I can't decide if a new seat is warranted or not now. I've got about 900 miles on the bike (500 the past two days) and my butt gets sore. Now compared to my last bike ('07 V-Star 1100) the seat is worlds improved. I'm not sure how much a new seat will be able to improve over this one. Maybe I'm just a wimp, but after about 200 miles I'm wanting to stop every 60 or so. My wife is happy with the passenger pad. It is much nicer than the V-Star in that regard. I don't get the numb feeling like my old bike gave me, but my tailbone starts to get sore. Looking at the Mustang solo w/ backrest and the 8.5" or 11" pillion for the wife. The solo with 8.5" pillion looks basically like the stock and I don't want to drop 600+ to find out that it's basically the same as my stocker which looks fantastic I might add.