I’ve been shopping around for a new seat for the Bonneville since I bought it. 0bviously, I wanted a café style solo seat. There are many, many options out there such as a fitting a Thruxton cowl, Dime City, Corbin, British Customs, tons of 3rd parties on eBay, etc. I spent a lot of time researching (ie, surfing). What really caught my fancy in the end was the Jarama seat from Tamarit Spanish Motorcycles in Alacant/Alicante, Spain (originally called Negro 8 when I first came upon them). A seat from Spain – gots to love the interwebs.

I reached out to Tamarit – He (I believe that his name was Enrique) with his very good english and I with my very broken Spanish. He sent me the seat via the Spanish postal service, Correos, to my neighborhood UPS store.

Before I knew it, UPS called and said that they had a package for me. I was totally stoked!!! I was dying to see the seat. It arrived surprisingly quick, eight days to be exact. The actual manufacturing process beforehand took a couple weeks.

Let me tell you, I was not disappointed. Pulling the seat out of the packaging, I was in awe of its build quality.

Unboxing the Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Unboxing the Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.

This is a beautiful seat. Beautifully crafted. Tolerances very tight. Superb paint job. Amazing stitching. I can’t begin to tell you how impressed I was with this seat when I pulled it out of the postal box. In fact, see for yourself. Here are several closeup photos…

Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Closeup showing the excellent fitment of the Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat; for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Closeup showing the excellent fitment of the Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat; for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Underside of the Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.

There is a nice space in the cowl area accessible underneath – a perfect place for an emergency tool kit or whatever you wish.

Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Underside of the Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Underside of the Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Underside of the Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.

Gorgeous, right? (BTW, I forgot to take studio shots of the seat with the cushion removed. I remedy this later in the post.)

I received this seat over a month ago but I didn’t put it on until now. We’ve had a bad winter here in NY with lots of corrosive salt on the road and I didn’t want to subject this seat to it, it looked that beautiful to me.

Well, bad weather has finally broken. I set upon installing the seat last weekend. Let’s begin…

Ha, ha. Let’s begin… There’s really nothing to explain. We’re replacing the stock seat. This has got to be the easiest mod yet. Pull off old seat, which was super easy as I’m using the British Customs quick removal bolts. Put in new seat. Wait! What about the grab rail? I totally forgot about that. I began to remove it and then it hit me… maybe the seat will fit. Sure enough, it did. Ha, this Tamarit Jamara seat has a pleasant surprise. It will allow you to keep the grab rail attached. So I decided to keep the grab rail on. FYI, I found that the Jarama seat fit in MUCH better than the stock seat. Everytime I put the stock seat on, I struggle with seating it properly (pardon the pun), but the Jarama slipped right on like a slipper and felt solid.

Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat on a Triumph Bonneville T100 with the stock grab rail attached. Bonnie Café.
Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat on a Triumph Bonneville T100 with the stock grab rail attached. Bonnie Café.
Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat on a Triumph Bonneville T100 with the stock grab rail attached. Bonnie Café.
Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat on a Triumph Bonneville T100 with the stock grab rail attached. Bonnie Café.

Time for a ride. Yowza! I hate to say it but the seat is very uncomfortable. When you look at the photos, the padding looks plump and plush but this doesn’t translate as such to the arse. I was sorely (pun intended) disappointed. The seat feels like a racing seat – I feel like I’m sitting directly on the fiberglass, and I could feel the 90° angled sides digging into my thighs. Since I was going back to the garage to remove the grab rail, I planned on removing the cushion to see if anything could be done to make it more comfortable.

Removing the grab rail is a five minute job that involves removing six T40 torx screws – four by the taillight and two behind the rear shocks.

Removing the torx screws to install a Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat; for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Removing the torx screws to install a Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat; for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Removing the torx screws to install a Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat; for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Removing the torx screws to install a Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat; for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.

Pull off the grab rail and slip the seat back on.

Side view of the Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat on a Triumph Bonneville T100 with the stock grab rail removed. Bonnie Café.
Side view of the Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat on a Triumph Bonneville T100 with the stock grab rail removed. Bonnie Café.
Closeup showing the abutment of the Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat to the gas tank of a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
Closeup showing the abutment of the Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat to the gas tank of a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.

Yep, definitely much better looking.

I proceeded to remove the cushion. It is attached by way of two bolts and nuts. (You can see the set-up in the photos at the top of this post.)

The seat pan of a Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat with the padding removed; for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
The seat pan of a Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat with the padding removed; for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
The seat cushion of a Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
The underside of the seat cushion of a Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
The seat cushion of a Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.
The underside of the seat cushion of a Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat for a Triumph Bonneville T100. Bonnie Café.

As you can see, there isn’t a lot of padding and the backing is fiberglass which isn’t going to have much give. I really, really love the look of this seat. It’s definitely my favorite of all the solo seat options out there. Comfort, however, leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, sitting on the stock seat feels like a sofa in comparison. That’s a shame for such a beautiful seat. A 15-20 mile commute is tolerable, but no way are you going to be able to enjoy several hours on this seat. I’m going to look around and see if I can find someone who can customize the padding. Let me know if you have any good recommendations.

Anyway, let me leave you with a few last photos. I’ll have better shots at the end of the month for my State of the Bonnie section, so come back for those.

Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat on a Triumph Bonneville T100 with the stock grab rail removed. Bonnie Café.
Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat on a Triumph Bonneville T100 with the stock grab rail removed. Bonnie Café.
Side view of the Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat on a Triumph Bonneville T100 with the stock grab rail removed. Bonnie Café.
Side view of the Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat on a Triumph Bonneville T100 with the stock grab rail removed. Bonnie Café.
Rear view of the Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat on a Triumph Bonneville T100 with the stock grab rail removed. Bonnie Café.
Rear view of the Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama café style motorcycle seat on a Triumph Bonneville T100 with the stock grab rail removed. Bonnie Café.

Tools Required:
10mm Box Wrench (to remove seat cushion)
40T Torx Socket

Company URL:
Tamarit Spanish Motorcycles

Price:
390€ + International Shipping

7 thoughts on “BONNIE MOD #17
Tamarit/Negro 8 Jarama Café Seat

  • O'Dee

    http://www.cb750cafe.com/ this guy builds his own stuff here in so Cal and he rides a new Thruxton. He designs and makes his own stuff. I have his exhaust and it sounds and looks great, good quality. Next on my list is his solo seat with a compartment in back that you get into from the seat back, no removing the seat. I like your progress, she looks good and DelBoy is great.
    Keep up the good work!

  • Rob Heyden

    Still debating on seat options… Triumph Gel Seat is definite contender, but I had a Corbin Gunfighter on my ’73 Norton Commando and it TOTALLY transformed the bike- much comfier plus you sit IN rather than ON… BUT… (pardon the pun) I’m inclined towards the dual G/Lady since I’ve got luggage that goes over the seat (saddlebags) and on it (Ventura Rack Pack on rear seat)… did long trip in Northern CA this last summer, and my tush was aching after 200+ mile days

      • Rob Heyden

        I definitely considered the Smuggler, Rudy- I’ve been in love with the Corbin products since, well, ALWAYS!… The Smuggler appeals, but my Thruxton has gradually morphed into more of a solo Sport-Tourer (emphasis on Sport!) so while rear-seat space is not used for a passenger, the Ventura big bag fits nicely in that space (plus the Nelson-Rigg saddlebag straps) , with tent and sleeping bag on the back…If I just used it for weekend jaunts I’d get a Smuggler and throw stuff into a backpack and tank bag, but… just ordered a set of standoff brackets for the saddlebags (not sure if they’ll work with the Ventura Rack brackets…) as well as the ‘Lucas” taillight & t/s from canyonracer as well as the tec center stand… any dragging problems on the left?

        Anyhoo, still wondering about the ‘stock’ gel seat- 200+ mile days with the original seat made my tush quite unhappy- I may just go with the Gunfighter/Lady combo… yes, I know Corbin are expensive, but they’re REALLY GOOD… plus, they’re only about 50 miles south of me, and they buy you lunch at their cool cafe while U wait…

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