Sundowner Seat - First Ride Impressions
#1
03-21-2010, 06:15 PM
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: North Carolina
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Sundowner Seat - First Ride Impressions
I had posted a thread not too long ago to let everyone know I'd put a new Sundowner Deep Bucket seat on my '08 Fat Boy. Well, the weather could not have been nicer in Raleigh this weekend, so my wife and I got the Softails out and logged some miles. We did about 25 miles Friday night, 80 miles on Saturday, and 100 miles today - great rides !!!
This was also my first decent test of the new Sundowner. The one I put on the bike is H-D Part # 51801-07. I'd been warned by several folks that most new motorcycle seats, regardless of brand, take a while to break in and conform to your body - kinda like new shoes. Well, I'd say that part is certainly true. This new seat is still pretty stiff, so we'll give it some time to break in a bit.
The back support is a huge improvement. On the stock seat, if I did 100 mile ride, my back was aching at the end -- not on this one -- you can feel the seat against your lower back -- no aching when I got off it.
I see a lot of questions on seats and the difference in seating position. For this application, the new Sundowner replaced the factory seat. The Sundowner sits me a hair further forward, but just a hair -- not enough to make a difference. I'm 6'0", so I wanted a seat that didn't push me forward -- this one is fine from that aspect.
What I didn't expect is that this one sits lower than the stock seat. While the back rest portion of the seat is actually built up higher than the stock one, the seat portion of it is more scooped out than the stock seat too. This feels more like I'm sitting "in" the bike instead of "on" it with the stock seat. I could get my feet square on the pavement with the old seat, so I just have a little more bend in my legs now since it's lower. The difference in height isn't a lot, so don't get me wrong, but it's enough that you notice it.
Overall, I'm happy with it so far. I'll be happier once it breaks in some more, but I tell ya, that lower back support is worth the money right there.
My signature picture is still before I put the new seat on, but I've attached a couple here of the seat, right after I installed it.
I hope this helps anyone considering a Sundowner and looking for a bit of feedback on them.
Let's go ride !!!!
Jack
This was also my first decent test of the new Sundowner. The one I put on the bike is H-D Part # 51801-07. I'd been warned by several folks that most new motorcycle seats, regardless of brand, take a while to break in and conform to your body - kinda like new shoes. Well, I'd say that part is certainly true. This new seat is still pretty stiff, so we'll give it some time to break in a bit.
The back support is a huge improvement. On the stock seat, if I did 100 mile ride, my back was aching at the end -- not on this one -- you can feel the seat against your lower back -- no aching when I got off it.
I see a lot of questions on seats and the difference in seating position. For this application, the new Sundowner replaced the factory seat. The Sundowner sits me a hair further forward, but just a hair -- not enough to make a difference. I'm 6'0", so I wanted a seat that didn't push me forward -- this one is fine from that aspect.
What I didn't expect is that this one sits lower than the stock seat. While the back rest portion of the seat is actually built up higher than the stock one, the seat portion of it is more scooped out than the stock seat too. This feels more like I'm sitting "in" the bike instead of "on" it with the stock seat. I could get my feet square on the pavement with the old seat, so I just have a little more bend in my legs now since it's lower. The difference in height isn't a lot, so don't get me wrong, but it's enough that you notice it.
Overall, I'm happy with it so far. I'll be happier once it breaks in some more, but I tell ya, that lower back support is worth the money right there.
My signature picture is still before I put the new seat on, but I've attached a couple here of the seat, right after I installed it.
I hope this helps anyone considering a Sundowner and looking for a bit of feedback on them.
Let's go ride !!!!
Jack
#3
03-21-2010, 10:25 PM
Outstanding HDF Member
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