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Road glide Ultra seat is kinllin me

16K views 38 replies 30 participants last post by  preacherbo 
#1 ·
I’ve had a 2016 Road glide Ultra for about 2 weeks, 1000 miles and the seat is killin my back. This has to be the worst seat I’ve ever had on a bike. And this is my daily driver.

My lower back is just hurting all the time, and the soft OEM seat is the culprit. When I hit a bump, I’m going down as the bike is coming up and I get an incredible jolt. Much like I had on a Yamaha 1200 Stryker. I gave up on that bike after two years and 6000 miles.

I had a Kawasaki C-14 Concurs (put 20,000 miles on it) and while the seat was uncomfortable, it didn’t hurt me. I swapped it out for a Corbin and loved it after I got the profile adjusted. The Corbin was heated, but I rarely used it, and I ride year round in N Virginia. I put 100 miles a day on a bike.

I’m looking for a new seat, and have looked at the Hammock or Mustang touring seats. I can probably demo the Hammock, but not the Mustang.

I find if I sit back and actually sit on the fwd area on the passenger seat and the firs is a lot better on the hard part of the seat. Not comfortable, but far better than the driver’s seat.

Any recommendations with folks who might have had experience with both the Hammock and Mustang?

I’ve dreamed of having a Harley, but I’m not liking the seat on any level! 6' 250 Lb, with a 32" inseam.

Thanks in advance!
 

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#3 ·
Howdy from San Antonio.

I have a Mustang seat and I love it. The customer service is awesome and they stand behind their product.
 
#4 ·
2X on the Mustang seat. I am about 40 LBS heavier than you and I have had nothing but Mustang seats with the backrest. My last one had between 70 and 80,000 miles on it. It puts you back and down a bit and gets your knutz off the tank.
 
#5 ·
I'm a bit taller at 6'3" 250lbs give or take a donut or 2, and I can't go vey long on the stock seat either., I currently ride an Air Zepp and use a back rest off of an older copcycle and love that combo. However, the Zepp is an expensive beast and not for everyone. Second choice is the Mustang which puts out a great product.
 
#9 ·
I've got a Corbin on my ole bike A back rest makes a ton of difference in riding comforts. Try looking around the site in the forums section at the top of the page your not the first with a bad seat. Try adjusting your Floor boards up some raising your legs might help some. It took me 6 months of monkeying with mine until I was comfortable and like getting to the brake pedal that felt right . A good set of High way pegs help to if you getting stiff riding you can shift how your sitting



Thank you for your Service
 
#11 ·
Harley has a seat that called a hammock seat OMG ! That thing is like sitting in your recliner part # 52000176 its around $500 but well worth it. My buddy that has it has had 6 back operation and loves that seat and swears by it. I took his bike for a ride and holy crap shoot batman its NICE ! Look it up in the HD catalog ...Rick
 
#19 ·
Not sure if I have much to add, but maybe this helps: I have a 2012 Electra Glide Limited and 3 years ago I sent my seat to Mean City Cycles to have it lowered and narrowed so I could be more flat footed. Obviously the OP doesn't have this problem. I wish I would've had them put gel pads in it. The seat was decent but after about 5 hours in the saddle, my butt hurt. I've tried multiple demo seats from the Harley dealer and some of them helped me extend my saddle time an hour or two without hurting, but nothing was magic.

My dealer told me that Mustang has a deal where I could return the seat within 30 days (I think it was 30, maybe it was 60) if I didn't like it. The only issue is that I'd have to pay for the seat up front so they could order it. But then I could get a refund if it didn't work out. What I forgot to ask is if I get a store credit or a refund back to my account. But either way it seems like a good deal. I plan to try it in the Spring probably but I'm not sure which Mustang seat to try, as I'm 5'7" with a 29 inch inseam, so a seat that is too thick or wide isn't good for me.

I belong to a long distance motorcycle rider forum and people there swear that the ultimate in comfort is a Russell Daylong seat. The company is in Northern California, I think. But if I'm going to spend that kind of money I'd like to drive there and have them fit me for the seat, which they do allow. But living smack dab in the middle of the country means it's a 24 hour trip there and I just haven't had the time. So I may try the Mustang seat first. Not sure.

Hope this helps a little.

Ray
 
#21 ·
Had a Mustang and hated it......Got the hammock seat from HD and love it!
Everyone is different. Test some seats out at your local dealer.
 
#23 ·
Road glide Ultra seat is kinllin me - solved

jpassh2o hit it on the head. I weigh 250 on a good day. The air suspension in the Road Glide Ultra should have been set to 30 - 35 PSI.

It was set to 12 PSI. To say the least I'm a bit ticked that the Fairfax VA dealer released the bike is a less than safe condition. With the seat set to 36, and a "special pump" in hand it rides a lot better. Seat is still to soft but at least it's not hurting me anymore.

I'll take all your recommendations to heart and probably pick up a new seat in a couple of months when the bank account recovers a bit. $600 - $700 is not to much as this is my daily driver and I put 100 miles a day on it.

Thanks again. The air in the shock and a back brace helps a lot till the muscles stop hurting.

BWDenver
 
#25 ·
jpassh2o hit it on the head. I weigh 250 on a good day. The air suspension in the Road Glide Ultra should have been set to 30 - 35 PSI.

It was set to 12 PSI. To say the least I'm a bit ticked that the Fairfax VA dealer released the bike is a less than safe condition. With the seat set to 36, and a "special pump" in hand it rides a lot better. Seat is still to soft but at least it's not hurting me anymore.

I'll take all your recommendations to heart and probably pick up a new seat in a couple of months when the bank account recovers a bit. $600 - $700 is not to much as this is my daily driver and I put 100 miles a day on it.

Thanks again. The air in the shock and a back brace helps a lot till the muscles stop hurting.

BWDenver
Enjoy..... Glad you got her fixed! Don't ask me how I knew to check the air suspension! :wink
 
#24 ·
Thanks Thunder~Struck

I drove helicopters for about 32 years, most fun you can have with your cloths on. Unless you have a willing nurse on board when I was flying Dustoff.

Ridding my bike is the closes thing I get to flying scouts.

BWDenver,

AKA Bryan Wilburn
CW4 Ret
 
#26 ·
It took about 3000 miles to break in my stock seat. Now at 12,500 miles I have spent 16 hours in the saddle with no hurting butt. The back rest helps a lot when riding single. Check out the Sundowner seat at Harley for a test ride. Very comfy seat, I had one on my last bike. Keep a eye on the shock pressure, I need to add some to mine every few weeks. Thank you for your service.
 
#27 ·
Every cruiser style bike I have ever had needed two things to make it comfortable.

1- A new seat; I had a mustang with a backrest on an old Suzuki Intruder. Put 50K miles on that seat and it was worth every penny. I had an Ultimate Big Boy seat on a Honda VTX, also with a backrest. It was amazing. Today, on my Street Glide I have a Harley Sundowner with a backrest. It is a good seat. Not quite as comfy as the Ultimate, but a good seat, far better than stock. Put a string of 500 mile days on it this summer and had no complaints. In other words--Spend the money on a good seat.

2- Handlebars that put you in a good riding position. This is very subjective and individualistic to every specific rider . . . but . . . in my experience this addition is a non-negotiable. Comfort for long rides means sitting with your arms and wrists in just the right position. It takes a bit of experimentation to figure it out, but once you know what that position is, nothing else will feel right.

A seat and new bars (and wires) are not cheap, but hey, you have a touring bike that is built to travel long distances in big chunks. Nothing is worse than spending tens of thousands of dollars on a uncomfortable bike when another thousand bucks or so would make it a dream to ride.

Good luck. Hope you find that "just right zone."
 
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