Hi. I just purchased my first Harley finally. I had a great deal practically fall in my lap and ended up purchasing a 2013 fxdb street bob. I had my girlfriend drive me to get the bike. After picking it up I rode it home. Which was a chilly 3 hour drive last Saturday evening. About two hours in, my lower back was throbbing. Also, I am only 5'6". I do not have a passenger seat on my bike and need to order one. I was wondering if there was a type of seat that my give me better back support. I can reach everything just fine on the bike. Just wondering if there is any solution to my back pain and if so, I just wanted to know if a seat would help me. Thanks for all the advice.

 

Lower back pain is probably not due to the seat. It's probably your riding position. From the picture of your bike and your mentioned height I'm suspecting you're probably leaning forward some to grab the bars. If so, that's probably where your back pain is coming from. Basically in that position your lower back takes the shock from bumps plus your body weight. Try pulling the bars back some so you are sitting straight up.

That said, the stock Street Bob seat is notoriously uncomfortable. Once you get into an upright straight riding position you will notice that the stock seat will be a big pain in the ***, pun intended. I found on my stock SB seat that I could ride for about an hour before I had to stop and walk off the pain. When I put forward controls on my bike the pain shifted from my *** to my tailbone due to my riding position.

Seat comfort is very subjective and you will get a ton of opinions. Basically more padding the more comfortable. The issue is large padded seats don't always look that good. You've got a nice looking bike and I suspect your don't want to compromise the style. You just have to find that happy medium.

I ended up going with a Danny Gray Buttcrack Solo seat with a matching passenger pillion solely on it's looks. It is a lot thinner than the stock seat but it's lower which makes it more comfortable and the pillion acts as a back rest. I can now last about 2 hours straight before I have to walk it off.

 

I suspect several things are ganging up on you. I agree about the bars, not only are they probably too far away for comfort, but they are also pretty high. Were you offered the original stock bars when you bought it?

Try a little experiment. Sit on your bike with it upright and the front wheel straight ahead. Put your hands on your knees and close your eyes, relax your shoulders. Then lift your hands to a comfortable riding position before opening your eyes. This isn't a perfect test, but if your hands are nowhere near your grips then something has to give - at present that is probably you!

Harley dealers have a program where they help riders fit their bike properly and comfortably. It may be worth sizing up your local dealer for some tips. They can also offer alternative seats, which you may be able to try out on your own bike. I suggest a lower bar that also comes closer to you will be more suitable. I'm not much taller than you!

 

Thanks you guys. I'll be sure to take both of your ideas into consideration. I am not in too big of a hurry to get everything set up due to the weather change. I believe the stock bars are on the bike. But I will try to adjust them slightly. thanks again.

 

I realise now that the angle of your bars in the photo makes them look taller than they really are! Certainly move them back towards you. I have joked for years that Harley handlebar installers in the factory must be gorillas! I don't recall sitting on any big twin and finding the bars close enough for me. It took me several attempts with my old Glide (owned from new), before the two of us clicked, but we've been buddies ever since.

It would be useful to have a spare pair of hands when you adjust yours. You have to release the clamps enough to allow the bars to move, but that means they may suddenly move unexpectedly! Which in turn means you may not be sure just exactly where they used to be. Do the eyes closed routine to get your first new setting. Cover your tank with an old towel (or new one if necessary!) to protect it from marking.

 

A lot of our customers opt for the 2 seat approach to their bikes. They have one slimmer, lower cooler looking seat for bobbing around town, and have a big two-up touring seat for trips or longer day rides. Swapping seats on these bikes only takes a few minutes and then you get the best of both worlds. I currently run a solo Corbin seat on my bagger and have the matching Corbin with passenger seat and passenger backrest for when the old lady wants to ride with me. Neither of the seats are that comfortable as they are hard as a rock; but, they get the job done when riding two-up. The HD Rally Runner seat for your bike has a higher back on it for the rider that will give you more back support.

 

The stock Street Bob comes with 10 inch apes. It looks like that's what he's got in his posted picture. The pictures in my original post shows my Street Bob with 14 inch apes.