I'm looking at picking up a 2018 Heritage Classic with a Saddlemen Step-up seat. Looking to do some long rides on the bike (500 miles+ a day).
I know everybody is a little different, but in general, would I be better off with the Saddlemen or going back to a stock seat for long distance comfort?

Thanks in advance.

 

You're going to get a ton of answers...myself, I like the look of the stock seat, it flows with the bike. But it's far from stock under the cover. I sent to Mean City Cycles and had them do their Memory Foam upgrade, shaved an inch of the sides, lowered me 1.5" and pushed me back. Out for 5 and 6 days with 7 and 8 hour days with no problems.

 

IMHO.... Only you can answer that question.... seats are very subjective. One man's heaven is another man's hell when it comes to seat comfort...

Do your homework... research opinions, learn the various seat styles (hard, firm, cushy, etc), and if possible try out a seat, like at the dealer with their seat demo program.

Eventually, you will need to pluck down some $$$$ and see if you guessed correctly....

Finding your "Holy Grail" seat can be expensive and time consuming... I currently have a "good enough" seat on my bagger, but my search for my Holy Grail seat continues....

Oddly enough, on my 2003 Heritage, I like the OEM seat and still have that on my bike. I've done several 450 mile days on that bike in the past, with little discomfort at day's end...

 

I did 500 miles on day on the stock seat of my Fatboy - not too comfy at all. The Mustang solo and pillion is way more comfy than stock, for both me and the wife.

 

Exactly like hattitude said. Seats are and asses are subjective, I use to cycle, I could ride 100 miles on a strip of carbon, so anything with a pad is a plus, but the MCC upgrade was night and day over stock

 

I would say how much are you willing to spend and is the maker willing to make adjustments to accommodate your fit.

 

Mean City Cycles does exactly this, they don't just chop up your seat and do what they want, they do what you want and need. You talk to them on the phone, they get your weight, height, bike make and model, then ask you exactly what you want. When the seat arrives, it's exactly what you ordered. I've gone through the seat struggle with my Dyna, seat after seat after seat. Only thing I found I really liked on my Dyna was a C&C Seat, but honestly, I did not like it on my Heritage. Mean City is he way to go, but that's just MHO.

 

I tried a mustang and a saddlemen, I sent them both back and got a Corbin gunfighter. I've done some long mileage days on an HD sundowner, comfortable enough but it looked like crap(like a couch).

 

My friend and the original owner of my 2002 Softail Standard bought several leather jackets at Goodwill and took them to his upholsterer cousin. He added custom foam and pleated the seat and for some reason, used brown leather on the side. It's relatively comfortable but I too am considering replacing it with a custom solo seat, such as a Mustang, Le Pera or a Corbin. I've had Corbin seats on several different bikes and they are just not for everyone with some thinking they are like sitting on a wooden seat. I like them though and if a used Corbin came up for sale, would give it a try.

 

It's been said already, but your best bet is to find a way to demo some seats.

I wish I had demo'd before dropping almost $600 on the Saddlemen Road Sofa, which was one of the most highly recommended seats for the touring bikes. After 100 miles I almost intentionally rode into a tree just to stop the pain in my butt and lower back.

My winning combo ended up being to send the stock seat to a local shop to get a gel pad inserted, and the "side horns" shaved down to make it a bit flatter. Wish I'd done that first instead of buying/selling about 5 seats in 2 months.