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Now that you've chimed in,....wouldn't a spring seat hamper some of the performance from good shocks? Just seems like putting ancient tech on top of new tech would be a waste. I'm thinking the shocks are dialed in for a certain amount of feedback from the weight of the bike/rider. Then you go and put a spring on and start bouncing around messing up that feedback. I have your twin adj shocks on my Sporty. I love the way the bike feels now. Rolls over bumps and dips nicely. Cornering and high speed is much more stable. I feel like a spring would make thighs worse (not bad, but just worse)....no?
We have not found the seat springs to work against the shocks. As whylee noted, they are small and do not move in a pogo stick fashion (which would upset/work against the suspension).
If the springs used were not the correct weight for the rider, or if they were tall, like on the old police bike seats, then I believe they would produce a counter productive movement.
The springs and shocks we use on our Solo Seat Systems do not pogo, but do provide a little extra cushion/movement for bumps, weigh shifts from acceleration/deceleration, they give that little extra bit of comfort/smoothness when riding over irregularities in the road, large & small.
There is one scenario that you do touch on that we have noticed-
This only applies to the barrel springs, not the shocks, scissor springs or rubber bumpers.
Since the barrel springs have less lateral stability, when riding very aggressively (flipping the bike back and forth thru the twistys at a high rate of speed) there is a very small amount of "wallow" (sideways movement) in the seat feel. Not enough to upset the bike, but if one is aware, they can feel it.
In the video below I could feel it, but it was not counter productive, nor unsettling.
I'm considering the solo spring seat for my already hard 48.... How hard / comfortable are these seats? Where is the best to look for a used / aftermarket one??
FWIW...
copied and pasted from a previous thread...
Originally Posted by Indy-Stranger
I used to own a 09 1200 Custom equipped with a HD Sundowner seat.
It wasnt a very attractive seat but I didnt really care because I could ride ALL DAY LONG on a stock suspension that everybody constantly complains so much about.
Then I bought my 72
It came with an aftermarket HD springer solo seat.
I didnt expect much from it but was shocked to discover that it was every bit as comfy as that touring Sundowner seat.
Once again, I found myself riding all day long on an often cussed stock suspension.
I eventually replaced it, but not because of ride quality.
Here are a few of the HD options...
I'm sure many of the other manufacturer's springer solo seats ride just as well.
Purists will bust your ***** for mixing a springer seat with shocks... I DIDN"T CARE!
I use a Larosa seat with DK solo mounting kit and adjustable mounts to move the seat back and I have 3 other styles of seats and found this setup to be the most comfortable.
We have a Harley dealer in the south - Tygervalley Harley. They have a table with odds'n-ends that did not sell. For months now I saw a good looking seat for a very reasonable price... A brand new Rocker C seat! Three days ago I went there and offered them $25 and became the owner of the seat! When asked what I'm going to do with it I said it is for my Forty Eight.... They laughed a bit and then shrugged their shoulders... So off I went. Today I went back... with the seat under my bum... on the Forty Eight - rode it for more than 160 miles... No changes made to the Forty Eight - just a few changes to the seat and a steel bracket that I welded that bolted onto the Forty Eight via an existing factory drilled hole.... Rides MUCH better!! Yea, the purists will cough blood I know... it may not look all that trim and lean - but it improves the ride and that is what counts!!
We have a Harley dealer in the south - Tygervalley Harley. They have a table with odds'n-ends that did not sell. For months now I saw a good looking seat for a very reasonable price... A brand new Rocker C seat! Three days ago I went there and offered them $25 and became the owner of the seat! When asked what I'm going to do with it I said it is for my Forty Eight.... They laughed a bit and then shrugged their shoulders... So off I went. Today I went back... with the seat under my bum... on the Forty Eight - rode it for more than 160 miles... No changes made to the Forty Eight - just a few changes to the seat and a steel bracket that I welded that bolted onto the Forty Eight via an existing factory drilled hole.... Rides MUCH better!! Yea, the purists will cough blood I know... it may not look all that trim and lean - but it improves the ride and that is what counts!!
Hey man! It's your bike and if it's more comfortable, that's what's important. btw, I don't think it looks out of place. Nice mod!
La Rosa seat with the DK kit, lightly modded. Yep, she is dusty from the remodeling and a couple weeks from getting field stripped.
The passenger gear is going back on, I'll be looking for a two up seat for the GF.
I
like this large LaRosa. Real good lower back support. Tried a smaller one along with 2 different Biltwell. Everyone is different so it might take a couple tries .
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