Hey all, just got my custom seat order in from Saddlemen.

Originally I wanted a solo seat primarily for looks. I have a Sundowner that serves for long distance and comfort, and the driver seat looks very much like the original stock seat, but -- the gigantic passenger seat on it kind of ruins the lines of the bike. This Fat Bob is at heart a bobber, and the Sundowner is gigantic. It's very comfortable, and I'm happy with it, and so is my wife, but... I wanted a solo seat for most of the time, and I'll go back to the Sundowner when going long distances or 2-up. Plus, I wanted a color change. This bike is about brass, black, and leather, and my swingarm bag is the Harley brown distressed leather, and I wanted the seat to match if possible. I took my Sundowner to an upholsterer and to a custom leatherwork guy, and they both told me that recovering the Sundowner would cost about $600. A new seat's a lot less than that, so ... a new seat it is.

I considered the Mustang touring solo, as I had a Mustang on my last bike. I was pretty much convinced to get the Mustang, sight-unseen, and even contacted their custom department about making a color change. Mustang could do it, I could get a brown vinyl recolor, but it would add $100 to the price (and, that's to the retail price, not the discounted Revzilla price). So about $420 total, just for the seat. I was thinking of doing it, but then I saw someone post pictures here on the forum of his Mustang solo seat, and -- I didn't like the look as much as I thought I would. It's too big, too "puffy". It looks supremely comfortable, and I bet it is, but it didn't have that stripped-down bobber look that I wanted.

So I turned to Saddlemen. They are a forum sponsor, and they had what looks like what I wanted, the Renegade Solo. A plus for Saddlemen is that their seat is cheaper to begin with (about $245 msrp) and it's notably smaller than the Mustang, it didn't look like it would overhang the sides of the bike like the Mustang does. Also, Saddlemen says that their "SaddleGel" reduces vibration, and that was a sticking point for me: my stock Harley seat would transmit vibration starting at about 2500 RPM, and by 3000 RPM (80 mph) it was really noticeable and annoying. The Sundowner was a revelation, it was vibration-free until about 3500 RPM, and transformed the ride into glass-smooth. I didn't want to give that up! I hoped that the SaddleGel would tame those vibrations, but was concerned because the Renegade Solo looks like a fairly thin seat.

I called Saddlemen's sales department and talked to a very friendly and helpful sales guy, Isaiah Leos. He walked me through the buying process, my concerns about vibration, and all that. He assured me that the seat would be plenty comfortable, that vibration shouldn't be an issue, etc. Then I asked him about changing the color and he said "sure, we can do that"... and the price for a color change was $25. $25! Heck yeah. I was just about to place the order when I thought... I wonder... see, Saddlemen makes a genuine leather seat for some bikes, called the Lariat. I asked them: could they, would they, consider making my Renegade Solo using the Lariat's actual leather? Isaiah said "sure", and went to figure out how much that would add. I guess not many folks do this, or maybe I'm the first, as it took him a while to consult and come back with an answer. It added to the cost, certainly more than the vinyl, but they said they could do it. I asked them -- could we do the entire seat in leather, not just the seat face? (the Lariat has the seat face in leather, but the sides are black). He said "sure." Really? "Yep, should take two to three weeks." Sold. I placed the order and commenced waiting.

Well, I just got it. And it's pretty much exactly what I was hoping for. It's exquisitely crafted, but the best part is that it exactly follows the lines of the bike. I love the look of it, although if I had any complaint it'd be that the leather is a more "orange" brown than I originally anticipated. But being leather, it'll wear, and ... it's leather and not vinyl. Really happy about that.

I pulled off the Sundowner and put the Saddlemen on. It fits perfectly. I put on the solo rack that I had already brassed, and took it out for a little ride (about 65 miles, about 80 minutes). First impression is that I think it set me a little lower maybe, and perhaps an inch closer to the bars, than the Sundowner does. That's a good thing, as I'm 5'8" and the bars have always been a bit of a reach. Second impression -- the seat is firm, but it's comfortable. It's not "plush", you don't sink into it, but it's not hard or harsh. I rode for close to an hour and a half nonstop, and it was totally fine. I tried to find some tar snakes or other road imperfections to ride over to see if it would be jarring, but it was a great ride, comfortable and solid. Third observation: it absorbs the vibration! Yeah, baby. I ran it to ... um ... well, the speed limit in my state is 85, and I may have exceeded that by a gentlemanly margin, but the seat is definitely on par with the Sundowner for absorbing vibrations. Very, very happy with that aspect. The vibrations start coming through at around 3500 RPMs, just like the Sundowner, and in top gear that'd be in excess of 95mph, so -- at reasonable speeds for distance it's great.

Being leather, it's a bit slicker, and it doesn't have as defined of a "butt pocket" as the Sundowner does, so -- you might slide around a bit more. Not a lot, just a bit. Seriously I didn't find it a problem, but I did notice that repositioning was certainly easier. I did a few (well, more than a few) energetic launches from stoplights, and there's no issue with sliding off the back of the seat, it's got a pretty nice "wall" that blocks you off and holds you in position. Now, if you want to go doing 90-degree wheelies, this might not be the seat for you, they make the Step Up seat that has a bigger 90-degree wall for stunts like that. But for sport/touring/cruising, I think the shape of the Renegade Solo is perfectly suitable.

So, in summary -- very, very happy with it. I love the lines, they complement the bike perfectly, I am very happy with the comfort, I am thrilled with the vibration reduction, and I'm amped that it's genuine leather at an overall price that was quite a bit less than it would have cost to make just a new cover for my Sundowner. The Saddlemen custom order process was extremely simple and the salesman was quite helpful and willing to entertain whatever ideas I threw at him; he seemed to be most interested in making sure that I was happy with the product I got. And I am. Great seat and great value.

If someone wants a complete solo touring seat, and likes the look of the Mustang, then I can see how that might be a compelling choice because it has the option of the attachable backrest and it does look like it's thicker and wider, which may make it more comfortable. My #1 priority was for a sleek bobber-friendly solo seat, with no interest in long distance touring with it or using a backrest, and I think the Saddlemen is a better fit for that. I'm just really surprised with how comfortable it is; I think it may very well work out as a good touring seat, and that's a bonus. (I found out later in the description that Saddlemen does describe the Renegade Solo as a "touring" seat, so it all makes sense.)

Here's some pics: first, the bike with the Sundowner, sissy bar and luggage rack, as configured for two-up:


And here it is with the Saddlemen solo seat and the solo luggage rack on the fender:

 

Thank you very much for the real world feedback. I ordered one last week without having read any useful information on the Renegade Solo. You have put my mind at ease.

 

 

Nice pics. Are you getting the shallow depth of field effect with some kind of filter?

 

Doh! Sorry, should have thought of that in the first place.

Here it is.


Feels solid, much more sturdy and heavy than the stock seat. The stock and the Sundowner seat pans are lightweight plastic, this feels like it's probably metal but I can't tell because it's hidden behind a nice layer of felt and some sturdy rubber posts and solid rivets.

 

Thanks, and yeah, well-spotted. I just discovered my phone's camera has a "lens blur" filter that lets you take the shot and then compose the depth of field after the fact, so I tried it out on these shots, and -- while sometimes it works really well, sometimes it screws the pooch. Like, the luggage rack is in all the solo shots, but sometimes it just doesn't show up, and the handlebars are totally fuzzed out on one of the shots. So, it's something I was playing with, I didn't know its limitations beforehand.

 

A couple more shots. I've been trying to quantify how the seating position feels different; my initial test was the ol' "sit on it, close your eyes, and stick out your hands for where the bars should be" trick, and that gave me the impression of about a half-inch lower and maybe an inch closer, but ... that's like extremely unscientific. I wanted something more objective than subjective. I tried lining the seats up to take a shot, or just sitting them all against a wall face-first, or lining them up by the middle support posts on the seat pan, but none of those was satisfactory. So finally I just set the bike up in a stable position, set up a tripod, and shot each seat. That way you can see how the seat height, backstop, and curvature all compare between the stock seat, the Sundowner, and the Renegade Solo.

 

 

This won't help but... I have never noticed. I don't think I have ever been consciously aware of tailbone discomfort.

Longest I have done on any of these seats so far was a 350-mile day on the Sundowner, and it was generally pretty good, I mean, I was shifting positions towards the end there but I can't sit still on the sofa for 7 hours without squirming some, so I didn't think anything about it.

Taking a 4000 mile trip here soon, and I had always assumed I would take the Sundowner and that it would perform fine. Now I.am entertaining the remote possibility of taking the Saddlemen, just because my Harley rolling tour bag fits more securely on the sissy bar without that giant Sundowner passenger seat sitting it up so high. Still leaning towards the Sundowner as it's a known quantity but I guess I'll decide.on the day of departure if I am not satisfied with the rigging.

Which is all to say I should have a whole lot of +500-mile days on one of these two soon and should be able to answer if any issues arise.

 

I tend to notice tailbone soreness after 2-300 miles. Most of my rides are long. That's how I have 23K miles in 2.5 months!

I modified your picture into an overlay to get a better idea of the height and angle.