I bought a new 1260 in May last year, done 6500 miles and love it. Only one criticism and that is the seat. I have ridden motorcycles for over 50 years and in all that time have never come across a seat that is as slippery as mine. The problem is that with a big high compression twin there is a huge amount of engine braking when you roll off the throttle, this is fine except that my 90Kg of mass generates a large amount of kinetic energy as it slides forwards under engine braking, this forward motion is then suddenly and savagely arrested when my man parts impact with the fuel tank. Now this does no harm to the Multi, which is of course important, but is causing the current Mrs. Jongo some concern over future marital bliss. Also when the impact occurs prior to a corner there is the added disadvantage of impaired vision due to tears. I have tried various solutions. 160 grit sandpaper applied to my riding trouser bottoms. Goalkeeper glove gripper applied to the seat, seems to work with footballs but not for me, could be a size issue. So I have ended up with this solution, which although rather inelegant, does the job but I do get lots of negative comments from friends on the overall aesthetics of having carpet gripper siliconed to the seat. Does anyone have a better idea?
The issue for me was the downward slope of the seat was causing the slide into the tank effect, not the slickness of the seat. A sargent seat solved 90% of that. Before I went the sargent route, I put the stock seat in the high position in the front, and the low position in the rear to flatten it out.
Fitted this seat cover with gel pads. Suede so grips better. Not cheap & it's a full replacement so old cover has to come off. Took me about 2 hours to fit with a good staple gun too.
Try fitting an inflatable seat pad such as an Airhawk (other makes are available). Set the seat to its lower position first and set the inflatable pad well forward on the seat, with the attachment straps done up tight. This will cushion your family jewels quite effectively, even under heavy braking. Does not involve making any irreversible changes to the bike, and much cheaper than a new seat or cover.
That’s funny Jongo . That’s got to come off the seat, it looks terrible pal. Maybe your trousers are the problem, have you tried textile trousers? I know leathers are slippy on mine too. I would look at a large pair of neoprene wet suit shorts on the out the out side of your pants (just like Batman) Or stick the grippy stuff to your arse instead of the seat
Seriously some good suggestions,thank you. I will try the airhawk as I can borrow one. Is suede OK in the wet as I ride in all weathers, that seat looks good but I am useless with a staple gun can it be done by the supplier?
It came from Italy, supply only. An upholsterer i'm sure would do it. They are on ebay. Not had an issues with the suede staining with wet weather. Not that I ride much in the rain.
It's probably Alcantara which is a man made and harder wearing, less likely to wrinkle version of the real bovine thing. I had this on the seat of my MV for 18,000 miles in the form of the factory option comfort seat, it wore well and was less slippery than the original vinyl seat.
Have you tried knee grips on either side of the tank? Like Stomp Grip or the R&G type. Grip the tank when braking heavily and you won't slide forward or at the very least, not as far as crushing the Crown jewels.!
Another option is to put on 30KG and then your belly holds you back and acts as your own airbag.... Have you tried a Tribo Seat cover - normally passengers - but maybe speak with them and ask for some advice.. I found that mine sort of got OK after 1000 miles or so... not sure if I got used to it of the seat flattened out...
It sounds like the profile of the seat doesn’t suit you. Have you considered getting the foam shaved/added to and re-fitting the standard cover? I recall someone on here getting something similar done. It could be a cheaper option than buying a new seat.
Ive heard good things about this fella. Bit of a trek for you though. https://www.bikeandcarseats.co.uk/motorcycle-seats
Two options to fix the problem 1 - fit a Touratech Touring seat, flatter profile but expensive new (£400?), could be on eBay the seat needs to be from a 2015 Multi onwards to fit the 1260. 2 - get the standard seat re-profiled by an upholsterer (£100-120) don't know any in your area but they are around and use a good one that is recommended by others.
My upholstery man lives up the A34 from you in Steventon and has done two for me and one for a mate, rebuilds with memory foam and any angle you want, no more than £100.
