Anyone tried to mod (farkle...) the stock seat ?

[FrankQC]

I am a new owner of a NC700X. I've been riding about 5-6 hours today with the bike. The biggest (and only) complain I have is about the seat. I have the feeling that the OEM seat always tries to push me forward. Even if I drop my butt at the rear end of the seat, it seems slippy (not me, the seat ) and I slowly move toward the "fuel tank".

My question: Is there a way to mod that OEM seat by ourselves ? A way that's been proven to work, like to remove a little material or to replace stuffing at the rear of the seat ? I know that there are some places that can do that for us, but I'd like to do something myself, whthout breaking the bank.

Yes, I've tried the "search forum" button. Maybe that's me, but I haven't found anything about this.


__________________
FrankQC

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

- Dr. Seuss

 

[mike5100]

It gets less slippy within a few hundred miles. I was going to make a seat cover out of the anti-slip stuff, but in the end never bothered.
Mike

 

[Spaceteach]

As Mike said, the seat upholstery gets a little less slick over time, but I'm still not what you would call a big fan of the seat. I think some re-shaping is going to be needed to make it more comfortable, and even if you had the right density foam, once you had it re shaped you would have to make a new seat cover to fit the altered shape. I can't speak for others, but re shaping and re covering this seat are way beyond my skill level.
I think I'm going to try to fix the seat but I plan on using my favorite tool for fixes beyond my expertise (credit card).

 

[FrankQC]

I think I'm going to try to fix the seat but I plan on using my favorite tool for fixes beyond my expertise (credit card).

I sometimes use that tool as well, but it sometimes quit working on its own, so I need to find another way to get things done. I am very handyman and technical, but no way I will entirely reshape the seat and "create" a cover for it. I've heard that some people just replace some stuffing material (let's say 3" x 8") at the rear of the seat with some kind of memory foam. That way the seat keeps its shape when we are not on it. I just removed the NC seat an hour ago to realize that there is about 1" thick material in that area, so it may not be a good idea to hack in there...

__________________
FrankQC

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

- Dr. Seuss

 

[Spaceteach]

If you go to the CalSci windshield site and look up what they offer for the NC700 you will find memory foam pads for sale and instructions on how to mod the seat with it. It didn't look to me like it would be much help on an NC700 seat, but you may feel differently.

Bob

 

[670cc]

I'm seriously thinking of working my stock seat over once this year's riding season winds down. If the alternative is a new custom seat, what would I have to loose? The main thing I would do is grind down the sharp edges on either side (they create pressure points) and add a little padding at front center to minimize the forward slide. It's a simple matter to pull the staples around the front and center, leaving the back side intact, then re-stapling with stainless steel staples after the reshape.

Check out this link for lots of seat modification knowledge:
DIYMotorcycleSeat.com - Home Page

Greg

 

[Dave D]

Found this video on Youtube, it's Japanese but shows the standard seat foam being cut to make it more comfy.

[video=youtube;UsRZKOeX738]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsRZKOeX738[/video]

 

[he go]

I've hacked a few seats now and am satisfied with the results. Remove the staples, cut the foam (Razor/box cutter-type blades, the longer the better, be sure to use a sawing action while cutting), restaple. You can use a thin sheet of closed cell foam as an inner cover to hide the slight imperfections that will show up through the synthetic leather covering. I flattened my seat, lowered it, and made it more narrow near the front. It fits me better now. This it the third bike I've done this to and at whatever-a-pop the custom seats cost I figure I've saved a bundle. Oh yeah, I used an Arrow stapler and 1/8" staples to resecure the cover. I used some C-clamp type Vice Grips to push them in flush. It's just foam; if you screw it up you can add aother layer and start over. Good luck.

 

[soggybottom]

A long electric meat slicin knife works well here.

 

[Beemerphile]

On a happy note, I cannot image anyone fouling it up enough to make it worse than it is. I have some bits of temper foam if anyone wants to experiment with inserts as described in the CalSci tutorial. I'm going to throw a money bomb at mine.

 

[gkgeiger]

A long electric meat slicin knife works well here.

I don't know if I'd listen to a person called "soggybottom" about a seat. Just kid'n

 

[gkgeiger]

I'm going to throw a money bomb at mine.

Sounds familiar.

 

[soggybottom]

I don't know if I'd listen to a person called "soggybottom" about a seat. Just kid'n

That theres funny and I don't care who ya are!

 

[Rocker66]

I had a local seat company lower my seat ( short legs)and fit a gel pad

 

[FrankQC]

I had a local seat company lower my seat ( short legs)and fit a gel pad

Did he used the CalSci method ? What is the final result ?

 

[Rocker66]

Did he used the CalSci method ? What is the final result ?

He just got me to sit on the bike with the standard seat and asked me how low I wanted it. On being told that I jus wanted to get one foot flat on the ground he took the seat into the workshop whilst we browsed the wide range of bike mags in the waiting room. Just over an hour later he returned fitted the seat which was now just the height I wanted. At no time did he measure anything other than by eye. The seat showed no signs of being altered and looked factory fresh. The gel pad certainly helps smooth out road irregularities and we certainly have enough of those here in the UK. To my mind £90 well spent. He also did a great job on Sue's Hornet without the pad for £60. The guy is a real craftsman with a good reputation

 

[soggybottom]

He just got me to sit on the bike with the standard seat and asked me how low I eanted it. On being told that I jus wanted to get one foot flat on the ground he took the seat into the workshop whilst we browsed the wide range of bike mags in the waiting room. Just over an hour later he returned fitted the seat which was now just the height I wanted. At no time did he measure anything other than by eye. The seat showed no signs of being altered and looked factory fresh. The gel pad certainly helps smooth out road irregularities and we certainly have enough of those here in the UK. To my mind £90 well spent. He also did a great job on Sue's Hornet without the pad for £60. The guy is a real craftsman with a good reputation

Dats what I'm talkin bout, there are good seat guys in most neighborhoods around the world and will do loads of improvements for a fraction of the cost of those mail in seat guys, I'm proud of ya Rocker, thats about the same in US $ that the guys out here in Az charge.

 

[Dave D]

For the European members

Selles de moto Honda - Sellerie moto et scooter jean-marc briant



I couldn't find a price list on the site.

 

[Billy Budd]

http://nc700-forum.com/forum/nc700-mods/1138-$17-99-seat-solution.html

 

[mercurydog47]

I did the CalSci recommended modification which consisted of going to an upholstery shop and having them partially pull back the seat cover from the rear, measuring the cutout of the existing foam to fit the supplied piece of 1 inch 4 x 6 extra firm Tempurpedic foam (from CalSci). It works but there is definitely a visible rectangle image in the seat cover from the foam piece. It isn't a problem but I can imagine a US customs agent at the Tijuana border insisting that I had either dope or an illegal immigrant or Jimmy Hoffa hidden in my motorcycle seat which would give them probable cause to tear the whole thing apart.