Best Seat for taller/larger rider and passenger

[amcvay1979]

Hello all, I've been lurking a bit for the past 2 weeks, but I took delivery of a 2015 Spyder RT-S Special Series last week. My first Spyder and my first bike in about 20 years. My wife and I love it, but it needs some tweaking to make it "mine" and fit us better.

I'm finding with my wife behind me, I'm feeling cramped and my hands are too far back or I'm too far forward. I'm wondering if I could get some relief with a new seat, either the can-am comfort seat or one from Ultimate or Corbin. Looks like all 3 would move me back a few inches, but I could also use my wife moving back a bit more. Just curious if other riders have similar experiences. I'm 6'4'' and my wife is 6 feet tall. My inseam is 33 inches.

I'm not loving how tall the brake pedal is either, so I ordered the arm that extends it forward and wraps around the floor boards. I'll wait for that this week but I'm excited to see what that'll change for me.

Besides that I'm thinking about the tri-axis handlebars to get my arms stretched out a bit and moved down a bit as well.

Any helpful advice is much appreciated. I'm loving this Spyder so far, just need a few tweaks to make it fit me better.

 

[4 MARIE]

I just got spyder number 2, a 2017 RT. After checking with Custom, ended up going with a Corbin,
truly customized for me. I told them my height and weight, that passenger comfort did not matter,
and that I didn't mind losing the backrest option. It's beautiful, at least in my eye, which is what counts right?
now lets see if I can attach a pic.

oh, also, had a 2014 where I had bought the CanAm Ultra comfort seat, supposedly longer, etc. An inch and a half of difference
is like NOTHING to a guy like me.

Safe Ryding.

 

[Peteoz]

Also have a talk to Russell about their DayLong seat. They can tell you if they are able to move you back while also giving your wife enough room. They did well for me, moving me up 1.5” and back 1.5” and keeping the same length of seat for my passenger, BUT.... I am riding an F3
-L with the footboards in position 5, which is a different leg position from the RT. Also, my wife is only 5’7”, not 6’.

Another thing to consider is that many riders find the Corbin extremely hard. If they work for you (like they have for 4 Marie), they are great, but it would be worthwhile getting out on one for a while to get a feel to see if they suit.

Pete

 

[MikeT]

Hello all, I've been lurking a bit for the past 2 weeks, but I took delivery of a 2015 Spyder RT-S Special Series last week. My first Spyder and my first bike in about 20 years. My wife and I love it, but it needs some tweaking to make it "mine" and fit us better.

I'm finding with my wife behind me, I'm feeling cramped and my hands are too far back or I'm too far forward. I'm wondering if I could get some relief with a new seat, either the can-am comfort seat or one from Ultimate or Corbin. Looks like all 3 would move me back a few inches, but I could also use my wife moving back a bit more. Just curious if other riders have similar experiences. I'm 6'4'' and my wife is 6 feet tall. My inseam is 33 inches.

I'm not loving how tall the brake pedal is either, so I ordered the arm that extends it forward and wraps around the floor boards. I'll wait for that this week but I'm excited to see what that'll change for me.

Besides that I'm thinking about the tri-axis handlebars to get my arms stretched out a bit and moved down a bit as well.

Any helpful advice is much appreciated. I'm loving this Spyder so far, just need a few tweaks to make it fit me better

We have a 2015 RT Limited.
I'm 2" shorter than you;but the same inseam. My wife is a good foot shorter than your wife. However has had multiple abdominal surgeries, that have left her with a"gut". With her short legs, aftermarket seats are too wide for her. We stayed with the OEM seat; but changed the OEM passenger backrest to the ULTIMATE backrest. Which is 1" narrower. It's more comfortable for her. One caveat: if you plan on putting on the new BRP armrests, DO NOT change the OEM backrest. We have a full sheepskin seat cover(Misty Mountain) and have recently put Airhawks on our seats. I have the tri-axis optional handlebars which allow me to adjust my handgrip position.
My 2 cents worth.
Mike

 

[makyy]

Any helpful advice is much appreciated. I'm loving this Spyder so far, just need a few tweaks to make it fit me better

We have a 2015 RT Limited.
I'm 2" shorter than you;but the same inseam. My wife is a good foot shorter than your wife. However has had multiple abdominal surgeries, that have left her with a"gut". With her short legs, aftermarket seats are too wide for her. We stayed with the OEM seat; but changed the OEM passenger backrest to the ULTIMATE backrest. Which is 1" narrower. It's more comfortable for her. One caveat: if you plan on putting on the new BRP armrests, DO NOT change the OEM backrest. We have a full sheepskin seat cover(Misty Mountain) and have recently put Airhawks on our seats. I have the tri-axis optional handlebars which allow me to adjust my handgrip position.
My 2 cents worth.
Mike

ciao a tutti come mai lo schienale ULTIMATE non si abbina con i braccioli can-am? volevo acquistarlo lo schienale per essere più comodi ma ho già montato i braccioli, grazie.

hello to everyone why the ULTIMATE back does not match with the can-am armrests? I wanted to buy the backrest to be more comfortable but I have already fitted the armrests, thank you.

 

[Woodaddict]

I got a Russell DayLong seat last fall. just completed a 2 week 6,709 mile "out west trip". this seat is great, I didn't have any of those "I don't want to ride cause i'm too sore" days. had 4- 800 mile days. I had them move my seat rearward 1.5", didn't know that they raised up seat about 1.5", but helped me with leg not binding as much. my wife is 5'-2" so didn't take away from her area, but can't say with your 6' wife what it would be. I would say expensive, but about what ultimate would cost with backrest, but well worth it to be able to make long trips

 

[makyy]

Any helpful advice is much appreciated. I'm loving this Spyder so far, just need a few tweaks to make it fit me better

ciao a tutti come mai lo schienale ULTIMATE non si abbina con i braccioli can-am? volevo acquistarlo lo schienale per essere più comodi ma ho già montato i braccioli, grazie.

hello to everyone why the ULTIMATE back does not match with the can-am armrests? I wanted to buy the backrest to be more comfortable but I have already fitted the armrests, thank you.

Mustang - 76197 - Trunk-Mounted Passenger Backrest 2010-16 Can-Am Spyder RT

che ne dite di questo? si guadagna in spazio come con ultimate? grazie.

what do you think about this? do you earn in space as with ultimate? thank you

 

[MikeT]

hello to everyone why the ULTIMATE back does not match with the can-am armrests? I wanted to buy the backrest to be more comfortable but I have already fitted the armrests, thank you.

To answer your question:
1. The NEW BRP armrests are really 2 different products, even though they look the same, for the RT and the F3 models.
2. The way the armrests are supported on the RT requires both vertical AND horizontal(behind the backrest) mounted parts. It is the horizontal support pieces that are not compatible with aftermarket(Ultimate, Corbin, etc) backrests. The non-OEM backrests can not be reinstalled properly. There's a 1" gap between the back of the backrest cushion and the front of the tour box. In essence:
1. you loose any "gain" in passenger room that you achieved by going to the aftermarket backrest, and
2. the gap makes the Spyder look unfinished; not to mention the water intrusion if you get caught out in the rain while riding or parked uncovered that runs through the gap. I have no doubt a "gap filler" could be fabricated to resolve this issue.
It's beyond my comprehension as to why BRP did not include a "warning" in the accessory catalog that this product REQUIRES the OEM backrest, or is INCOMPATIBLE with non-OEM backrests. Luckily, the parts department refunded my money for the armrests: but I was out $210.00 for two hours of labor(tech education) in the attempt to install, and then R&R our Ultimate passenger backrest.
Sorry for the long explanation.
Mike

 

[makyy]

To answer your question:
1. The NEW BRP armrests are really 2 different products, even though they look the same, for the RT and the F3 models.
2. The way the armrests are supported on the RT requires both vertical AND horizontal(behind the backrest) mounted parts. It is the horizontal support pieces that are not compatible with aftermarket(Ultimate, Corbin, etc) backrests. The non-OEM backrests can not be reinstalled properly. There's a 1" gap between the back of the backrest cushion and the front of the tour box. In essence:
1. you loose any "gain" in passenger room that you achieved by going to the aftermarket backrest, and
2. the gap makes the Spyder look unfinished; not to mention the water intrusion if you get caught out in the rain while riding or parked uncovered that runs through the gap. I have no doubt a "gap filler" could be fabricated to resolve this issue.
It's beyond my comprehension as to why BRP did not include a "warning" in the accessory catalog that this product REQUIRES the OEM backrest, or is INCOMPATIBLE with non-OEM backrests. Luckily, the parts department refunded my money for the armrests: but I was out $210.00 for two hours of labor(tech education) in the attempt to install, and then R&R our Ultimate passenger backrest.
Sorry for the long explanation.
Mike

grazie tantissimo per la bella spiegazione inveve, molto gentile

thank you so much for the nice explanation invites, very kind

 

[amcvay1979]

I got a Russell DayLong seat last fall. just completed a 2 week 6,709 mile "out west trip". this seat is great, I didn't have any of those "I don't want to ride cause i'm too sore" days. had 4- 800 mile days. I had them move my seat rearward 1.5", didn't know that they raised up seat about 1.5", but helped me with leg not binding as much. my wife is 5'-2" so didn't take away from her area, but can't say with your 6' wife what it would be. I would say expensive, but about what ultimate would cost with backrest, but well worth it to be able to make long trips
View attachment 163684View attachment 163685

I like that a lot! I'm emailing DayLong to see about a seat. I could grab a stock comfort seat for the mean time and send them my stock seat. I think she needs to move back about 2 inches so I can move back 1.5 to 2 inches and that would solve it, so hopefully a thinner back rest for her would do the trick?

 

[tehrlich]

I bought three different seats (Ultimate, Corbin, BRP Comfort) and tested all of them. You can see measurements and my opinions on them HERE.

 

[amcvay1979]

I bought three different seats (Ultimate, Corbin, BRP Comfort) and tested all of them. You can see measurements and my opinions on them HERE.

Awesome write up. I'm more concerned with the passenger room as she's already too far fwd. I may need to go the route of a custom seat. I wish I could move the rear storage back 2 inches to move the passenger rearward.