Crappy HD seats
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,905
Likes: 66
From: Hartford, AL
I thought my HD seat was a dream come true after riding a BMW Adventure bike for years with a stock seat. I finally broke down and upgraded to a Sargent seat about a year before I switched to riding a Harley. Well after putting 20k miles on my HD 08 UC I think its time to get rid of the stock seat and upgrade to a somewhat better seat. Have a Mustang wide-touring seat incoming and will give this a try... 
In my opinion, all the motorcycle manufacturers have a conspiracy with the after market seat makers to install crappy seats on a stock bike. Must be the kick backs they all get. Just my conspiratorial opinion.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 3,471
Likes: 5
From: Ocala, FL
I put over 100,000 miles on the stock seat of my current bike before it wore out, then bought another stock 07 Ultra seat from a forum member for cheap and put another 50,000 on it. 150,000 on the stock seat total and love it. Still riding it!
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,710
Likes: 6
From: Spokane, WA.
The stock seat on my Streetglide was OK. I put over 1,000 miles on it in 3 days and didn't have any complaints.
I did buy a Harley Hammock seat and all I can say is WOW!!!. Best seat I've ever been on.
Someone on here once said "The cooler looking the seat, the more uncomfortable it is".
I did buy a Harley Hammock seat and all I can say is WOW!!!. Best seat I've ever been on.
Someone on here once said "The cooler looking the seat, the more uncomfortable it is".
Road Warrior
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 1,416
Likes: 1
From: North Jersey
Have you ever ridden on some other bikes other than a Harley? HD has the best stock seats going. I didn't like the looks of the Street Bob seat and the position with mids as I have long legs, so I got a custom LePera that's great fitting and looks killer. But HD seats are still good for the masses.
Tourer
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 365
Likes: 9
From: KENTUCKY
All the complaints about the stock HD seats ya think MOCO would try to do a better job. Just too many good seat manufacturers out there. Granted you can get a decent HD seat but you shouldn't have to flip $700 to do so. You should be able to pick the seat you want when you buy a new bike. I have seen seats on new Sportster's that I wouldn't think of riding on. Some sort of slick looking plastic you would slide off of. My stock Road King seat sucked and I was miserable on a long trip. Same thing goes with exhaust but that's another story in itself.
Intermediate
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
From: IOWA
Dealer told me they have had problems with the stitching pulling apart where the back rest slips in. Mine was doing that and he deducted the price of a factory replacement towards the purchase of a hamock seat. Love the hamock.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 2,053
Likes: 39
From: San Diego
Here's the deal. Harley provide a basic seat that comes with the bike. If that is good enough for you, then you are good to go.
If you require a fancy custom seat to reach your standards, then you pay for the custom seat, and sell your stock seat to recover some of your costs.
Since everybody's butt is a bit different, and riding styles vary, there is no way that Harley could provide the perfect seat for every rider.
If you require a fancy custom seat to reach your standards, then you pay for the custom seat, and sell your stock seat to recover some of your costs.
Since everybody's butt is a bit different, and riding styles vary, there is no way that Harley could provide the perfect seat for every rider.
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 157,332
Likes: 56,890
From: Michigan 15 Minutes East Of Hell
Geez Mike .... after spending $25,000 .... What's another $700 for a "new and improved" seat? .... Just skip a house payment ... but I get your point ... actually my seat 2009 FLHTCU is pretty comfortable ... but that's just me I guess ...
Road Captain
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 727
Likes: 1
From: Silverdale, WA
My '10 ultra came with what I would term a crap seat, the local seat shop showed me why. After getting a seat off of a newer ultra, I discovered that some owners got a letter that offered the new style seat and passenger back rest to solve some issues, at a lower cost, for a fixed time period. Oh well for me. The 2010.5 seat is an improvement over the previous seat, and I haven't had it modified yet. My Deuce is another story though.