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??

 

just installed one and have to say I was surprised how comfy it is

Got mine from Mother Road Customs

 

Love mine

 

 

With the Mother Road seats, i do recommend getting the optional Gel padding ($89) extra bucks, but well worth it

 

I have ridden my Sporty 10's of thousands of miles with a Solo Spring Seat. The choices are many. For the best ride/comfort, use either the barrel springs or the shocks. You can see many choices at this LINK.

I personally do not like the gel inserts...they can be very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. A seat with a good shape and quality seat foam has been the most comfortable for me.

Here's a LINK to a 5 day trip 3 of us at DK made...2 sportys with solo seats and a SG.

Photo of my Sporty with current set up, super comfortable-

 

I don't think a spring seat is going to get you the ride you're looking for. I've never run one but from what I've read and people I've talked to, they're more a function of style. Maybe they smooth out some bumps if you have stock/short/crap shocks,...but I don't think you'll get many good miles logged on one. Based on your previous thread I'd recommend a quality seat with mem foam or gel (what's better is like asking about oil,..never ending debate) and good shocks with ample travel.

 

It all depends on the seat.

Good suspension, coupled with a good solo seat is the best possible ride.

Here's a photo of a 48 with Twin Adjustable Rear Shocks and AK-20 front suspension, along with a super comfortable solo seat. Ride quality is in a different universe than a stock Sporty.



Drawback is no easy two up riding.

 

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?

 

Your rear shocks will be dialed in by adjusting for your weight for the most part. The spring seat will not change that. The spring seat should compliment them by taking the edge off the sharp bumps and maybe some of the smaller bumps that your shocks dont. I understand what you are talking about with the springs on the seat upsetting the shock funtions. But the seat springs are small and dont really impead the shocks function.