Seat

[Darren]

Hi Folks,

I am new to the group having just purchased my '99 Standard in February. Man I Love this machine! The one issue I am having is the seat. The stock seat gets a bit uncomfortable for me after a few hours but it is really uncomfortable for my wife from the get go. I have a Corbin on my CB900 which is comfortable but the bike has a completely different riding position then the Valk and doesn't allow for much shifting of positions. I am 6'4" and 250lbs and my lovely bride is 5'4" and 105lbs soaking wet. Is there a seat out there that would work well with the big difference in size between me and the Mrs? I know that asking which seat is best is like asking which paint color is fastest so please don't flame me for asking. I just need a good starting point. By the way, I bought a Mustang seat and neither of us like it. Thanks for your help.

Darren

[ssober]

I am 6'4" 300+ and have an utimate big boy and like it.  I bought the passenger seat, backrest and armrests.  The drivers seat already had the backrest on it .  I have not tried any other seat except the ultimate and I like it.  It is a cushy seat where a corbin is hard. 
http://www.ultimateseats.ca/stand_tourer.html

[98valk]

I had the buttbuffer http://buttbuffer.com/ installed in my 98 seat. been confortable ever since. also use a real sheep skin cover. http://www.thewooltablesheepskins.com/

some like the 2000 and newer seats with no other mods.

[humshark]

If you are on a standard, I really enjoyed the Corbin saddle, front and rear.  Not as much with the interstate seat pan however.

If you are in the same situation -
drivers position gives you trouble
passenger position - your wife is fine with.....

I've heard passengers complain about the big Ultimate compared to the stock,.. no kidding - I'd of thought that impossible, since the Big Ultimate is one heck of a fine seat.

I opted on my interstate to have the stock pan rebuilt.  You can have this done for a fraction of the cost of a Mustang, Corbin or BU.  Rick Meyer did mine and after taking pictures ( your can send your own ) of how you sit on the bike, and taking your measurements, he designs and forms the seat to you.

You don't like it - he fixes it.  You sell the bike and the new buyer can have it redone for just around $100.  Not bad.  There are others out there that do this, so check around.  It's not as expensive as you might think, and they can adjust each seat position to the rider!

If you're in the Eastern TN area next week- stop by the BMW MOA rally in Johnson City and Rick will most likely be there taking orders!

[bentwrench]

65K miles and  my mustang saddle is still giving all day comfort,I've added a sheep skin cover for those long days in hot weather.
bw

[roboto65]

My friend has an Ultimate and his girl flat refused to get back on after a days riding heck we took his bike and picked my new baby up and I hated it !!

[FLAVALK]

You're gonna find that different saddles fit different butts in different ways. I have tried Corbin, Ultimate and Mustang and find that the Mustang fits me best. Others will argue differently.....

I have found the Corbin to be well formed and hard. The Mustang to be firm but forgiving, yet somewhat wide. The Ultimate (Bigboy) was more plush, wide in the back, but too high in the front for me. 

If you can, ride a few to get an idea of what works for you. If you cant do that, try to buy used what you think will work and go from there. If you buy new and the saddle sucks, you're out some serious $$$$. Saddles aint cheap

[Momz]

A lot of Valk owners like the Ultimates. But no matter which one of the Ultimates you find most comfortable initially, the drawback is that you are basically locked into that position. That means no forward or rearward movent or no sliding up on to the passenger portion.

Custom reupholstered and reshaped seats have the advantage of being shaped for your posterior and weight.
The Russells and Mayer seats are renowned for their comfort and quality, but that comes at a premium price.  

After doing a lot of research for custom saddles for both my Valks (2K I/S and a 98 standard) that are used for completely different uses. I've come to the conclusion that my I/S needed a long distance seat that offered more room between the tank and the rise to the passenger portion as well as needing to be narrowed near the front as I have a 28" inseam. Sargent Cycle out of Jacksonville FLA was able to reshape, repad with a firmer foam and reupholster my seat and passenger backrest with their "Carbon Fiber" look vinyl that made this the most comfortable seat I've ever experienced. All for a total of $264.00 and that included shipping.

My 98 has a saddlemen Explorer Gel saddle that I purchased from the J.C.Whitney catalog for $180 includding shipping. It is by far the lowest saddle available for the Valk. I needed to modify a bike that would accomodate my physical disabilities (spinal chord issues) and be low enough to use as my everyday/around town ride. So with 11.5" shocks and the saddleman seat this bike now is my main transport.

P.S. My 98 came with leather corbin seats and backrests wich I sold for $400.00. More than enough to make the needed lowering changes to fit my personal needs.

My point is that research and a willingness to think outside the box can result in comfort and still be reasonably priced.

Good Luck

[semo97]

Russell Day Long, made for you and made for her. I have done all the after market seats for years, shoulld have gone with a Russell the first time would have been lots of money saved over the years.

[Gangman036]

If money wasn't a problem, I'd go for a seat and backrest mentioned above. However working on a limited budget I tried this one and it has made a world of difference in comfort. No more back pain, even after a long ride. Worth every penny.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-Valkyrie-Drivers-backrest_W0QQitemZ360168539277QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotorcycles_Parts_Accessories?hash=item53dbb7c48d&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65:12|39:1|72:1171#ht_2061wt_960

[Hoser]

I replaced my 99 seat with the 2000 and up seat, makes all the difference in the world, cheep, too!  hoser

[Bugslayer]

I replaced my 99 seat with the 2000 and up seat, makes all the difference in the world, cheep, too!  hoser

Thats what I did. My '97 seat sucked. The 2000 seat is a huge improvment.

[woefman]

I replaced my 99 seat with the 2000 and up seat, makes all the difference in the world, cheep, too!  hoser

Hoser , Couple questions ...

You say 2000 and up seats are diff ?

Looks like not only do you and I have the same Bike and color, but same seat.

Soon as I showed my Valk to two buddies who have Valks they noticed the seat right away was not stock. I took my seat off and it says Honda on it.

The things they pointed out were how it is padded more in front to keep you in place you no longer ride up to the Tank . It also Dips where you seat.

I seen this seat on HDL Parts online for like 90 bucks I assumed it was a re done Honda Seat.

Anyhow either way works for me .

Also I think the original poster could use a seat by any of the major seat makers in the big boy lineup

Or if want cheap way out get one like ours ( hoser and woefman)  I like this seat I dont inch forward little by little during a ride  like a stock Valk seat.
 

[Hoser]

That seat in my pic is off a 2001 standard, got it from a guy that bought a ultimate, cost me 75 bux.  The standard 97-99 seat looks nothing like it, and is very uncomfortable, at least for me.  Also sits a couple inches lower than the 97-99.  hoser

[Darren]

Most say that the 2000 and up seats are a big improvement to the previous models. Is the passenger seat improved also?

[f-Stop]

I always thought that I would put the Ultimate Big boy seats on my '98 Standard, but lucked into a Mustang seat through the VRCC Classifieds.  The guy who sold the set - he had the matching passenger seat, too - did not like them because the driver seat raised him an inch or so.  The deal was so good that I figured I could get what I paid for them if they did not "fit".  Well, they did fit and my wife really likes the passenger seat as well.  I'm 6'2" with a 34" inseam.


The Mustang seat looks good, too!

I also have a Corbin seat that just looks absolutely great!

Even with the looks, I can't ride very far on this seat before my a$$ starts to talk back!

I think Ultimate will have a booth at Inzane.  I'd really like to try one, but won't be able to make the trip.

[SANDMAN5]

All I can talk about from personal experience is the Ultimate. Had one on
my first Valk and it was one of the first things I ordered when I bought
my current Valk. Like I said, I haven't tried any of the others for any
length of time (I sat on a Corbin and a Mustang, didn't like'em) so it's
the only one I know I like. Wife likes it, too. Said it made a huge difference.
She has low back issues and 100 miles was her limit on the stock seat. The
Ultimate has almost doubled that!

[Robert]

I really disliked the stock seat because of looks and feel so I thought a Corbin would do the trick. I was happy with the looks and with the feel but after 3 years the seam on the sides wore through and Corbins best was to recover the seat at almost the purchase price of a new seat. Discussed this with customer service and even went to Daytona to pay them a visit all to no avail. Corbin is selling the company Daytona sales office was a ghost town. Nice showroom one guy in it and no one in back no repairs no lights on in back. You almost could hear the crickets chirping, no really Im not kidding. So while in Daytona I went to Ultimate seats and yes they do have a good seat but its too big. It looks like your bike is all seat, I really dont need all that and was glad I went to see them in person. I can tell you this the showroom was very nice the people were great and actually had a valk to sit on. Well looked at a few more choices and didn't quite fit what I wanted. So I did a local search for custom interiors and found a guy who does really nice work and he made me a custom seat for less than what Corbin wanted and with better leather and not just on the top but the whole seat. Not to mention  I have never had to go for a seat fitting but thats exactly what I did after he took off all the Corbin leather and such. Went he fitted the foam to my posterior then waited a few days and went back to get the finished product. Looks good feels better and I really must say it was exactly what I wanted. I tell you this story because if what you see out there dosent really do it for you research what a custom seat would cost, I was really happy I did. My friend was so impressed with mine he went to the same guy and had one made for his VTX. http://www.phippsproducts.com/interiors.htm

[39 Chev]

That's wild!  I have his billet A/C vents and oval door handles in my street rod.  I didn't know he did upholstery, I just thought he sold interior parts.  Quality stuff!

[Robert]

While at his shop he showed me some of the things he made and the quality and look was beautiful some of the best I had seen. He also has some beautiful cars at his shop the work that goes into them was  top notch and of course the ideas on what to do was really amazing. He was chopping down the hood of a 55 looked like a dodge the ones with the hood that is about 15 inches tall. He was taking out about 6 to 9 inches and it really looked cool. I really am a picky customer and I really dont trust anybody when it comes to doing work for me, but let me tell you this was one of the few times that I was really pleasantly surprised and relieved. I dont know the first thing about making a seat but I knew kinda what I wanted he was able to do it with no problem at all. The wife looked at my seat and made a comment when I told her that since I liked my seat I was going to have one made for her. I had ought to call her doubting Thomas. Well I got the seat back installed it heard a few negatives then we took a fairly long ride and that was the last I heard about the new seat. The silence was deafening.