vinyl vs. leather

MADCELT said:

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I'm looking at a LePera seat and i'm trying to justify the extra cost for leather and Gel insert. Any ideas? I'm really looking at the "Bare Bones" seat.

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By "bare bones" do you mean without fringe, conchos, buttons, etc. Or do you mean very basic and cheap? LaPera seats are not cheap; however, many riders like them. LaPera will also customize a seat for you. A leather seat by any legit aftermarket manufacture is likely superior in quality, durability and appearrance in the long run to a vinyl seat. Many riders find that the gel insert makes the ride a lot more comfortable. IMHO, if you are going to have a gel insert in the seat, pop for the extra bucks and go with the leather.

Now, while there isn't as much passion about seats as there is about exhaust systems, you're liable to get a lot of opinions on this. I'll stick by my opinion: leather will hold up better and last longer than vinyl.

Thanks for the reply. I figured as much. If you go to www.lepera.com you'll see what I mean by bare bones. It's the name of a new seat I believe. Looks fantastic. I was thinking leather would be the way to go. Much apprecieated, safe travels from fairfax, va. right outside Washington dc. Looking forward to rolling thunder this memorial day.

I had a Lepera Bare Bones solo on my fatboy for less than a week and got rid of it. It wasn't any more comfortable than riding on the bare frame. Mine didn't have the gel insert though. I'm sure the gel would have to help. It did look great on the bike though. Plan on using it for bar hopping only, and something else for distance riding.

Yeah, the sales lady at LePera was very nice and told me thats all that seats good for. 1 hour tops of riding. I went ahead and got the silhouette solo. In leather.

Stock Harley seats are vinyl right? I think they call them "leather", but I think they are "pleather".

dude, are you aware that this thread is almost 10 years old? My old HD seat WAS leather...
Tim