Evaluating the Mustang Regal Duke Motorcycle Seat

This blog entry is designed to review the Mustang Regal Duke motorcycle seat for a 2006 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883. It may be helpful for other models, but I can't specifically comment on how this seat will perform with other motorcycles.

Let's face it. The stock seats that come with most Harley-Davidson motorcycles aren't that comfortable. Sitting on one a stock Harley seat is approximately a half step up from a church pew. Since most of my riding is in-town, or short commutes of 40 miles or less, a new seat hasn't been my highest priority, but I've always known that I'd have to upgrade if I planned on doing any rides lasting for an hour or more. On the rare occasion that I did an all-day ride, my bony butt was numb after that first sixty minutes. After two hours, my tush was begging for the ride to end.

I've been shopping for an upgrade for around two years, and early on, I decided that the Regal Duke, made by Mustang, was the seat for me. It had solid reviews for comfort and for durability, and the price was better than most similar replacement seats. Still, $300+ was never something that I've been prepared to drop on a whim. Last week though, I found that seat for just under $250, including shipping. That deal was just too good to pass up, so I jumped on it. (Just in time to put the bike in storage for the winter, but that's beside the point.)

I got the seat today, and I'm prepared to make a preliminary review. The installation process was so easy that I'm not even going to talk about it here. The old one was off, and the new one was on in less than 15 minutes. Instead, I'm going to talk about my initial impressions of how the seat looks and feels.

When I jumped on the bike after swapping seats, I noticed two things. First, the seat made me ride an inch or two higher. I expected this. I also expected to sit forward an inch or two, but that didn't happen. I thought that the higher ride might be a bit uncomfortable, but I quickly adjusted, and after a block or two, I decided that I liked the extra lift. Being a bit long-legged, I kind of liked the extra lift while sitting at stop lights.

The next thing I noticed was that it didn't feel as soft as I expected. I figured that the difference in cushioning would be far more radical... kind of like moving from a park bench to a La-Z-Boy. When I first sat on the seat, I noticed virtually no difference. After riding for a few blocks though, I realized that while the entire seat didn't feel much softer, it was noticeably more cushioned in key areas. Due to the chilly weather, I only rode for a few miles, but it was long enough to come to the conclusion that the seat will probably serve me well on longer hauls.

From an aesthetics perspective, I've got to admit that I'm a bit disappointed. The stock seat hugs the frame almost perfectly. This makes sense... though uncomfortable, the stock seat is specifically designed for my exact bike.

If you take a look at this picture, you may notice a gap between the bottom of the seat, and the cover below. With the stock seat, you don't even see the clips that hold the cover in place. If you expand the picture, you will also notice that the wiring harness is significantly visible. The harness is virtually invisible with the stock seat.



This picture, taken from the other side, shows the same thing. The oil filler cap is more pronounced, there's a plainly visible frame bolt, and the wiring harness sticks out like a sore thumb

A couple of things I do like aesthetically though, is the rise at the back of the rider's seat, and the passenger part sits up quite a bit when compared to the Harley-Davidson aftermarket passenger pillion. The extra rise on the passenger seat eliminates the gap between the top of the seat and the bottom of the backrest.

If you're going strictly for looks, this may not be the ideal seat. The increased visibility of the frame and wiring harnesses detracts from the sleek look and feel that the stock seat has. But if you're going for comfort, or for a slightly higher ride, this seat should fit the bill nicely. I fully intend to post a follow-up review after taking the bike for a long ride, and I will also post a follow-up comment after taking the kids for a spin. They will be able to give me a bit of feedback regarding passenger comfort.

Oh yeah... I suppose I should mention that I got the seat for a great price at GM Cycles. I'm thoroughly satisfied with shopping experience through them.

Addendum, added April 12, 2010:
Having taken some longer rides, I now feel prepared to write the follow-up I promised when I did the initial evaluation.

Over the weekend, I took the bike for a couple of cruises on the highway. each ride was approximately 80 miles, and a kid accompanied me on each trip. The ride is definitely more comfortable with the new seat, but I can't say that it's exactly a La-Z-Boy.

There are three functional aspects of the seat that make it superior to the stock Harley seat. The first item was something I didn't notice right away. The Mustang seat isn't as slippery as the stock seat, so when I found a comfortable spot, my butt stayed in place... it didn't slide around on the seat as much as the stock one. The second thing I liked was the rise at the back of my portion of the seat. It provided a surprising amount of additional support, considering its size, which saved a lot of wear and tear on my tailbone. And the added cushion made the ride significantly more comfortable over the long haul.

When riding with the stock seat, I was ready to get off the bike after a mere 30 minutes of riding. With the new seat, it took closer to 60 minutes before fanny-fatigue started kicking in; and I was ready to hop back in the saddle after just a few moments of standing.

As for the passenger experience... my older daughter said that her butt fell asleep, but I think that has more to do with road conditions than the seat itself, because my younger daughter had no complaints whatsoever.

If you're looking for a truly all-day seat, this one may not quite meet your expectations. But then again, at least in my case, the peanut tank on my Harley requires me to stop and stretch every couple of hours anyway. While the stock seat was similar to a medieval torture device on long trips, the new seat is simply "less than perfect." There may be better seats out there, but based on my research, they'd cost a lot more. After using this seat on a couple of longer trips, I'm happy that I made the purchase.