[honest bob]

See if you can find a lightly used gel seat. For the mileages you state it should work. Seats are very personal as everyone is diff. It's best to try to swap seats with someone before you buy if you can. Same goes for suspension. You may have to experiment a bit, but again if you can find a bud who has made changes and you can ride his bike it will save a lot of trial & error.

 

[greywolf]

I had the same observations when I first got the bike. In fairly short order, I traded seats with a DL1000 owner through an ad here since I had a 32" inseam and he had a 30". Then I bought Sonic Springs for the forks using the calculator at SonicSprings.com

Just the DL1000 seat with an Alaska Leather sheepskin, an MP windscreen and the Sonic Springs allowed me to do a 1130 mile day to beat a storm home without too much trouble. I did later go with a Sargent seat and damping improvements on the forks and shocks but the original seat and fork mods got me to about 90% of where I am now for way less than 90% of the cost.

The MP screen is no longer made but a Madstad bracket and a larger screen for longer trips can do fine. You can decide for now how much money you want to spend for what level of improvement.

 

[Rambouillet]

A combination

Search the forum, there is tons of information. Some people modify the foam in their seat. Others buy a solution...gel seems to work pretty well. I did a group buy from this forum of a Russell Day-Long. There are other tricks also. I am a big fan of standing while riding occasionally....one of the great things about a V-Strom. Don't keep a wallet in you back pocket. Stop and get off the bike every hour or two. Lot's of ways to go. Ride Safe!

 

[Rick of Anderson Island]

I bought a pair of riding shorts (underwear) with padding in the butt. You can find the ad in most motorcycle magazines. $89 I think. They might be similar to bicycle shorts but I can't say for sure. I rode 2-1/2 hours straight yesterday and didn't feel the need to stop for a stretch. The ad says it makes your butt look sexy but it mostly feels like you have a load in your pants when walking around. Small price to pay for the extended range.

 

[triman11427]

I cycle and own a few of these shorts. I'd prefer to have a set up where I don't need special undergarments to enjoy the ride:mrgreen:

 

[PTRider]

Check local and regional upholstery shops for one that shapes motorcycle seats, not just recovers. There might be a great local shop. Otherwise the mail order outfits do good. It would be best to get together with local Strom riders with the different mail order seats to see which fits you best...Russell, Corbin, Sargent, Mayer, Mayer--easy to put their seat on your bike for your test ride. When Rich O'Connor made my seat, he told me that he could make a mail order seat to fit about 95% as effective as a ride-in customer. Using your bike for commuting, you might find a Strom seat on this forum or eBay, send the most worn one for rebuilding, and when your new seat arrives and doesn't need modifications, resell the extra seat.

For the front end, do a search for Ricor Intiminators. They are drop-in damping valves where the stock springs are retained. I've had them on two Wees, and I like them a lot. The fork damping is greatly improved, and brake dive is well controlled.

 

[RichDesmond]

Hi All,
I've just past 700 miles and have been using my bike mostly for a 45 mile commute. I rode over 100 miles today and I need some advice. First, my seat is killing me. I tried the Cal Sci mod and put a sheepskin over that. It didn't really help. After about 60 miles I was squirming trying to find a better position. I've read many different threads on this and I'm not sure which way to go. I'm 5'10"with a 32" inseam and weigh 185. I can place both feet on the ground and I really like that. Next, I do mostly highway so I'm going with a 16T front sprocket to smooth out the high end. I want to stiffen up the front end a bit to reduce dive on stopping and the sort of mushy feel I get when going over frost heaves and the like. I'm not sure if just changing to a heavier fork oil is the way to go. I love this bike and just need to "tweak" it to make it better for me. Any and all suggestions are much appreciated.

As mentioned, everyone is different, but I've got a Corbin seat on mine and love it. It does make it a little longer reach to the ground.
For the front end, get some 0.90kg/mm fork springs and use 10w oil.

 

[MT26]

I have the stock "gel" DL1000 seat on my wee. I'm very happy with it, and it was inexpensive compared to other new seat options. A word of caution though, I'm pretty sure it's taller than the stock wee seat. I have a 34" inseam and can get both feet flat with the gel seat, but barely. I have used the bike short trick on longer trips, and it works great. Probably not something I would be willing to mess with for commuting though. You can get mountain bike specific padded liners cheap. I'm in the market for sonic springs, but my Richland Rich fork brace was WELL worth the $$. Happy riding

 

[andreas]

Seat issues are a-plenty here. I had my seat redone in Florida, and am using an alaska sheepskin. My longest ride is 425 miles, had to stop after 3 hours and strech, but after that the next 4 hours were fine. My next project is to re-do another wee seat, I hope to use a 3/4 inch gel pad as my insert. I know i'll screw it up I have the GIVI shield with a madstadt bracket. I kept my chain and sprockets stock, fork is still good enough for my riding.

 

[Illinois]

For a cheap seat fix you might give the Bead Rider a try. Been using one for the past few weeks. Not to stylish but seems to do the job. :yesnod:

 

[awannabe veewee]

commuter options

I primarily use my Wee for commuting. 120 mile round trip. I tied the gel/Alaska pad option, ok improvement, but not what I needed. I went the Sargent seat along with the sheepskin, much better! Fork wise so far, 20k so good, I have a Murph's forkbrace, that settled my front end issues! Keeping in touch with this site, plenty of info to find what you need to make your Wee yours!

 

[soderholmd]

Let me throw my 2 cents in.

MRA Vario windshield mounted in the highest position and highest bracket position is fabulous.

Switch to a dl1000 seat with a sheepskin - worked awesome for me.

Also - I put intiminators in the forks - fixed them. I now want a shock too.......