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Abstract
- Equipment that make your motorbike extra snug don’t at all times look nice, however Canadian model Luimoto is out to vary that with their premium aftermarket seat covers, gel inserts, and tank grips.
- Luimoto is predicated in Vancouver, BC. Co-founders Will and Patrick run a good operation the place each product is fastidiously designed and assembled in-house to make sure high quality management.
- Utilizing premium supplies—like marine-grade vinyl and Japanese artificial suede—offers Luimoto’s seat covers higher climate safety than the materials that cowl most OEM seats, whereas offering superior consolation and traction as effectively.
- You should buy Luimoto seat covers for virtually any motorbike in the marketplace, and the model additionally enables you to place customized orders for merchandise with particular supplies, stitching, or embroidery. Use their gel inserts to scale back street shock and their tank grips for added management if you wish to benefit from the full Luimoto expertise.
Most motorbike mods deal with efficiency, however consolation is an in depth second—in any case, the extra time you possibly can spend within the saddle, the more durable you possibly can experience with out feeling it in your knees or again. The issue with plenty of comfort-focused upgrades is that, effectively, they simply don’t look good. And for a lot of manufacturers, straddling the road between consolation and magnificence appears more durable than standing in your pegs whereas going over rumble strips at 90 miles per hour.
Naturally, when Canadian model Luimoto informed us they had been getting down to do precisely that (the consolation factor, not the rumble strips factor), we needed to admit we had been a little bit apprehensive. However towards all odds, the Luimoto workforce has managed to tug off a trick worthy of the motocross occasion at Monster Jam. Learn on to search out out why we’re recommending that you simply use your posterior to get acquainted with one in every of their covers.
Who’s Luimoto & The place Do They Come From?
If you happen to haven’t heard of those guys, they’re a small firm primarily based in Vancouver, British Columbia—the identical neck of the woods this author calls residence. Vancouver’s arguably one of many best cities on planet Earth to experience in (so long as you don’t thoughts just a few ticket-happy cops), with loads of Harley bros and crotch-rocket jockeys alike utilizing the town’s well-maintained roads to get a little bit wind remedy through the practically snowless 12 months.
Luimoto appears decided to cater to each of those markets. They make covers for a variety of fashionable moto manufacturers and fashions, and the completed merchandise handle to impress on each ends of the sport-bike-to-cruiser spectrum. It’s the little particulars that promote each—you could find vintage-inspired diamond stitching on their cruiser covers, or pleated suede very best for Hondas and Kawasakis.
And that’s not all. Along with seat covers for riders and passengers, you will get seat inserts designed to scale back shock and fatigue, together with matching tank grips and extra. They’ll even customise your order with particular supplies, stitching, and embroidery—so you possibly can flip your seat into an honest-to-goodness murals that’ll flip heads each time your rear finish isn’t blocking it.
The Origin
After I reached out to model co-founders Will and Patrick for a little bit extra details about Luimoto’s ethos and genesis, they acquired again to me straight away. Patrick was more than pleased to inform me how the corporate acquired up and working—and within the immortal phrases of Peter Parker from Sam Raimi’s Spiderman, “This, like several story price telling, is all a few lady.”
Okay, perhaps that’s pushing it a little. However because the story goes, Pat had a girlfriend who typically rode two-up with him on his sport bike and didn’t precisely love the expertise of perching on the pillion. Honest sufficient—as you most likely know already, most sport bike passenger seats are, um, not nice. Don’t consider us? Ask Reddit.
So Patrick, being the dutiful boyfriend he was, went to a neighborhood upholstery store to try to discover foam he might add to the seat. What he discovered as a substitute was a kind of carbon fiber materials he’d by no means seen earlier than—however which made the seat considerably extra snug and grippy as soon as wrapped round it. Finally, Pat reached out to Will for assist turning this DIY repair right into a viable product, and Luimoto was born.
The Mission
Each Will and Patrick are avid riders themselves, and their willingness to tug again the curtain and share even the smallest particulars of their course of made it pretty apparent that everybody on the enterprise is deeply related to the merchandise they promote—these most definitely aren’t some low cost equipment made who-knows-where with who-knows-what.
Luimoto’s raison d’etre, in keeping with Will, is to elevate your driving expertise. Simple to say, however more durable to do. After I ask how they obtain that lofty objective, he’s candid and direct: by investing closely in design and supplies to create choices that present type, consolation, and traction (take it from somebody whose present bike has over 160 lb-ft of torque—you need your butt to remain planted when that speedo needle jumps).
Key Options
So what sorts of designs and supplies get you essentially the most traction with out chafing or making your bike into the world’s ugliest street couch? Luimoto’s primarily based in my hometown, so I made a decision to search out out for myself. Right here’s what I seen that units their covers aside from plenty of what else is in the marketplace.
- Marine-Grade Vinyl: That is powerful stuff. Actually, it’s what you discover on open-air watercraft. That’s as a result of it’s extra weather-resistant than the OEM materials on most motorbike seat covers. Translation? You’ll be able to cease worrying concerning the rain soaking via and ruining your foam over time.
- Japanese Artificial Suede: After all, vinyl’s not very grippy—so that you want one thing that’ll enable you to stick within the saddle comfortably. Suede’s nice for that, however not so nice when uncovered to the weather. The reply? Artificial suede. Japan makes a number of the finest, and it appears to be like virtually precisely like the true factor.
- Made in Nation: The fabric could be from midway all over the world, however all the things Luimoto makes comes collectively in North America—in-house at their Vancouver headquarters, to be actual. Meaning once you order an aftermarket seat cowl or a one-off customized piece, you get a premium product assembled underneath the direct supervision of the workforce that offered it to you. That is what accountability appears to be like like, and it’s refreshing in an trade that typically feels more and more dominated by cheaper, mass-produced merchandise.
Seat ‘Em for Your self: 3 Luimoto Merchandise Price a Look
Will, Patrick, and their workforce could make a seat cowl for just about any motorbike on the market—so there’s not a lot level speaking about covers for particular fashions. However there’s multiple kind of seat cowl—and as we mentioned earlier, Luimoto additionally has just a few different objects on supply for riders who need a extra complete expertise.
Seat Covers
Each seat cowl Luimoto makes is particularly designed for the mannequin it will get put in on. These aren’t one-size-fits-all merchandise—you get a canopy that matches the aesthetics and profile of your bike in order that the traces (and the vibes) keep intact. Luimoto breaks their seat covers down into the next three classes:
- Rider seat covers cowl the froth within the space the place you sit, and are perfect for bikes with solo or bobber-style seats.
- Passenger seat covers cowl the froth in your pillion seat (what little there’s on some sportier fashions), and supply an additional layer of consolation to your touring companions.
- Customized seat covers are any one-off merchandise Luimoto makes. These embrace any seat covers augmented with particular stitching, supplies, or embroidery.
All seat covers use the marine-grade vinyl and Japanese artificial suede talked about earlier, until you request different customized supplies once you place your order.
Seat Inserts
Keep in mind that foam we talked about earlier—the stuff Patrick was on the lookout for on the upholstery store earlier than he discovered the carbon fiber stuff? Because it seems, that led to a completely different Luimoto product.
These Premium Gold Gel Inserts are engineered to scale back your fatigue by absorbing the shocks you’d usually get from going over bumps and cracks within the street. Right here’s a fast overview of how they work:
- All inserts are designed to be put in within the present foam of your seat (in order that its form could be preserved when the quilt goes again on).
- You’ll want just a few easy instruments to do the job your self—like needle nostril pliers, a utility knife, scissors, and 40-100 grit sandpaper.
- Alternatively, Luimoto’s gel set up service enables you to ship your seat to them and pay a charge to have the gel inserted for you. That is very best in the event you don’t really feel snug slicing into the froth of your seat by your self.
Undecided if you wish to strive the set up by yourself? Get a way of what’s concerned by watching this step-by-step tutorial video.
Tank Grips
Lastly, these small however helpful patches use the identical marine-grade supplies as Luimoto’s seat covers however connect to every facet of your tank through 3M adhesive to supply further grip to your legs. Ask anybody who doesn’t drop the knee each time they flip (i.e. most riders who aren’t MotoGP contestants) they usually’ll let you know—the quantity of contact you possibly can preserve along with your tank can have a considerable impression in your acceleration, braking, and cornering. Try Luimoto’s tank grips right here.
Reuniting Consolation & Type for Riders of All Varieties
Making moto seats extra snug with out turning them into goofy or gaudy cushions was an enormous job, however somebody needed to do it. I’m hoping to do a full evaluate of the merchandise above someday within the New Yr, however till then it feels secure to say that Luimoto’s earned our consideration and admiration right here at wBW for his or her sensible use of weather-resistant supplies in eye-catching designs. If you happen to get your fingers on one in every of these covers earlier than I do, make sure to tell us about your expertise within the feedback part—right here’s to creating your seat essentially the most thrilling a part of your experience!
