Wide Vintage Super Touring Seat
Mustang Motorcycle Products
$429.00
www.mustangseats.com
800.243.1392
My riding style demands that a motorcycle seat be comfortable and durable, with plenty of support over the long haul. I’ve ridden on a Mustang saddle on my Sportster for nearly nine years, and it has held up remarkably well, even after riding that bike to Daytona, Sturgis, and lots of other faraway places. In fact, it still looks like new. So when it came time to replace the seat on my Dyna Super Glide, it made perfect sense for me to turn to Mustang once again.
I chose the Wide Vintage Super Touring Seat that features a smooth leather-like vinyl surface with braided edge trim. It’s available with decorative studs and conchos, but I prefer the plain black look. The seat is plenty roomy, with the widest part spreading to 16.5″ and a rear width of 12.5″. The front of the seat tapers nicely to fit against the Dyna’s gas tank, and features a deep, wide bucket-style seat for the rider. Although the seat looks like it’s two separate pieces, it’s actually a once-piece saddle that’s built on a single baseplate, yet holds both rider and passenger quite comfortably. Mustang’s baseplates are made of either 16-gauge steel or marine-grade fiberglass, depending on the seat model. All baseplates have steel reinforced, impact- absorbing vinyl edge trim to protect the cover, and polyurethane bumpers have been riveted to the baseplate to protect the paint on your frame and fender. The polyurethane seat foam is Mustang’s own design, and is constructed to a thickness and shape that conforms to your body shape every time you get on the bike.
I could have selected a similar two-piece combination that would allow the use of a Mustang rider backrest with or without the passenger pillion, but the appeal of the one-piece seat is that the passenger portion of the Wide Vintage seat extends forward over the rider’s seat for lumbar support. And not having to use a backrest allows me more freedom to more easily accommodate the excessive amount of gear I pack on the back—including the rear seat—of the bike.
Installation was so quick and simple it’s barely worth mentioning. Once the seat’s nose tab is pushed into the frame behind the gas tank, the slotted chrome bracket in the seat was in perfect alignment with the threaded hole in the fender, allowing me to screw in the seat with no problem at all.
Just like the Mustang seat on my Sportster, there is no break-in required. The combination of the deep seat and the lumbar support provided by the passenger portion of the seat provided me with instant comfort. The first time I used the seat was on a non-stop 170-mile ride to Wildwood, New Jersey, and my butt wasn’t the least bit stiff or sore. And the lumbar support worked incredibly well, allowing me to adopt a healthier and more comfortable riding stance than I’d previously been able to. A few weeks later, I rode hundreds of miles on a three-day tour of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, and I was quite comfortable all weekend, as well.
Marilyn Simmons, Mustang Motorcycle Products marketing director, understood my concern about keeping my seat as dry as possible. The strong, heavy vinyl material is already waterproof, but she suggested that I spray some clear (not white and not paste) furniture wax on my finger and just rub that finger along the stitching to help seal the seat and prevent any water from seeping inside through the seams. Well, it worked like a charm. Tropical Storm Hanna decided to pay us a visit during our Wildwood trip, and our bikes parked outside the hotel were pounded with rain and wind all night long. The next morning, I just wiped the seat off, sat down, and grinned from ear to ear when I realized I wasn’t going to have to deal with “wet butt” all day.
Mustang’s president, Al Simmons, is a perfectionist who has spent years developing this seat, and he makes sure every one has a near-flawless fit and finish. The seat has proven its worth in all sorts of riding conditions since I first installed it on my Dyna, and I fully expect that it’ll still look, and perform, like new in another nine years; just like the seat on my Sportster.
Mustang offers a one-year warranty against defects, and even if you purchase the seat through a dealer, the company will directly honor your warranty. Mustang will also recover or replace the foam at a reasonable cost for any of its seats currently in production.
In 2009, you can find Mustang Seats during Daytona Bike Week at J&P Cycles at Destination Daytona in Ormond Beach and at Millers Custom Parts in South Daytona. They’ll also be at Lake George, New York, in June; Myrtle Beach Spring Bike Week; and the Sturgis Rally. Other Mustang seat models are available to suit your riding style and taste, and the friendly and helpful crew can fit your bike with a seat and, as a courtesy, send your old seat back to your home at no cost to you. Or you can check Mustang’s website to purchase directly from the company.
