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Or what does it take for someone to comment on a specific question about seats? Has no one put a HD hammock seat on a newer Softail/Heritage? Has no one compared that to a Mustang wide/sport touring seat on same such bike? For shorter riders, I certainly qualify at 5'7" and 29 inseam, seats will change a riding experience from pleasant to torture. Seats that push back might be nice for taller riders, absolutely don't work for short. Up can be bad, down and no padding can be bad. I would appreciate some real world comments. Thanks
I'm about the same height, with maybe an inch more inseam.
Stock Fat Bob seat - okay-ish, but transmitted a lot of vibration.
Went to the Sundowner -- huge improvement. More comfortable, I've driven probably 15,000 miles on it. Superb seat, all-day comfortable, and eliminated the vibration from idle on up to 4,000 rpms. I don't recall there being any discernible change in riding position. Only thing I'm not thrilled about the Sundowner with, is the look when riding solo, because the passenger seat is a gigantic pillow. Very comfortable for a passenger, but looks a bit silly when riding solo.
Added a Saddlemen Renegade Solo for solo time. Seems like it may have set me about 1/2" lower, maybe 1/2" closer. Not much change. Gorgeous genuine leather seat. Reasonably comfortable, but it's not the Sundowner. I did 4,000 miles on one trip with the Saddlemen, including days as long as (IIRC) 625 miles. It can get you there, but there was definitely some ache, I was squirming around quite a bit towards the end of those days. But it's plenty comfortable for the first 200 miles. It also eliminated the vibration from idle to 4000 rpm.
If I'm not mistaken, the Sundowner for the Heritage is a solo seat (well, with an available separate passenger seat). Try it out -- find a dealer that has a demo seat in stock under the "try before you buy" program. That's what I did and that's what sold me on the Sundowner.
I'm about the same height, with maybe an inch more inseam.
Stock Fat Bob seat - okay-ish, but transmitted a lot of vibration.
Went to the Sundowner -- huge improvement. More comfortable, I've driven probably 15,000 miles on it. Superb seat, all-day comfortable, and eliminated the vibration from idle on up to 4,000 rpms. I don't recall there being any discernible change in riding position. Only thing I'm not thrilled about the Sundowner with, is the look when riding solo, because the passenger seat is a gigantic pillow. Very comfortable for a passenger, but looks a bit silly when riding solo.
Added a Saddlemen Renegade Solo for solo time. Seems like it may have set me about 1/2" lower, maybe 1/2" closer. Not much change. Gorgeous genuine leather seat. Reasonably comfortable, but it's not the Sundowner. I did 4,000 miles on one trip with the Saddlemen, including days as long as (IIRC) 625 miles. It can get you there, but there was definitely some ache, I was squirming around quite a bit towards the end of those days. But it's plenty comfortable for the first 200 miles. It also eliminated the vibration from idle to 4000 rpm.
If I'm not mistaken, the Sundowner for the Heritage is a solo seat (well, with an available separate passenger seat). Try it out -- find a dealer that has a demo seat in stock under the "try before you buy" program. That's what I did and that's what sold me on the Sundowner.
Thanks one of the things I need is the driver's back rest, thus the questions about the Hammock and Mustang. I expect my GF to ride occasionaly
so a passenger backrest and suitable pillion is wanted. If I get one of these bikes I will see if the dealer has the hammock as a loaner. In the past they had a variety of loaners available.
I have a Hammock and I absolutely love it. I have had a Sundowner modified by Mean City Cycles and the Hammock is much better than it. It's not the best looking seat but it's massively comfortable.
I have a Hammock and I absolutely love it. I have had a Sundowner modified by Mean City Cycles and the Hammock is much better than it. It's not the best looking seat but it's massively comfortable.
Thank, looks are secondary to a comfortable ride. I know that's heresy to many here but that's my opinion. I see that you don't have the driver's backrest. Is the mount built into the seat, or a bracket that bolts to the frame/fender like a Mustang seat? BTW I don't think the seat is ugly, my butt doesn't have eyes, and as I said, comfort is king.
Have you had a passenger for a long day on that Hammock seat? I looked into them and the touring models have the hammock feature extended to include the passenger but the softail model covers only the rider. I'm trying to find a day to take the wife to the shop and try out the Sundowner and the Hammock demo seats but life keeps getting in the way.
Or what does it take for someone to comment on a specific question about seats? Has no one put a HD hammock seat on a newer Softail/Heritage? Has no one compared that to a Mustang wide/sport touring seat on same such bike? For shorter riders, I certainly qualify at 5'7" and 29 inseam, seats will change a riding experience from pleasant to torture. Seats that push back might be nice for taller riders, absolutely don't work for short. Up can be bad, down and no padding can be bad. I would appreciate some real world comments. Thanks
The only info worth anything on any seat is how much it moves you forward or back, up or down from your stock seat. Pick any seat you will find 5 people say its the best and 5 say it sucks. Unfortunately unless your able to try one on the same bike as yours its buy and try. If you try one and dont like it, sell it for a small loss and try another one. Whats good for you may not be good for me. There is no free lunch here.
Thank, looks are secondary to a comfortable ride. I know that's heresy to many here but that's my opinion. I see that you don't have the driver's backrest. Is the mount built into the seat, or a bracket that bolts to the frame/fender like a Mustang seat? BTW I don't think the seat is ugly, my butt doesn't have eyes, and as I said, comfort is king.
I mis-spoke about the Mustang. On my Fatboy the backrest mounting is integrated into the seat pan. On my touring, it's a separate bracket bolted to the frame.
The wife has not been on a ride with me over 50 miles but she definitely likes it more than the Sundowner. I do not have the backrest for the Hammock from what I'd read was it was pretty flimsy. It's not super expensive I should buy one to try out but I have not yet. It doesn't have a hard mount it mounts to the grab strap on the seat. So I don't know how well it stays in place. I will probably give it a shot though sometime.
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Seat magic
