EDITOR’S NOTE: We discovered a special service in the Saddlemen line-up: custom seats. They not only build seats around your design or your seat pan, but they will modify an existing Saddlemen seat to fit any rider. Below is a mass of info from Saddleman, then a report from a 5’6″ tall Bikernet Correspondent, in Colorado Springs, who recently installed a modified Saddlemen seat to his late-model King. Enjoy:
Custom seat builds and modifications have been Saddlemen specialties since the founding of our company.
Our technicians have years of experience in seat design, customization and refurbishing, and whether in an all-new seat made from scratch, or providing subtle tailoring, recovering or reshaping of an existing stock seat, Saddlemen professionals have helped thousands of riders improve the comfort, utility and appearance of their machines’ seats.
Saddlemen’s proven design methods and superior materials and features work together to enhance the riding experience. We also have access to a excellent range of premium-grade cover materials, both synthetic and natural, to suit the widest range of tastes and specifications. Our foam formula offers the best combination of support, long life and comfort on the market.
One of our constant sources of work is providing seat refurbishing and modification services. Whether replacing the cover on a favorite seat, installing our famous Saddlegel inserts for added support and comfort, reshaping a stock saddle for better ergonomics, or upgrading seat performance and durability with our top-of-the-line foam, Saddlemen has years of experience, know-how and workmanship ready to help.
Anyone interested in having an existing seat re-covered, or its foam upgraded, reshaped or otherwised modified, should contact our sales and technical staff, here, in our California offices, either by email at sales@saddlemen.com, or by telephone (Pacific Time Zone) at (800) 397-7709, during normal business hours. One of our technicians can then go over the options available to acheive each owner’s desired solution, along with cost and turnaround estimates.
We pride ourselves on our experience and ability to custom fit our seats (especially our touring saddles) for the needs of the widest variety of riders. Height, weight, build, riding style and habits can all influence the effectiveness and comfort of a seat. Our sales staff and craftsmen know the right questions to ask, and the answers for providing the best solutions for each individual.
Our standard American-made production run seats are hand-built and designed for comfort and optimal seating position, with years experience behind them, and Saddlemen’s innovative combination of proven materials. Like even the best made piece of clothing, tailoring sometimes is needed to suit the individual “wearer,” or can make a “good” seating setup just about perfect.
Adjustments can be made to improve many aspects of the riding experience. The forward area of a seat can be narrowed to help provide better leg reach to the ground when stopped. Lumbar supports can be adjusted to improve the rider’s seating position, front-to-rear. The shape of the seating surface can be customized to relieve sources of discomfort. Over many years, our staff has found solutions for all kinds of individual issues.
Potential buyers with concerns about comfort, seating position and styling can contact our knowledgible sales staff at our California offices and factory. A brief conversation can answer many questions, and provide a basis for creating a seat for the best ride possible. We can also discuss options for cover materials, stitching and ornamentation.
For a specific consultation, and a quote, our experienced Sales Department representatives can be reached during normal Pacific time zone business hours at (800) 397-7709.
One of our most popular types of customization we offer is the installation of SaddleGel™ padding into seats. Gel installs offer the signature benefit of Saddlemen seats for those who wish or need to keep their original seat. See the gel story below.
BIKERNET CORRESPONDENT REPORT
The Renegade Deluxe seat, with pillion pad, you sent for my ’07 FLHR was waiting on my doorstep when I got home from work Friday afternoon. Installation is pretty straightforward, since the Sundowner mounts identical to the factory seat and pillion.
Did I say straightforward? Not if you accidentally knock the studs and their retainer bracket out of the rear fender as I did while trying to push the seat forward and align the rear tabs over the studs. Yep, sometimes I can fuck up a wet dream.
Anyhow, rather than dropping the rear wheel to reinstall the bracket and studs, I was able to fish the studs (with a washer) from underneath the fender with a magnet and secure them to the fender with their plastic grommets and a pair of locknuts. I tossed the dirt-encrusted bracket into my box of miscellaneous spare parts. Back to the install.
The retaining tongue on the front of the Sundowner is a bit shorter and at a shallower angle compared to the factory seat, which made aligning the rear tabs with the studs problematic. So I gently and incrementally bent the tongue to a steeper angle until I got the seat, tabs, and studs properly aligned. I wanted to be careful here, because the tongue is riveted to the seat pan and I didn’t want to rip them out (See note above about fucking up a wet dream). Installing the pillion was a simple matter of sliding its slotted tabs onto the studs and securing its rear to the fender with the OEM screw.
As you told me, this seat moves the rider forward a bit, which is fine for me, since I’m a massive 5’7″, 160 lb, with a 31″ inseam. The Sundowner is a comfortable seat and good-looking, too. Although I haven’t put a lot of miles on this seat yet, my ass says it’s got the factory seat and the Mustang solo seat beat by a long shot, and I’d put it on a par with the Corbin solo.
—Bruce
THE SADDLEMEN GEL STORY–SADDLEGEL
Why your motorcycle seat needs SaddleGel!
Without question SaddleGel is the most important breakthrough in motorcycle seating technology in decades. This amazing product will increase the amount of time you spend on your motorcycle, creating the comfort necessary to ride all day. Every type of riding is more enjoyable, from touring to dual sport, canyon carving to street cruising.
When it comes to motorcycle seat comfort technology, nothing compares to a Saddlemen seat with SaddleGel. The proprietary SaddleGel technology was gleaned from the medical industry with specific origins in wheelchair pads and hospital beds. The gel was used (and still is) to prevent bedsores for those confined to beds for long periods of time and for people in wheelchairs—some for their whole lives. Know anyone who rides as much as a person confined to a wheelchair?
In the early ‘90s, the experienced riders at Saddlemen figured out a way to incorporate all the benefits of gel into a motorcycle seat and quickly learned it was far more comfortable than standard seats for a variety of reasons. For one, SaddleGel isolates engine and road vibration, a common cause of rider fatigue. Saddlegel is a molded solid with fluid-like properties that will not slide to one side or move around in your seat like water in a plastic bag; instead the proprietary design eliminates pressure points at the hip bones and tail bone by evenly distributing your weight across the surface of the seat. Otherwise, pressure points or “hot spots” can hinder blood flow, causing pain and discomfort. Normal circulation is never lost on a seat with SaddleGel, and it keeps your rear end comfortable on a long ride, and ready to respond quickly as road conditions change.
Saddlemen SaddleGel is extremely advantageous, but we were able to maximize the benefits of it by developing a seating comfort system around it. Our integrated seat designs include a selection of materials that work together to make our seats as comfortable as possible, while still giving your bike show-quality style. Read more about Saddlemen’s Comfort System Technology (CST) here.
GEL SEAT CONSTRUCTION
* • Particularly good in low profile seats
* • Superior to foam alone
* • Floats rider on seat
* • Eliminates road shock and vibration
* • Dissipates weight evenly
* • No hot spots
* • Maximizes time in saddle
* • Exclusive composite construction
Each individual component works together as a system.
