Hello All,

I was just wondering if anyone had a thought on ordering a touring saddle from a big brand vs getting a custom 1 piece two up saddle made for a sporty.

I have been debating between a Danny Gray TourIST 2-up seat for me and the wife or going the custom route from sicksaddles.

The wife and I find the stock seat and pillion uncomfortable at the hour mark and I plan to do some longer rides in the next few weeks. I like the idea of the 1 piece two up saddle so that I can slide back a bit further on my iron (I am 6'3 with longer legs and I have highway pegs) but also find my butt hurts after about an hour on the stock saddle and though a traditional high end touring saddle would do the trick?

I know that saddles are a very personal thing but in general are touring saddles from bigger name saddle companies like saddleman and danny gray any good for 2-4 hour rides with just a short break for filling up gas? Or would I be better off ordering a custom 1 piece saddle and try to have them fit my needs.

I like the look of the custom work from sicksaddles a lot but just not sure how comfortable those saddles would be for long rides.

Thanks for any input you may have.

 

Seats are a personal choice. I've been through several (5 or 6) including a custom. In fact, I now have two $500 seats just because I really did not know what I wanted...but think I finally got it. I am here just to provide a piece of advice based on my experience....be sure you ride (not just sit on it) with your seat if you customize your stock two up...it is very different when you ride.

 

Thanks for your advice. Good to but sad to know it is often a long road to finding the ideal fit. I do a lot of mountain biking and it took me nearly a year to find a saddle that works great for all my bikes. Hoping to get lucky for the motorcycle and get it right on the first shot

 

For me, it would depend if the big brands offer the exact seat I want. Big brands will have better resale and should be easier to sell, if that's a concern, but you will lose money either way.

 

The Sick Saddles seats look great but I will make two comments: any sewn pattern is likely to leak rain into the cushion and keep you wet for days, unless they are very good at sealing them in some way; they may be able to make a great touring seat, but I'm not sure I see one on their website!

Having said that Mrs B and I have been happy for almost 20 years with our Corbin wide touring seat, on our Glide. That doesn't seem to have much padding, but the shape is very clever and we have done long days in the saddle in comfort.

However in our experience the best improvement in comfort has come from good quality shocks. We have been surprised how much smoother riding our Glide is, as it glides over all those marks and disruptions in the road surface. We no longer crash into potholes, which is especially welcome! So consider custom shocks, then add a decent branded seat.

 

Thanks for all of the feedback so far. I have added 13in shocks to the rear already and still fine tuning ideal preload for two up vs solo riding and I think I got that down to its ideal place. The wife and I noticed a big difference when changing those out, which is what has allowed her to feel comfy riding up to about an hour before having any complaints. Just wanting to extend that comfort to two hours going two up and 3-4 hours solo with stops for gas, stock seat won't cut it.

I totally did not consider the whole saddle getting wet aspect as that is a no go for me since I ride pretty much rain or shine.

So far it looks like I am leaning towards the touring saddle. But my mind can still easily be changed

 

What your eyes see, your butt may not like. You can run through a lot of seats and not find any improvement. Consider an Airhawk. They work.

https://airhawk.net/product-category...rley-davidson/

 

The Harley Sundowner gets plenty of support in here and your local dealer may have a demo version the two of you can try. Some dealers have a 'fit centre' with a variety of goodies like alternative seats for customers to try out. Another is the Mustang Wide Touring.

 

I will swing by my local dealer after work to see if they have any demos! That would be super helpful if they do.

 

I've been very happy with the Mustang seat I chose. They carry a wide verity of one up with the addition of a passage pillion and two up seating. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I thought Danny Gray makes the seats for Harley Davidson. One difference that made me go with Mustang over DG was that Mustangs have fiberglass bases and rivets and DG uses plastic bases and staples.