Seat advice please
 

Well after a night of riding with the wife and some old friends, I was informed that it may be time for a change. The wife told me that she can't handle the passenger seat on the VTR any more. Now I admit the stock seat sucks. So the options discussed were...
A) Look into a new ride. i.e. Cruiser... Don't think I'm ready to go there yet. But, did research today on the Victory Hammer. Won't look to Harley. Can't stand the Motor Company. Cost $18,400 for a new 2011 Hammer S.
B) Look into a new seat with a back rest for her. From what I seen on the end is Sargent doesn't offer one with a back rest. If they do some one let me know. Corbin offers the Gunfighter and Lady set up for $650 from Corbin. $650 is a hell of alot cheaper than $18,400.

So question is to you... Does anyone have one of these corbins and how does it feel? Passenger input included.
The kids are getting old enough now that we can steal some time for ourselves and are looking to do more riding. And I want her to enjoy it more.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Would your wife have an interest in piloting her own bike? After 12 years together, my wife decided on her own to take the MSF course. That was over 5 years ago, before I bought my VTR. She absolutely loves riding. She started on an '05 EX500 and now has 24,000 miles on her '07 SV650S.

She rode on the back of my Superhawk a couple of times and neither one of us liked it. Nothing like my old '83 BMW R100RS, which was very passenger friendly.

Modern sportbikes are made for 1 up riding, in my opinion.

You wouldn't have to go the cruiser route though. How about a retro bike with a flat seat, like the Triumph Bonneville.

Why the "need" for a backrest? If it's a comfort thing, then OK... If it's a "safety thing" then don't buy one... Because it's nothing more than false safety... If you sit right you won't slide around, and you will have a lot more control than a backrest gives you...

On a side note the Sargent seat has a noticably thicker padding on the passenger portion... According to those that have tried it on my bike, it was an improvement over stock...

I have ridden 2 up for many years with my wife. If you are talking about anything more than just a short ride to a place, perched on the back of a sportbike, even a mild sport bike like the SH, its a bad place for a passenger. People will disagree and say how their wife or GF loves it etc. Well, go try it yourself for a few rides and see how you like it back there.
My advice is to get a bike that you can both feel comfortable and reasonably safe on. There are lots of good sporty bikes with 2 up seating also, you don't have to go full cruiser unless that is what you like.

She mentioned waiting to learn to ride before the kids came along. But realized how she doesn't have the coordination to pull it off. (She could never learn a stick shift let alone to work the hand, foot, and keep balance. Bless her heart.)

"Why the "need" for a backrest? If it's a comfort thing, then OK... "
Yes it is more of a comfort thing. She says it hurts her back to lean the whole time. She just wants something with support to lean against from time to time.
I like to do some longer rides and would love her to join me. Now longer rides for me is maybe 100-250 miles. So her comfort is going to be a priority. She bought the VTR for me for our 6 month anniversary back in 2000. So she's pretty attatched to it also. (we met on my NT650.)
"My advice is to get a bike that you can both feel comfortable and reasonably safe on. There are lots of good sporty bikes with 2 up seating also, you don't have to go full cruiser unless that is what you like."
My thought also. Don't have to get rid of the VTR. Just add one to the stable. But that may be an option for the five year plan... Right now I think the seat idea is my only option.

Had a Sgt seat on the VTR, wife was okay with it but it caused me to constantly slide forward, up against the tank (very distracting), because of the forward tilt of the seat pan.

We both liked the stock seat on the R 100 RS.

With the depth of the monetary difficulties it should be easy to find a used bike with a descent seat for a low, low cash price. FJ, VFR, Concours, Honda Blackbird XX, ST? Two-up engineering all.



Cruiser? An adventure for the unschooled.

I'm really liking the idea of a blackbird, they are great bang for the buck it seems.

http://hydroturf.com/product/Seat_Co...rt_Bike/SB-H06

my buddy has had seats done by them, very nice, unfortunately they dont have a kit for the superhawk but i believe if you sent them your seat they can make something or just buy the gel insert and have a local upholstery shop recover it for you

Thanks for all the responses. Please keep them coming. It seems you can never have enough info.