Sorry to do this to you but I am the exception to the rule. Over the years I have owned a Softail Deluxe, Heritage, Fat Boy Low and now a Fat Boy. My wife and I have done many miles on these bikes and she has a
muscular problem which makes it difficult to get on and off the bike. I have utilized mini back rests and different seats to make her comfortable. I am sure there are more comfortable bikes but for us the Softails work just fine.

 

 

Our Lo is fine around town. With the stock seat you can get the Touring Pillion which is wider and more comfortable. It just takes seconds to unlatch the Sissy Bar and remove it and the Pillion.
still, for in town riding for most people.

 

My wife and I are fine on my 2015 Heritage. We can ride a couple hours at a time and don't have real complaints. She's a short, small lady and I'm medium built at 6'0. I would imagine we're right around 300 lbs combined and that may affect it.

 

I had a 14 Fatboy Lo. Click my sig link for pics on how I had it set up. Did several long rides (multiple days/1k + miles) with the wife and to be honest, it wasn't bad at all. I upgraded both seats to Mustang and I'd probably still have it if a buddy with a Limited hadn't let her sit on his bike. Then all I heard until I got the RGU was, "I WANT THE LAZY BOY SEAT."

 

I own a FB (18) and a RGU. I've owned a ton of different bikes.. My 02 - The FB is not the right ride. My 02 - check out the RK or the Heritage if you want a softy..

 

First of all....what is the weight and height of each of you?

I'm 6'5" and around 210 lbs on average
My wife is 5'4" and around 138 lbs

Personally, I think the US riding market has spoiled itself with baggers. Can't have a house without it being a huge mcmansion, can't have a family vehicle without it being a huge SUV, can't have a bike without it being a rolling couch.
Rewind 30-40 years plenty of people rode 2-up across country on plenty of bikes much smaller than even a Sportster.

What type of bike do YOU like?
What type of bike does your woman like?

I've done a ton of riding with my wife on the back of my current Springer. It's quite comfy. Before that..did a ton of 2-up on my Shovelhead FLHS....prior to that, ton of 2-up on my FXD redone a bit to be like an old Superglide.
I've even done 2-up on my wifes Sporty with her on the back..granted, short distance only with me being 6'5" it's tight.

Anyways...just saying, look at what chassis types you like, I prefer sorta old school looks, I'm not a fan of windshields and heaters and infotainment systems and huge couch seats and hard bags. That's me. You didn't state what your preferences were.

 

Good points Stonecat. I like old retro looks not really the bagger looks. Pretty much like you said. I dont really like hard bags and fairings etc. I love the way my sporty looks. Me I'm about 5'10 190 and the wife is 5'7 150's. That's why I was leaning toward a Fat Boy or a Heritage or something along those lines.

 

Yeah those fast back style seats...she won't dig those much.

A few things that can be changed on all/any chassis...that can greatly impact the comfort for both rider and passenger
*Seat
*where your feet go
*and for the rider...the bars

Can get more room for the passengers legs if the rider uses forwards

Various different foot rests for the passenger....give them more surface areas, my wife likes the paddle types (or "D" shaped). Not so much just round pegs...you want distribute their weight from the bottom of their foot across more surface area. Can get some outriggers too for some, or some variants that lower the feet a bit.

Seat..passenger pillion. Have HER sit on some different ones. Heck if you can get a demo unit for a weekend...try a different seat and go do a multiple hour ride. You can sit on a seat and try it out for a few minutes, but you can't really get a good feeling for it until your (and her) butt cheeks are on it for a few hours straight. Fastback style seats like the one on your Sporty there...passengers don't like those much. They're fine for taking a chick home from the bar...that way it doesn't cramp your bikes visual style for some guys. But for a regular rider on the back, over distance...you gotta get a seat with more padding back there, and especially width.

You can get different shocks on Softails....I got progressives on mine, not factory. Mines even slammed an inch 'n a half in the back.(bought her like that)

Certain seats can move the rider forward a bit, sometimes even up a bit. Such as Mustang seats. But realize that can affect the passenger also...esp the moving forward part.

 

Funny you mentioned the seat. I just ordered one of these Mustang Wide Touring seats for it based on reading and recommendations fro the Sportster site. I've already upgraded the shocks to Progressive 444's and that helped some but the fast back seat is whats killing her. I should get the seat on by this weekend so we will give that a try.