The TaoTao TBR7 is very ‘buzzy’ and vibrates constantly. This motorcycle seat vibration isn’t too much with short trips, but I soon felt the continued effects on longer trips. I took a two-hour ride, all back roads so not very high RPMs, and afterward, I had a continuous ‘buzzing’ in my hands, feet, and nether regions.
I focused on addressing the neither-regions first since that felt the weirdest and felt I was losing bladder control. This where my TBR7 seat upgrade adventure comes in with a simple seat cover solution.
An Expensive TBR7 Seat Upgrade Option?
A little research for a seat upgrade had me on the CSC Motorcycle Website. The TT250 is higher-priced and appears a better-inspected Hawk 250. I read the TBR7 and Hawk 250 are close enough that the TT250 seat can fit my TBR7. So info about this working as a Hawk 250 eat upgrade, helped me out.
In addition, the TT250 seat has reviews as a much-improved version of Chonda stock seats. However, after looking at the price, the sticker shock motivated me to look for a cheaper seat upgrade.
Much Cheaper TBR7 Seat Upgrade, A Padded Seat Cover!
The TBR7 motorcycle community prides itself on cheap solutions for this cheap dual-sport motorcycle. After a couple of forum searches and I found my ‘buzzy’ seat solution. The nice thing is this solution seems to work for the Hawk 250 also.
A new motorcycle seat cover!
Found Coleman makes a seat cover(“MadDog GearComfort Ride Seat Protector”) for their ATV accessory line. This seat cover appeared to cover enough of the seat and thick enough to help isolate my butt from the original seat.
There were groves in the seat cover to allow airflow and reduce the infamous Summer Motorcycle-Monkey-Butt problems. Do a web search for “Motorcycle-Monkey Butt” if you don’t know what I mean.
Where Can I Get This TBR7 Seat Cover Upgrade?
Conveniently Coleman products are sold on Amazon; yes, I’m an Amazon fanboy. Should see how many motorcycle upgrades I plan for my TaoTao TBR7 motorcycle, and many can be bought online: My TaoTao TBR7 Upgrades To Do List
Size Tested The Seat Cover Size Over My TBR7 Seat.
Unroll the seat cover and cover the seat. Everyone has different expectations from upgrades, and be sure your Coleman works for you.
You can see from my picture enough that the TaoTao TBR7 motorcycle’s seat is covered to meet my various seating positions. I move forward and back based on my riding style needs. Be sure this seat cover works for your riding style. If so, let’s get busy installing the seat cover.
How I Installed The Seat Cover:
1.- As always, safety first ( FAQ: Motorcycle Garage Safety Rules ). Be sure your TBR7 is completely turned off, and stationary on a stable surface.
2.- Remove the Rear Side panels with your hex wrench( Must Have Tools For Motorcycle Owners ). Don’t lose these parts; I use a magnetic parts dish to prevent losing small pieces again..
3.- Remove the stock motorcycle seat by removing the bolts on both sides(again, don’t lose the small parts), and wiggle the seat off.
4.- After removing the motorcycle seat, I removed the straps and lay the new seat cover upside down and front of the seat cover towards the motorcycle’s front.
5.- I turned the TBR7’s seat also upside down, on top of the seat cover, and with the seat’s front towards the motorcycle’s front.
6.- I connected the seat cover’s plastic strap clips and slowly, evenly, pulled the excess to conform the seat cover to the seat. Ensuring it was on tight, but also center and covering the seat areas that sit on.
7.- Excess strap sections can be tucked under the seat, but you can see some tied together to help keep the straps together. I thought it made for easier seat re-installation.
8.- Reinstall the seat, tucking in any stray strap ends. On the bolts, I use a blue thread-locker. The TBR7 vibrates, and I don’t feel like losing parts as I rode down the street.
9.- Reinstall the motorcycle side plastic panels. Again, I use a blue thread-locker on the bolt threads.
10.-Test sit on the seat. Be sure the seat cover has a good connection with your TBR7’s seat, and you don’t slide around. An unstable seating position is unsafe, and if necessary, remove the seat and re-tighten the straps.
Test Ride The New Motorcycle Seat Cover.
As with all my test rides, I go around the block a couple of times. I slowly accelerated the motorcycle and braking, gradually increasing the acceleration forces(yeah, I know it’s a TBR7) and braking forces. If the seat moved, I would readjust.
I did NOT need to readjust the seat cover; I was aggressive with tightening the straps and was extra cautious making good contact with the plastic connectors.
My Initial Feeling About This TBR7 Seat Cover Upgrade.
I like it. This isn’t a full product review, but my initial observations felt more ‘spongy’ than the original TBR7 seat.
However, the seat cover groves look like enough airflow is moving between me and the seat to prevent Motorcycle-Monkey-Butt.
I am hopeful this will help prevent that uncomfortable ‘buzzing’ feeling get ‘down there’ after a lot of motorcycle seat vibration from a long ride.
I will upgrade you later, and for my Hawk 250 owners, I believe this Coleman Maddog Seat Cover is also a great Hawk 250 seat upgrade for you guys.
My Motorcycle Seat Cover Update:
I have used this motorcycle seat cover for a while, and considering how uncomfortable the stock TBR7 motorcycle seat is, I am happy. This seat cover has made my longer and longer rides on my dual-sport motorcycle much more comfortable.
Seat Comfort is a problem with some stock motorcycle seats, so I decided to cover this issue more with another post: How To Make Your Motorcycle Seat More Comfortable.
Immediate Thoughts For Changes To This Motorcycle Seat Cover Install.
In hindsight, I took extra effort trying to secure the loose ends of the seat cover straps when I was reinstalling it. However, I do not want to continuously worry about loose straps while riding or later motorcycle maintenance to make some changes. The change is I will pull the seat cover straps to one end and cut the free end. In the past, I’ve cut woven straps like this to shorten them and then took steps to prevent the strap ends from fraying. I have melted the end threads with a small flame(not recommended), but my favorite is a bead of ‘crazy’ glue on the ends. This looked cleaner to me and avoided the danger of fire.
If you have TBR7 Seat Upgrades, including covers, please leave feedback on what you used, liked, and disliked. Also, if you have suggestions for this post or better upgrades to my TBR7, leave a comment. Also interested if anyone tried out the TT250 seat on the TBR7 and if Hawk 250 seat options truly apply to the TBR7.
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TBR7 Upgrades
Hi I’m Tom, A New Motorcycle Rider and Blog Author.
I am a new rider(Pa Learners Permit at the end of 2020, and I received a Pa Motorcycle License in 2021 after passing a Motorcycle Safety Course).
I bought my first motorcycle, a TaoTao TBR7, at the beginning of 2021 and have been doing upgrades on that motorcycle since.
I added to my motorcycle collection by buying a Boom Vader Gen 2 in 2022, and that Grom-Clone motorcycle has been upgraded by me as well.
I continue to ride my Boom Vader Gen 2 motorcycle as well as my TaoTao TBR7 dual-sport bike.
Read more on my About Me page.
Fun Fact: I’ve only been on one group ride.
