|
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 802
| Last week I got to take a ride with the low seat installed. Even though it didn't work out and I had to sell it, I really liked the seating position as far as the height and angle of the rider's seat back. I worked out the angles and had my local seat guy modify my stock seat to the same specs. It came out perfect. He made a foam insert that covers the original rider's seat back and then cut two new cover panels out of the exact same material as original. The result is that the seat back is now 9" tall compared to the original height of 7.25". The distance from the nose to the back of the rider's pocket is now 14.5" compared to the original's 15". The distance from the nose to the top of the rider's seat back is now 17" compared to the original's 18". He did not touch the seating surface itself. The result is that I no longer need a backrest nor even the back support I was wearing before. The seat back now sits at a slightly more upright angle so that the reach to the bars is way more comfortable. He was also able to do all this without interfering with the original backrest slot nor infringing on the passenger's portion of the seat. If anyone would like him to modify theirs you are more than welcome to mail the seat to me and I'll take it over to him for you. Believe it or not he only charged $200. Here are some pics:
Marc
|
|
| |
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 763
Anderson, IN (48mi NE of downtown Indianapolis) | That looks like some quality work. |
|
| |
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 802
| victoryvisiontour - 2013-03-23 7:22 PM
That looks like some quality work. I know. He even matched the stitching. He's done a lot of stuff for me in the past and it is consistently good. That's not always the case with seat guys particularly when they're modifying something rather than creating it from scratch.
Marc |
|
| |
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 691
Manchester, CT | Thanks Marc,
The seat looks awesome.
How tall are you? The reason I ask is I am 5'6" and although I haven't riden my bike yet, when I do sit on it at the dealer's, my butt doesn't reach to the seat back.
I'm thinking i may need the seat back to come up another .5" This may or not be the case since the top of the seat back is moved up from 18 to 17. Thoughts?
How high is the saddle now vs the original height of 26+ inches? Ideally I would like it dropped 2 inches. If it drops that low will it affect the balance of the bike?
I am going to go to the dealer to grab my seat. Can you please verify with your friend that cost is $200. Also, can you please send me his contact info via a PM.
Great stuff! |
|
| |
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 802
| Street Eagle - 2013-03-23 8:36 PM
Thanks Marc,
The seat looks awesome.
How tall are you? The reason I ask is I am 5'6" and although I haven't riden my bike yet, when I do sit on it at the dealer's, my butt doesn't reach to the seat back.
I'm thinking i may need the seat back to come up another .5" This may or not be the case since the top of the seat back is moved up from 18 to 17. Thoughts?
How high is the saddle now vs the original height of 26+ inches? Ideally I would like it dropped 2 inches. If it drops that low will it affect the balance of the bike?
I am going to go to the dealer to grab my seat. Can you please verify with your friend that cost is $200. Also, can you please send me his contact info via a PM.
Great stuff!I'm 5'9" with a 30" inseam. The seat height is as original. I did not have him touch it since its very comfortable as it is and he would have to remove the heater which sits on top of the seat cushion under a thin piece of foam. Besides, I am flat footed at a stop. If you took 2" of foam out I don't think you'd end up with a seat you would be happy with. There is only a total of 4" of foam at the max to begin with. The Vision low seat like they used in the 8 Ball and Ness is 1" lower. I tried one of those but to be honest it didn't seem to get my feet noticeably closer to the ground for some reason. It probably has to do with the overall width of the seat. The advantage to changing the seat back angle is that it gets you closer to the bars which were a stretch before. It has a tendency to stand you up straighter. The bottom of the seat being .5" forward also helps when you when you stop as it moves you a bit further forward making it easier to get your feet down.
Rather than lowering the seat maybe you can consider lowering the suspension. The 8 Ball and Ness are lower by 1". The rear shock has 1" less travel. In the front they used a different spring, spacer and cartridge. I happen to have the complete lowered setup for the forks which I used on my 2010 and 2011 bikes. In this 2013 I have the Traxxion setup. There are also lowering links on the market for the rear. So, there are options to lower the bike and if you decide to do that I can supply you the parts to lower the front since I'm not using them anymore. If you would like to call let me know and I'll send you my phone number. I can give you Felix's info over the phone or I can talk to him for you if you like.
Marc |
|
| |
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 802
| Update: My wife just sat on the passenger seat and the higher back does force her legs out a little bit more than before. She doesn't think its going to be a problem but it is something to consider.
Marc |
|
| |
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 691
Manchester, CT | Great feedback Marc!
I would love to take you up on your offer. I'm 3 hours ahead of you. Please let me know when is a good time to talk tomorrow. I noticed on your site you are going riding next week.
On another note, I have a 29" inseam. I am flat footed with sneakers on and have a slight bend when wearing my boots.
Thanks again!!!
Tom
Ps. Time to sign off and get some shut eye |
|
| |
|
Cruiser
Posts: 108
Conneaut, OH | How much for the lowered front setup? |
|
| |
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 802
| conn-e-rot - 2013-03-24 8:52 AM
How much for the lowered front setup?I just got off the phone with Tom and he might want the lowered parts. Give me a day or so to see if he decides to take them. Tom, what say you?
Marc |
|
| |
|
Iron Butt
Posts: 691
Manchester, CT | Hey Marc....yes I would like to purchase your front end components. I will shoot a PM with my personal email.
And again...thanks for spending so much time on the phone with me today. |
|
| |
|
Tourer
Posts: 430
| Marc - can he add any memory foam or something to help with the padding? I am using an Airhawk and would like to not have to use it for long rides. |
|
| |
Seat Mod