I’ve had my R nineT for 3 ½ years. During that time I was aware that the seat was a 45 minute seat. I could barely sit on it after that amount of time. I’d heard good things about Rich Grabbe’s seat-making abilities so I rode over to his shop, Rich Phillips Cycles (Phillip is Rich’s middle name) in St. Charles.
The shop wasn’t what I was expecting. It is huge. Not only does it smell heavenly but it has an old-timey décor with barn wood walls and furniture, an Edison light bulb chandelier, metal sculptures, a handmade bicycle, displays of leather bags, and a long concrete countertop containing kick-ass bike seats underneath. Some of the seats are hand-tooled and some stitched.
I had previously sent Rich an email outlining what I wanted, so after a short preliminary discussion, Rich went to the back wall, which contained large bolts of leather on shelving, and came back with a rich, brown leather that was “well oiled.” He also suggested a brownish-maroon leather that he had just enough of to do my seat. We took both leathers outside n the sun and sat them on my R nineT. Discussion followed and I decided on the brown leather.
Back inside, Rich suggested a diamond pattern ala Bugatti car upholstery, stitched with cream colored thread. The diamonds would straighten to parallel lines as they progressed to the rear seat. Fortunately, Rich had seat pans for an R nineT so I didn’t have to leave my seats. I’d leave them when I picked up the new ones… a swap.
Rich was slammed with work and my niece was visiting when the seats were finished, so it took a little over a week to get them. Before leaving home I sat on the garage floor and removed the OEM seats and reinstalled them (you need Torx and a flexible neck to do this). I did that because I had never removed the seats and I wanted to be sure I knew how to do it.
The new seats were more beautiful than I expected. A test ride indicated that I now had a 2 hour seat, which is all I need. Rich said, “I tell people I can’t fix their bodies, I can only give them a seat they can sit on longer.” My new front seat has more padding and is 2 inches wider.
Now I had a dilemma. I’d been using an SW MOTEC tail bag that I really liked, but now it would cover the rear seat. That just wouldn’t do. I installed the proprietary BMW tank bag and harness. I don’t like tank bags but I know they fulfill a purpose. The R nineT proprietary tank bag is huge and I knew I’d need another solution. While shooting the breeze at Gateway BMW one day I noticed a small tank bag on one of the R nineTs in the showroom, and quickly ordered one. It looks great on the harness and its size is enough to carry glasses and a snack.
And while I was at it, as I rode the R nineT to test the seat, I was reminded that the reach to the bars was just a tad farther than was comfortable. I hustled to Gateway BMW and asked about bar risers. Yep, it could be done but about ¾ of an inch was all I could get without having to replace cables ($$$$). I had a set of Wunderlich risers installed.
So my R nineT now sports a different look and is more comfortable to ride.