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Seat mod......slope change

showkey

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The size and support are not a problem for me. The downward forward slope of the seat is a problem.

This is not a NC only problem, as other Hondas have had this concern as well. The ST1300 is one that also suffers from the forward slope. ST riders have made adjustments to solve the problem. ST has a three position seat height adjustment. Their fix was to position seat on the front in the top adjustment and the back placed in th skid or low position.........downward slope gone. Honda never intended for this slope adjustment but it does work with a little tweaking.

To change the slope on the NC.
The NC front seat locator tab can be placed on the top of the frame bracket instead in the bracket. This can be done a test. I liked the new position so much......in the process of fabricating a new seat front hold down bracket. The new bracket hold the front of the seat on the top of factory bracket.

This new position of the front of the seat is raised about 3/4"......downward slope gone.

Measured on the center stand middle of the seat has 3.0 degree slope down, if the front bracket location is changed the seat is level or 0 degree slope.

DSCN0537.jpg

DSCN0536.jpg
 
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Could you get some side pics? It's thought to see the seat level when your looking down on it

Sure more pics coming......the picture above show the distance change from the seat front to the body seam of the trunk.

Bike is on a lift on the center stand for reference:

DSCN0538.jpgDSCN0541.jpg
 
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i used a knee pad for gardening , cut it to fill in the low spot in the front and tapered it into the back of the seat, and stapled the seat cover back on. dale
 
I like the seat trick but where did ya get that level and how much wampum?

Wampum are traditional sacred shell beads of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of the indigenous people of North America. Wampum include the white shell beads fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell; and the white and purple beads made from the quahog, or Western North Atlantic hard-shelled clam. Woven belts of wampum have been created to commemorate treaties or historical events, and for exchange in personal social transactions, such as marriages. In colonial North America, European colonists often used wampum as currency for trading with Native Americans.

The word "Wampum" comes from the Narragansett word for 'white shell beads'. Wampum beads are made in two colors: white ("Wòmpi") beads ("Wompam") from the Whelk shell ("Meteaûhock"), and purple-black ("Súki") beads ("Suckáuhock") from the growth rings of the Quahog shell ("Suckauanaûsuck").

The quahog shell was used to produce purple wampum and other shell pendants.

wampum_discs.26860701.jpg
 
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i like this seat,and the firmness is great as well. but, i too have issue with this forward slope. i have owned,and currently owned many hondas',and have never had this issue. i would just order a corbin for it, but i am unsure if that would solve the problem. i have a great upolstry guy here locally, but how would you know where to start. it not exactly easy to make adjustments to the foam, and then recover it. ahhhh, what to do, i am equaaly frustrated with this seemingly minor issue.
 
I had my seat recushioned by a good m/c seat guy but I did not study the seat good enough and didn't supply him with enough data to make the seat level so when I got it back it was a perfect cushion job but the slope wasn't compleatly removed, my bad. I just went out and set up my seat as Showkey illustrates and HOT DAM, its almost on the money without a test ride but I found you can even raise the front higher, maybe up to an inch with a spacer (although an inch isn't needed) for your own specs. Making a square U to fit on top of the existing hold down and securing it with a bolt and nut is all that is needed.

I would like to dub this mod the "Showkey seat mod"

THANKS TO SHOWKEY!
 
Where did you get this bracket? How much does it cost and do you have a stepbystep dummy guide?
Thanks.
:p

EDIT: read further down in the posts......it is getting more complex to support the entire seat bottom structure

Nothing special....."Homemade bracket"........could be done a number of different ways to accomplish the same job.
DSCN0542-001.JPG
 
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I was thinking that same bracket Showkey, I may weld a 1.5 inch tongue to the bottom of the fabricated U to protrud to the rear. It will raise me another 1/4 inch and add some support to the plastic tongue on the seat. Either way it can be returned to stock simply by removing the 2 bolts.
 
I had my seat recushioned by a good m/c seat guy but I did not study the seat good enough and didn't supply him with enough data to make the seat level so when I got it back it was a perfect cushion job but the slope wasn't compleatly removed, my bad. I just went out and set up my seat as Showkey illustrates and HOT DAM, its almost on the money without a test ride but I found you can even raise the front higher, maybe up to an inch with a spacer (although an inch isn't needed) for your own specs. Making a square U to fit on top of the existing hold down and securing it with a bolt and nut is all that is needed.

I would like to dub this mod the "Showkey seat mod"

THANKS TO SHOWKEY!


Does this raise the seat height at all as I have had mine lowered slightly and I don't want to raise it again ?
 
Does this raise the seat height at all as I have had mine lowered slightly and I don't want to raise it again ?

Raises the front of the seat about an inch...........back is same height and one would guess (did not measure) the middle of the seat up maybe a 1/2 inch.
 
I was thinking that same bracket Showkey, I may weld a 1.5 inch tongue to the bottom of the fabricated U to protrud to the rear. It will raise me another 1/4 inch and add some support to the plastic tongue on the seat. Either way it can be returned to stock simply by removing the 2 bolts.

Agree support of the tongue would not hurt. Good idea.

I took another look at the seat support system.....by raising the seat by the tongue only there are two rubber support buttons one on each side of the seat bottom that are no longer in contact with the frame pad. Would be a very good idea for these buttons to be supported as well. I am sure they did not add those rubber buttons for fun. NEED to tweak the design so not a put unneeded stress on the seat bottom over time. Longer buttons or two blocks in the area where those buttons land.

Picture of the seat bottom rubber bottom.
Grease added to show where they land on the seat support system. (Tongue bracket removed)

IT is rarely simple and this is proof: So off to build some supports. Because I can not live with the stock slope. :)
IMG_2027.JPGIMG_2026.JPG

It appears to me now, the seat tongue was never meant to bear down weight, only to stop the seat from lift and position right and left. The front seat bottom rubbers carry the weight. So next pic show the new "landing zone" for the front seat rubber bumpers supports.

IMG_2028.JPG

Caution: If your drilling in the seat support frame area for any mods, the fuel tank is directly below this area.....do not blow through and damage or drill or just plain knock a hole in the tank......... obvious but worth mentioning.

I now believe the added support of the tongue bottom is not needed. The design evolves.
 
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I DID THIS MOD TODAY WITH A LITTLE DIFFERENT TWIST. IN USING THESE PICS ALREADY HERE ,IT IS ABOUT AN HOUR JOB, IT IS EASY, AND EFFECTIVE. FIRST THING DID WAS DRILL 1/4" HOLE IN THE METAL TANG. I USED A STAINLESS SHOULDER BOLT, FROM HONDA, AS LOCATER AND CAP...I.E. THE SEAT CANNOT MOVE. THEN I CHUCKED UP A 1/2" END MILL, AND MACHINED OUT THE PLASTIC TOUNGE ON THE SEAT. YOU WILL NEED TO GO APPROX 1.00 IN TOWARDS THE REAR,USING THE CENTER PLASTIC RIB AS A GUIDE. LASTLY I DRILLED 2x 3/8 HOLES WHERE THE SEAT PADS RIDE ON EACH SIDE OF THE METAL TANG. I USED SOME SOFT 3/4" RUBBER SNUBBERS/PADS SOURCED FROM THE LOCAL HARDWARE. THEY SNAP RIGHT IN, AND STAY THERE. ONCE TOGETHER EVERYTHING IS VERY SOLID AND TIGHT. THE BACK OF THE SEAT LINES RIGHT UP, AND IT RAISES THE FRONT APPROX. 1". THERE ARE TWO REALLY NICE THINGS ABOUT THIS MOD. NONE OF THIS IS VISABLE OR PERMANATE OR IRREVERSIBLE. AND THE SEAT, WHILE RIGHT @ THE TANK, NO LONGER RUBS ON THE TANK,AND WILL NOT WEAR ON THE PAINT. THE ONLY WAY ANYTHING IS EVEN NOTICABLE,IS AT THE BOTTOM FRONT OF THE SEAT DOES NOT QUITE FOLLOW THE BODY LINE. BUT THE EXTRA COMFORT IS WELL WORTH IT. THIS IS A CHEAP ALTERNATIVE TO CHANGING OUT WHAT I FEEL IS A GOOD SEAT.
 
I just put a 1/2 inch spacer where the rubber bumpers touch down. 1/2 inch seems right but it may need a shim or 2 to be perfect. I'll have to ride it some to make sure the rubber is touching down but this week its been colder in the Az desert than in the north east!
 
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