I stopped at Mean City's shop last week on my way to Daytona, it was on the way pretty close to where I'd be staying overnight anyway. This was the 1st trip on my '10 Ultra with the redesigned crappy seat. The thing I first noticed when I first rode the '09s on this seat was the bike seemed a lot higher, despite the MoCo specs saying the seat height was still 27.3 inches, same as before. I thought the width of the frame as well as the wider nose of the seat was pushing my legs out wider creating the impression the seat was higher. Many seemed to share that thought. I was hoping to have the nose of the seat narrowed and possibly recontoured somewhat to emulate the previous '03 - '07 Comfort Stitch saddle. I put a lot of long miles on those seats and liked 'em.

On the 500 miles trip to NC I didn't find anything overwhelmingly objectionable about the '10 seat. The bones in my butt appeared to be making slight contact with something hard, the slight ridge that develops in the middle of the seat when you put your weight on it was cramping the 'jewels' ever so slightly. Nothing I couldn't live with though. One thing I *like* about these seats is the height of the rear pillion, it offers excellent lower back and hip support and when I lock my legs out fully extended on the pegs it bears my weight in order to take the weight of my butt. 5 or 10 miles like this can really give a nice butt-break as well as stretch out the thighs and hamstrings.

I arrived at Mean City shortly before noon. As they work on getting their shipped seats turned around first for return shipment I expected to be waiting around a while. Not so. My seat was off the bike and cover pulled back within 10 minutes of my arrival. Brent & Steve were friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating. Allen was out working on the move to the new shop that's probably taking place as I type this.

While we were looking over the crap that H-D puts under their seatcovers these days I was asked how much I weigh, how I ride, what kind of seat I prefer and what my hopes for the seat were. I said I prefer a firm foundation but like to sink down in the seat a little before finding that firmness. Steve recomended a medium-firm foam as the base of the Double Decker with a softer foam on top. Sounded good to me. I also mentioned I'd like to be a bit lower as well as have the nose of the seat narrowed so it didn't seem as high with feet on the ground.

Less than an hour and a half later I was back on the road in the rain. An all day, cold rain. I didn't spend much time thinking about the seat because I was concentrating on being cold and miserable for the next 300 miles. I *did* notice immediately that the bike seemed lower with feet down the first time I threw a leg over. Nice! A guy on a new 2010 Ultra Limited that couldn't *quite* flat-foot his with feet down sat on mine and immediately noticed he *could* flat-foot it as a result of the front being slightly narrower. They oughta be receiving his seat in the near future.

Somewhere in that 300 miles I realized what I *wasn't* feeling. I no longer felt my butt bones in contact with something hard and the 'jewels' were no longer getting slightly scrunched. I also noticed the lower back and hip support had improved considerably as the seat was slightly lower compared to the rise up to the rear pillion.

Over the next several days I put in a couple of 200 milers with a total of about 700 miles on the seat. It began to conform to my butt and felt a bit better everyday. It's hard to quantify a night n day difference because I didn't have any serious objections to the seat in the first place. But it was definitely better than before.

One thing I noticed after a few miles was the appearance of the seat. When it was going together I asked about the squareness of the edge of the foam and whether it would get shaved down and rounded. I was told the foam would conform to the inside shape of the cover once it was reinstalled and pulled down tight. Once I had some time on the seat the squareness returned and some wrinkling occured where the seat slopes up towards the pillion.

I sent Allen an e-mail with pictures of the squared edges and wrinkles. He suggested dropping by on the trip north since it was on the way and he'd refine the seat a bit personally.

I dropped by early in the morning for the refinement. I don't know whether the inhospital weather on both visits was arranged especially for me.... the first time it was raining like a cow pissing on a flat rock, the second it was about 38 degrees in the morning. :::shrug::: All part of the ride.

Allen rounded off the edges of the foam and stretched the seat cover tighter to enhance the appearance. Looked good and I was on the road in less than an hour. Good folks, good product and great service!

After a 600 mile day on the way home the wrinkles have returned slightly and just a bit of the squareness is back around the edges. Nothing objectionable that I'd even bother wanting anything redone even if I was local and could drop in anytime. The seat is much more comfortable than before and I consider it money well spent and would do it again. Would I have paid the shipping and sent the seat off for the mod if I hadn't been able to drop by? Probably not, only because I didn't find the seat real objectionable in the first place. The added cost and uncertaintly about what I expected and wanted probably would've kept me on the stocker. However, for anyone that really hates their seat and can't live with it these guys and their work are highly recommended! Good work, good result at a fair price. Pretty tough to say that about anything these days.....

One thing about these seats perplexes me..... on the old buttoned dressers seats standing water would get under the buttons and seep up giving you a damp *** for days after being in the rain. The Comfort Stitch saddles had none of that. When the cover came off my seat after riding to the shop in the rain the underside of the middle of the cover was wet.... nothing around the seams. When the plastic liner was peeled off the middle of the foam was damp. How'd it get through or around the plastic???

The bike sat under cover after riding in the rain all day. The next morning I noticed some dampness on my *** after about 20 miles. There was a bit of water near the seams. It took most of the day for this to stop.

I had intended to see if Allen could seal the underside of the seams while the cover was pulled back the second time. Whilst BSing with the guys I totally forgot about it. My thoughts are the water is coming from underneath due to that stoopid hole that is at the rear of the rider seat that goes through to the fender. I'm going to try lining the entire underside of the seat with plastic wrap to seat if this stops the infiltration. You've got to wonder what the MoCo seat desginers were thinking?

TL

 

tlmitchell - Great write-up. Thanks for taking the time to do that. I'll add my 2 cents also. Meancity is great to work with. Everything went well and just as discussed on the phone and website. Initially, I was underwhelmed with what I thought was very little change to my saddle. But the subtle change has turned out to be my most comfortable motorcycle seat ever. I'm very pleased. My seat didn't go thru the level of shape modification that yours did, so I haven't experienced any of the squareness or wrinkles issues that you have. Hopefully, that will work out for you.

Would I have Meancity cycles do my seat again on another motorcycle rather than go for an aftermarket seat? Absolutely!

JH

 

FYI,

My stock 09 SG, and my friends '07 SG, stock seats have clear plastic under the vinyl seat cover. I assume it is to stop water. I would think that HD does the same on the rest of their seats.

 

tlmitchell...glad you found Allen and the guys at Mean City as well. I had a 06 Streetglide seat done back a few years ago and it was great. Fast forward a few years and now a 09. I too felt like I sat high on the bike unlike before and the stock 09 seat sucked for me bad. Per Allens recommendation, I bought a new 2008 Streetglide factory seat and sent it to him. I just did the basic reshape service and he lowered me, moved me back, and did his tricks on the seat and alll I can say is it is awesome now with no butt burn, pain, back soreness etc. Rode 350 miles yesterday with no problems and before, 100 was a challenge it seemed.

Thanks again to Allen, Brent and the guys at Mean City for sure.

 

Put around 700 miles on my seat the last 3 days without giving it any thought. Not a huge amount but considering I could barely stand an hour on the factory seat before you just reminded me how much my butt appreciates it.

 

Great write up and I can't believe I read the whole thing. LOL

They worked over my stock Street Glide seat too. It is now ridable.

 

Allen and his crew 'hit the nail on the head' first try with my
seat alterations. One phone call and a 5 minute conversation is
all it took.
Nothing but high praise for the crew at MCC..........

 

Nice to hear some companies still take pride in their work and customer service..Way to go guys..

 

I'm guessing the SG seats don't have that stoopid hole at the rear of the rider area that leads straight down to the fender?

The OEM seat did have the wimpy plastic between the cover and the foam. Curiously, the underside of the middle of the foam was wet in the middle, not near the seams. And the foam under the plastic was moist as well. Figure that out! They put a stouter plastic sheet in and there's still water infiltration. :::shrug:::

TL

 

The '08 seat seems to be the ticket. They showed me the difference between the '08 pan and the '09/'10 pans.. major difference! Had I known earlier I might have sniffed around for an '08 seat. Much more mod options. This one will due though.

TL