Next year I'll be turning 50 and I plan on giving myself a nice motorcycle as a birthday gift but my mind's been spinning trying to decide which one would be the best choice for me.

I currently own a 2003 Kawasaki Classic 1600 and it's been a fine bike overall but there are things about it that I find less then inspiring, the radiator for one and the shaft drive for another. I know that those are superficial but hey, it's got to appeal to your senses, right?

Also, it needs some brake work and the shocks probably need to be replaced/repaired. Now that I've decided to move onto another bike next year, I won't spend any more money on my Kawasaki.

Over the last eight months, I've gone over all the plus and minuses of all types of bikes, I almost ended up inheriting my father-in-law's BMW K1200LT but that went to my brother-in-law(I don't think that that's my kind of bike anyway), then I looked into Goldwings, Kawasaki Concours14, etc.... I got on a kick about forgoing cruisers all together but now I'm starting to be drawn back to the almighty cruiser.

One of my biggest concerns about buying another cruiser is that my butt can't handle riding any more then an hour at a time on my Classic 1600, what a horribly painful seat! Even with an AirHawk seat pad, gel pad or sheepskin my butt goes numb in no time, I don't get any back pain, just a numb butt and that's just taking all the fun out of the cruiser bikes for me. My wife has the same problem sitting on the back.

At first I blamed it all on the fact that my floorboards aren't right under me(like a Goldwing) which would allow a person to stand on the pegs a little bit to get some blood-flow going again but last night I rode home a used V-Star 1100 that my Dad just purchased and that 3/4 hour ride didn't hurt at all, so it's got to be my seat. The V-Star has a really wide seat that's like a shallow bowl and allows you all kinds of room for shifting seating positions, makes all the difference. That was a real eye-opener!

I've got a real thing for the Road King and the Road King Classic, those are my top two bikes out of the Harley line-up by far. Although the stock seat looks like it would be the first thing to go on those two bikes. It's a shame that they don't put a decent quality seat on there so that you don't have to go through the trouble and expense of upgrading the seat.

Hopefully I can score a good Road King next year, the prices up here in Atlantic Canada are pricey and the used 1-3 year old bikes tend to go for just about the same price as a new one but they have a bunch of after-market stuff on them, so I think that I'd probably spend the extra thousand or two and get a new one minus the add-ons.

I'm stuck on 2007 or newer because of the bigger motor in 2007 but then again trying to get a 2009 or newer you also get the newer frame, so in a perfect world, I'd score a lightly-used 2009 at a reasonable price but since there aren't many of those on the market here, a new one would be more likely.

Anybody have a good recommendation for a comfy seat for rider and pillion on a Road King? Or any other comments? Please chime in!

 

It is almost a given you will want to replace the stock seat. It all depends on how much you are willing to pay. Some people swear by the sundowner and others won't settle for less than the RZ.

 

I've got a Danny Gray seat on my RK and I absolutely love it. It looks great and is very comfortable. In the past I've had several Mustang seats and they were all very comfortable for both me and any passengers I may have had. The wide touring seat is very comfy. Every Harley I've had or ridden needed to have the stock seat replaced to make it comfortable for me. Same goes for the bars. Some have no problem with the stock bars, but not me. The seat and bars have always been the first to go on any bike I've had. I've tried Corbin seats, but I didn't like them at all. My backside liked the Mustang much more than the Corbin, and I can go from sunup to sundown on the Danny Gray with no problems at all. I really don't have any problems with the Mustang. I just overall like the DG better.

 

I'm currently riding a 2007 Honda VTX 1300R and the first thing to go was the God awful torture rack they called a seat. My tail bone would go numb 45 minutes into the ride....replaced it with a Mustang seat and can now ride 300 miles with zero issue.

The right seat makes or breaks a ride imho...I'm hoping to have a 2011 RK soon and the seat is a bit different than prior years...will give it a shot if I get the King but chances are another Mustang will be in my future as well



Dawg

 

Replaced my stock RK seat after all of 1 month of riding. Got the Sundowner and driver backrest. Can go all day easily and the misses too.

 

I'm glad that you brought up the backrest, this V-Star 1100 that I was riding home for my Dad had a nice backrest and I really liked it. It seems pretty darned rugged too, I was pushing my back up against it from time to time to allow myself to lift my butt off of the seat for a few seconds.

Are these backrests able to be used in this way or is it not a good idea?

So, it looks like a good quality seat and an added backrest for the rider are two things that I'd have to invest in if I go with another cruiser. Stopping every hour to take a break gets kind of old after a while.

 

You might be able to spend less and have the stock seat modified by someone. You can get better foam, gel or even memory foam.