Warning - my reviews are detailed and tend to be a long read! For those that don't like reading let me sum it up for you: Great seat, buy it.
For the rest of you, grab the libation of your choice (better make it a few), strap in and let's go!
I recently traded in my 2013 Candy Orange RGC for a 2013 RGC CVO, the one in Roman Gold/Burnt Emerald. It's a great bike and we love just about everything about it! I stripped off all the stuff I could from my old bike to use on the new bike or sell the items I could/would not. The stock CVO seat(s) are surprisingly decent for what they are. They look great and considering their relatively small size and thinness they provide a fair amount of comfort for short rides. Combined with the HD short backrest I think this combination is a great looking seat.
But I'm a big guy running around 250 at barely 5'8". At that weight the stock seat starts to get uncomfortable about the half-hour mark. My wife, although only weighing in at a buck-ten (110), has bad hips from a lifetime as a ballet dancer/teacher so we needed a better seating option. After purchasing the first RGC we quickly swapped out the stock seat for a Harley Hammock and the tall HD backrest and along with a much-needed Mustang rider's backrest it served us fine for the two years we had that bike. It was very comfortable for her and it was good for me for about an hour and a half at which time we both need to get off the bike for a good stretch and rest. Neither of us are really long riders anyway.
After getting the CVO though the Hammock just was not cutting it. The CVO is such a gorgeous bike that I wanted something that provided at least as much time and comfort in the saddle as the Hammock (and hopefully more) but with a much better look and higher quality. I started my research in earnest online. I had owned many of the usual suspects before - Mustang, Corbin, etc. I liked the Mustang I had and it's a well-made, decent looking seat that provided good comfort. I had a Corbin on a BMW two bikes ago and while it was a good looking seat, the comfort was not that great and I remember always trying different things to make it comfortable for longer trips - beads, sheepskin, Air Hawk. Another thing that soured me on even trying a Corbin on the CVO is the many negative reviews of their customer service here and, seemingly, everywhere! I'm big on customer service.
Enter Le Pera. I was not familiar with their products having only heard the name a few times. I went to their excellent web site and fell in love with the look of their seats, especially the Maverick stitched models. I checked out everything I could online but there were some missing pieces to the puzzle. Mostly, there just wasn't enough information and more importantly enough real-people reviews here. I even posted a thread in this section of the forum asking for owners to chime in with their thoughts on my questions but I didn't get much in the way of response.
Le Pera is a small company in California that makes seats for Harley's and only Harley's. Started by a single man, Bob Le Pera, who has since passed on it's still a small company run by his son and daughter. The make high quality seats that try to meld form and function into a great seat. Their quality is great especially when compared to Harley's offerings.
A good example of this is the Harley seat's underside. They have plastic pans that don't provide the greatest support - especially if you're a big guy like me. The hole where the metal 'tongue' on the bike seats into the front of the seat's slot is plastic. This slot (because it's plastic) over time wears and the seat will then move from side to side a bit. This movement provides a less than secure feeling when riding and also causes 'rub lines' or scuffs on your tank's paint! No bueno.
The foam in HD seats is pretty soft and while it feels great the first time you sit on it, it doesn't provide a lot of support over the long term. Even the quality of the vinyl on HD seats seems on the thin side, at least when compared to a higher end seat like a Le Pera. Look at the bottom of an HD seat and you'll see this vinyl is generally poorly cut and stapled haphazardly to the bottom. For the premium price that HD get's for their seats, they do not have a premium quality build. I should say here that I paid less for my Le Pera than I did for my HD Hammock.
The Le Pera's on the other hand exude quality, even in the place no one but you ever sees - the bottom. The 'pan' or seat base on the bottom that is the foundation of the seat is made of steel, not plastic. The steel base is then powder coated and is then edged with a metal reinforced vinyl protectant. Already you're impressed with the quality, right? There's more - they then add a layer of carpet like material to help protect any contact areas with the fender or other things that reside underneath. The premium naugahyde or leather is stretched tight and trimmed so only a perfect, even and minimum material is left. This material is then riveted (with aluminum rivets that won't rust) to securely hold the seat's material in place. Attention to detail like this in a place you don't even see is a good sign, in my experience!
If you think the bottom is great looking and premium quality, you should see the top! One of things Le Pera strives for is making a premium seat whose lines flow very well to compliment the bike's lines. This was what got me well-before I got to anything else with Le Pera's seats - the look. Le Pera makes usually 10 or more different model seats for each class of Harley model. There is literally something for everyone. And don't even get me started on the custom options you can order from the factory - more on that later! Of the Touring models offered, I fell in love with the look of the Maverick. It seemed to offer the best look vs. comfort level for the type of riding we do. Easy, right? Nope.
Within each model there is usually a couple versions. In this case there's the standard Maverick, the Daddy Longlegs version for you tall guys and the Up-Front version for us shorter guys. Then they also offer a 'stitched' or 'smooth' model. I preferred the look of the stitched seat over the smooth. This was my first challenge. My next challenge was deciding between the standard or Up-Front. I'm only just barely 5'8" and actually now probably just under as I shrink with age. The Up-Front model offered a very tall back 'cut' area that would provide a lot of lower back support which I need. The Hammock while comfortable did not provide any back support and I quickly found I needed a driver's backrest or my lower back would ache after riding.
But the Up-Front model looked like it would push me too far forward. In the end I compared the excellent photos on the Le Pera website that show multiple views to determine that the standard would work for me. I did this by comparing approximately where I sat on the Hammock with backrest to side photos of the various Le Pera models. Simple right? Nope. Now I had to decide whether to get the model with the built-in backrest or the one without. Even the Standard Maverick has a fairly deep cut and will allow for some lower back support. While I love the support a driver's backrest gives, I'm not a fan of the look. And then there's the extra price. Getting a seat with the driver's backrest ups the price a good chunk. Still, I would have gotten the one with the drivers backrest if I could have which is where I ran into probably the one single problem I had with Le Pera on this journey - AVAILABILITY!
There are only a few retailers that sell Le Pera seats and most have a fair selection. The problem I ran into is for the Maverick, most retailers had only the standard model in the Stitched pattern which I wanted. If I wanted the one with the driver's backrest then I'd have to settle for the smooth model. You can order direct from the company (for a higher price) but there is a 4-week average wait since each seat is built from scratch for each order. I typically don't wait very well! In the end, I gambled and just ordered the standard Maverick stitched model from Revzilla. The price was good, shipping was free and fast which I knew from having ordered new helmets from them in the recent past. It was my hope that the deep-ish cut of the back of the drivers area would provide enough support that I wouldn't need the backrest.
(Intermission: At this stage in our program we provide a brief intermission so you might go to the bathroom and replenish your libation of choice - queue cheesy intermission muzak...)
Welcome back!
I need to note here that at this point after a long and hard search of the internet for a standard Maverick stitched model with backrest and coming up empty I actually called Le Pera. A person answered the phone and said her name was Christine. I told her my dilemma and she apologized and said she wished her distributors did a better job carrying more models. She said if I ended up wanting to order one direct to give her a call back and she would do her best to expedite the process since she had 'some pull' in the company. I thanked her and joked that their seats looked great and were obviously popular and she should tell management to hire some more people! She chuckled and said they just had but it was difficult to find qualified people since it's quite a skill set needed to build such a high-quality seat.
An interesting and humorous sidebar to that story is that shortly after I received my Le Pera I emailed the company because I could not find any care instructions with the seat or even on the web site. I was almost immediately emailed back and asked to call them which I did and spoke to another very nice and knowledgeable woman who answered all my questions. When I relayed my story about my first call and my funny comment about hiring more people she asked for the name of the woman I was talking to and when I told her it was Christine she laughed and said, "Yes, that was Christine Le Pera! You were not only talking to management - you were talking to the owner!" So the owner actually get's her hands dirty and answers phones there!
Back to the seat. I you still with me? I told you it was long! The seat arrived fast, as expected. Coming out of the box the seat is beautiful. It's heavy and obviously well-made. The naugahyde material is so thick it actually seemed like it was a high-grade leather and I wondered if Revzilla had made a mistake. Installation was simple as with all HD seats and took a few minutes. Then I sat on it. Ewww. I had just gotten home from work and it was after midnight. The first thing I noticed was just how firm the seat felt (which I expected) but then the next thing was that the deep 'cut' in the back of the seat seemed to dig into my lower back. This cut area is almost vertical and the sensation was not pleasant.
Le Pera uses a propriety "specially poured high density 'Marathon' molded foam" for their seats which provides a very firm feel. This combined with the thick naugahyde is about as far opposite a feel from the well-worn Hammock seat I was used to. The next day I took the bike out for a ride. I got about a mile down the road and turned back and swapped out the Le Pera for the stock seat as I was heading out for a couple hours of errands and didn't want my first trip with the Le Pera to be a bad one. Of course two hours on the stock seat and I was wishing I had left the Le Pera on! Each of the following days I road with the Le Pera a little more and a little farther. The stiff naugahyde cover and foam is giving a little and I've found the sweet spot for sitting.
I've taken the wife out a couple times and she feels the same way. Each time we ride it gets a little better. Part of this is us getting used to a radically different approach to seat making (firm vs soft) and also a little bit of the seat breaking in a little bit. The last trip I took was about two hours. My butt was ready to get off but I was not sore at all, just tired. More importantly, I felt like I could have ridden farther and felt like I could get right back on with minimal rest time. Regardless of how comfortable a seat might be, I need to get off/up and stretch. Whether it's a motorcycle, car or just sitting at my computer or on the couch. I need to move after a couple hours.
Each time I get on the Le Pera it feels more 'at home' and comfortable. The cut doesn't bother me anymore but rather feels supportive. I'm happy to report that my lower back has not bothered me at all so it looks like I didn't need the drivers backrest after all, which is great because this seat looks SO great on the bike. Another of Le Pera's goals is creating seats that look as good as they feel. Here is a statement straight from their website: "Even our touring based seats are an exercise in style, form and function. Both the Maverick and the new Sorrento are intentionally designed to compliment, not overpower the lines of the bike. Their relative low profile and non-confining contours contrast the traditional, bulky "road couches" available elsewhere."
Le Pera has another new seat in the Touring line, the Rt 66. It's a great looking seat as well and was considered along with the Maverick. It has a wider and slightly thicker seating area over the Maverick. The Maverick is 15"/14" (driver/passenger widths) with the Rt 66 being 17"/16". While it's still a decent looking seat the Maverick is a little better looking and certainly sleeker. The Rt 66 starts to get away from the sleek look and into the Touring seat end of things. So as long as the Maverick continues to improve we'll stick with that. If I find that it does not than I might call Le Pera direct and order a Rt 66 with a backrest just so I have it.
It should be noted that along with the standard offerings, Le Pera offers a wide variety of custom options on all their seats when you order direct from the factory. The number of stitching patterns, materials, and colors is impressive. You can also order each seat in vinyl (naugahyde) partial leather (seating area only) or full leather. You can also order them with 'riders gel' in them. They say this makes the seat feel firmer than it already is but provides long distance riders with even more comfort for the long haul. I can easily see a day down the road when I call the factory and order a custom seat in all leather with a cool stitch pattern and an elegant color inlay to compliment further my CVO's beautiful paint.
As you will see in the photos in the next few replies below, Le Pera did exactly what they set out to do. The Maverick stitched seat is a beautiful seat whose lines seem to flow perfectly with my 2013 Road Glide Custom CVO. We use the HD high backrest for my wife and even with that on it looks great. The HD low backrest was too low and didn't look good at all so that just got sold. I took these photos yesterday while my son and I were out looking at Jeeps for him. At one point he looked over at my bike and said, "Man, dad - that's a great looking bike! I'm surrounded by my dream vehicles and I keep looking over at your bike!!" Hi praise from a young guy that rides a Ducati!
Well, that's about it for now. You still here? Glad you made it until the end! I'm going to post a few of those photos I took yesterday at the Jeep dealership shortly. I will check in from time to time with updates with anything worth sharing, good or bad. I like to write detailed reviews so the next guy looking for information (like I was) can find it. If you've made it this far and have any more questions for me, don't hesitate to ask them by replying here or sending me a private message. Thanks for hanging in to the end!
For the rest of you, grab the libation of your choice (better make it a few), strap in and let's go!
I recently traded in my 2013 Candy Orange RGC for a 2013 RGC CVO, the one in Roman Gold/Burnt Emerald. It's a great bike and we love just about everything about it! I stripped off all the stuff I could from my old bike to use on the new bike or sell the items I could/would not. The stock CVO seat(s) are surprisingly decent for what they are. They look great and considering their relatively small size and thinness they provide a fair amount of comfort for short rides. Combined with the HD short backrest I think this combination is a great looking seat.
But I'm a big guy running around 250 at barely 5'8". At that weight the stock seat starts to get uncomfortable about the half-hour mark. My wife, although only weighing in at a buck-ten (110), has bad hips from a lifetime as a ballet dancer/teacher so we needed a better seating option. After purchasing the first RGC we quickly swapped out the stock seat for a Harley Hammock and the tall HD backrest and along with a much-needed Mustang rider's backrest it served us fine for the two years we had that bike. It was very comfortable for her and it was good for me for about an hour and a half at which time we both need to get off the bike for a good stretch and rest. Neither of us are really long riders anyway.
After getting the CVO though the Hammock just was not cutting it. The CVO is such a gorgeous bike that I wanted something that provided at least as much time and comfort in the saddle as the Hammock (and hopefully more) but with a much better look and higher quality. I started my research in earnest online. I had owned many of the usual suspects before - Mustang, Corbin, etc. I liked the Mustang I had and it's a well-made, decent looking seat that provided good comfort. I had a Corbin on a BMW two bikes ago and while it was a good looking seat, the comfort was not that great and I remember always trying different things to make it comfortable for longer trips - beads, sheepskin, Air Hawk. Another thing that soured me on even trying a Corbin on the CVO is the many negative reviews of their customer service here and, seemingly, everywhere! I'm big on customer service.
Enter Le Pera. I was not familiar with their products having only heard the name a few times. I went to their excellent web site and fell in love with the look of their seats, especially the Maverick stitched models. I checked out everything I could online but there were some missing pieces to the puzzle. Mostly, there just wasn't enough information and more importantly enough real-people reviews here. I even posted a thread in this section of the forum asking for owners to chime in with their thoughts on my questions but I didn't get much in the way of response.
Le Pera is a small company in California that makes seats for Harley's and only Harley's. Started by a single man, Bob Le Pera, who has since passed on it's still a small company run by his son and daughter. The make high quality seats that try to meld form and function into a great seat. Their quality is great especially when compared to Harley's offerings.
A good example of this is the Harley seat's underside. They have plastic pans that don't provide the greatest support - especially if you're a big guy like me. The hole where the metal 'tongue' on the bike seats into the front of the seat's slot is plastic. This slot (because it's plastic) over time wears and the seat will then move from side to side a bit. This movement provides a less than secure feeling when riding and also causes 'rub lines' or scuffs on your tank's paint! No bueno.
The foam in HD seats is pretty soft and while it feels great the first time you sit on it, it doesn't provide a lot of support over the long term. Even the quality of the vinyl on HD seats seems on the thin side, at least when compared to a higher end seat like a Le Pera. Look at the bottom of an HD seat and you'll see this vinyl is generally poorly cut and stapled haphazardly to the bottom. For the premium price that HD get's for their seats, they do not have a premium quality build. I should say here that I paid less for my Le Pera than I did for my HD Hammock.
The Le Pera's on the other hand exude quality, even in the place no one but you ever sees - the bottom. The 'pan' or seat base on the bottom that is the foundation of the seat is made of steel, not plastic. The steel base is then powder coated and is then edged with a metal reinforced vinyl protectant. Already you're impressed with the quality, right? There's more - they then add a layer of carpet like material to help protect any contact areas with the fender or other things that reside underneath. The premium naugahyde or leather is stretched tight and trimmed so only a perfect, even and minimum material is left. This material is then riveted (with aluminum rivets that won't rust) to securely hold the seat's material in place. Attention to detail like this in a place you don't even see is a good sign, in my experience!
If you think the bottom is great looking and premium quality, you should see the top! One of things Le Pera strives for is making a premium seat whose lines flow very well to compliment the bike's lines. This was what got me well-before I got to anything else with Le Pera's seats - the look. Le Pera makes usually 10 or more different model seats for each class of Harley model. There is literally something for everyone. And don't even get me started on the custom options you can order from the factory - more on that later! Of the Touring models offered, I fell in love with the look of the Maverick. It seemed to offer the best look vs. comfort level for the type of riding we do. Easy, right? Nope.
Within each model there is usually a couple versions. In this case there's the standard Maverick, the Daddy Longlegs version for you tall guys and the Up-Front version for us shorter guys. Then they also offer a 'stitched' or 'smooth' model. I preferred the look of the stitched seat over the smooth. This was my first challenge. My next challenge was deciding between the standard or Up-Front. I'm only just barely 5'8" and actually now probably just under as I shrink with age. The Up-Front model offered a very tall back 'cut' area that would provide a lot of lower back support which I need. The Hammock while comfortable did not provide any back support and I quickly found I needed a driver's backrest or my lower back would ache after riding.
But the Up-Front model looked like it would push me too far forward. In the end I compared the excellent photos on the Le Pera website that show multiple views to determine that the standard would work for me. I did this by comparing approximately where I sat on the Hammock with backrest to side photos of the various Le Pera models. Simple right? Nope. Now I had to decide whether to get the model with the built-in backrest or the one without. Even the Standard Maverick has a fairly deep cut and will allow for some lower back support. While I love the support a driver's backrest gives, I'm not a fan of the look. And then there's the extra price. Getting a seat with the driver's backrest ups the price a good chunk. Still, I would have gotten the one with the drivers backrest if I could have which is where I ran into probably the one single problem I had with Le Pera on this journey - AVAILABILITY!
There are only a few retailers that sell Le Pera seats and most have a fair selection. The problem I ran into is for the Maverick, most retailers had only the standard model in the Stitched pattern which I wanted. If I wanted the one with the driver's backrest then I'd have to settle for the smooth model. You can order direct from the company (for a higher price) but there is a 4-week average wait since each seat is built from scratch for each order. I typically don't wait very well! In the end, I gambled and just ordered the standard Maverick stitched model from Revzilla. The price was good, shipping was free and fast which I knew from having ordered new helmets from them in the recent past. It was my hope that the deep-ish cut of the back of the drivers area would provide enough support that I wouldn't need the backrest.
(Intermission: At this stage in our program we provide a brief intermission so you might go to the bathroom and replenish your libation of choice - queue cheesy intermission muzak...)
Welcome back!
I need to note here that at this point after a long and hard search of the internet for a standard Maverick stitched model with backrest and coming up empty I actually called Le Pera. A person answered the phone and said her name was Christine. I told her my dilemma and she apologized and said she wished her distributors did a better job carrying more models. She said if I ended up wanting to order one direct to give her a call back and she would do her best to expedite the process since she had 'some pull' in the company. I thanked her and joked that their seats looked great and were obviously popular and she should tell management to hire some more people! She chuckled and said they just had but it was difficult to find qualified people since it's quite a skill set needed to build such a high-quality seat.
An interesting and humorous sidebar to that story is that shortly after I received my Le Pera I emailed the company because I could not find any care instructions with the seat or even on the web site. I was almost immediately emailed back and asked to call them which I did and spoke to another very nice and knowledgeable woman who answered all my questions. When I relayed my story about my first call and my funny comment about hiring more people she asked for the name of the woman I was talking to and when I told her it was Christine she laughed and said, "Yes, that was Christine Le Pera! You were not only talking to management - you were talking to the owner!" So the owner actually get's her hands dirty and answers phones there!
Back to the seat. I you still with me? I told you it was long! The seat arrived fast, as expected. Coming out of the box the seat is beautiful. It's heavy and obviously well-made. The naugahyde material is so thick it actually seemed like it was a high-grade leather and I wondered if Revzilla had made a mistake. Installation was simple as with all HD seats and took a few minutes. Then I sat on it. Ewww. I had just gotten home from work and it was after midnight. The first thing I noticed was just how firm the seat felt (which I expected) but then the next thing was that the deep 'cut' in the back of the seat seemed to dig into my lower back. This cut area is almost vertical and the sensation was not pleasant.
Le Pera uses a propriety "specially poured high density 'Marathon' molded foam" for their seats which provides a very firm feel. This combined with the thick naugahyde is about as far opposite a feel from the well-worn Hammock seat I was used to. The next day I took the bike out for a ride. I got about a mile down the road and turned back and swapped out the Le Pera for the stock seat as I was heading out for a couple hours of errands and didn't want my first trip with the Le Pera to be a bad one. Of course two hours on the stock seat and I was wishing I had left the Le Pera on! Each of the following days I road with the Le Pera a little more and a little farther. The stiff naugahyde cover and foam is giving a little and I've found the sweet spot for sitting.
I've taken the wife out a couple times and she feels the same way. Each time we ride it gets a little better. Part of this is us getting used to a radically different approach to seat making (firm vs soft) and also a little bit of the seat breaking in a little bit. The last trip I took was about two hours. My butt was ready to get off but I was not sore at all, just tired. More importantly, I felt like I could have ridden farther and felt like I could get right back on with minimal rest time. Regardless of how comfortable a seat might be, I need to get off/up and stretch. Whether it's a motorcycle, car or just sitting at my computer or on the couch. I need to move after a couple hours.
Each time I get on the Le Pera it feels more 'at home' and comfortable. The cut doesn't bother me anymore but rather feels supportive. I'm happy to report that my lower back has not bothered me at all so it looks like I didn't need the drivers backrest after all, which is great because this seat looks SO great on the bike. Another of Le Pera's goals is creating seats that look as good as they feel. Here is a statement straight from their website: "Even our touring based seats are an exercise in style, form and function. Both the Maverick and the new Sorrento are intentionally designed to compliment, not overpower the lines of the bike. Their relative low profile and non-confining contours contrast the traditional, bulky "road couches" available elsewhere."
Le Pera has another new seat in the Touring line, the Rt 66. It's a great looking seat as well and was considered along with the Maverick. It has a wider and slightly thicker seating area over the Maverick. The Maverick is 15"/14" (driver/passenger widths) with the Rt 66 being 17"/16". While it's still a decent looking seat the Maverick is a little better looking and certainly sleeker. The Rt 66 starts to get away from the sleek look and into the Touring seat end of things. So as long as the Maverick continues to improve we'll stick with that. If I find that it does not than I might call Le Pera direct and order a Rt 66 with a backrest just so I have it.
It should be noted that along with the standard offerings, Le Pera offers a wide variety of custom options on all their seats when you order direct from the factory. The number of stitching patterns, materials, and colors is impressive. You can also order each seat in vinyl (naugahyde) partial leather (seating area only) or full leather. You can also order them with 'riders gel' in them. They say this makes the seat feel firmer than it already is but provides long distance riders with even more comfort for the long haul. I can easily see a day down the road when I call the factory and order a custom seat in all leather with a cool stitch pattern and an elegant color inlay to compliment further my CVO's beautiful paint.
As you will see in the photos in the next few replies below, Le Pera did exactly what they set out to do. The Maverick stitched seat is a beautiful seat whose lines seem to flow perfectly with my 2013 Road Glide Custom CVO. We use the HD high backrest for my wife and even with that on it looks great. The HD low backrest was too low and didn't look good at all so that just got sold. I took these photos yesterday while my son and I were out looking at Jeeps for him. At one point he looked over at my bike and said, "Man, dad - that's a great looking bike! I'm surrounded by my dream vehicles and I keep looking over at your bike!!" Hi praise from a young guy that rides a Ducati!
Well, that's about it for now. You still here? Glad you made it until the end! I'm going to post a few of those photos I took yesterday at the Jeep dealership shortly. I will check in from time to time with updates with anything worth sharing, good or bad. I like to write detailed reviews so the next guy looking for information (like I was) can find it. If you've made it this far and have any more questions for me, don't hesitate to ask them by replying here or sending me a private message. Thanks for hanging in to the end!
