I was in Trashcanastan because the Air Force told me to go..lol. I was over there patching bullet holes in H-60 helos.
The old xr500s came stock with a 17" rear. The DR actually had one too, but it was square and weighed a metric shit ton. I agree that I do not "need" the cush, but with the gigantic single, it is one of the "luxury options" that I decided to keep.