I just purchased the Mustang seat with backrest. I've been pondering this seat for over a year. I currently have the 2-piece Long Haul and I've been generally happy with it for the past 3 seasons. I hope I'm not disappointed in the seat change. I found it on sale and that was what finally pushed me to go for it.
I decided to go for the Mustang for several reasons: 1) I really wanted a rider backrest, 2) I like the way the Mustang looks compared to the very plain look of the Long Haul, and 3) I've read many great reviews about the comfort of the Mustang.
Anyway.. just thought I'd share and hopefully some of you will comment with your experience with the Mustang vs. the Long Haul.
They only had 2 left.. and I bought one of them today. The seat with backrest is priced at $570. Also.. I think Revzilla had a couple at the same price.
FYI, Revzilla partnered with Cycle Gear's holding company, J.W. Childs so you'll find that they draw on the same stock for the brands they share. Prices and quantities are the same so if you decrement Cycle Gear by one, that's one less available from Revzilla, too.
Congrats on the seat upgrade; it's certainly the best upgrade I've done on my bike. I also had the OEM Longhaul and while it was significantly better than the stock seat, it still wasn't designed for the long haul, contrary to its name. The Mustang, however, is, and I think you're going to really enjoy it.
As with all Mustang seats, it takes a while to break in...give it 500+ miles, and it'll start to feel even better than it does now. You will notice that it moves you forward a bit, so that the gap between your crotch and tank shrinks to an inch or so, but even though I'm on the taller side (6'1" w/ 34" inseam) I actually find it a perfectly acceptable ergonomic change, as I feel more "of" the bike and cornering seems a bit easier and more natural as the feet are inherently a bit less forward (as compared to the rest of my form).
I started off with the standard Mustang solo and keeping the longhaul for those sporadic occasions when my daughter rides w/ me, but ended up selling them both and instead sprung for the two-piece Mustang with driver's backrest. The only thing that made my previous Mustang experience better was that backrest (which my one-piece longhaul also had)...now it's truly perfect. I've been running the solo-driver's-seat-with-backrest-and-pressed-fender-rack look, but this is how the two-piece looks with backrest:
RC.. thanks for that info. That's encouraging. I'm about to put my bike away for the winter so unfortunately I won't break in the new seat til spring time. But I couldn't pass on the sale price.
I'm a little surprised that u say it puts the crotch about an inch closer to the tank. My crotch seems to be right at the tank with my long haul seat.
I've really liked the long haul.. tho after about 2 hours in the seat.. my butt starts hurting. I got the air hawk this summer and used it on a few long trips. It helped a lot. I mainly got the mustang for the rider backrest and it looks a little nicer.
Interesting. With the longhaul (one-piece), I had two or three inches between crotch and bottom of tank. With the Mustang, it's about an inch. The one-size-fits-all sloping design of the longhaul, of course, is that there is no true pocket like there is with the Mustang, so you were probably riding the seat more forward than I did, whereas I rode the longhaul seat as far back as was reasonably comfortable.
Offset backrest will scooch you back into the bucket away from the tank.
If, after break-in, you find the seat too firm, they will re-foam for you. I was told the foam cures harder the longer it sits on the shelf, and, Mustang acknowledged that might be a cause of my leg pain (it wasn't, it was the geometry caused by the std backrest pushing me forward)
I dealt with Neal Schermerhorn at Mustang on the rework.
Got the same seat a couple of months ago and love it. Especially the backrest. I always slouch when I ride and after an hour my butt gets numb. With the backrest it forces me to sit up straighter.
Ok. My Mustang seat arrived today. I'm not 100% sure I like it. Its definitely a nice looking seat. And its definitely not "uncomfortable". However, I'm not sure I like it as much as the Long Haul seat. The Mustang seems a little less-roomy. It pushed me a little more forward.. and now I feel like I'm sitting on the tank. Also, the passenger seat.. tho its slightly wider than the LH passenger seat.. its also shorter (front to back). So it seems as tho the passenger has less room - especially with the rider backrest attached.
I haven't actually taken the bike for a ride yet b/c its now off the road for the winter. I'm undecided if I should return it.. or keep it. Any thoughts?
The Mustang is definitely a decent seat.. and the build quality appears to be great. But I don't know if it was worth the $600 over the LH seat. Perhaps it'll get better as I do some riding? But unfortunately I won't know till the spring.
Thoughts?? Should I keep the Mustang and give it a good break-in when spring rolls around? Or should I return it? Also... should I keep the LH seat just in case? or just sell it off now to recoup some of the money I spent on the Mustang?
Joey, you have my comments earlier in this thread if you want to review them...no surprise, I'd suggest you keep it. I'll add this to my earlier thoughts, though: Upon installation, I also thought I wouldn't like it because it scooted me forward a couple inches...first impression is that @ 6'1" I was too compressed. After half a ride, though, I began to warm to it, and by the time the first ride was done I was confident I'd made the right decision. Not only was the L-pocket of the seat stellar compared to the sloping of the one-size-fits-all longhaul OEM, but the tighter ergonomics rapidly grew on me...the TBird has never had far-forward controls -- ours is somewhere between a regular cruiser and a standard -- but the Mustang makes it even more like a standard (though still forward, of course), which makes cornering more comfortable, less work, and -- for me -- makes me feel more "of" the bike than "on" it.
Long way to say: Don't make an impulse decision by just sitting on it...keep it 'til the spring, try it out a time or two on a good, long ride...I'm guessing it's going to grow on you just like it did me, and you'll think back on this and think yourself crazy for even considering sending it back.
The Mustang gives you more lower back/tailbone support; don't avoid it, sit back into it and you may not feel so far forward. Mustang claims no break-in period for the seat but I found that after about 200 miles, I'd become adapted to the feel. I've never ridden a more comfortable seat.
Yea, keep it. I didn't like mine at first either. But, again, even without the extra backrest you have, The low back support is great. It keeps me from feeling that the bike is going to jump out from under me when accelerating.
You're exactly correct...now that I think back on my purchase, I believe I paid around $640 as well, maybe just a bit less. So those Cyber Monday deals are not deals at all, but just some marketing gimmick to make one think they are. I've deleted the post and link.
I bought my 2 piece seat with backrest last week from Cycle Gear on sale for $570. It came out to $606 with tax. And free shipping.
I wasn't all too impressed with it tho. I returned it on Saturday. It is definitely a nice seat.. but I liked my long haul.. and the Mustang just didn't feel like a $600 upgrade to me.
Thx Fred. I took mine out for a spin with the Mustang. I actually thought it felt better without the backrest. But regardless.. I just didn't think there was much of an improvement over the LH seat to justify $600.
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