Seats revisited
I bought a 2009 FLHR-p, cop bike; I wanted to make it my own. One of the things I did was replace the seat. After reading a bunch here and discovering that a seat is a very personal thing. I found that one personscomfortable another person cant stand. I had a 1987 FLHS back in the day, with the pillow top seat on it. I liked that seat but it was a large seat and not the look I am interested in for this ride. Seats themselves have differences, the same model from the same factory, right from the manufacturer are a little firmer and another one, not so much. So, I would like to share with you my quest to find my seat. First, I am 5 10 tall and tip the scales at a little over 200 pounds (yeah I could lose a few pounds). The stock Pogo stick cop seat is a wonderful seat, very comfy and wide, real leather surface I believe, I could be wrong. It has the air over ride and a deeply padded and contoured seat. Your butt fits nice into the seat and the handlebars are at a good distance. Other than the fact that you need the air reservoir that is tucked under the cop rack, the seat is nice. The riding position is extremely high. The riding position is the main reason I voted it off the bike. The next seat I purchased and was very impressed with is a Corbin Classic Solo (Close). This is a well constructed seat with a real leather seating surface. The seat offers ample lower back support and a real seat pocket that your butt fits firmly into. The seat mount is very clean and locks into position with a real lock; you need a key to remove the seat. There is no exposed hardware. I really was sold on the cleanness of the mount. What I did not like is the riding position. Should have done more homework on how close it puts you to the handlebars, there is not enough adjustment to make the position right for me. At this point I did not have a stock Road King seat to compare the riding position to. The height of the seat is a bit higher that I wanted. What I fail to understand is why Corbin would move you a bit closer to the tank, (1 ˝ inches according to their web site) but then leave the seat so high. Maybe over time the seat compresses and the ride gets lower. Overall this seat would be perfect for someone a little more vertically challenged than myself. Next, I came across a Road King Classic seat off a 2009, cheap enough to add to the test population. Note: this seat has the LOW molded into the bottom of it. I installed the seat and gave it a go. The seat has a real pocket for your butt and about the same amount of back support as the Corbin, it also has a passenger seat. The riding position is a little further rearward of the Corbin (1 ˝ ??) height is good, lower that the cop seat on par with the Corbin, maybe a bit lower. I must confess I wanted a solo look. So, the next seat I acquired was the Harley Davidson Brawler seat with the real leather seating area. When I got the seat I said really? this is going to be like sitting on a two by four with a piece of foam on it, I am going to hate this seat. What really happened was I mounted the seat and went for a short ride (figuring Id be back in a minute with my *** aching and take it off) the ride turned into 100 miles of comfort, how they do it I wont venture to guess, but that seat was very comfy. The only drawback for me is twofold; there is no rear bump stop, ok if there is the torque on my bike made it obsolete. Secondly, the ride height is low, I mean about as low as you can go and still have a seat on the bike. I liked the ride position very much, unfortunately an old injury to my right knee did not. At this point I had two seats in mind that I thought would fit all of my wants, Both were Corbins. I like the look of the Hollywood and I thought Id like to try the Classic Solo (Standard non-Close). I met up with a fellow rider who had the Classic Solo on his King, I instantly hated the look. The reason is when they elongate the seat to get that 1 ˝ back they lose the bump stop, which is part of the whole look to that seat. The small pocket and reduced bump stop didnt cut it for me. I did not pursue that any further. I did find a nice Hollywood and it shares the clean Corbin mounting system that the Classic Close had, that to me was a plus. I mounted the seat and again went for a ride that turned into a 100 mile ride. The ride height is perfect and my leg is happy. I have settled on this seat. I have about 900 miles on it now and have no complaints. It has a nice pocket on it with a small, but positive bump stop. It lacks back support but that is not what I was looking for. The Hollywood looks killer on the King.
I want to add that the installation of all of the seats tested was simple and can be done in a few minutes, with basic tools. As always use caution and protect the painted surfaces. With all of the seats, I was able to plant both feet, flat footed on the ground seated at a stop light, some easier than others. The standard cop seat is the highest and the Brawler the lowest. Well if you got this far and are still reading you must be thinking about your seat, good luck in your quest, and remember seats are a personal thing, you have to try a few before you find the one. Thanks for reading