Passenger comfort: Classic vs. Nomad

[Vulcanrider]

I took my wife on her first long ride last weekend and she was complaining about the pillion and a stiff neck from holding her head into the wind. My Classic has no windshield and I still have the stock seats. I know many have raved over the Mustang and Corbin seats, but I'm just curious as to how comfortable the Nomad is for a passenger in comparison. Any opinions?

[jukief]

Do the Nomad and the Classic have the same seats?

I would really put a windshield on. It makes a huge difference, and I think they look good on the classic.

I took my stock seat apart and put some raw gel in it. You wouldn't believe how much more comfortable it is, and it cost very little to do. That's one idea if you don't want to spend the big $$ on an after-market seat.

[Vulcanrider]

Jukief,
Thanks for the quick info. I have seriously considered (and done quite a bit of shopping) on a windshield, but wasn't sure how much wind it would block for my wife on the back.
As for the gel idea, I am all ears! Details please! Did you have to remove some of the stock foam? What kind of gel, etc etc... Thanks again.

[funny book]

The Nomad is great for a passenger-- once you put on a Mustang seat.

The Nomad's sissy bar grab rails & passenger floorboards help a lot as well.

And a windshield would make a huge difference in comfort for you both.

[bigmacbkr]

The Nomad's seat and passenger seat were totally redesigned for the '05 & '06 models. I had to put a GelPak in my seat, but my fiancé says hers is very comfortable. She had been riding behind me on my Volusia and said it got a little tiring after about 100 miles, but we rode 700 miles on the Nomad in three days recently and she never had a problem of any kind and says it was very comfortable.

[Vulcanrider]

Thanks for that info, bigmacbkr.
That is the second time I've heard about a gel insert. What did you have to do to install it, and where did you get it? Any other details would be much appreciated!

[Bheckel169]

I took the stock seat and pillion off immediately and put on the Mustang seat with 21 inch Memphis Fats Clear Windshield and Lowers. What a difference? With a little Monkey Butt powder, padded underwear (God, what a wuss!) I can go 400 plus miles and still walk away looking 59 instead of 95! I highly recommend the Mustang seat and windshield. Your wife will thank you.

[anrfknm]

my daughter rode 2000 miles on a mustang pillion and as far as i know she did fine.

[azchick]

my daughter rode 2000 miles on a mustang pillion and as far as i know she did fine.

How old is your daughter and where did she go and what was she riding?

(If u already wrote about it, sorry I didn't read it. : )

[anrfknm]

she rode behind me on my 1500 classic. at the time, '04, she was 16 and we went from minnisota to new york and then down to dc for the tour and finaly to front royal to meet her mother.

[simon_hed]

I just got rid of a '98 classic and got my nomad. One of the reasons I got the nomad was for passenger accomodations. My wife couldn't ride my classic for more than 20 miles (bone stock seat). I couldn't ride it more than 60 without stopping and stretching. I took her to the dealer and she sat on the nomad and loved it. The sissybar, grabbars, and floorboards do make a big differences. The pillion itself is probably half again as wide as the one on the classic. We haven't ridden a really long stretch yet, so this evaluation may change, but initially, I can tell you there is no comparison between comfort on the two.

[anrfknm]

i bought my classic in fairfield, ca. i live south of bakersfield, 320 miles and drove the bike home. my first thought was, i was out of shape even though i'd been riding constantly for over two years. shortly after bringing it home i took a ride to vages with my sons. within weeks i had a new seat on it.

[2WheelFun]

With the right mods and enough money...you can make a Classic very comfortable.

[bykman]

My 5'9" passenger says the large F&S windshield helps with wind on my '05 classic. A mustang saddle and windshield would help alot and cost less than your gonna lose trading up to a Nomad. Unless you need the hard bags and ride alot of miles, your not gaining alot with the Nomad vs. the 1600 classic.

[SilverEagle]

I don't have a passenger seat on my 1600 Classic........but my solo seat has a wide gelpad seat on it......and I can ride it all day without getting fatiqued. So with a windshield and proper seats I would say the Classic is almost the same as the Nomad.

[brother]

I think riding comfort depends on your weight,age and how much you can move around without your wife thinking your going to crash. I have a mustang seat on my 01 Nomad and riding double I have to stop every hour for about 5 minutes and walk,my wife also.My wife and I personally don't think the mustang seat is too much better than stock.

[Vulcanrider]

Well, here's the catch-22. I love the look of the Nomad, and my wife sat on one today and loved it as well. The thing is, I also love my Classic, and have also racked up a considerable number of miles on it (over 8000 in 7 months). So, resale on it would be adversely affected, and I've sunk about $700 worth of upgrades into it. Therefore, I think I'll just have to slowly add a few more things to it so she'll be more comfortable. Its funny how one's perspective changes toward motorcylcing as time goes by. Back when I bought the Classic, I thought the Nomad was a bit dorky and too dressed up. Now that I've gotten to the point where I might really like to do some serious touring, the Nomad looks like the perfect fit. Ahh well, I'm still happy to have such a worthy steed. Now, who is donating their credit card for my next round of upgrades?

[OldStreak]

Well, here's the catch-22. I love the look of the Nomad, and my wife sat on one today and loved it as well. The thing is, I also love my Classic, and have also racked up a considerable number of miles on it (over 8000 in 7 months). So, resale on it would be adversely affected, and I've sunk about $700 worth of upgrades into it. Therefore, I think I'll just have to slowly add a few more things to it so she'll be more comfortable. Its funny how one's perspective changes toward motorcylcing as time goes by. Back when I bought the Classic, I thought the Nomad was a bit dorky and too dressed up. Now that I've gotten to the point where I might really like to do some serious touring, the Nomad looks like the perfect fit. Ahh well, I'm still happy to have such a worthy steed. Now, who is donating their credit card for my next round of upgrades?

I have an awesome bike in my opinion. But like you I have decided that I'd like to put some miles on it with the little woman. Like all day riding.
The way it stands I could never do that. Yet I dont want to part with the bike either. So at this point I am seriously considering that real fancy Corbin
dual tour with the back rests.
http://www.corbin.com/suzuki/smdt.shtml
And of course a windshield of some sort with lowers to remove the buffeting.
All in all I would consider it money well spent if it gives me the comfort I am looking for. However as I have come to see...it's not always working out.
Some of the items I have bought introduce other problems or simply dont work at all. So it's not a risk free enviroment!

[brother]

I really like the sadlebags on my Nomad,you can put water bottles,jackets,diffrent types of gloves and even use them to pick up small items from the store. I also like the floor boards,to reposition your feet as needed and a more comfortable riding position for your passenger.

[BigJohn]

I love my Nomad. If I were to change it out it would have to be for either a Nomadized V2K , the Yamajaer Venture, or (GASP) a Wing. But, given the costs of any of the above, I'll keep the Nomad.