Le Pera Seats, A Family Tradition To Be Proud Of

                                       

From time to time here at Chrome Asylum we run across a company or product that's just so damn good that we have no choice but to break out the old soapbox, climb up and give a shout. Le Pera is just that sort of company; great people, quality products, and best of all, made right here in the U. S. of A. It just doesn't get any better than that.

Le Pera Seats (http://www.lepera.com/) has been around since 1972, but sadly, yours truly didn't get around to experiencing their unsurpassed customer service until late last year...........hey, I was busy. Obviously being in the motorcycle accessories business for over 20 years, I was well aware of the company, but seeing as we didn't carry their products (way too specialized for our business model), and I didn't own a Harley Davidson for most of that time, there was really no reason for us to cross paths.

Thankfully over time, I came around, plunked down my slavishly earned coin of the realm on a couple of  HD's, and thereby became a potential Le Pera customer. Potential turned into actual after chatting up Christine Le Pera at Arlen Ness' (http://www.arlenness.com/) 40th anniversary bash. She was "manning" the booth, answering questions, and charming the devil out of anyone that came within twenty feet. Christine Le Pera and her brother Bob Jr. run the company now, sadly their father and founder passed away in 2008. Bob sorts out design and production, and Christine handles sales.

A typical Le Pera masterpiece

After asking a few questions, and scoring their very nicely done catalog (their website's not bad either), it was off to plot and plan. I had decided on a seat for my 2007 CVO Softail if for no other reason than it was as close to a genuine hot rod that I had ever come, and as such needed a proper custom leather seat.......diamond stitching, buttons, the works.........oh yeah, this was gonna be great.

Couple words to the wise, if you're scooting around town, terrorizing the local haunts on anything other than a Harley Davidson or custom V-Twin, well brother, you're just gonna have to make do with that crappy vinyl parked under your rump. You see, Le Pera specializes in seats for Harley's, and that's pretty much it........so back away VTX wannabe, it's not happening. Although, while I have zero inside knowledge on this score, I wouldn't be surprised to see Le Pera's on some Victory motorcycles down the road.........I'm just saying.

Secondly, if you're going for genuine leather (and why wouldn't you!?) it ain't cheap.......plan on north of six hundred bones and you should be safe. They do work in vinyl, so if your budget's stressed, you can still score Le Pera quality........on the flip side, there are some really trick designs that incorporate exotic materials with outrageous stitching, that's gonna cost you more. It's all up to you.

Having decided on the seat model, and the stitching pattern, I gave 'em a call. And who do you think answered the order line? Christine Le Pera, that's who. How cool is that? More than cool, it saved me from making a really stupid, and expensive boo boo. Seems the stitching pattern I chose would not have worked at all with the design of the seat itself. Thankfully Christine set me straight, and order was placed........all I had to do was wait.

Custom orders usually take about two to three weeks, and sure enough my box 'o joy landed on my front porch exactly when promised. After gently opening said container.......very careful with the knives my friends.....yeah, how bad would that suck, I examined the seat. I dunno, "amazing" doesn't really do the thing justice. Stitching is perfect, I mean perfect. The leather is flawless and tight around the seat frame. Even the backing plate is a flippin' work of art, complete with the "made in USA" sticker proudly attached.......that alone is worth the dough.

Lastly, the fit........and I have to say, I was pretty paranoid given that Murphy of Murphy's Law fame, tends to spend an inordinate time in my garage. I prefect mating of seat to machine was no guarantee, not for me anyway. But this was a Le Pera, and to be honest, it fit better than the OE unit, and that's saying something, as the Motor Company knows a thing or two about building quality motorcycle seats. And yes, you'll see some pics in an upcoming profile of my Softail.

So in the end could anything have been improved? Actually yes. I was kinda surprised that for the money, no leather conditioner/protector was provided, for that matter, there's none even offered for sale.........this seems like a huge missed opportunity for additional accessories sales (hey, I was in the business!). Also a follow-up email or call would have been nifty........again, when folks spend big money, they like to feel special........really special.

Now as soon as the weather clears a bit, we'll get some miles on that seat and report back. I have a feeling though.........there's a Le Pera in my Road Kings future. Damn you Christine!!