I put a heated diamond seat on my 2018 Goldwing Tour and love it. It is a plug and play with the Honda plug in. It fits perfectly and looks great on the bike. Put 2,300 miles last week and was able to stay in the saddle for over 12 hours without issue. Best seat and love the driver's back rest also. Wife is very happy with seat as well.
I have to say the Russell Day Long has been the best money I’ve spent on upgrades. My group of riding buddies and I will put 500 to 700 mile days back to back to back. I’m the only one with the RDL and the only one who could easily put another several hours of riding behind me before calling it a day. I don’t know if they do Wingding or Sturgis. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and take the risk. They have at least a three month waiting list so you have plenty of time to check every other saddle manufacturer out.
Thanks for the great advice Max! I had John at wing soft do just the pilot seat with modifications to the back of the pas. So far I am happy with it on a 500 mile ride but back to back 800 mile days will be the test!
True, no one can make that decision except for the rider. For me, the Helibar Risers changed my position enough that the stock seat is now comfortable.
I'm going the riser route too. The stock seat is still ok at the moment. My bike is going to be 5 years and I'm the 2nd owner. Former owner put in 44,300 km without changing the seat and neither will I.
I completely agree on saddles. I had John at Wingsoft do his full mod to my 2019 Tour and it improved the comfort greatly. It's still not perfect but soooo much better than stock. My 2003 Goldwing stock saddle was more comfortable and i think the major difference is the width of the seat pan. It spread the force out over more area so there were fewer "hot" spots. Just my 2 cents.
This video popped up on my CZcams feed. Unfortunately the Wing Ding this year 22 was useless. I literally only saw one vendor allowing folks to sit on it. Maybe previous Wing Dings had more vendors. It was very disappointing and now we know this was the last Wing Ding. So now there apparently is nowhere we can test several seats at one time. Good luck selling your seats.
My seat saga. Liked the ultimate seat and design. Went to Orion’s beach and tested few on floor. Looked at a prototype with feature for accessory on arm rest. Plunged. Liked the fact I don’t have to provide seat pan and damage OEM. Seat supposed to be for tall boy. We’ll the measurement on the one I got was same as OEM. Seat is fine and I like the backrest. Wife hated the passenger backrest and we went back to stock for her. Now I’m looking at selling the seat and backrest. Looking at buying a seat pan and having diamond or Russell build just a seat. I want to keep the OEM so I can still ride while the seat is being built.
Good talk on saddles. I know with my Valkyrie I was able to sit on somebody that had an ultimate seat. And somebody that had a Corbin seat. Glad I did not buy the Corbin the ultimate seat was incredible. However so far the stock seat on the goldwing is okay but my longest ride has been like 6 hours at a time
Great advice. Little FYI, but Corbin can remove their driver's backrest pod so they can move you back up to an additional 3 inches. Not sure why they don't advertise that... The main downside is you loose the option for a backrest in the future. But for taller riders that might be worth the trade off. Was for me. I went back an extra inch and it changed everything for me.
If you have a wife, she will NOT appreciate the Corbin seat taking 3" out of her seating area. So a Traxxion trunk setback kit would be helpful in that case.
@@Traxxion Right. I went with just an additional 1" so I didn't take too much space from her. But yes if you go back the full 3" and have a passenger then your trunk relocation kit is a must!
a lot of the saddles need a break in. I used to be in pain with my OEM honda saddle now I find it very nice. I don't know if it was the saddle or my butt that need to break in but I'm okay with it now
Hi Max Thanks for your great videos on the wing I’ve got a Corbin seat to try here in the uk I have a fitting question if you could help please? My seat is not heated but has a wire connected to the bike is it sensors for weight ? The Corbin doesn’t have this what do I do ? Regards Andrew
But…what do you think of the Fire and Ice option on that Corbin seat? I just did an 1150 mile ride on the 2021 Tour DCT Black and the ability to cool the seat in 95 degree weather might have been nice IF IT REALLY WORKS. BTW the switch to operate the heat/cool function is fugley and I’d definitely need to black that out.
I suppose anything is better than nothing, I haven't heard anything bad about it. But what is bad, is that the Corbin is set back 2+" from stock. A "normal" sized rider can't reach the controls at all, and there's no place for your passenger to sit unless she weighs 100 pounds. They don't offer a "standard" location option. So we could not use that saddle on our 2021 Megabuild as a result.
If we line up a group of G W riders, we will see they are short to tall , slender to big ! For an OEM to make a seat that pleases everyone is impossible. One of the strengths of H D is they have several reasonably priced seat choices. I'm "somewhat " unhappy with my seat and I will talk to my local upholstery shop , which is biker oriented .
As everyone is different, can someone explain what I should look at when getting a better one? What makes a RDL different from the Ultimate? What tips would you give to someone at WingDing looking at saddles?
Too bad most stock seats are crap. A RDL on my BMW K16 made a huge difference. However, arse will still get sore by day-end. That easily trumps 2 hours though. I also had to add a bar riser & footpeg lowering kit (Wunderlich) (both pre-RDL) to get proper comfort.
All of that is good info... but the point still remains... your butt wants what your butt wants, regardless of what anyone else says, including "Science".
I make in the Philippines already 25000km with original Seat. The only Problem what we have; Is getting soooo hot... and you sweat all the time. No heater on!!
I have bought 2- Corbins in the past absolutely beautiful pieces of work but unbelievably horrible to ride on even long after the 1000 miles breakin period. I don’t understand the concept of hard is comfortable after 45-50 bikes my 2021 Goldwing tour stock seat is by by far the most comfortable stock seat I have ever had. My 2000 Concours was a distant second.
Well dam, I'm 67 and not and wasn't afraid of COVID. I guess I'm not an older rider yet. But I understand Anyway we, or more importantly, I need a better seat and need to try different seats. So is there someplace I can go to sit on different seats?
Max, right on point. Not Wing related, but it's my experience. 2012 Harley FLHTK, the stock seat (lower) was good for about 299 miles before I started to squirm around. Says on a Mustang at street Vibration when I had a RK. Great feel. Ny buddy had a 08 CVO with the Harley Hammock, sat on it and it was the bees Knees. Flash forward, my sister surprised me with a Harley Hammock. Worse piece of crap ever, but the wife says she comfortable and loves the heat, so I guess I have to ride it out (pun intended). Still eying the Mustang...
It's a lot like buying helmets or boots - you'll never really know until you've worn them (or sat on them) for several hours at a stretch. Also, don't discount the value of things like bicycle shorts and baby powder/Gold Bond/even corn starch from the local grocery store...
Yes - Helmets MUST be fitted because all our head-shapes are different. Some narrow, wide, egg shape, etc. SHOEI is one of the Best for fitting helmets!
Not that I know of. The Wingsoft guy says it isn't really possible to remove foam from the stock seat either for some reason. There are some companies that make super thick soled boots for shorter riders. That's the first thing I would get.
@@berniegarvey5219 Goldwing tires are highly specialized, there is no optional lower tires that I know of. We can lower the suspension some, but that is expensive.... boots will be cheap!
I put a heated diamond seat on my 2018 Goldwing Tour and love it. It is a plug and play with the Honda plug in. It fits perfectly and looks great on the bike. Put 2,300 miles last week and was able to stay in the saddle for over 12 hours without issue. Best seat and love the driver's back rest also. Wife is very happy with seat as well.
I have to say the Russell Day Long has been the best money I’ve spent on upgrades. My group of riding buddies and I will put 500 to 700 mile days back to back to back. I’m the only one with the RDL and the only one who could easily put another several hours of riding behind me before calling it a day. I don’t know if they do Wingding or Sturgis. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and take the risk. They have at least a three month waiting list so you have plenty of time to check every other saddle manufacturer out.
Thanks for the great advice Max! I had John at wing soft do just the pilot seat with modifications to the back of the pas. So far I am happy with it on a 500 mile ride but back to back 800 mile days will be the test!
True, no one can make that decision except for the rider. For me, the Helibar Risers changed my position enough that the stock seat is now comfortable.
I'm going the riser route too. The stock seat is still ok at the moment. My bike is going to be 5 years and I'm the 2nd owner. Former owner put in 44,300 km without changing the seat and neither will I.
enjoyed your advice…
So glad!
Thanks Max agree 💯 what’s great to one person is crap to another, try them out yourself 👍🏻
FINALLY! Common sense on the saddle question! Thanks again Max! ^5
Thats what I did in 2018,, wife and I sat on every seat that was there and still ended up buying a RDL.
I completely agree on saddles. I had John at Wingsoft do his full mod to my 2019 Tour and it improved the comfort greatly. It's still not perfect but soooo much better than stock. My 2003 Goldwing stock saddle was more comfortable and i think the major difference is the width of the seat pan. It spread the force out over more area so there were fewer "hot" spots. Just my 2 cents.
Have had a couple of saddles ended up with a ultimate mid rider great seat. Have done a few 700 mile days on it without any problems. 🚗.mini
This video popped up on my CZcams feed. Unfortunately the Wing Ding this year 22 was useless. I literally only saw one vendor allowing folks to sit on it. Maybe previous Wing Dings had more vendors. It was very disappointing and now we know this was the last Wing Ding. So now there apparently is nowhere we can test several seats at one time. Good luck selling your seats.
Great advice! Thanks Max!
You are on point. I've done upholstery for 40 years. EVERYBODY's butt is different. You need to try different seat then make your choice.
My seat saga. Liked the ultimate seat and design. Went to Orion’s beach and tested few on floor. Looked at a prototype with feature for accessory on arm rest. Plunged. Liked the fact I don’t have to provide seat pan and damage OEM. Seat supposed to be for tall boy. We’ll the measurement on the one I got was same as OEM. Seat is fine and I like the backrest. Wife hated the passenger backrest and we went back to stock for her. Now I’m looking at selling the seat and backrest. Looking at buying a seat pan and having diamond or Russell build just a seat. I want to keep the OEM so I can still ride while the seat is being built.
Thanks Max. Spot on.
Good talk on saddles. I know with my Valkyrie I was able to sit on somebody that had an ultimate seat. And somebody that had a Corbin seat. Glad I did not buy the Corbin the ultimate seat was incredible. However so far the stock seat on the goldwing is okay but my longest ride has been like 6 hours at a time
I sat on a Valkyrie with an ultimate seat too. I was amazed how comfortable it was and blown away how expensive it is for a Goldwing
Ultimate roadsofa and sattleman. Thats a garranty confort
Great advice. Little FYI, but Corbin can remove their driver's backrest pod so they can move you back up to an additional 3 inches. Not sure why they don't advertise that... The main downside is you loose the option for a backrest in the future. But for taller riders that might be worth the trade off. Was for me. I went back an extra inch and it changed everything for me.
If you have a wife, she will NOT appreciate the Corbin seat taking 3" out of her seating area. So a Traxxion trunk setback kit would be helpful in that case.
@@Traxxion Right. I went with just an additional 1" so I didn't take too much space from her. But yes if you go back the full 3" and have a passenger then your trunk relocation kit is a must!
Yep, every butt is different. I put 123,500 miles on stock Honda '06 GL seat with Utopia backrest. But that's mine. You give good advice.
Yes, our butts are personal🤣 .... Great answer to the best seat and saddles!
a lot of the saddles need a break in. I used to be in pain with my OEM honda saddle now I find it very nice. I don't know if it was the saddle or my butt that need to break in but I'm okay with it now
That's also a fair observation, but I would say it was probably a bit of both!
Good stuff Max.
Well I’m in the 10% who really like the stock saddle. I did 600 miles a day multiple times 2 up and none of us has any complaints about confort.
That is great fortune!
Hi Max
Thanks for your great videos on the wing
I’ve got a Corbin seat to try here in the uk I have a fitting question if you could help please?
My seat is not heated but has a wire connected to the bike is it sensors for weight ? The Corbin doesn’t have this what do I do ?
Regards
Andrew
That is a good question... I haven't ran into that yet. It might be something special to UK or Europe.
But…what do you think of the Fire and Ice option on that Corbin seat? I just did an 1150 mile ride on the 2021 Tour DCT Black and the ability to cool the seat in 95 degree weather might have been nice IF IT REALLY WORKS. BTW the switch to operate the heat/cool function is fugley and I’d definitely need to black that out.
I suppose anything is better than nothing, I haven't heard anything bad about it. But what is bad, is that the Corbin is set back 2+" from stock. A "normal" sized rider can't reach the controls at all, and there's no place for your passenger to sit unless she weighs 100 pounds. They don't offer a "standard" location option. So we could not use that saddle on our 2021 Megabuild as a result.
@@Traxxion Thanks Max. At 5’9 that won’t work for me. Guess it’s time to make an appointment for a Russel Day Long seat.
@@PapaDougsAdventures01 Ultimate Seats are nice too.
If we line up a group of G W riders, we will see they are short to tall , slender to big ! For an OEM to make a seat that pleases everyone is impossible. One of the strengths of H D is they have several reasonably priced seat choices. I'm "somewhat " unhappy with my seat and I will talk to my local upholstery shop , which is biker oriented .
We recommend Wingsoft in Texas. John has done thousands of Wing seats, he has it all figured out, for half the price of an after market saddle.
Is there going to be a wingding this year?
Unfortunately, the GWRRA collapsed after COVID, as older riders were scared of the flu.
Wing Ding is gone.
As everyone is different, can someone explain what I should look at when getting a better one? What makes a RDL different from the Ultimate? What tips would you give to someone at WingDing looking at saddles?
Just sit on them, and you'll find the one that feels best to YOU. That's all there is to it. Buy that one.
Too bad most stock seats are crap. A RDL on my BMW K16 made a huge difference. However, arse will still get sore by day-end. That easily trumps 2 hours though. I also had to add a bar riser & footpeg lowering kit (Wunderlich) (both pre-RDL) to get proper comfort.
How about comments on Sofa or Saddle seats defined... and what they do...Also comments on pressure points
All of that is good info... but the point still remains... your butt wants what your butt wants, regardless of what anyone else says, including "Science".
I make in the Philippines already 25000km with original Seat. The only Problem what we have; Is getting soooo hot... and you sweat all the time. No heater on!!
You need AC!
Lol @ “what woman should I marry?” 🤣
**I** can actually answer this. None of them. Just rent. 😁
See, that's a business!!! Saddle Rental! You can rent and try all of the brands!
How about a wife ding where we could “sit on” different women?
@@FranklinBurns42 you are a forward thinker... just not sure how you would get to keep the one you liked!
I have bought 2- Corbins in the past absolutely beautiful pieces of work but unbelievably horrible to ride on even long after the 1000 miles breakin period. I don’t understand the concept of hard is comfortable after 45-50 bikes my 2021 Goldwing tour stock seat is by by far the most comfortable stock seat I have ever had. My 2000 Concours was a distant second.
The one I have....DUH!!!!!
Well dam, I'm 67 and not and wasn't afraid of COVID. I guess I'm not an older rider yet. But I understand Anyway we, or more importantly, I need a better seat and need to try different seats. So is there someplace I can go to sit on different seats?
Not that I know of... what part of the country do you live in?
Max, right on point. Not Wing related, but it's my experience. 2012 Harley FLHTK, the stock seat (lower) was good for about 299 miles before I started to squirm around. Says on a Mustang at street Vibration when I had a RK. Great feel. Ny buddy had a 08 CVO with the Harley Hammock, sat on it and it was the bees Knees. Flash forward, my sister surprised me with a Harley Hammock. Worse piece of crap ever, but the wife says she comfortable and loves the heat, so I guess I have to ride it out (pun intended). Still eying the Mustang...
It's a lot like buying helmets or boots - you'll never really know until you've worn them (or sat on them) for several hours at a stretch.
Also, don't discount the value of things like bicycle shorts and baby powder/Gold Bond/even corn starch from the local grocery store...
Yes - Helmets MUST be fitted because all our head-shapes are different. Some narrow, wide, egg shape, etc. SHOEI is one of the Best for fitting helmets!
Hi Max, does anyone make a lower seat for the 2018+ gold wing? thanks
Not that I know of. The Wingsoft guy says it isn't really possible to remove foam from the stock seat either for some reason. There are some companies that make super thick soled boots for shorter riders. That's the first thing I would get.
I was afraid of that. I will look into the boots though! Are some tires lower profile than others? Thanks again.
@@berniegarvey5219 Goldwing tires are highly specialized, there is no optional lower tires that I know of.
We can lower the suspension some, but that is expensive.... boots will be cheap!
I recently bought two Corbin Fire & Ice seats. You will only notice the cooler seat when it is 80 degrees or less. Another rip off
Interesting. I hadn't really heard any feedback on that feature.
Stick to the stock saddle. It's not bad. And marry a Latin woman. They are hands down amazing.
Thanks Max...My Butt prefers the Honda Seat :)
Thanks for validating my theory!
Wow, that was not helpful. Just tell us what you like...
Save your money, buy an airhawk!
You missed the point of this video. It's not about money.
I have a 2023. Wing. I wish my seat was softer.
You and everyone else! That thing is a brick!