Just commenting on the seat...... I have a heated rider and passenger Corbin seat.
The metal rod with the blue tape gets screwed onto the bike. I believe the blue tape is used so not to lose the screws while the rod is off the bike.
As far as the worn out piping, mine has the same wear marks but no part of my back or rear end touches the passenger pillion, except under aggressive acceleration, so maybe it is wear marks??
I believe the worn out piping is from not using a better quality piping not actual rub or wear marks. Just my opinion, no offense to Corbin implied.