on a sundowner with a HD riders adjustable backrest installed? I have narrowed down my search to the sundowner or mustang. I prefer the sundowner but I need to know how cramped it is for the passenger(wife) when a rider backrest is used. Ok, nobody snitch me off to the wife....she weighs about 135 and is small to medium statured. I just want to be sure it wont be too cramped for her duringlong rides. I have seen pictures of the street glide with the riders back rest in place on a sundowner and in the pictures it almost looks like another person wouldnt fit back there at all. I went to my local dealer hoping to see a bike with that set-up but had no luck. I had the parts guy show me a sundowner (for witch they dont have street glide stichting anymore for the 08's) and I really couldnt tell by guessing where the rider back rest would be. I know the mustang rider backrest is very thin compared to the HD backrest. Does anyone have any experiance with this?

 

Back seat room with the sundowner and an HD adjustable backrest would be virtually non-existant. The sundowner has a fairly shallow (front to back) seating area. Which is why I had to get rid of mine. As much as I liked the front part of the seat, the wife hated the back. Add the HD backrest in there, and your passenger better be under 100 lbs. The HD adjustable is VERY thick and bulky. 2 times as thick (front to back) as the Mustang.

This web page below will show you the rear seat space measurements for several seats. These are StreetGlide/RoadKing seats on an O7 Street Glide. The Sundowner is the shallowest seat for the passenger. Just remember, any seat that gives her more room, takes room from you/shoves you forward. I know that sounds obvious, but I read a lot of posts asking for a seat thats roomy for both riders. Cant do it. Its a finite amount of space from the tank to the rear seat bolt. No matter how you divide it in half, its the same amount total. I wound up with the Mustang 2 piece as the best compromise. I tried the Mustang one piece, and even had it modified to move me back a half inch and down 3/4, but I still preferred the Mustang 2 piece in the end.

BTW, this is the Sundowner for 07 and older. I don't know about the 08 Sundowner, other than they did make it WIDER in the back (figures) The page does not show the HD adjustable backrest, but I did own one. (sold it)

How tall/heavy are you? I am 6 feet and 220, wife is 5'4" and between 130-145 (depending on time of year/diet/excersise)

Hope this helps
http://home.comcast.net/~kceder/seats.html

 

I cant thank you enough for the detailed reply with your experiance. It probably saved me from making an expensive mistake. I am 5-11, 235 she is same as your wife. I must admit I am little bummed. I didnt even think about room when I bought the bike. I just assumed since its a touring bike there would be plenty of room for two people.Again thanks for the info, I will go with the mustang two peice as well. Sounds like thats the best way.

 

WW1flyingace, I just looked at the link you attached. Your incrediable!! I love this forum and you are the MAN. Thanks again, thats exactly what I needed to see.

 

Thats what my wife said as well. We had an old 1986 Yamaha Venture Royale, that was WAY more roomy. I really hope, that if HD does come out with a liquid cooled bagger in the near future, that they redesign the entire frame from scratch, to make it stiffer and more roomy. I cannot fathom how people larger than myself and my wife (whom I consider average/midsized) can ride these things. I see photos of couples who are MUCH larger wedged into these things, and cannot figure out how they can stand to ride them squashed in there like they are.

One thing I did not take into account, was to ask if you had a tour pak, or use a backrest for your wife? A backrest may give her a little bit more room than a tour pak, but I cannot speak from experience on that. If you do have the tour pak, are you aware that there are 2 positions to mount it? The rearward one is a bit less than an inch further back. I use the quick detach bracket (as do almost all SG owners) and actually drilled a second set of holes into the lower bracket about another half inch back. That, combined with mounting the trunk in the rearward position, moved it back about and inch and a half from the forward position. An extra half inch does not sound like a lot, but it can really make the difference.

Glad to have helped. This forum is invaluable.

BTW, if you order DIRECTLY from Mustang, you have 10 days to return/exhange the seat if you do not like it. (if you are VERY careful and do not damage it... wrap it in plastic wrap and cover the tongue/rear mount tab with tape while you try it out) IMHO, that is well worth the extra 100 bucks you will pay to order direct from Mustang instead of looking for the best price somewhere else.

 

Thats funny, i traded in a 07 Yamaha road star to get the glide. The road star was HUGE, sometimes I would have to actually look in the rear view mirror to make sure the wife was still back there. We communted to work together on it and both wore back packs and still had extra room! I wish the glide had that kind of room but I dont miss the roadstar as the engine would be wound out and screaming at 85 down the highway. Plus, its just not a Harley.

 

I think the metrics HAVE gone overboard the OTHER way. They ARE Huge. You need arm extensions to reach the bars! I DO think HD needs to upsize the bikes a bit. Especially (if not just) the baggers) I think they have hit a good size/ergonomics for a large range of riders, but Myself at 6 feet, feel cramped on any of them but the Baggers. Of course its nice that they offer different bars/seats etc, so you can dial it in the way you need, but I WOULD like to see the baggers done in 102 percent scale of what they are now. However, I must say that the HDs are the ONLY baggers I have ever owned/ridden, that DONT feel like a behemoth. Which is one reason I was instantly attracted to them, after my first test ride. When I was looking to replace the Venture Royale, I looked at the Goldwing 1800, and the Royal Star Venture. Both are so huge and unwieldy compared the the HD baggers, its not even funny. God help you on the Royal Star Venture if you have to do a U-turn with your wife on the back. You better have an empty parking lot to do it in!

 

Have a sundowner and a non-adjustable backrest and a 105 lb. wife who has never had a problem with not enough room. We have the passenger removable backrest and she has always been comfortable on any ride.

 

I don't understand the issue others have stated. If you have the tour pak with armrests all she has to do is flip the rider backrest forward to get on and off. If no armrests then no problem. Either way, once her butt's in the seat the rider backrest is a non-issue for her.
My wife is 5'9" 135. No problems whatsoever with the Sundowner. Just stand on her foot boards and get in!

But, as I stated in another post: the Sundowner put me back farenoughthat Idefinitely need bars with a longer reach. And I'm 6'3"!!

 

The NON adjustable is narrower and has larger "cutouts" at the bottom to make room for her legs. The Adjustable does not have that. That, and your wife is very slim.