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SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1315452424 Message started by mmosel on 09/07/11 at 20:27:04 |
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Title: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by mmosel on 09/07/11 at 20:27:04 Ok, I've broken down and started chopping my seat. It is a stock single piece seat from an 05. I've already started shaping the foam a bit to curve it more in the back part of the seat. But I need to raise it up. I'm trying to decide if I should keep it one piece, or chop the rear bit off, which I could make into it's own rear seat that is removable. I'm already going to have to mod the seat pan on the sides, since I'm lifting up the foam from underneath. It may be possible to salvage the seat cover, but only if I keep it a single piece, and trim down the seat pan. Why am I posting this? Not sure. I guess to see if anyone has any experience as to why I should or shouldn't chop it into two pieces. ( besides the fact that I'm gonna have to make a new cover for it. Oh and deal with the electrical stuff on the fender. Not sure where the rectifier will go.) Any thoughts? Seats really turn out to be very personal things after all, since we are all shaped and weighted differently. I'm sratchin' my head trying to get it right the first time around. |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by justin_o_guy2 on 09/07/11 at 21:06:05 I wouldnt cut my seat in 2, unless I had a spare one. |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by mmosel on 09/07/11 at 21:27:36 Well, I can always get a replacement from here or from ebay. |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by justin_o_guy2 on 09/07/11 at 22:00:28 Wel,, then its your baby,, Good luck,, I dont think the seat pan is built right for cutting it in 2 & it working out to recover nicely,, I guess youve looked at it, decided where to cut & how youll recover it? Is there sufficient strength across the back edge after its cut? The point Im trying to make is, when a piece of plastic is formed, its designed to handle loads, change the shape by cutting it, then the edge may not have the right reinforcement to handle to job.. |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by splash07 on 09/08/11 at 07:18:40 My first thought is to buy an older seat from an '04 or older that are already two pieces and see if you can make that work. This way if it does not turn out as well as you thought then you can go back to the original. Would be cheaper to buy an older one first rather than a newer one later. |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by mmosel on 09/08/11 at 15:08:41 I thought about buying an older two piece seat. Not sure how they mount though, and I'm not sure what the stock foam looks like - or what its quality is compared to the foam I currently have to work with. I took some pics to show what I've done so far. Once they are transferred from my phone, I'll upload them. In my opinion, here is the flaw in the original seat. First, the back of the seat is flat, even convex a little. There is a flat ridge where it meets the rear seat. This design creates a hot spot right in the back of your rear, and right on your tailbone. Second, the flat part of the seat is also a bit convex, so it doesn't cradle you at all, it's more of a hump you're sitting on. Basically, I ended up taking this rough scowering pad that I had in my tool area, and I started shaping the seat. I also used a round sanding disk in my drill, but controlling it was difficult at best ( although for some edges, it works quickly ) The hand scouring pad gives precise control over where you want to shape the foam. In the back I removed the edge where it meets the rear, and I've also curved it in a concave fashion. I took out a little foam where the tailbone area lands. I also started reshaping the flat part of the seat to make it just a tad bit concave, so it will cradle a little bit. So far in my testing, it feels way more comfy. I'm going to lift up the foam from underneath. I'm using this black dense rubber foam that was part of an exercise mat. I may also cut out a place for this same foam on top, because it is way more comfortable. It's has a more gel like consistency. I've cut the rear foam off, but I did it carefully and I may reattach it. Not sure yet if I want to make it a two piece, although I think it could work. Pics to come... |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by rik on 09/08/11 at 15:32:59 excited to see the pics, and anyone else's who have modded the 1 piece seat.. I have an '07 so it should be about the same! |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by ALfromN.H. on 09/08/11 at 15:47:44 I trimmed some of the foam and recovered it. The shape was alot more comfortable but i took off too much foam. Decided to go with a sportster seat which was better than the stock seat but not too much better. Then I got a corbin seat and I can stop looking. I can ride all day on that thing. Here's pics of the trimmed stock seat. AL http://p1.bikepics.com/2007/04/21/bikepics-871932-full.jpg http://p1.bikepics.com/2007/04/05/bikepics-854535-800.jpg |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by mmosel on 09/08/11 at 16:18:34 Here you can see how I've cut the front off. But mostly you can see how I've shaped the rear part of the foam. As mentioned in my above post... http://https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Dd3XdEQmjFw/TmlJMI2BQbI/AAAAAAAAAFA/1QslhO9uar0/s800/IMG_20110908_144714.jpg Here's the tool that is working well for me: http://https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-JunPC9Gp4c4/TmlKzB8ZFJI/AAAAAAAAAFE/M-kcbqk9n_U/s800/IMG_20110908_144913.jpg |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by mmosel on 09/08/11 at 18:42:07 Update. I put the seat back together temporarily, as a one piece, so I could take a test ride. I put some of the black foam underneath the seat foam, and I put one piece on top. I'd say I lifted myself up at least an inch, and I gave myself about an extra inch or in the back. I'd have to say the first test ride was a complete success. Much more cushy and the curve in the back totally relieves that pressure on my rear and tailbone. ( I can't really know without driving those 120 miles again, but I can get a sense of the comfort level ) I'm not sure yet if I'll stay one piece for go for two. Also not sure if I'll inset the top black foam into the original foam. That would lower me back down some. I'm not sure which would be better for my back - sitting up higher or lower. I'll post more pics as I take it back apart. That'll show what's going on underneath the stock foam. |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by mmosel on 09/09/11 at 14:57:17 Here's how it looked for my test ride. The extra pad on top is temporary. Was there to test height & softness. You can see how the rear bit is more curved, which made a huge difference. The overall shock absorption was definitely improved. I'll post more pictures when I tear it back down. http://https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-A3MV0nDCVlA/TmqKfibIhiI/AAAAAAAAAFI/v46DJUD3OWE/s720/IMG_20110908_183032.jpg |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by engineer on 09/10/11 at 11:14:55 I am glad you are posting these pictures because I have been thinking about modifying my seat. I want a different form than you are making but the technique of reshaping a seat is the same. Your statement about it absorbing more impact than the stock seat makes this mod especially interesting. |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by mmosel on 09/10/11 at 14:52:13 I'm still working on the shape a bit, but the main thing to get the rear curved rather than straight is totally key. If you look at a stock one piece seat, you notice that the rear of the front seat is perfectly flat! That is what causes some serious pain on the tail bone, especially for me being 6'. I'm not sure on the height just jet, but it's close. I have more pics to come... |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by justin_o_guy2 on 09/10/11 at 15:39:48 A real Game Changer for me was when I strapped a bag on the back seat that gave me a place to lean my back side against. |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by bill67 on 09/10/11 at 18:21:01 The width on a seat makes a lot of difference if you could get it wider than you have it I think it would be better. |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by mmosel on 09/10/11 at 18:29:22 Bill, I just got back from another test ride and that was my conclusion. I also decided that the pad will need to be inset into the original foam. It will be hard to cut out the area for it, but if done right, I could later swap in a gel pad for the rubber foam. I also think lowering me back down a notch will be better for my back. I'm busy tonight, but I'll be tearing it down tomorrow... |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by babyhog on 09/10/11 at 19:54:19 I used an electric knife on mine, you know like you slice a ham or turkey with. It shaves through the foam nicely, just a little hard controlling and you cant scoop with it, but it helped alot with the main shaping. I inserted a Saddlemen raw gel pad for comfort. Good luck! |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by mmosel on 09/11/11 at 01:47:07 Thanks Babyhog. Yeah, I originally tried shaping with a sanding disc pad on my drill. That was really hard to control, except on edges. Couldn't scoop with it or anything. The hand shaping is slow, but it does the trick! |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by mmosel on 02/11/12 at 21:37:44 My seat is virtually done, and it's on my bike now. Needs a few tweaks, but it's pretty awesome. I've been away from the site for a while. RL has taken over and kept me very busy. I had a ton of pics on my phone, but when I tried to transfer them to my compy, the memory card corrupted ALL of them. Unfortunately, there were a ton of images of the 'in progress' phase. I do have some pics of the new modded seat on the bike. I'm very happy with it. I'm going to get some pics uploaded so I can show them here. (Google decided to hide my pics that were uploaded to Picassa when they switched to Google+ - I can't find them or access them. I'll find another way to upload the new pics. ) Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great new year and is kicking ass. |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by AlphaBarney on 02/14/12 at 15:50:05 I recently did this mod to my one piece, too. Wanted to get more of a low profile curve in the rider seat pan and get it really low profile in the passenger seat since I never really ride two-up (wife's expecting). I went through exactly what you were thinking about. Used a serrated blade to remove a bulk of the material, then fine tuned with fine sandpaper (220 I think). Thought about an older two-piece from a Savage, should bolt right on to the stock side tabs no? Didn't get pics of the process for this one, but here's the before and after. http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/z374/Alphabarney/IMAG00261.jpg http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/z374/Alphabarney/DSC_10061.jpg It works for now -- temporary anyway until I get a bobber type solo seat to put on 'er after paint. Cheers! |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by Cavie on 02/14/12 at 16:56:24 79797B677178140 wrote:
You could make me an offer on these. |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by Cavie on 02/14/12 at 16:57:36 7371667975100 wrote:
and this one You could make me an offer on these.[/quote] Rear seat is Honda. Too big to suit me |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by Cavie on 02/14/12 at 17:00:19 2B293E212D480 wrote:
and this one You could make me an offer on these.[/quote] Rear seat is Honda. Too big to suit me[/quote] You could use your front to cover the rear to match |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by kuri77 on 02/15/12 at 10:42:48 6F425E464F6C4F5C404B572E0 wrote:
Actually, the front does but not the back. Don't want to threadjack so posting new thread about old seat mods to fit on new generation Savage. |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by palehorseman on 02/16/12 at 19:15:07 Ive made a few seats after buying this bike. Mine was a single but all the same. All the chain depow stores sell 10 9 7 6lb rated memory foam carpet underlayment which can be cut glued and layered to make one comfortable seat. 10 is the most dence and on down w the lb rating. Spray adheisive works best. It takes some time but if your not comfortable your not safe and its not fun. If you find yourself thinking about your butt instead of the road its time to do something. Rip it apart and do one of two things.1- use an electric carving knife, felet knife or heated element to remove as much foam from the stock pad as possible...saving the molded bottom that sits on the pan. Or 2- remove the pad completely and shape, widen and/or angle the existing pan with fiberglass...available for cheap w easy instructions at every auto depow. You will need to do multiple coats to build it up and cut it back when it cures. Following either option...start with a base layer of 10 lb, glueing on subsequent layers on your choice of density. Let dry, shape with your choice of tool. Wrap your seat with one last layer... this is the only one that wraps the edge...allowing your leather or whatever to keep a nice role over the edge of the fiberglass. Not necessary for a stock pan but it helps to widen the seat a bit. Now your sitting pretty. Best of luck. Notes: expect some trile and error finding the right combinations of density, shaping the material, and stretching the cover. Sometimes it helps to use some strips in the front center to gat a shape. Look at old saddle pics or a 48 indian chief to get an idea about how the contours of a comfortable seat flow. |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by Arizuno on 04/26/12 at 15:52:11 This is mostly a "me too", but perhaps useful to members thinking about modifying their OEM saddles. I spent a few hours yesterday reshaping my (one-piece) saddle per mmosel, using a coarse Scotch Brite scouring pad as he suggests. It was a little slow, I suppose, but easy work, and easy to see what & where progress was being made. When I was satisfied with the reshaping part, I cut a piece of 3/8" carpet padding to place under the stock foam, to regain some of the height lost to scouring. I'm still working out the extra padding part - thinking about carving up a retired mouse pad to place under the stock foam behind the back part to push me forward. Passenger portion was left untouched. But a fifty-mile ride yesterday afternoon confirmed a VAST improvement in comfort. Like most, I had no experience in doing this kind of thing, but it was very easy and even more effective than the seat lift mod I'd done previously. Laughably cost-effective and neophyte-friendly. mmosel is absolutely correct that getting some curve into the back of the seat is key, but reshaping the bottom as he did also contributes a lot. I re-attached the cover using duct tape, which will be replaced with Gorilla tape (thanks gerald.hughes!) when I'm satisfied with the padding. BTW, it isn't necessary to completely remove the cover to do this mod; I left the staples in place at the rear of the passenger portion in order to ease reinstallation of the cover & keep things in alignment. 'Though I'm just a shade over 5'7", I'd still like to find a way to increase my personal ride height. A low saddle, with feet relatively forward, places too much weight on one's butt. Still, this mod produces a striking improvement in comfort and I enthusiastically recommend it. |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by Scott McCrory on 04/26/12 at 18:58:08 504F494E53546555655D4F43083A0 wrote:
I've noticed the same thing! |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by Serowbot on 04/26/12 at 19:04:08 If you have one of those Surform..."cheese grater " type wood files,... they work foam pretty good... ...(messy though,.. do it outside)... |
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Title: Re: Well, I'm chopping my stock seat up... Post by tizzyfit on 04/30/12 at 07:21:15 I've got a used seat from my 06 S40 that has 806 miles on it before I swapped it for a Corbin. If anyone needs it, let me know. |
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