KGround
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- Apr 5, 2013
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- Location
- Tampa, FL Waterflow, NM
I'm 6'2" and used to wear a 36" inseam, which over the years has shrunken to 32'. I swear my legs ain't getting shorter it's that the pants ride lower...
After initial experience I thought I would really dislike the NC without major modifications - The seat was always giving me a wedgie, and the combination of seat and low handlebars made my natural riding position very bad on my back. I could consciously stretch myself upright which was better on my back, but if not careful I would find myself leaning over again with a sore back. I checked the various discussions here and what I finally ended up with is ROX 2" riser kit on the handlebars. (Almost $100 with the shipping, but very well made and not an embarassment to have on a new motor.) And I have the stock seat farkle which raises the front 3/4". I just bent a piece of heavy sheet metal and fastened it over the existing mount to keep the front of the seat from sliding from side to side or from lifting up if you catch it with a foot getting on or off. This is in my opinion essential over the long run to preserve the thin metal tabs that hold the back of the seat. I have 3/4" thick hard plastic blocks under the front rubber mounts held in place by being cut out to fit over the bolt heads in that area and secured with industrial double stick tape. I was going to weld the metal bracket - it would not prevent the seat being put back into the lower stock position - but it was just too much trouble to remove the existing part from the bike, and too much risk of damage to try to weld on it in place. So I just fastened my bracket to the sides of the existing one with a #10 machine screw and fiber locknut on each side. The only thing further it needs is some black closed cell foam rubber to fill the ~1/2" gap between the front of the raised seat and the tank, but that can wait until I run acros some suitable foam - it's more for appearance than anything as it was hardly waterproof there with the seat in the stock position anyway.
These small changes have totally changed the comfort level for me. Now it is more natural to sit in what is for me a comfortable more upright position. The ROX riser went on with the stock wires and cables no problem, but anything higher would require major modifications. I did have to adjust the position of the brake hose in its clamp and check carefully that it is not stretched even with full front fork extension, but I found enough slack above the clamp that it works with the stock hose. I did put a small piece of coarse sandpaper between the Honda clamps and the Rox shafts because the Honda mount counts on ridges on the handlebar to keep it from slipping and the Rox shafts are smooth. At the top the Rox grips the stock handlebar tightly with nothing added.
Now the only issue remaining is the windshield. I have the optional Honda tall windshield mounted in the higher position, but it is still a bit short and the wind blast at high speed comes about level with my forehead so it wants to lift my present (Bell style) helmet off my head. Again referring to the discussion here I see that someone has suggested shimming the top mounting to tilt the whole screen forward a bit, and I think I will try that - it just needs to throw the wind a little bit higher and the problem will be solved. If that doesn't work I will try some small plastic wedges near the top and sides of the screen, fastened on initially with some more of that wonderful 3M industrial grade double stick tape for a reversible test in case it doesn't work.
Many thanks to the others here for posting their experiences with this stuff - it saved me a lot of trouble and money.
With this stock seat modification the only seat purchase I would consider now is if someone were to offer something more like the old bench or bananna seat like the CBs had where you can actually slide your rear end forward and backward for different positions on a long trip. And with the gas tank access under the back seat that would be a very complicated modification, so it probably isn't going to happen.
Just one more short comment - one of my friends is shorter and he initially complained that the stock NC was too tall for him to easily put both feet on the ground. That was never a problem for me, but now with just 3/4" rise on the front of the seat he says it is too tall for him to ride. I see they sell a suspension lowering kit for short folks that drops the seat height about an inch or so by lowering the back suspension somehow, but it isn't cheap.
After initial experience I thought I would really dislike the NC without major modifications - The seat was always giving me a wedgie, and the combination of seat and low handlebars made my natural riding position very bad on my back. I could consciously stretch myself upright which was better on my back, but if not careful I would find myself leaning over again with a sore back. I checked the various discussions here and what I finally ended up with is ROX 2" riser kit on the handlebars. (Almost $100 with the shipping, but very well made and not an embarassment to have on a new motor.) And I have the stock seat farkle which raises the front 3/4". I just bent a piece of heavy sheet metal and fastened it over the existing mount to keep the front of the seat from sliding from side to side or from lifting up if you catch it with a foot getting on or off. This is in my opinion essential over the long run to preserve the thin metal tabs that hold the back of the seat. I have 3/4" thick hard plastic blocks under the front rubber mounts held in place by being cut out to fit over the bolt heads in that area and secured with industrial double stick tape. I was going to weld the metal bracket - it would not prevent the seat being put back into the lower stock position - but it was just too much trouble to remove the existing part from the bike, and too much risk of damage to try to weld on it in place. So I just fastened my bracket to the sides of the existing one with a #10 machine screw and fiber locknut on each side. The only thing further it needs is some black closed cell foam rubber to fill the ~1/2" gap between the front of the raised seat and the tank, but that can wait until I run acros some suitable foam - it's more for appearance than anything as it was hardly waterproof there with the seat in the stock position anyway.
These small changes have totally changed the comfort level for me. Now it is more natural to sit in what is for me a comfortable more upright position. The ROX riser went on with the stock wires and cables no problem, but anything higher would require major modifications. I did have to adjust the position of the brake hose in its clamp and check carefully that it is not stretched even with full front fork extension, but I found enough slack above the clamp that it works with the stock hose. I did put a small piece of coarse sandpaper between the Honda clamps and the Rox shafts because the Honda mount counts on ridges on the handlebar to keep it from slipping and the Rox shafts are smooth. At the top the Rox grips the stock handlebar tightly with nothing added.
Now the only issue remaining is the windshield. I have the optional Honda tall windshield mounted in the higher position, but it is still a bit short and the wind blast at high speed comes about level with my forehead so it wants to lift my present (Bell style) helmet off my head. Again referring to the discussion here I see that someone has suggested shimming the top mounting to tilt the whole screen forward a bit, and I think I will try that - it just needs to throw the wind a little bit higher and the problem will be solved. If that doesn't work I will try some small plastic wedges near the top and sides of the screen, fastened on initially with some more of that wonderful 3M industrial grade double stick tape for a reversible test in case it doesn't work.
Many thanks to the others here for posting their experiences with this stuff - it saved me a lot of trouble and money.
With this stock seat modification the only seat purchase I would consider now is if someone were to offer something more like the old bench or bananna seat like the CBs had where you can actually slide your rear end forward and backward for different positions on a long trip. And with the gas tank access under the back seat that would be a very complicated modification, so it probably isn't going to happen.
Just one more short comment - one of my friends is shorter and he initially complained that the stock NC was too tall for him to easily put both feet on the ground. That was never a problem for me, but now with just 3/4" rise on the front of the seat he says it is too tall for him to ride. I see they sell a suspension lowering kit for short folks that drops the seat height about an inch or so by lowering the back suspension somehow, but it isn't cheap.
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