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Hartco Pro Tour
Saddle
Perhaps because I’m no longer as young and athletic as
I once was, I’ve lost my butt.Yup, as indelicate as it is to
say it, the gluteus maximus muscles I once had are pretty
mushy these days, and when I sit on a hard chair, it’s not
comfortable for long. Since my wife Ginny is a yoga instructor,
she knows the names of muscles and bones, and she tells
me I’m mostly sitting on my ischium, the lower and back part
of the pelvis, or hip bone. I’ve got to get up from my desk
chair and the dining room table chairs more frequently now.
Perhaps you do, too.
Now that my 2004 GL1800 has a lot of hours on its clock, its stock
saddle has also aged. And through all those
hours of riding, my bony behind had compressed
the saddle’s foam to the point that
I could feel myself riding primarily on the
saddle’s unforgiving fiberglass pan. Although
Ginny wasn’t complaining yet about the seat
padding of the OEM saddle, she had begun
to remark on a very uncomfortable pressure
in her lower back, presumably caused
by the angle or the plastic pan of the passenger
backrest. It got so bad that she was
stuffing a bed pillow behind her back if we
set out on a day-long ride. Not only did this
look pretty dorky, it was inconvenient too.
So I turned to my friend Mark Hart of
Hartco International. I discussed our symptoms,
and we arranged to set aside a bit of
time during Wing Ding to be measured for
a Hartco Pro Tour.
Mark did the measurements himself.
After quizzing us about what we were experiencing
on our stock saddle, he asked our
weights and heights, then jotted down our
inseam measurements. From these measurements,
he would know how deep to
fashion the replacement saddle’s “seat pockets,”
how far to place us fore and aft, and
how wide to spread the edges of the sitting areas. Did I need more
arm room to the handlebars (No.) Do I like to use highway boards
or pegs (No.) Do I use a heel-toe shifter (No.) Each of these questions
might lead to a different accommodation to our preferences and
ergonomics.
We perched on an iron frame-supported Pro Tour in the middle of
the Wing Ding show floor. Despite feeling conspicuous and a bit silly
at being so noticeable to passersby, we could both tell the Pro Tour
was more comfortable than our stock saddle waiting outside. Mark
explained why. By fashioning the driver’s saddle dish or pocket to my
measurements, Hartco can make it so that a portion of my body
weight is now supported by my thigh muscles—reducing the pressure
on my sitting bones. Mark warned me that the feel of this pressure
under the thighs would feel strange at first, but would then become
familiar. By changing the angle of the passenger backrest, as well as the
contour of it to fit Ginny’s size better, the “hot spot” across her back
would disappear.
Mark showed us an amazing selection of vinyl or velour upholstery
fabrics to choose from. We followed his suggestion on what fabric
would best compliment our white Wing—a nubby light gray fabric
with blue and pink undertones.
Once we received the saddle, Mark assured us we’d need to ride
on it for 1,000 miles before we could be sure it was right. And if we
noticed any hot spots, to note where they were and return the saddle
immediately for modification.
A few months later, a huge box from Hartco arrived at my office.
That weekend I installed the Pro Tour. Immediately I could tell the difference
in substance of the Hartco versus the stock saddle.The OEM
saddle and passenger backrest pad weighed 16 pounds; the Hartco
saddle and passenger backrest pad weighed 20 pounds, with an additional
4.5 pounds for the removable driver backrest.The saddle’s foundation
is rock solid fiberglass, so there’s no flex to it. Under the handsome
fabric, the “viscoelastic memory foam” was firmer than the old
saddle’s, yet immediately compliant. I stuff my wallet in my left rear
pocket; the memory foam immediately
conformed to it without any noticeable
backpressure.
After adjusting the driver backrest up
and down, forward and back, until I found
the most comfortable setting, Ginny & I
took the new saddle out for a day-long
ride. Before we’d gone 50 miles, we both
were sold on the new saddle’s comfort.
The proof of the Pro Tour was in the riding.
On the Hartco Pro Tour, we paid
absolutely no attention to how the saddle
felt—we didn’t need to. It was exquisitely
comfortable right from the get-go, and it
was just as comfortable on our way home
at day’s end too.
Don’t get me wrong, no saddle will
eliminate the natural fatigue that comes
from sitting too long. That’s Mother
Nature clamoring to get your attention to
stop riding, stretch and walk around a little.
But the Hartco Pro Tour immeasurably
increased the comfort of those 200-
mile stretches between fuel stops, and
that’s saying a mouthful.
Now, a word about cost. Our Hartco
Pro Tour saddle, as ordered, cost about
$1,178.That’s a tidy sum indeed. But knowing the degree of comfort
we both felt immediately—coupled with the knowledge this saddle
will serve us well for many, many years to come—make it a very good
investment in our riding comfort.
Hartco makes a Pro Tour for every model of Gold Wing—from the
1975 GL1000 up to the newest GL1800.They also make saddles for a
wide variety of sport bikes and cruisers. They also fashion lambskin
seat covers, vinyl and velour seat covers, dash covers, embroidered
eagles and wolves, and special application passenger backrests,
To learn more about their products, write Hartco International,
2288 S. Highway 17, Crescent City, Florida 32112, or call (800)
446-7772 or (386) 698-4668. Or for a complete eyeful, visit
www.hartcoseats.com. Even better, find out which rallies they’ll be at
this riding season and sit on a Hartco yourself.They’ll be at Wing Ding
29 for sure, so make a point to try one out.
—Nick Hoppner ●
24 Wing World