Wow! I like that alot!

zipidachimp wrote on 01/07/17 at 00:34:04:

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

I've been experimenting with my seating position on the last few rides and reckon I've worked out what changes I need to the seat. I think the Corbin seat is not what I need. I also checked out what the seat mod would be like with the front lifted. I don't reckon that will do it either.

Yesterday I rode an hour and a half to work (I work on different sites all over the place). I happened to have my work shorts on under my riding pants. This provided some surprising cushioning, especially when I pushed myself back a few inches so my tailbone was up on the edge of the pillion seat.

Everything just fell into place! It tilted me slightly forward, the forward controls were just far enough away, my weight was balanced between my backside, and my feet - it was like riding a different bike.

The trip involves about an hour on the highway at 100kmh (62mph). Normally after that trip my arms and hands are tired from hanging on, against the wind in my chest, and my legs are tired from the effort of keeping my feet planted on the pegs (I think that's a weight distribution thing). This time, it was just comfortable all the way, and no fatigue. Although, it was odd sitting perched back on the edge of the pillion seat, but so good it was worth it.

So the solution is just to be able to move a bit further back. I also like being able to move back and forward on the seat to change the position of my legs - further forward for intersections and around traffic, and further back for cruising on the highway.

So, I reckon I need to cut the pillion seat down by about an inch, raise the drivers seat foam as high as is practical, and smooth out the curve between them. That should do it. Very similar to a couple of mods that have been posted in this thread - so I know it can be done  

Thanks again guys.

MMRanch wrote on 01/07/17 at 07:36:53:


Now, that's the seat I would like.  I am doing my own changes to make the seat more comfortable.  The one in the pic would be perfect!

My aim was to simply allow myself to move back in the seat about an inch or so, and to relieve the pressure on my tailbone. So I wanted to smooth out the hump between the driver and pillion seat. To make a smooth transition, I took a layer off the pillion seat too.

My plan is to add that layer back on with a new single piece of foam that extends the full length of the seat, including over the new contour in the middle. This will have the effect of lifting the driver's seat a little too, because I did not remove anything from that. I think that would be a good thing.

This is the foam marked up ready to cut:

It's possible to tidy it up by laying the knife flat on it's side and gently moving it back and forth using the serrated edge to kind of scrape off the ridges. This is as good as I could get it:

This is it reinstalled. I think it looks good, at this stage, and it is a big improvement on the stock seat. My tailbone doesn't get sore when I ride and I can move back a little so I can lean forward into the wind when I get up to around 100 kph. Even with my tailbone back against the hard ridge it is still more comfortable than it was originally  

I reckon it still needs some work though. I would like to reinstate the pillion seat to 'usable' status, and to lift the drivers seat a little, and even a little more at the front.

The red area on this photo is what I have in mind.

I have a couple of those cheap foam (rubber?) mats that you put on the ground under your sleeping bag. They're about half the thickness of what I removed from the pillion. So I'll cut those to size and experiment with multiple layers in different spots to mock something up. Then I'll recover it again and test ride it again. It should be quite ride-able when I'm done, but ultimately I'll use it all as a kind of template for the auto-trimmer guy to work from.

Thanks Kenny,

I noticed your post earlier about cutting the space out of the seat pan. I haven't ruled out moving the rectifier either, but will avoid that if I can  

I've also thought about lower risers for the handlebarsto to tilt me forward a little more. I find that is generally a little more comfortable.

As for gadgets, I have a Ryca mini tach arriving from the States tomorrow (I just received the email to say it is in Australia now). I plan to mount it under the handlebars, because I think it will stick up too much on top of the current setup. There's a tutorial on the forum to mount it underneath. I already have most of the bits and pieces to do it. If, later on, I go with lower risers, I'll relocate the tach to the top of the handlebars.

It's all good fun  

I'll keep this thread posted with updates.



Kenny G wrote on 01/22/17 at 21:05:52: