for horse racing. There is also Trouville-sur-mer across the river which is less expensive.

I'd recommend you visit on your Deauville. Travel down the coast using the smaller roads and it'll take a couple of days or so to get there. The D940 followed by D925 will get you near there (Le Harve) quite quickly, about a day. But, I'd use the smaller coastal roads and take at least a couple of days. Lots to see and some fantastic little villages to stay in or stop to eat. Don't go in the middle of summer or main holiday times as the whole coast gets very crowded.