This is in the DIY Thread but I thought I would also put it here in case some miss it.

I spend an incredible amount of time here reading the various threads and I want to thank you guys for: saving me money, costing me money, and tips on just about everything in between. Maybe now I can help someone else.

I couldnt ride more than an hour before I got "bikers Butt" and when I used an Airhawk, it would prolong it but not eliminate it. After a 550 mile ride, I was so sore I could hardly walk. Thats when I isolated the pain to my tailbone.

I'm kind of a do it myselfer so I researched a few webpages and decided what I needed was less padding where my tailbone hits. (I dont want to say "mines bigger than yours, but...). This site I found was invaluable in what I did to "cure" the problem. Link:http://www.diymotorcycleseat.com/

I followed the instructions to take apart the stock seat. I just removed the staples from the riders area as now my wife could have the Airhawk. I found the seat has a very firm base to it with a light pad on top of it. Also it had a very shallow depression in the base where the tailbone would be located. (You cant feel it thru the top layer). I proceeded to get out a Dremel and just made the depression deeper. I added about 1/2 " in depth to it. The cut out area is about 2" wide and 4" long. Dont worry if it looks like a sharp edge in the foam because the top layer wll cover it and smooth it out. Stretch the cover back over it and staple to suit.

To give it a test, we rode 300 miles and i was very surprised that my tailbone didnt hurt. Now I need to put more staples in because I just put in minimal amount in case I had to dig deeper.

I should have taken pictures but the whole job was over in about 45 minutes. There wasnt enough time to think of it.

Total cost for this job was $3.49 for staples. You will want to use 1/4" staples to reassemble.
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Mustang says you need support, not padding, and they make a pretty comfortable seat. Sounds like you discovered the same thing a lot cheaper!

I've also found that a VERY comfortable position for fillup-to-fillup riding is to put my feet on top of the crashbars and lean back against something. I don't find that much difference between my floorboards and highway pegs, but the top of the bars is a totally different position.

 

Good work and thanks for the link. With my stock touring seat, I can make about 2 hours in the saddle before my tailbone starts screaming. I can last longer in traffic because I'm shifting my weight around when stopped. Long steady rides without interruption kill my back and I wind up hoping for a red light. I was thinking about doing a Mean City makeover, but may just take a stab at it myself.

 

There's some good poop on that web site for those wanting to modify their seats. Thanks.

 

Mustang Regal touring seat - NEVER have any butt pain......

 

I was looking for a way without spending $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

The return trip was as pain free as the trip there. I also added the Elite 3 tires which may have helped a little. GREAT TIRES!

 

I have been wanting to do my 09 Streetglide seat for a while and after reading the info on the site I pulled if off and did it last night. Took me about 2- 1/2 hours from first pulling the seat to get it back on the bike after the modification. I changed it up a bit, I pulled only the first half of the cover off ( marked it first with a Sharpie so I'd know where it was originally lined up at ), peeled the cover back then put the seat back on the bike. Had the wife help me trace my position of my legs and backside on the bear padding. Took the seat back off and then I actually sat on a fresh piece of cardboard on the garage floor and did another trace out of my sitting position. The cardboard allowed me to see exactly where my butt bones were at which I marked also. I then traced that onto 4 pieces of paper taped together, cut the tracing out and laid it on the seat padding and matched up the positioning. I'm glad I did becasue my estimation of where my butt bones were at would have been about 2 " off. I then pushed some welding rods through the padding and marked the bottom side where they came out with a Sharpie. It was easy to see that bending the foam back was going to be a hard job to do while grinding the foam off so I was thinking of cutting the front section off but the bending alone was enough to break the foam. That made it ease for me to lay out my markings and then grind out areas on the BOTTOM of the padding. I basically dug out a trench from my butt bones to where my legs hit the sides of the seat. I was thinking that the foam was going to be fully glued to the pan but it wasn''t, only a little on the front and sides. Used a few quick sprays of glue to stick it back together when I was done.
I knew any slight variation in the padding can be sean when that cover is stretched back over it that is why I chose to dish out material on the bottom side. I narrowed down the sides also so that the seat is not as wide in the inner leg area.
Overall I 'd say I would give myself a B+, I think I am going to go back in and make a little room for my tailbone and leave it at that. Took a 3 hour ride this morning and it was a lot better. Still not as comfortable as I would like but I think I need to give the foam some time to seat in.
The top of the seat looks factory except for the one blemish I have is where I pushed the clear plastic ( I tore it ) under the part of the cover that I did not pull off, it bunched up a little bit and you can see a small raised line for about 4" of the one side. I think I can easily fix this by pulling the cover and using packing tape to make the plastic lay flat.

Oh yeah, I used a 4-1/2" grinder with a 60 grit sanding disc. Go SLOW and be careful, it was not that bad. You can cut too much if you are not checking the thickness as you go. Re stapled with a hand held stapler and 1/4" staples.

Took a 3 hour round trip for breakfast this morning, it was definitely a better ride.

Thanks for the link, it gave me the push I needed to go ahead and just do it.

 

I found a thread in the Vendors section of a photo shoot of Mean City Cycles doing his magic on a seat. I have been messing with my seat for about a month, but after I found this thread I pulled mine apart again last weekend worked it over the way he does it.dropped the height, straightened the back a little added super dense foam(1" then a less dense foam called eggshelled(2") then a 1/2 " smoothing foam.Only thing I didn't do was cut out for my tailbone like your site said but I think I will take it down one more time and do that. Getting close . I bought a Sundowner,wife and I took an 1100mile trip and I sold the seat on ebayer.
Thanks for the link

 

Great site. Thank you!

 

Thanks good info.