THX 1138
25th April 2008, 22:22
I'm loving the new XB12Ss, but find my but going numb too quickly. So I got a recommendation for a shop about an hour and a half away from home that can customize the seat to add more comfort. The shop is Advanced Custom Designs AKA Alligator Bob's. So I'm talking to Bob and he's recommending a product called a Pro Pad. Basically it's a Viscoelastic Dry Polymer that gets inlaid into the existing seat foam making it more comfortable. He also reshaped the seat just a bit to provide just a bit of a bucket. He said he could do as much reshaping as I wanted, and could lower a seat way down if you wanted. I just went with a minimal bucket though, because I didn't want to lower the seat any to speak of. You can read about the Pro Pad on Alligator Bob's web site here... http://www.alligatorbob.com/propad.htm
So I rode the bike up there (make an appointment if you want to wait for it) and he checks out how I currently sit on the seat and we have a quick discussion about what will be done. After a while I get the seat back with just the reshaping done and no cover. I mount it on the bike to check the fit at this point, and just the reshaping has made a difference. I give it my blessing and it's on to installing the Pro Pad. They mark where the pad will fit and router out 1/2 inch of foam from that area. The Pro pad is then trimmed to an exact fit and glued in place. Here's a couple of pictures of the seat at this point.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2017/2441802524_7a6e4a9c07_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3132/2441802458_b059ff92aa_o.jpg
Next they glue on a scrim material to tie it all together permanently and then put the original cover back on. Except for the slight reshaping you would never tell it was not a stock seat.
The ride home was without a doubt more comfortable. Sure I miss the comfort of the touring seat on my old Wide Glide, but this make the new Buell much more friendly on longer rides. Supposedly the Pro Pad is cooler to sit on than standard foam too. My ride home was the coolest weather since I bought the Buell and it was thunder storming, so it wasn't a good ride to test if the seat was cooler. I'll get back to that when the weather warms up again. Total cost was $25 for the reshaping and $160 for installation of the Pro Pad, and it took just a bit over 3 hours. You can also ship your seat in to have it customized for those that are not local. They do some amazing leather work too. Check out the pics of some of his display pieces, and check out his web site...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3281/2440973607_307f7996ab_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/2441802922_07f36c0ca6_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2189/2441802804_4630ba84e3_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2405/2441802676_86b62932b4_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3157/2441802334_67510a64e5_o.jpg
So I rode the bike up there (make an appointment if you want to wait for it) and he checks out how I currently sit on the seat and we have a quick discussion about what will be done. After a while I get the seat back with just the reshaping done and no cover. I mount it on the bike to check the fit at this point, and just the reshaping has made a difference. I give it my blessing and it's on to installing the Pro Pad. They mark where the pad will fit and router out 1/2 inch of foam from that area. The Pro pad is then trimmed to an exact fit and glued in place. Here's a couple of pictures of the seat at this point.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2017/2441802524_7a6e4a9c07_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3132/2441802458_b059ff92aa_o.jpg
Next they glue on a scrim material to tie it all together permanently and then put the original cover back on. Except for the slight reshaping you would never tell it was not a stock seat.
The ride home was without a doubt more comfortable. Sure I miss the comfort of the touring seat on my old Wide Glide, but this make the new Buell much more friendly on longer rides. Supposedly the Pro Pad is cooler to sit on than standard foam too. My ride home was the coolest weather since I bought the Buell and it was thunder storming, so it wasn't a good ride to test if the seat was cooler. I'll get back to that when the weather warms up again. Total cost was $25 for the reshaping and $160 for installation of the Pro Pad, and it took just a bit over 3 hours. You can also ship your seat in to have it customized for those that are not local. They do some amazing leather work too. Check out the pics of some of his display pieces, and check out his web site...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3281/2440973607_307f7996ab_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3003/2441802922_07f36c0ca6_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2189/2441802804_4630ba84e3_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2405/2441802676_86b62932b4_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3157/2441802334_67510a64e5_o.jpg