My wife and I are enjoying driving the savage around locally. Her only complaint is obviously the small/hard back seat. Is there anything that can be done to improve the situation? I know its a small bike and that the rear fender is only so big, but are there any aftermarket seats that work better. Wider?

I am REALLY glad this topic is here....

By accident, I think that I found a good solution for the Monkey Butt stock seat.  Bear with me...

Since I modified my rear fender, and still have the springer seat "in process", I rode to the mountain with a slightly modified stock seat last Sunday.  Here is what I did, and though it wasn't intentional it may be a key to a more comfortable Savage seat...

Under the rider's seat, and near the pillon seat mount is a rubber bushing right in the middle that rests on the fender (right under your tail bone, too).  To date all modifications have involved raising the front of the seat...but maybe lowering the rear is part of the cure, too.

Since my fender has been modified, I'm not able to use that stock rubber bushing, and since my springer wasn't ready, I had to modify the stock seat for the Mountain run.  Where the rear of the seat is molded to fit the frame tubes, I glued 2 pieces of 1/4" flat rubber (with silicone).  That allowed the seat to rest on the frame and not the fender.  This also allowed the tailbone part of the seat to float above the fender.

Believe it or not, but Sunday was not only a shake down ride for my bike, but also myself.  I hadn't ridden in month's and I expected a really sore butt...not so.  I rode nearly 150 miles before I began to "feel the burn".

Think about it.  Check it out.  I think it might help.  I'll take pictures when I take the seat off next....

The bushing pulls right out.  if you decide to put it back just put a little grease on the rubber and pop it back in.

And look at the recesses where the seat fits over the 2 frame tubes.  That is where I glued a couple pieces of rubber so the seat would actually sit on the frame...(it doesn't normally because it actually rests on the bushing against the fender).

The sun FINALLY poked out today, but alas I'm leaving for Laconia tonight right after work. So looks like I will give this a shot next week.  But for now its time to enjoy a weekend in the mountains surrounded by bikes, babes and BBQ.

bentwheel wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:06:


Thanks Man.

See, the whole seat thing goes way back with me.  I am quite familiar with the old "Jon D" seat modification which originally circulated in another forum a few years ago and was posted on his web site.  But I never really saw much improvement (I might have a wierd butt)....

And this new idea is merely an accident caused by a delay in my springer seat installation.  With a modified fender, I couldn't use the bushing anymore, and so I was forced to remove it.  But it sort of makes sense since raising the front is the opposite of lowering the rear.

All in all, everyone complains about their numb tailbone on the Savage.  They buy cushions, seats, and mod things to try to fix it, but it would be really cool if the thing that makes everyone's tailbone scream in pain is actually right there and just needs to be removed....lets see, I guess.

My ride to and from work today was just fine.

Mr 650 wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:06:


I thought of that, which is why I cemented the rubber strips over the frame tubes.  I thought about the plastic seat pan being supported only by the rear mounting bolts (without the bushing), and so I added them.  This does allow the seat pan to have a little amount of flex, which takes some of the load off your tailbone.

Quote:

My solo is still in the works, but for now, and other's with a stock seat, this might be a big help.

I imagine that since you've got back troubles, that any seat can be rough riding.