Archive for August 18th, 2009
New seating arrangements - very nice.
by rider on Aug.18, 2009, under General
When I bought the Road King, it had a Harley Davidson Badlander seat on it. The badlander was sleek, and it looked nice, but it was a bit on the firm side. The passenger pillion on the Badlander is part seat, part medieval torture device. Narrow, hard, and curved the wrong way for a person to sit on.
We’d compensated with an Airawk pad for me, and a Butty Buddy for Lisa, but I was still pretty sore after an hour and a half or so in the saddle.
The other day, I was at the dealership and saw a nice looking Mustang seat hanging on the rack. After some research, I talked it over with Lisa and bought the seat.
Other than managing to drop and temporarily lose the seat bolt, installation was a snap, and the seat looks very nice on the bike. More to the point, it is very comfortable for both of us.
This morning, we headed out for a ride to see how it felt on a ride. We headed out from the house for a lap of Lake Monroe, orbiting the lake in a counter-clockwise direction starting from Route 46 and Route 415 in Sanford. About a mile north of Route 46 on Route 415, you cross a small bridge over the St. Johns river and enter Volusia county. The view from the bridge and route 415 is spectacular, with sweeping vistas of the St. Johns river and the marshy surrounding environs.
About a mile north of the bridge, Route 415 meets Reed Ellis Road. Turning left onto Reed Ellis, the trip passes several horse farms, and the road becomes tree-lined with a dense overhead canopy. Reed Ellis Road meet up with Enterprise - Osteen road. Traveling in toward Enterprise, the road continues through a tunnel of palm trees, and eventually becomes Lakeshore Drive. Suddenly, the trees on the south side of the road give way to views of the lake.
Caution is needed here, though. Sandy patches in the road make the riding interesting, particularly as you near the boat ramp on Lakeshore Drive. After a storm, you may also encounter detrial palm fronds in the road. When moist, these can be quite slick.
Lakeshore eventually turns north and meets up with Debary Avenue in Enterprise proper. Traveling west along Debary Avenue, you pass under I-4 and encounter Route 17-92. A turn to the south on 17-92 quickly returns you to Seminole County, crossing over a much wider, more robust St. Johns and then turning along the southern shore of Lake Monroe for another very pretty shoreline ride. As we traveled along the shore line, we noted a lone large storm cloud over the opposite shore (back where we started the loop) pouring down rain. Timing, as they say, is everything.
All told, the ride was a bit over 1 1/2 hours, and both of us got off the bike well rested and comfortable. The new seat makes a world of difference, and we’re both looking forward to the additional comfort on future rides.
