Multiple issues there:

1. 450 miles, even split 225 per direction and accounting for gas and stretching stops is a long time in the saddle for one day, even for seasoned butts but especially for one of the first distance trips. There are a lot of people that can and do go farther. But generally speaking that's above average for most.

2. You didn't mention a backrest being present. That will help a lot for comfort.

3. With few exceptions, there is little you can do to a stock seat to make it work for you - especially when you are talking about the passenger portion.

If you are going to spend a lot if time riding together, I'd recommend a Mustang or Sundowner option combined with a backrest. Form follows function when talking seats so consider the comfort factor before looks. Dollars paid doesn't always equate to a better seat so don't base performance on cost. Finally, get input from your wife on what hurt when and where. She can and should help find a suitable seat that will meet your needs.

 

woops left out a letter its buttybuddy.com

 

My girlfriend, who has never rode, said she would be fine going to Sturgis (from So.Calif) on the back of my Rocker C using just the Trick Seat.
She sat on the on in the sho room and thought it was fine.
I can't wait until next month when I pick it up and give her a ride around town.
We'll see what she says then.

As to your situation, there are several places that modify the padding in the seat using gel foam and other types of foam that improve the cush for the tush.
Put being on the seat, any seat, for 1-2 hours with little ability to wiggle or move will cause anyones butt to be sore.

Need to planstop and stretch stops every hour at the most.

 

need pics to see get to the bottom of this post lol

 

Are you just hitting it too hard? I mean the road, LOL

 

My wife uses an Airhawk cushion, just for the longer rides. Works great no problem from Sturgis to MSP, MN.

 

Go ahead. Get it done with the Sundownwer. she be happy. damn,that was a lot of miles in one day ! My butt would hurt too .

 

Hey Rshallman......I just purchased my 08 Heritage about 3 weeks ago. My husband rides (shhhhh....no laughing......a Honda Gold Wing) with my son as passenger and I ride the Harley with my 10 year old daughter. The stockseat was nice for me except for the backache from no backrest. Checked out all the different available seats and threads on here about seats and decided on the Mustang seat with the back rest. Also purchased therider seat and bigger back rest forher. Received them last Friday and put them on immediately. Took out on a ride around the Austin Hill Country for over 4 hours and never hada complainton hurting butts or backs the entire ride! It was awesome! Also the Mustang customer service was excellent and I would highly recommend them!

Happy and safe riding to both you and your wife!

 

I would like to thank everyone for sharing their knowledge and experience on here. We considered going with a sundowner seat but after talking to some local bike shops, namely American Motorcycle of Colorado Springs, we have decided to have some custom work done. They recommended a place in Denver called Bitchn Stitchn who makes custom seats. After calling Bitchn Stitchn and talking to them we have decided to let them reshape the stock seat and add gel with memory foam over the top. We are riding up there in a couple of weeks and they are going to custom fit the seat to our backsides. All of this for around $300 which is comparable to the price of a new seat. I'll keep you guys posted with how it works out and what it looks like when its done.

 

Its a tough call on getting the seat modified. I had mine done and while it is better than stock its not perfect. I had the gel pad installed and a good dose of memory foam. The feel of the seat is very different with the memory foam. Since this stuff take a while to squish down and since the foam of the seat is sealed in plastic to keep it from absorbing water it at times buldeges in the wrong places.

There are times when I jump on and the foam feels like it is buldging under my thighs. this actually makes me have to spread wider when at a stop light. With the stock setup it was perfect. Then there are times when it is jsut about right, it all depends on my position when I get on it. Plus like I said it will puff up depending on how you initially sit on it and to get it to change you have to almost get off and let the foam go back to its normal state.

My wife is able to go a littel while longer but I think it is more to do with the shape and fit of the seat more than the amount of padding it has. I have sat on a sundowner and I like the amount of backrest it provides but the passenger pilon is still about the same and I am not sure it would be confortable enough for the wife.

I have looked long and hard and am probablly going to go with a combination of a good Mustang wide solo with the offset drivers backrest and their wide passenger pilon that I can attach when needed. A fender bib will round it off for when I dont have the passenger seat on it.

While this will cost more than the modifications I already had done, I have seen enough of the Mustang seats to feel that they are designed to give more support for the long haul rides.

Bottom line is just be realistic on what filling the seat with foam will be able to provide to you. It may not be the amount of foam, but the basic design, and as always it takes time to get used to the longer rides. We have been working on extending our trip time each ride and riding as often as possible.