I just purchased the Saddlemen Road Sofa LS and I have a question. I was curious what the correct break in period is, I have heard up to 1000 miles? I went for a 50 mile quick trip today and the seat is very hard. I know that is supposed to be normal with this seat. However, I cannot ride longer than an hour without having multiple hot spots, and so far, it's about the same feeling as my stock seat, only I sit about 1" higher.


From my understanding, the seat will become much softer with time and miles. I am going to take on a few hundred mile trip this weekend to put it to the test. Any suggestions or recommendations would be much appreciated.


Thanks,
Leo

 

I have an Ultimate Seat that is the same way. I hate to tell you this, but in my experience, it's either comfortable or not right out of the box for the most part. I have about 5K on mine and it still kind of hurts my butt after an hour or so.

 

Yeah.... hate to be the bearer of bad news but if it's that hard and uncomfortable I don't see it magically softening up that dramatically over time.

 

Damn, that would be just my luck. I was hoping that after the break in period it would soften and shape to the rider. The good news is, I have a two week money back guarantee if it doesn't work. No reason to spend that kind of money if it doesn't work.

 

I got the RS in June and right away wife and I went on a 3000 mile trip . the seat was hard all the way so when I got home I called David from Saddleman and sent him the seat. He did some work on it to soften it up for me . I have about 1000 miles on it since I got it back and it still is hard but getting better all the time so I think it will get to be a good one in time.
If you have an issue call him, he worked with me.
I am surprised that it raised you up mine set me down and I really like the seating position just got to get it broken in. My issue is I am 5'6" and weigh 250 lbs but have no Butt just bones. I think as my belly grew it took all the fat off my ***.

 

I don't want to come across as a smart a--, it's your butt that breaks in, not necessarily the seat. When my wife first got her Corbin it took a 4,000 mile trip before it was comfortable for her. Fast fwd 50, 000 miles and it is still going strong.
On my Corbin it took me 1,000 miles before I got used to it. I eventually switched to a seat that had slightly softer foam due to a medical issue. I still believe it's you that breaks in to the seat not the other way around

 

I'm in the same situation as you. I ordered the Road Sofa LS extended reach version and it is hard as a rock and very uncomfortable and the wife says it has to go. We have around 1300 miles on ours with no indication that it is going to get better. We left on a trip to Orlando on August 14 and with about 75-100 miles left to our destination we were both ready to park the bike and call Uber. We rode a little during our stay but not enough to amount to anything. Then the trip home. It's a 475 mile return trip and it was agonizing. Coming up I-75 we stopped at Tifton HD and I was seriously considering putting one of their demo seats on to finish our trip and returning it Sunday or Monday. She talked me out of it but at every stop we taking advil to help with the discomfort. We had decided to take our Alaska Sheepskins on the trip just in case and they may have helped a bit. So in my case the search goes on. We have tried Ultimate, Saddlemen, Hammock, Air Hawk, Sheepskin and have not found that magical seat. Thinking we'll go visit our HD dealer and demo a few more.

 

I really appreciate all the feedback on this topic. It seems like everything I read on seat topics in the forums is true. Everybody's behind is subjective to finding the right seat. You either love it or hate it. I have tried the Airhawk in past on my old bike, but the stock seat on my 16 RK is a damn torture devise. I am going to give the RS a good try this weekend. I think maybe Harleyrider4300 may have some logic in his post, maybe my a** needs to break in on this new seat. I will put it to the test.

 

I have read multiple times that the Russell Day Long seats are the way to go with comfort, but they look like a damn couch to me. Otherwise, I would have pulled the trigger on that brand. Take a look at their seats if you don't care about the look as much as comfort. I am trying to find a blend of looks and comfort right now.

 

Failed to mention that on my 16 Limited I have Suspension Technologies shocks and i adjusted them trying to find that sweet spot but nothing helped. j
Just an FYI before someone asked if i was still running those pos oem air shocks.