I know, I know, this has probably been beat to death by now and for that I am sorry. I have been searching and searching and just can't seem to have my questions answered.

I have my first bagger, a 2004 Ultra Classic, due to the fact that all of a sudden my wife loves to ride with me. I have ridden/wrenched on bikes for 25+ years but the wife had zero interest other than wanted me to be safe and happy.

Fast forward to our mid-40's and my wife has decided she wants to start riding with me more and we want to start throwing down some longer trips/rides. I had put a C&C Sport tour seat on my 2010 Wide Glide which helped for the short rides she would go on with me but she wanted a bike with a little more comfort designed in. I never saw myself as a "bagger" kind of guy but after owning one for nearly a year now and seeing how much the wife likes riding I can't see myself without one, I am keeping the Dyna though for riding solo. The only time I ride the Ultra is when the wife is on, never solo.

I am a pretty good sized guy, 6'2"/290 pounds, and the bike fits me well but I am pretty disappointed in the original seat. After a fairly short time, 50-ish or so miles, if feels like I am sitting on the fuel tank and there is no padding. I have to stop quite often even though the wife is totally comfortable.

I have heard many people insist on riding with the backrest but it simply doesn't fit my body size, it really pushes me up onto the tank, not just feeling like I am. I feel like I have adequate room with the wife on and no backrest so it appears to be more seat issue than anything.

I am leaning towards a new seat and have narrowed it down to the HD Hammock and the Road Zeppelin.

I love the Road Zeppelins air bladder controls and the reviews that I have read repeatedly say how comfortable it is although they also say how large the seat is. It measures approx. 3.5" more than my OEM seat at the rider and only about an inch for the passenger area. It looks really plush and it is leather.

The Hammock on the other hand is more like a suspension seat that I am used to coming from the sand dune schene. That is not necessarily new technology but when done right makes a huge difference. The Hammock is about the same size as my OEM seat and I really love the smooth appearance styling of the seat.

I am looking for opinions from those who have owned or ridden on both as to which is their favorite as well as their body size for comparisons. I am also wondering if the Road Zeppelin looks goofy or out of place due to its size on an Ultra Classic.

Any thoughts and/or opinions are greatly appreciated.

Again, sorry for the repeated "seat" topic.

Mike.

 

I just got off the telephone with my local HD dealer and he said that he doesn't sell many of the RZ because of its size and people really don't like how large and odd it makes the bike look.

He said he had a Hammock in stock and sells quite a few of them. He said he would let me take the Hammock and try it. I think as soon as the weather clears a bit I am going to do a test ride on the Hammock.

He told me that there is only two things negative he has heard about the Hammock. First, for a smaller guy they tend to "bounce" or "rebound" a bit but for a larger guy like myself that doesn't seem to be noticed. Secondly, and on the opposite side of the spectrum, for larger guys they feel that over time they tend to loose their suspension and then bottom out on the seat pan prematurely.

Now I am even more undecided than before, other than I think I am going to try the Hammock at least for a ride.

Mike.

 

I tried the hammock...the one that was supposed to be improved for rider and passenger. I liked it, but it nearly crippled my wife. She has a bad back and it did not work for her.
She loves the Zeppelin, and so do I..

 

Sorry, never tried the Zeppelin but I have the dual heated hammock. I'm 225 and the wife is 110 and for us this seat is perfect out of the box. No break in required like the sundowner we had. I would think if your comfortable it wouldn't matter how it looks? Sucks about not being able to use a rider back rest, that is a night and day improvement on long trips. Maybe a machine shop could make you a little longer bracket as long as it doesn't stretch the seat hole to much? I think either would be a nice upgrade, see if your dealer has a heated version to try.

 

I can't speak to passenger comfort as my wife only does short hops around the state. I have a 2014 Limited that I put a heated HD hammock seat on, and then did 2770 miles in 5 days. I have had lower back surgery so thats a good trip for me. I had no monkey butt or soreness at all.

 

Same here, medically discharged from the Army with 22yrs for back and neck. 100% VA disabled and was able to do our summer road trip of three weeks and 6800 miles and didn't have any pain issues with the seat at all. The seat helps big time absorbing bumps in the road!

 

Thanks for everyone's comments guys.

If I could throw one more in the equation, I have heard good things about the Mustang Wide Touring seat. How does it compare.

When I talked to my local HD dealer today he warned me against the sundowner as my height and build it would be worse due to it positioning me slightly forward of where I am now on my stock Ultra seat. I thought him to be correct because I would like to be further back if anything. I am told the Mustang Wide Touring seat move the rider back about an inch.

Mike.

 

I had a SUndowner on my Street Glide. Very comfy for rider and passenger. It does push you just a bit forward from stock.

I have replaced it with a Hammock as we were being bothered by those harsh sharp bumps that you feel up your spine.

The hammock eliminated those shocks, and we now ride much more relaxed and do not cringe when we hit a pot hole, RR crossing or road crack.

The hammock sits me back a bit, and Teresa loves her queen seat.

Both are about the same with regular butt comfort over soft bumps.

 

The one thing NO ONE has mentioned is and just to confuse you a little more (LOLOLOL), is the fact that there are in fact 2 different Hammock models.
Yep, that's right.. and HD sells em' both..
How ya like that one?

53051-09 which is the "Hammock for the rider only" and regular seat for the passenger.

52000003A which is the "Hammock for both rider and passenger."

The 53051-09 is supposed to sit you back a little further and not so close to the tank.
I have one and really like it, so does my wife.
In fact we like it so much we have a spare one of the same kind and probably will not experiment anymore with seats.

I've been through the mill with seats let me tell you.
That's another story.

I cannot speak for the 52000003A, other than many riders who have ridden both HD Hammock seats say you sit closer to the tank with the 3A than the -09.
I think the 09 is a little uglier but is sure comfy and I can live with that. lolol.
Check it out on line and you will see there are write-ups and reviews on the two different models, basically saying what I have said.

Some(one) on here say eventually the hammock in the seat will wear out in time and you will sit lower, but I have not seen or found that to be the case yet and I bought the seat used on this site.
Not only that, but you can many of the 03A's on ebay for sale but hardly ever any of the -09's.
I don't know if that is indicative of anything or not?
It could be though.
I think the -09 is probably the better of the 2 hammock seats.
I hope this helps.

If you can though, try both of them out before you buy. FWIW.

 

3 models, you forgot the heated version. Harley Hammock Heated Rider and Passenger Touring Seat-52000004A

Part Number 52000004A