The front pads on my Him leave a width of about 8 - 10mm on the inner face where they do not contact the disc, so around 75% contact is about right, and I believe is the norm.

I was recommended to fit some Brembo pads, dont have the spec to hand but they made quite a difference. You do still need a lot of pressure on the lever to stop in a hurry, but not as much as with the OE pads. The Brembos are also a lot better in the wet.

Same contact area with the Brembos by the way.

Rear pads make 100% contact and the OE pads do a great job, you can lock up the rear wheel and make the ABS kick in quite easily.

I have seen some articles on an alternative front calipers for the Him, but cannot recall where I saw it.

Back to the seat, a "2 hour" seat is about right.