I know I was frustrated when I asked, before purchasing the "Reach" seat for my Breakout, how much it would move me forward and how much it would move me down - my dealer could not tell me! It is not mentioned anywhere, in either the HD accessory catalog or on the HD website.

My dealer graciously offered to bring it in "on spec" for me - if I liked it, it was mine, if I didn't, he'd find a buyer at some point he was sure.

Today, since I am trying to get some reasonably accurate dimensions for a customized seat, I put both the stock seat and the Reach seat side by side, and took some measurements.

Now, it is HARD to take accurate measurements, because you basically have to find the "crest" of the bum support area, and measure from there to the front tip of the seat, and we are talking about measuring where exactly the foam "changes direction" and that's AFTER the vinyl or leather has compressed the foam downward before being stapled into place under the base of the seat.

But, as accurately as I feel I can take that measurement, it is about 18 inches on the stock seat, and only 16 3/4 inches on the Reach seat. So, the Reach seta ives the rider FORWARD about 1 1/4 inches.

To measure the relative height, I let each seat rest on the floor in its equilibrium position, laid a round bar across (not along) the seat and let that bar roll to the lowest point. Then, I measured the distance from the floor to the bottom of the bar.

On the stock seat, the "height" was 3 1/2". On the Reach seat, it was 3 1/8 inches. That sounds like the Reach seat drops the rider only 3/8 inch closer to the ground. HOWEVER, my Reach seat has had a cutout made into it into which a gel layer was inserted, and then a LOW DENSITY piece of 1/2" thick foam was laid over it to ensure that there would be no "edge" where the gel met the original foam around its cutout. That 1/2" thick foam compressed a LOT as the seat maker tightened and stapled the vinyl cover back into place, but nevertheless I am certain it ended up a bit higher than it used to be. perhaps up to 1/4"? So, the actual drop for an Unmodified Reach seta could be say up to 5/8" versus a stock seat.

I figured this information might help other Breakout owners trying to dial in their ergonomics (I am 5' 9", have only a 30" inseam, and wear shirts with sleeve length = 33 to 34" if it helps anyone).

The 1 1/4 inch forward repositioning provided by the Reach seat TOTALLY eliminated the slight lower back ache I was getting after LONG riders on the Breakout (it was always fine for shorter rides).

By the way, I am not changing seats because the gel equipped Reach seat is in any way inadequate. The problem is the extreme narrow width of the PASSENGER seat (maybe 5 inches?). My wife took just one ride on my Breakout recently, started squirming in discomfort on that seat after just 20 minutes, and said she wasn't riding again until I get a seat with a much wider and slightly deeper passenger area!

Jim G