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Seat Modification

9K views 18 replies 14 participants last post by  DougInKY 
#1 ·
Good Morning fellow Strommer's,

I have been looking to either modify or replace my seat and have been looking at spencers seat mods website (spencersmotocare@aol.com) . It seems that lots of people have used his service and are happy, unfortunately for the past month I've been trying to get in touch with them to enquire about the cost and shipping to Toronto.

Has anybody had any contact them? I've tried email and voice mail and nothing! Don't know if they're out of business, on vacation or just not interested.

Any feedback would be appreciated!
 
#2 ·
I had Spencer do the long distance modification on the front portion of my 07 seat last winter. The pillion section is stock. He was fine to work with, very quick turnaround. May be on vacation now. That said, even though his modification made a big improvement over the stock seat for the 7 k miles I put on it last season, I decided to give my soon to be 64 year old butt a Sargent for this season. If you would be interested in my modified 650 seat, shoot me a PM. - moxie
 
#5 ·
My two cents worth...if you generally like the stock seat but would like it to be just a little better, then Spencer's mod will probably work for you. If you're like me though and hate the stock seat, then don't bother with Spencer. Like others have said, you'll probably need a Corbin, Sargent or similar. I've had Spencer mod my stock seat and it is definitely better but still not even close to being a "long distance" seat. I've also had a Sargent for about 1000 miles and even that wasn't what I'd hoped for. Now I've got the Suzuki Gel seat and, so far, it's the best option for me. However, I still have comfort issues after just 150 miles so it might just be that the Strom doesn't fit me very well.
 
#6 ·
My seat is currently enroute to Spencer. He has been great about responding to e-mail. Make sure to check your spam mail and make sure it isn't being flagged and deleted from you inbox.
FYI on shipping he likely can not answer that question as rates vary greatly by location. You will also have customs to deal with.

As a FYI I struggled a bit figuring out how to box my seat. To ship from Idaho to Florida on my first box attempt was $56!! :shocked:
I got in touch with Spencer and he gave me some box creating tips. After cutting, taping and making a box I got it down to $36 and sent it on it's way.
 
#7 ·
Spencers

Thanks for the replys so far everybody! I've been looking at the Russell Day long as well. Seems to be a good seat judging by the feedback.

It would have been helpful to hear from Spencer's if only to confirm whether or not to go with them, however, I guess I'll have to go another route!:confused:
 
#11 ·
Cheap + fast turnaround

The Russell 'Day Long' on my GS1000 has been an expensive disappointment.

I shipped my K2 seat for a Spencer fix in January [UPS - $17.50 going, $19.50 prepaid return]. I made
a close fitting 'box' with cardboard and tape. The gal at the UPS Store covered the seat in bubble wrap
and sealed the 'box' with more tape. It came back in the same 'box' a week later looking OEM.

Frank lowered the rider section 1", tapered it to eliminate sliding toward the tank and added the gel
layer to eliminate vibration - $75. Big improvement at a low price. Better comfort than my Russell.
 
#12 ·
DIY seat modification

I agree, the stock seat is pretty uncomfortable, I could only ride on mine for a hour or two at most.

After poking about on the net I came to the conclusion that comfort was a function of two things:

1. The seat needs to 'fit' your particular shape
2. Pressure needs to be spread over your butt with no pressure points apparent, especially on your pin bones.
3. A soft seat isn't necessarily the most comfortable seat, it needs to be soft in the right places. (ok I know I said two things)

Looking for a cheap option I decided to modify the stock seat myself. V simple to do and very effective. Basically I removed the seat cover (it's just stapled on underneath the seat body) and then cut a chunk out of the seat where my pin bones sit. The piece I cut out was about 150 x 100 I guess and the around 50mm deep. I then replaced this section with a softer foam (glued into position with a spray on adhesive) and then covered the whole front seat section with a 1inch thick layer of slightly firmer foam (firmer that the piece I'd just added but softer that the existing seat material). I then shaped and contoured the bits I'd added to blend in with the lines of the existing seat body and sort of shaped out the curves of my butt, a bit like the sort of thing you get on a wooden dining chair. Once I had the shape to my satisfaction I then put on a half inch layer of very soft foam and chamfered the edges to blend in (once the glue had dried). The original cover was then put back on (by a upholsterer) and hey presto a seat which is comfortable all day long. Total cost $45 NZD.

Tools required are a cutting knife, a grinder or drill with sanding disk (for shaping), adhesive and thats about it unless you want to staple the seat cover back on yourself which I didn't. The foam came from the upholsterer who put the cover back on (some of his offcuts) and the glue was a spray on F2 from our local hardware store.

The result is wonderful, the seat is now approx 1 inch higher than standard but this was purposely done as I'm 6'2", if you don't want the extra height you just slice off the top one inch of the stock seat and then add the second layer of foam. I know it sounds scarey attacking you seat with a stanley knife but its really very easy and very effective.

Theres a very good tutorial/more information at

Modify Seat

Happy riding.
Clive down under (the proper down under not the Aussie one)
ps I'll try to post a photo of the result sometime.
pps, have posted this elsewhere on the forum as I'm so pleased with the result and want to share it with all of you!!
 
#13 ·
Wally Dog, I think you nailed it. Everyone is unique, I did the Spencer rework on my BMW R1150R and was disappointed. I rode a friends ST1300 and loved his Russell Day-Long so plan to go that route on my DL650 after also test riding a Sargent seat. Everybody is definitely different and so if at all possible, try to test different ones before spending the money...I realize that is not always an option, just my learnings on the subject.
 
#14 ·
wallydog - I think I'm going to try your method. I've done it once in the past with my bandit and I think I learned enough to get it right this time. Where do you get foam? I don't have a lot of options near my, just the typical chain stores. Does anyone know where to get foam?
 
#15 ·
hi mad dingo

I got the foam from an upholster, the one who eventually stapled the seat cover back on once I'd finished modifying the seat to suit my butt. He gave me a heap of offcuts of varying density/softness and I just chose what seemed to give me the nicest feel as I added the various layers. For me a softer bit where my pins bones sit and then I slighty firmer foam over the top of that followed by a very thin layer of soft foam seemed to do the trick.

From my experience actually shaping the seat to suit me so that there were no pressure points with the 'load' spread evenly seemed to be as important as actual softness. (but I think having no pressure on the pin bones is important too)

Good luck.

Forgot to say, let the glue for each l layer dry completely before shaping with the the grinder/electric drill and sanding disk.

Clive :mod2_scooter:
 
#17 ·
Doug - just looked at their sight and see the V-Strom is "coming soon". How did you order? Any pics? My seat and I are in a huge fight and I'm ready to divorce it and find a new one!
 
#19 · (Edited)
Don't know why it is not showing my pic. Here is another try... Oh, the wrinkles and junk you see in the cover are not there any more. This pic was taken the day I put it on. They were gone the next day.

 
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