I just got mine last Friday. Before mounting it, I sat on the stocker with the bike on a stand (to eliminate any suspension play that might affect the comparison) to get a feel for it's firmness. Then I mounted the SDG seat & gave it a few minutes of saddle time. I couldn't tell any difference. In fact, if I had to guess, I'd say the SDG was a smidge firmer, as my '98 has probably been softened up a tad over time. Maybe the SDG will too? However by the time it does, my butt will have adjusted & it would probably be such a gradual softening that I'll never really notice it.
I just got a rip in my stock cover, so I'll probably keep the SDG on the shelf for later. Seeing how cost effective it is, I can't say I'm all that motivated to ship it back (ordered it from MXSouth). And the quality does seem to be pretty darn good. One thing I noticed (though it doesn't effect the quality of the seat in any way) is that the staples underneath are black to match the base & cover. That's a small detail that tells me the folks who make 'em take pride in their product.