Do these seat covers help with comfort when chewing the miles or are they just for aesthetics?
Never really looked into seats, ever.
Not really mate. When I first installed them, I put them over the stock ones, but then I couldn't get them snug enough. They did give a little extra padding then.
When I redid them, I pulled the stock covers off. Then they were just about the same as stock.
But, they were dirt cheap and as I dont do multi-hundred mile rides, the seat comfort doesn't bother me that much.