Solo seat choice, .... which ?

[Mountainman]

I just finished dressing up the Phat Lady with $2500.oo worth of 'Bling' and fork repairs,and while saving some more for the bike, and thinking of going to a Solo seat with a chrome seat rail arround it was woundering which way to go ? ......... So I'm looking for some 'in-put' of ideas that I might think about, before I make a decision.

SOOoooo,  What have you found to be your choice and why ?

[Black Dog]

You will probably get a ton of answers, but as most will agree, all butts are different...

I started with the OEM seat, on my '97 Standard, and hated it...  Moved up to a Mustang (no back rest) and liked it a bit more...  Traded up to a Mustang with a back rest, and liked it even more...  Added a professionaly installed 'gel' pad, and liked it even more...  After all that, I was still getting butt burn, and was squirming all over, at about 250 - 300 mile days...

Enter the 'Ultimate Big Boy', with backrest...  The best I've ever tried...  500 mile days are no problem, and I've done 870 max (I was sore after that ride)...  I'm 6'2" and 275.

There are other good seats out there (Russle Day Long, is always talked about as being the best), and Ultimate even makes different seats for different size riders.

My advice would be to 'trade' for a day, with another rider, just to see if you like before ya buy.

Good luck.

Black Dog

[Serk]

Hartco custom works well for me... But as has been said, every butt is different...

But - When you say solo seat, I take it you mean to remove the passenger seat? If so, do NOT use a backrest (At least not the Utopia...)

Do NOT use a Utopia backrest if you do not have the passenger seat installed... Unless you enjoy metal working...

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

If you go with the seat rail and have Tourer hinges on OEM saddlebags the lid will hit the rail before it opens all the way....T-Bird has been there , done that .

[Jess from VA]

Ultimate Big Boy with backrest and seat basket.

This on a supervalkd IS, which still has the IS cable connections for the sadddlebags (no hinges).

[Gear Jammer]

Like Black Dog said, some of us run a Day-Long seat.  I don't know if they make a solo seat with a backrest, as on my 4 piece seat the backrest mounts into the bottom of the pillion seat.  But if you ask them to do it, and it's technically possible they'll bend over backwards to please you.  I'm sending mine back in a couple of weeks to be "tweaked" a bit.  They offer an 18 month warranty allowing you to have the seat adjusted until you and your butt like it, or your money is refunded.  Can't beat a deal like that!
But the looks of their seats are not for everyone, but I figure my butt isn't looking at it anyway and I bought it for comfort,, and it's appearance is just a side benefit.  good luck in your quest !

[Mountainman]

Thanks for all the ideas about the seats avalable, the back rest is a good idea except this old body with it's back problems and hip joint pain will not let me get on with that , tried once on 'Misunderstood's' Valk  and could not get on without the back going into spazems, so that idea is out. The one with a back rest that is.

[Gear Jammer]

and btw Mountainman,,,, Since I just called Day-Long yesterday, I have their # right here
866-853-5793  ask for Heather, this girl's got her act together.   They're PDT zone,,,8-5pm
www.DAY-LONG.com

[Jess from VA]

Mountainman, many of us with old worn backs have trouble lifting our legs over driver's backrests.  Yet, we are the ones who need the backrest most of all.

The trick is to lift your right heel straight to the seat from the low side, then just slide on over.  It is really very easy once practiced a few times.  The 'step-through mount'.  No need to be a ballerina.

[NITRO]

But - When you say solo seat, I take it you mean to remove the passenger seat? If so, do NOT use a backrest (At least not the Utopia...)

Do NOT use a Utopia backrest if you do not have the passenger seat installed... Unless you enjoy metal working...

Why? I had the utopia on my Standard and ran solo occasionally. No problems for me.

[Serk]

But - When you say solo seat, I take it you mean to remove the passenger seat? If so, do NOT use a backrest (At least not the Utopia...)

Do NOT use a Utopia backrest if you do not have the passenger seat installed... Unless you enjoy metal working...

Why? I had the utopia on my Standard and ran solo occasionally. No problems for me.

The rear seat acts as a brace to transfer the forces into the frame... If you don't have the back seat and DO have the backrest, eventually you'll end up looking straight up at the sky...

Granted, happened a little quicker for me due to the fact that, even by Valkyrie rider standards, I don't exactly shop in the petite section, but gunned it, laid back into the back rest, and ripped and bent the rear fender section right back, had the backrest parallel to the rear fender...

Daniel Meyer helped me out, we rigged some metal up below and made it extremely strong now, but HIGHLY recommend leaving the rear seat on if you're using a Utopia backrest to brace the load...

[X Ring]

Thanks for all the ideas about the seats avalable, the back rest is a good idea except this old body with it's back problems and hip joint pain will not let me get on with that , tried once on 'Misunderstood's' Valk  and could not get on without the back going into spazems, so that idea is out. The one with a back rest that is.

I tilt my backrest forward, swing my leg over and lift the backrest back up before sitting down.

Marty

[R J]

I walk up to MGM, grab the left handlebar and raise my right leg, toe pointed to the sky, let heel slide over seat and leg drops down the other side.

PS:   There is a couple of 1 leg skips to get closer to the bike in getting on.

Reverse the procedure getting off.

These poor old 77 year old bones won't ride very far anymore without a back rest.

I never did get on a bike swinging the leg.  My Police motor had a box, radio and other stuff when the passenger normally set, so I learned way early in life to get on pushing the leg straight across the seat.

Try it, you can do it and your back will love you to death for that rest stop behind ya for it to snuggly up into as you ride....       LOL.

[Highbinder]

Here's a shot of a Russell Day Long with the saddle rail....the tourer lids will hit the rail when open, but all you need to do is put a washer or two between the first bolt on the bag and the rail, this will hold the bag out a little and allow the bag to open smoothly.....I rode with backrest and without, perfer without...but an Utopia will fit...Russell Dog Long does not give you a choice of small, med. and large...they take your height, weight and inseam and you need to send photo's of yourself sitting on your bike and then they built the seat just for you...

[BF]

I've heard that the Ultimate seats kinda crowd the......uh, boys, so to speak.  Is this true?  Can those with Ultimate seats shed some light?

[ptgb]

I've heard that the Ultimate seats kinda crowd the......uh, boys, so to speak.  Is this true?  Can those with Ultimate seats shed some light?

Can't speak for anyone elses'... but the Ultimate (King Big Boy), while a nicely built seat, did crowd my "front parts" to a point of really uncomfortable.

Got the Russell Day Long and never looked back... really, really, really nice seat!

[Mountainman]

Thank you all for the ideas on the Solo seat, ..... The Russel Day long seams the way to go.
The question is do they also require a seat pan ? I was hoping to keep the origional to put back on if I sell it in the future.


P.S.   .... I have tryed that "toes in the air ", mounting idea and when you are 71 + yrs. and very short in the in-seam, with a bad back it does not work. It leads to back spazems.   ... What I do is stand on the riding peg to get a little higher and bend my knee and slide the foot arround the back of the seat, seems to work the best. But thanks for all the help.