After my short ride out to our future home to sign some papers yesterday I decided enough was enough with this damn seat. Its the primary reason I don't ride this bike so something needs to be done. On the way back I made mental notes of every hot spot on my butt. There seem to be two areas that hurt the most. My tail bone by far was the worst. It felt like something was pushing back up into my back bone. Second was the insides of my cheeks. Yeah TMI I know but the pain in these two areas is almost unbearable after three hours.

Since I had a spare stock seat laying around I decided to try a mod that several of us with SV650S have done. Basically you remove the seat foam from the seat and remove some foam from the bottom of it to relieve pressure points that occur on top (no foam underneath allows foam to compress better in areas of more pressure on top). I ended up removing just over an inch of foam in the area where my butt bone sits then tapering it out to the stock level forward and aft.

Looking at the photos the area with the blue hash marks is where I remove most of the foam, the area with green hash marks is the area that tapers back to the stock foam. The red hash marks are areas left the stock height. By leaving the outer edges higher it created a butt scoop similar to a saddle.

I put her all back together and WOW its so much nicer. I was able to swap back and forth with the OEM Gel seat and now my stock seat is hands down more comfortable. Of course I need to go for a ride but I can already tell this is a 100% improvement. I can slide all the way back now and there is no pressure at all on my tail bone. The pressure is now on my entire butt cheek and my thighs, the way it should be.

Seat taken apart
http://mike.chornbe.com/bikes/seatmod1.jpg

Areas marked for foam removal
http://mike.chornbe.com/bikes/seatmod2.jpg

THE MESS!!!
http://mike.chornbe.com/bikes/seatmod3.jpg

Back on the bike
http://mike.chornbe.com/bikes/seatmod4.jpg

http://mike.chornbe.com/bikes/seatmod5.jpg

Interesting. I might do that.

Can you show what tool/s you used?

Removed the staples with needle nose, cut the foam with a serrated bread knife then re stabled it.

I spent some time on the bike yesterday and a little today. This seat is almost perfect for me. I will put a good 200 miles on her this weekend to see how it works out for "hours" in the seat.

All the pressure I was feeling on my tailbone is gone and now a larger portion of my butt is in contact with the seat. I can sit so far back on the seat now that the step in the seat is actually against my lower back. So far this has been the best mod to my Versys and it was FREE! :D

I am picking up a gel pad to put in my seat and will post photos, but I also found another interesting article on making a gel seat. http://www.itrocks.com/motorcycles/gel_seat.htm

This is the pad that I am planning to use in mine. http://www.softbottom.net/1643653.html

Tell us about that Pipe?

started modding my seat in a similiar fashion today btu need to get some riding time in to see how it came out. I did a similiar thing as you but only cut out the rear portion where you greem hash marks are then used some blue foam padding used for camping to fill in the plastic part of the seat obove the lower hole and between the front and rear where it tapers up. feel good sitting in the garage, ill post pick later if I have to modify it any more. took two layers of the padding to fill it the way I wanted it.

I also have a front 1/2" spacer at the tank mount so it raises up the front a little but as well. seat looks pretty flat now which is what i wanted.

Tell us about that Pipe?

Thats the Jardine, want to buy it? :D Actually its just a little to loud for me so I will probably sell it.

Glad it worked. The remove-foam-from-the-bottom is an old but effective trick. I did it with several bikes in the past. You did exactly what I would do if I were to tweak the stock seat. I suppose I am congratulating you for thinking like me then. Hm. Wasn't meant to, so congratulations on your original idea!

I did this mod to my seat cutting the blue area out, and adding some foam at the front. It worked great. I rode 450 miles at 12 hrs. with no butt or back pain. Thanks!!

I did this mod to my seat cutting the blue area out, and adding some foam at the front. It worked great. I rode 450 miles at 12 hrs. with no butt or back pain. Thanks!!

When you added foam to the front, did you put it on the bottom or top of the existing foam?

I am planning to put the gel pad in first and then start removing foam from the bottom until it feels right. I am also thinking about adding something a little firmer under the gel pad (depending on how much foam is left after I get it cut out for the gel pad.

This is a great idea. I'm gonna try this too.
I went to an upholstery place the other day and got some dense foam with peel and stick back. It's the stuff guys stick on their race bikes instead of using a real seat. he only charged me $20 and theres enough there to cover the seat twice. After I shave down the foam, I will build up a layer or two of this stuff to get rid of pressure points and to build up the height too.
I just hope I don't cock it up somehow.:eek:

I removed the foam from the pan. the cutout area leaves a hollow of about 1 1/2" between the pan and the foam. The foam that I added, I put straight on the pan under the foam. This was some self stick foam used in duct insulation. It also worked great around the instruments to stop the buzz.

I always see these threads and laugh. I too tried around 6 different mods. Ended up with this. W rode 600 miles two weeks ago 13 hour day 4 states. I never thought about my seat. thats how I know it works.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh136/golfmuch/DSC07631.jpg

[IMG]http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh136/golfmuch/DSC07626.jpg

I am picking up a gel pad to put in my seat and will post photos, but I also found another interesting article on making a gel seat. http://www.itrocks.com/motorcycles/gel_seat.htm

This is the pad that I am planning to use in mine. http://www.softbottom.net/1643653.html


jc whitney sells them much cheaper gel inserts i plan on cutting the foam and installing one of these gel inserts then covering with a thin leveling foam.

http://www.jcwhitney.com/SADDLEGEL-SEAT-PADS/GP_2007056_N_111+10211+600014417_10111.jcw

Finally got to go for a ride today. The seat mod probably extended the time until I start to feel "the burn" by 3 times. Overall its a perfect improvement that allows me to delay popping the sheepskin cover on. This means I can spend pretty much all day in the seat now (6 or so hours of riding).

My tailbone did not hurt at all. What I get now is the typical butt pain I get on any bike after 2 hours straight in the seat.

I also redid the seat, one of these days I'll take some pictures. I pretty much did what others did, shaved some foam from back area (underneath), and also from the middle-back on top. Then added 5/8 foam at the front, double in the middle, and around the edges, but not all the way back in order to keep the seat flat.

Next was to mark were I sit most of the time, and I inserted 2 gel pads so I can have something comfy given that the foam is so thin now in the back.

What I was looking for was to flatten the seat so I can move back without being pushed forward, but I was also looking to get the bicycle seat effect :)

Redid the seat twice, and now I am happy...lol... Last test was perfect, I realized only late that I didn't think about the seat, which is good :)

Not sure if you guys noticed, but the first drain hole is exactly on top of the positive battery terminal. Just to play safe I sealed the hole, and drilled other ones in the low spots of the seat pan.

PS Thanks to Loren for the advice...

Allriding, Glad I was able to help you out with the advice.

I always see these threads and laugh. I too tried around 6 different mods.

Well after spending a lot of time commuting on the modded seat I am happy to report its perfect. Nothing else needs to be done to the seat. It works in jeans, leathers or textile pants. I guess I got lucky and got it right on the first try. :)


My Versys is perfect now. Its time to rack up the miles. :thumb::D:clap:

gti20vturbo,

this is a great post. I had modified my seat the way you have shown in your pictures and it works fantasic.

I haven't gone for a long ride yet but it already feels better!!!

Just want to say Thanks

lookin forward to doing this mod!

Just came back from a 2 hour ride after this mod and no problem and no sore bum

Hey Golfmuch... nice seat are you saying that that mod does not work, it looks mighty comfy and close to the Tiger 1050 seats. I remember reading about a BMW seat that was used for a Versys... give up some info again chief. Thanks!!!

I always see these threads and laugh. I too tried around 6 different mods. Ended up with this. W rode 600 miles two weeks ago 13 hour day 4 states. I never thought about my seat. thats how I know it works.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh136/golfmuch/DSC07631.jpg

[IMG]http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh136/golfmuch/DSC07626.jpg

What brand is it?

2002 BMW RT 1150 gel seat. I think any model RT 1150 will do. The gel version is a little smaller. There is a thread with details somewhere. you will have to hunt it down. And someone else did that mod last week.

I always see these threads and laugh. I too tried around 6 different mods. Ended up with this. W rode 600 miles two weeks ago 13 hour day 4 states. I never thought about my seat. thats how I know it works.

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh136/golfmuch/DSC07631.jpg

[IMG]http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh136/golfmuch/DSC07626.jpg

What exactly did you do, you donīt say....?

It's a BMW rt 1150 gel seat I got off ebay. Pretty cheap. I cant remember now. You can hunt down the details somewhere on this forum. I let my son talk me out of the Versys this year and got my KLR back. I am thinking of making a RT seat fit on my KLR. I sure do miss that seat. And My versys. Two other people I know of as done the same with the seat Mod.

I've also cut up the original seat. The tilt of it made my hips ache something fierce. This is the first bike I've owned with a shaped seat instead of a slab.

I peeled back the cover and carved the front foam section - very carefully with an angle grinder turning it to dust. I took it down about 4 cm at the back so it was level with the front and flat all over. Also cut the vertical front of the back section a little so I could sit back a bit more. Put the cover on again, done.

I've also borrowed an Airhawk from a friend to test for a while. They are good stuff.

Maybe a dumb question, But hey I'll ask anyway...what size staples did you use to re-attach the vinyl? and did you just use a normal manual staple gun?

I didn't have a staple gun at hand, so I used some screws that I had that have about a 3/8" head and cut them down in lenght to about 1/4" long. I believe a staple with 3'8" staples would do the trick

I used a small electric staple gun with short, maybe 10 mm, staples. The gun is a hobbyist thing, not a real trade tool and it had some trouble getting through the plastic seat shell sometimes.

I was scared to take a knife to a new seat in perfect condition. I never had problems but 1.5 hrs is about as far as I had gone. My wife left for a few hours so out came the knife, much easier when there isn't someone discouraging you!!

I am impressed with the feel of it now and by looking at it you don't even know it was touched. She will never know:clap: Best priced mod for sure $0.

Just finished mine, talk about easy.....30 mins from start to finish! Wow what a completely different feel....cant wait to take it out on the road! :clap:

I always see these threads and laugh. I too tried around 6 different mods. Ended up with this. W rode 600 miles two weeks ago 13 hour day 4 states. I never thought about my seat. thats how I know it works.

I would be way to worried about having a rear drive failure by adding BMW parts to my Kawi. :D I still love my seat mod by the way. By tossing on or removing the sheepskin cover I can sit on this one all day now if needed.

Hey GTI -
Thanks for the mod - did it tonight and it feels great. I took a little less off than you - lets see how it goes on a longer term test - will remove more if need. FYI to all those who are thinking about it - very easy to do - but it does make a mess!

Maybe a dumb question, But hey I'll ask anyway...what size staples did you use to re-attach the vinyl? and did you just use a normal manual staple gun?

I used the most powerful electric staple gun I could find at Home Depot.

started modding my seat in a similiar fashion today btu need to get some riding time in to see how it came out. I did a similiar thing as you but only cut out the rear portion where you greem hash marks are then used some blue foam padding used for camping to fill in the plastic part of the seat obove the lower hole and between the front and rear where it tapers up. feel good sitting in the garage, ill post pick later if I have to modify it any more. took two layers of the padding to fill it the way I wanted it.

I also have a front 1/2" spacer at the tank mount so it raises up the front a little but as well. seat looks pretty flat now which is what i wanted.

Russo,

I was just wondering what you used as a spacer to get the front of your seat up a little. I don't find my seat too bad, except for the angle. If I could get the front of it up by a 1/2 or 3/4 of an inch I'd be a happy camper!

Thanks Gti20vturbo!
Did the modification as per your post, rode for 4 hours today and had absolutely no discomfort whatsoever. Thanks from my tailbone and me.
Swarchiman

I did a seat mod on mine that made a huge difference. I had the bike out on the stock seat for a 600 mile ride and felt pretty sore afterwards. Read this post and decided to cut up my seat. I bought a gel seat cushion for auto's at Walmart for about $20, took my foam out and cut a lot of it off. I put the seat cushion in after trimming it a little and stapled her back up.
Rode the bike up to Oregon and did 750 miles one day. Felt great when I stopped for the night. Overall I rode 2400 miles in 4 days time and can say that this is a great and cheap way to get comfort. And for the shorter guys this lowered the seat about an inch or so.

Well, came home last night with sore tailbone, promptly removed the seat, pulled the staples and started reshaping the foam. I removed about an inch from the blue area as detailed above, restapled then went for a short test ride. Great difference! No more reverse wedgie and no more sore tailbone. Will have to do a longer ride to confirm but so far feels great! Thanks gti!!

Awesome article! I am decided that as soon as I retrieve my new (below MSRP) 2009 from the dealer, I will get to work on this mod. The extreme forward slant of the seat was the first thing I noticed after I got done doing wheelies in the parking lot.

THANKS!!!

Awesome article! I am decided that as soon as I retrieve my new (below MSRP) 2009 from the dealer, I will get to work on this mod. The extreme forward slant of the seat was the first thing I noticed after I got done doing wheelies in the parking lot.

THANKS!!!


So the FIRST thing you noticed was the wheelie ability...

:D


And welcome aboard!

So the FIRST thing you noticed was the wheelie ability...

:D


And welcome aboard!

Thanks!

...and yes, that was definitely the first thing that happened. The second thing was that I did this seat mod, and it worked, though I did not taper the rear of the foam as much as gti20vturbo. I left some padding on the rear, deciding to error with caution. The result is it made more of a 'cup' for my ass to sit in, rather than an evenly lowered flat seat. Its similar to a Corbin now, actually, except closer to the tank than theirs. I found that it keeps me in the middle of the saddle, halfway in between the front and rear because the majority of the shaving I did was between the support pyramids. The downside is that I am stuck in the middle... the upside is that :yeahsmile:, what a difference being in my own little foam ass-nest rather than on a seat shaped trampoline.

Also I did the whole thing with a grinder. I used a cordless 18v Ryobi, and it took two batteries. If you let the grinder speed get down it tends to grab, so I found the best technique was to "pet" the seat foam with the high speed grinder while running a big fan to blow the pesky dust onto WET pavement. Then you can actually sweep it without spreading it even more into your world.

:cool:

i tryed this mod. the first thing i had to do was buy a good electric staple gun. best money i ever spent. the secound thing i had todo was take it back apart and put in a piece of 3inch memory foam i think it was 4lb denisty right where i cut to factory foam out. now im happy.

I did it. Tedious pulling out the staples. I was concerned the cover would look like ****, but it pulls smooth and you add staples. Might take a little more off, I went conservative. Still pushes my asshole up... just in case you wondered. Hate that.

I just shaved my 2010 seat. Tomorrow is a 200 mile test ride so I'm praying I did a good job. I took a good amount off the back. I hated the steep slope between my seat and the rear seat. Now I can put my ass all the way back and rest agnst the passenger part. I think I need to take a little more out of the middle. The angle upwards the back might be too much. I'll report tomorrow. I only have a few hours to sleep before the ride. I love 2am projects. Lol

I replaced my 09V seat with the OEM gel seat last year to lower the seat height (short legs). The gel seat was fairly comfortable, but I still started to get butt-burn after 90 minutes or so.

Today, I took the stock seat, removed the cover, cut down the foam (on top) about two inches. I got a gel seat from WalMart (automotive) for $19.95, zipped off the cover, cut the rubber (gel) to fit the top of my seat, put the open cells up, stapled the cover back on.

I took it out for a 90-minute ride and was amazed at how good it felt - a lot better than the OEM gel seat. This is a 20-dollar fix, if you have a stapler. Otherwise, WalMart has a heavy duty stapler for $15 plus $4 for staples.

If you're having any comfort problems with your seat, this is a quick, easy, and inexpensive way for improvement.

All these seat threads make my ass hurt.....:teetertooter:

So, here's an even simpler fix, if you want a comfortable and lower seat. Today, I took a stock seat, unstapled the front portion of the cover, pulled the cover back, removed ALL the foam (peels off easily), laid down the gel seat insert from WalMart, cut the insert to fit the top, pulled the cover back into place and stapled it down.

It's more comfortable AND lower than the OEM gel seat, and only costs $20 and at most an hour to do. Later if you want to go back to stock, simply remove the gel insert, put the stock foam back in place, restaple and you're done.

So, here's an even simpler fix, if you want a comfortable and lower seat. Today, I took a stock seat, unstapled the front portion of the cover, pulled the cover back, removed ALL the foam (peels off easily), laid down the gel seat insert from WalMart, cut the insert to fit the top, pulled the cover back into place and stapled it down.

It's more comfortable AND lower than the OEM gel seat, and only costs $20 and at most an hour to do. Later if you want to go back to stock, simply remove the gel insert, put the stock foam back in place, restaple and you're done.

This sounds like a perfect mod, as it's not permanent yet is very easy to do. I'm a cack-handed idiot though, so i'm tempted to pick up a cheap stock seat if i can to carry the mod out on, so if i balls it up i can just put the proper seat back on. Does anyone happen to know if a stock seat off an 06-09 model will fit straight onto the 10 model?

This sounds like a perfect mod, as it's not permanent yet is very easy to do. I'm a cack-handed idiot though, so i'm tempted to pick up a cheap stock seat if i can to carry the mod out on, so if i balls it up i can just put the proper seat back on. Does anyone happen to know if a stock seat off an 06-09 model will fit straight onto the 10 model?

Yes it does - datawiz ('10) and I ('07 / OEM Gel) have swapped seats.

Did you use adhesive to reattach the foam to the seat base, or just lay it on there and wrap it back up?

I searched online for a WalMart gel seat, and didn't find anything that seemed like it would work. Can you give more details about what gel seat you used?

Thank you.

Gel pad from WalMart, it's great!
http://burgmanusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=46082

Well I tried this mod on Saturday, but am still not completely happy with the result. i donīt know whether I just didnīt take enough off before re covering, and since the cover is now on itīs third stapling I canīt see how it will cope any more with another removal since in parts it has started tearing slightly.

Itīs really starting o get me down now.

I did this mod and what a difference! I'm glad I found this and took material out of the bottom instead of having to reshape the top. Inexpensive, fairly quick to do but VERY messy!!