MotorcycleSeatBlog.com

Riding season is finally here and the entire crew at Mustang Motorcycle Products is more than ready! To celebrate our 2013 mission statement — “It’s All About The Ride” — we are hitting the road with a new look and a new big rig to help launch the season in style as part of the Bike Week festivities in Daytona Beach, Florida.

If you are planning to take Spring Break early and going to Daytona for Bike Week, be sure to stop by the Speedway to see Mustang’s new look and new products first hand. “After 30 years of making the world’s most comfortable motorcycle seats, our focus has shifted to the ride ahead,” says Product Manager Matt Kulman. “Mustang now has seats for Gold Wings, with Victory Cross Country and Triumph T100 models coming very soon.” Which means Mustang may just have a seat for you!

“We have several other exciting additions to our full range of seats for metric cruisers and Harleys to be announced very soon,” Matt adds. Some of this excitement stems from collaborations with our friends at Küryakyn and racer-turned-designer Roland Sands. “Working with talent like this has resulted in cutting edge designs that are combined with Mustang’s well-established reputation for comfort.”

We are proud of the fact our seats are still handcrafted in the historic facility in Three Rivers, Massachusetts, but we recognize that it was time expand into new markets. To help get the word out, we are taking our rig on the road, starting with Bike Week in Daytona. Be sure to stop by the Mustang display at the track to see what’s new. While you are there, check out the RSD café racer seats (available exclusively through Drag Specialties) and our full line of luggage… and don’t forget to get a copy of our 2013 catalogs for Gold Wings, Metric and H-D® applications.

Of course, even if you can’t ride to Daytona for Bike Week, you can still “Like” Mustang on Facebook@ www.facebook.com/MustangSeats.

Back in October I had an opportunity to step out of my normal role of managing  Mustang’s IT infrastructure. Instead of bytes and cyberspace, I had a real world opportunity to help out our art director Julie with a photo shoot. I was a little worried that I might be biting off a little more than I could chew since it has been 16 years since I have ridden anything with two wheels (a reckless driver curtailed my riding days). My only experience “installing” Mustang seats has been helping getting many of the mounting instructions web-ready for publication on mustangseats.com. However I was looking forward to sinking my teeth into this project, so to speak.

We gathered some Mustang seats, assembled some Biker Essentials merchandise and then brought in some friends of mine whose entire family are avid riders. We also had three different bikes to put seats on for the photo shoot: a Yamaha 1100 and two Honda 1800 VTXs. In a matter of a few minutes my buddy, his brother-in-law, and his dad had their stock seats off. Actually seeing the stock Honda and Yamaha seats made me respect the construction of a Mustang seat… from its baseplate to its high-density foam to its synthetic leather cover. The quality and difference is both tactile and visceral. After holding my buddy’s stock VTX1800 passenger seat and then holding the replacement Mustang seat I could instantly tell why Mustang’s tagline says: “what a difference comfort makes!”

With the seats off, the other guys went to get dressed in some of the pretty cool Biker Essentials gear, leaving me to install the seats. Now don’t let the title “IT Guy” fool you, I know which end to hold on a screwdriver. In the less than 10 minutes, I had the Mustang seats installed on each bike. Simply slip the front tongue into the receiving bracket, bolt down the back or side bolts with the provided hardware, and the solo seats were on. Two-up seats are a snap, too. Slip the front bracket into the special slotted nut and bolt down the passenger pad, check to make sure everything is tight and the two-up seats are good to go.

The initial response from our “models” when getting back on the bike was a universal “Wow!” That was satisfying to hear. When their wives and girlfriend got onto the passenger pads and said the same thing again, it really showed that Mustang does it right.

As far as installing a Mustang seat , I can personally say “IT” really is an easy install! In fact, I’m looking forward to helping out again.

Bill Bulman

IT Guy at Mustang

The Red Knights Motorcycle Club, Massachusetts Chapter 2 decided to celebrate Halloween 2012 in a very special way – a road trip to Mustang’s seat manufacturing facility! The Red Knights share the common interest of motorcycling, promoting motorcycle safety and the brotherhood of fire fighting. They provide support to various non-profit charities and are all-around big-hearted folks. Maury Lizotte, Secretary Red Knights Mass Chapter 2, arranged the road trip and we were so happy to meet them.
The plant tour started when the Red Knights asked to meet Jeremy Pardo, the Shipping Supervisor. They had read on Mustang’s blog about Jeremy joining the Army in 2013 and wanted to shake his hand. Jeremy was happy to meet everybody and receive their good wishes. The tour continued to the Design Dept. where Gary Kendrick showed them the seat design process. They got a sneak peek at Coming Attractions for the Mustang and Roland Sands seat designs including the new Must-Stash bag. Each department got to show off what they do and how they do it but the highlight of the tour was the sewing department. Once they saw how the Mustang logo becomes embossed into the leather and vinyl, the Red Knights all wanted the Mustang logo embossed on their Red Knights vests. Well, sewing supervisor Karen Lundquist was more than happy to oblige.
When the tour arrived at the inspection department, inspector Steve Pawlowski eagerly showed off the relatively new inspection department computers which aid in the identification and inspection of our ever-growing line of seats. After that, Maury got up close and personal with a heated Gold Wing seat. The tour ended with – what else – Halloween candy!
Thank you to all our new Red Knights friends and we look forward to seeing you and more of your Club members for another tour in the spring. Happy Riding!  P.S.  If your group is interested in a tour of our Mustang Factory, please email info [at] mustangseats [dot] com.  Thank you!

Maury Lizotte, Secretary Red Knights Mass Chapter 2 wrote:  ” Cathy,  On behalf of my fellow Red Knights, thank you for an awesome tour, which lasted close to 3 hours (must be we asked too many questions).  Please also pass on our appreciation to Gary in engineering for spending all that time with us, and also with Paul, from me personally thank Karen for my Mustang Logoed Vest.  I am sure there will be more pictures that Bob has taken that will end up on our web site, and for which you will get a link.   Once this tour gets discussed with other members who could not attend today I am quite sure come spring we may be ready for another tour!”

Bob Laford, President, Red Knights – Mass Chapter 2 wrote:  “Cathy,  I know that Maury has probably already thanked you, but I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the tour yesterday.  In a past life I was a tool maker (right out of high school) and have always appreciated the work I see when I visit manufacturing facilities.  Your people definitely show their pride and the product they craft shows the quality they put into each day they are at work.   Again, it was a wonderful afternoon spent!”

In May 2002, Jeremy Pardo found himself between jobs.  His father worked in maintenance at Mustang at the time so Jeremy applied.  Jeremy was hired to work in the metal shop.  In an industrial accident, Jeremy drilled through his hand and was placed on light duty in the warehouse where he never left.

After approximately three years working in the warehouse, Jeremy was promoted to shipping supervisor.  He had displayed a very strong work ethic and was a natural.  Jeremy says that Mustang is a great place for people who have ambition but you have to be a hard worker and he is!  Jeremy enjoys being the Supervisor because it is a challenge every day to get everything done.  And Jeremy has gotten it all done with calm professionalism and a smile on his face no matter what.

Jeremy feels the most significant change he’s seen at Mustang over the years was the move from the old facility in Palmer to the current building in Three Rivers.  Jeremy said pretty much everything has been upgraded.  In particular, the warehouse went from cement floors to wood floors and Jeremy says it was like walking on springs at first!

Despite Jeremy’s positive experience at Mustang, he always wanted to join the army.  He did not join after high school due to the birth of his son.  He did not feel the army life would be healthy for a toddler.  His wife has always supported his desire to join the army but also wanted him to wait and then they had a second son.  Jeremy’s boys are now ages 7 and 11 years old.  Jeremy and his wife feel the boys are old enough that this won’t be traumatic for them.  On the contrary, Jeremy’s family is excited that they are going to see new places and meet new people.  “We really haven’t traveled much out of the Northeast Corridor so we are excited to see what else is out there.”  As you can imagine, the family is hoping to ultimately be stationed in Hawaii.

Jeremy’s last day at Mustang will be 11/23/2012.  He leaves for the army in January 2013 headed to Fort Jackson, SC for 9 weeks of basic training.  Basic Training will be followed by 18 weeks of education at signal corp school in Georgia.  Two weeks before he graduates from Georgia, he will be given his first communications assignment.  Once Jeremy gets his assignment, his family will most likely be able to join him.

Jeremy is most excited about the travel and education his army experience will afford him. After signal corp school, Jeremy’s title will be “multi-channel transmission systems operator maintainer”.  After his army service, Jeremy will be qualified to work on cell phone towers among other things.

Jeremy says he remembers every day he has spent at Mustang.  “I can remember things that happened the first day I was here right up until yesterday and there are no real negatives.”

Jeremy plans on using everything he has learned at Mustang in his future jobs and add to his skill set.  Jeremy regrets nothing he has done at Mustang and is proud of Mustang as a company and grateful for the skills he has learned here.  “I am proud to have worked here.” Jeremy says “I will definitely try and come back to say hello, I just don’t know how long I will be away from the area.”

Back in May 2002, Mustang was one lucky company to have Jeremy brighten our doorstep.  Mustang has benefitted immensely from Jeremy’s dedication, commitment and hard work every day of the last ten years.  No company could have asked for more than what Jeremy gave which was 110% all the time in everything he did.  Mustang’s loss is the Army’s gain.  So it is with heavy hearts and lots of good wishes that we send Jeremy and his family off to their next great adventure. Good-bye, Jeremy!  Thank you and Good Luck!  We will miss you.

August 18th turned out to be a sunny, pleasant, balmy day for the 163 Mustang employees & family members who attended Mustang’s Summer Picnic 2012. Employees with families in tow started arriving at the park at 10:00 am for a fun-filled day at Six Flags Amusement Park in Agawam, MA.

Some stayed in the park and tested their mettle on rides like the new Goliath roller coaster while others spent the morning cooling off in the water park.

Starting at noon, everybody made their way to River’s Edge Picnic Grove and quickly identified which pavilion was Mustang’s. Employees and their families first posed for a souvenir photo taken by the company’s HR Manager, then dug into a lunch buffet consisting of hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, salads and all the fixin’s.

The kids thought the best part was the portable freezer stocked to the brim with frozen treats like ice cream sandwiches and fudgesicles. It was such a thrill to meet the families of co-workers, some of whom we’d only heard about and now could put a face to a name.

Some families showed up with newly acquired toys such as inflatable bats and colorful capes. The parents wanted to linger over lunch, enjoying the seating in the shade. The kids, however, were eagerly encouraging a return to the main park so as not to miss any of the excitement. By 2:00 pm, the buffet was being packed up and the last of the employees were making their way back to the main park where there awaited costumed characters, spontaneous group dances, a parrot show, a refreshing water park and all the rides and excitement you could ask for.

The following Monday, employees received their souvenir photos of the day and reminisced about the wildly successful 2012 Company Picnic thanks to Mustang and Six Flags.

Before coming to work at Mustang Seats over three years ago, Mike worked at a gas station and a recycling plant.  About the only thing he liked about his past jobs was having weekends off.  He applied to work at Mustang because it was a better opportunity for him and closer to home.

Mike and his two co-workers in the foam department make hundreds of foams each day.  He also enjoys cleaning the molds and making them nice and shiny.  Mike feels the best part of his job is seeing Mustang seats on the street and knowing that he made the foam for every one of those seats.

When Mike isn’t working at Mustang, he enjoys ice hockey, hiking, fishing and he also plays on a softball league.  He has also been a volunteer firefighter in Three Rivers, Massachusetts, for the past ten years.  Mike has received both First Aid and CPR certified training.  He has also been certified by the Fire Academy on Levels 1 and 2.  Mike likes helping people and says he never knows what he’s getting into when he responds to the fire alarm.  On a recent memorable rescue, Mike helped get a victim out of a car after an accident using the “Jaws of Life.”

Mike is in a committed relationship with Emily who works as a third grade teacher in Ware, MA.  They enjoy going to the nearby Yankee Candle outlet and driving to places they’ve never been before.  Given both of their busy schedules, they are really happy to just spend time together!

Mustang became a “Premier Vendor” on HDForums.com this year.  Reading through the riders’ threads has been an interesting and entertaining experience.  In addition, we’re always happy when we can assist members by providing a link or answering a question about our products.  Recently we came across a posting that really caught our attention.  We contacted the author, Karl (an “Aussie lost in Switzerland”), who rides a 2010 FXDC Dyna Superglide Custom.  He told us that, during the 5 days to and from the rally, he spent close to 25 hours riding 2200 kilometers (1367 miles) total but not once was he uncomfortable on his Mustang seat.

Karl kindly gave us his permission to post excerpts of his story here; the complete, R-rated version can be found at http://bit.ly/M4FHwj.

“Last weekend, one of Europe’s longest running and arguably biggest rally took place in the little town of Ballenstedt, Germany.  This year was the 30th event and the first time it was back in Germany after originally starting there 30 years ago (the Rally is in a different European country every year).

Myself and my buddy, Sheb, decided to make the round trip pilgrimage to go to the Rally.  We met up at 5.30pm Thursday afternoon, and decided to just haul ass up the Autobahn to Stuttgart then to Nuremburg (about halfway) and stay at a camp ground overnight and cruise the rest of the way Friday morning.  The trip to Nuremberg itself was uneventful, although Sheb took advantage of the speed unlimited autobahn to see what his 2004 stage 3 Heritage could really do.  He backed off the gas when he hit 115 mph as he was in danger of the wind blowing him off his bike. (115 mph with 16 inch apes has a crazy parachute effect, but his bike still had plenty to give.)

We arrived at the campground around 10.30 in the evening due to some scenic routes taken earlier to discover it had closed for the night despite the little sign on the office door saying it was open until 11pm.  Cest la vie I guess, so we decided to push on up the Autobahn for a little longer to see if we could find a hotel or Gasthause (B&B).  2 hours later we had no luck so we pulled over into a truck parking area on the side of the Autobahn, threw our sleeping bags on the ground and slept under a tree.  Clear sky, no chance of rain, so it was all good.

Next morning we were awoken by sunshine and a bird pecking at Sheb’s hair.  We rolled up our bags, saddled up and hit the Autobahn again. We had all day to cover 300ish kilometers, what could possible go wrong….

The route we rode took us through the German country side, all rolling hills with areas of flatlands, small towns and villages, through fields of wheat, sunflowers, and all manner of other farm lands.  We were enjoying the scenery and all that only riding a bike can provide so much that it took us about an hour to realize we had no idea where we were.  Time to consult the Oracle.  Turned out we where way off course, by about 150 kilometers. Oh well, we had all day, what could possibly go wrong…..

To make a long story short, we managed to turn what should have been a 200 km ride through the countryside into a 350 km scenic cruise.  It would be fair to say that we started out lost and just found our way eventually.  But the weather was glorious, the roads where excellent and…we finally arrived at the rally in the afternoon.  We picked a camp site, parked, got off the bikes and turned around to see a guy standing there offering a beer to each of us.  Legendary!

As it turned out we had picked a camp place next door to a Fryslan (Dutch) MC.  Those guys certainly knew how to party and made us part of their group for the weekend.  What a bunch of first class people they were too!

Some of our Dutch neighbors. Left to right: Manimal, Myself, Grizzly, the Dog Father.

After pitching our tents and relaxing with beers and our Dutch neighbors for a couple of hours we all decide to hit the festivities area, which was huge to say the least.

There were 2 enormous tents that would hold at least 3000 people, these had bands…and all manner of other stage entertainment.  The site was on a local airstrip, so the runway was being used for drag racing and stunt riding demo’s.  More beer tents than you could count, almost as many Jack Daniels stands, food stands with all manner of yummy stuff, and a retail/market area with about 100 different stalls.

After checking things out for a bit, we went into the main tent and spent the rest of the night drinking and watching the Deep Purple tribute show, and finally crawled back to our tents at around 3 in the morning, tired as all get out, but happily drunk and knowing tomorrow was going to be more good times.

I awoke the next morning and crawled out of my tent to be greeted by our Dutch neighbors who provided me with a breakfast beer and a coffee chaser…

Walking back to the main area we noticed a soccer field was being setup, we asked what was going on and were informed that a MotoFussball game was about to start.  Gotta see that!  Just enough time for the 4 second trip to the nearest beer tent for some spectating beverages.

MotoFussball was some dirt bikes with the front fender modified with a steel frame that came down to about 4 inches short of the ground.  These guys would trap an over-sized soccer ball between their foot and the frame and ride down the pitch flat out and try to kick the ball into the goal or pass to a teammate. There were 8 bikes on the field and chaos was the order of the game with bikes blasting around, crashing into each other and putting on a great show for us.

We then headed back to our campsite and were invited by our Dutch neighbors to join their BBQ for dinner.  Full bellies and many beers later we head back to the event area to see what’s going on.

We headed over to the big tent caught the Rolling Stones tribute show.  These guys where brilliant and we spent the rest of the night enjoying the music, chatting up the bar girls, and getting more horribly drunk.  Memory is a bit hazy as to what we did after the Stones show.  I recall falling off a stool I was standing on at one point.

I have no idea what time I went to sleep, dawn was just cracking when I got to my tent.

I awoke around 1pm Sunday afternoon with a hangover from hell.

Sunday morning Sunrise, just before going to bed….

We decided we’d head out on the haul home and just casually cruised down the Autobahn to Nuremburg where we found a cheap hotel for the night.

The next morning, we decided to head home a different way via Munich, then Austria then shoot west into Switzerland. We had all day, what could possibly go wrong….

At some point we took a wrong turn in Austria and ended up crossing into Switzerland way down south and on the road to Saint Moritz. I have to say that the route from Austria down into Switzerland to Saint Moritz is simply incredible.  Rolling through about 150 kms of forests and valleys of the Swiss and Austrian Alps and up over the Julien Pass on a road that had no straight sections to speak of was just amazing.  Highly recommend this route be put on any rider’s Bucket List.

We finally emerged from the alpine and forest roads and hightailed it home, arriving around 10 pm to be greeted by the cat yelling at me and the promise of a hot shower and my comfy bed.

At this time I absolutely must point out that my investment in my Mustang seat paid for itself a thousand times over.  I was sure my bruised ass (refer to R-rated edition of story) was going to make me pay for my stupidity on Saturday night, but the Mustang seat nursed my sorry ass all the way home, so a big THANK YOU to Mustang!

Next year’s Super Rally is in Poland.  Already planning for it but might buy a GPS this time since what was supposed to be a 1600 km round trip turned into a 2200 kilometer marathon, but we had some incredible riding, a wild weekend and I would do it all again in heartbeat.

Hope to see some of you at the Poland meet next year!”

Mustang’s Human Resource Manager, Cathy Twiss, spent a day at Americade in beautiful Lake George, NY.  Here is her view of the rally:

June 7 was a lovely sunny day as I drove through the Berkshires on my way to attend Americade, arguably New England’s biggest bike rally.   As I rode into lovely Lake George NY, there were thousands of bikers and the excitement was palpable.  Nobody was in a rush because everyone seemed to understand that it was the journey, not the destination, that was the source of joy at this particular event.   As I walked to the main gate at Tour Expo, Lake George beckoned with calm water and a pristine beach.   Tour Expo is located at “Million Dollar Beach” which is aptly named.

The first thing I noticed was the Mustang logo on the white pillar of the main gate.  Perfect.  I walked through rows of vendors selling everything from motorcycle sound systems to beef jerky.  Everyone was in a good mood and enjoying the weather.  I made my way to the Mustang booth where employees in red shirts were showing customers seats, saddlebags, tank bibs and a variety of other high quality wares.  Three customers were on three different bikes trying out their Mustang seats, wiggling and bouncing to get a better sense of how the seat molded to their body.  Many were smiling and exclaiming “soooo much better than the stock seat!”   Customers who purchase a Mustang seat may have it installed for free by the booth staff.  Customers are issued tickets which allow them to bring their bike into the show and then into the Mustang booth for the install.  The old seat is shipped home for the customer for their convenience.  Many people were availing themselves of this service.  Mustang staff moved quickly and efficiently and the day passed with uneaten lunches lying untouched.  One customer walked by the Mustang booth carrying Roxy, the best dressed dachshund of the day.  Roxy was wearing Harley Davidson gear which included a leather doggy vest, a tiny leather doggy hat and smokin’ doggy goggles.  This was one laid back lady.  Roxy lamented that Mustang does not make a seat quite small enough for her canine behind.

As I made my way back to the parking lot at the end of a long day, I thought about what I had witnessed.  I had seen and heard first hand the fellowship of strangers coming together, bound by a common interest and love of motorcycles and riding.  All other differences were set aside.  Everyone accorded one another a sort of automatic respect simply by virtue of being a fellow rider.  We all knew we had something in common and somehow it made life better.  I was proud that Mustang was at the heart of it all and proud to be associated with Mustang.  As humans, we have a need to belong and a need to be a part of something greater than ourselves.  For one day at least, for one glorious day at Americade, we all did belong.  I only hope this feeling of kinship lasts throughout the year.

Cathy Twiss

When you receive your new Mustang seat, you should know that you have not purchased a motorcycle seat that came off an assembly line.  You are the owner of a seat that was made by one of our Mustang “seat assemblers” at our factory in Three Rivers, MA.  While Mustang has different departments within our factory that create our baseplates, foams and covers, the actual “assembly” of these three seat components are the responsibility of a “seat assembler”.  Oscar Medina takes great pride in assembling all the elements together so that they will become a well made, comfortable and good looking seat.

Oscar came to Mustang with an upholstery background, having worked at his uncle’s company for three years building restaurant booths.  He enjoyed building the restaurant booths and was quite good at it, so building motorcycle seats seemed like a perfect fit for him and Mustang!

Oscar is a dedicated family man, who dotes on his one-year old son Oscar, Jr., describing him as a “mini-me”.  Since family is very important to him and his partner Karla, they try to do activities that are family oriented, such as attending church, fishing and other outdoor activities.  Maybe that is why he feels the best thing about Mustang is the people he works with:  everyone is like one big family at the factory.  In fact, Oscar and his family like the quaint New England town of Three Rivers so much that they may move there in the near future.

Oscar takes a lot of pride in his work and hopes Mustang customers enjoy riding on their seats as much as he enjoys building them.

How could Mustang improve on their growing line of low, lean but still comfortable Wide Tripper^TM seat styles?  By introducing them in Mustang’s new distressed brown, ultra premium vinyl for a distinctively cool, worn-leather look!

The fully adjustable driver backrest removes easily without tools and folds flat so you can still comfortably swing your leg over to mount your bike.  The 14” wide solo fits 2008-up FL models and is shipped complete with a matching mini bib plus chrome mounting hardware to give it a finished look for one-up riding.  The matching passenger seat is 11.5” wide.

 Mustang’s Wide Tripper Distressed Brown Solo with Driver Backrest is $489; the matching rear seat is $169.  Solos are also available in black, with or without a unique diamond stitched pattern.

Mustang seats for Metric Cruisers and H-D^® models are all proudly handcrafted in the USA.  For more info call 800-243-1392.