I got my SeatConcepts.com Seat Kit today. I had been talking with them about the Vstrom seat kits they are developing and was told that if I was interested I could buy a pre-production seat kit from them. I thought about it and decided I would.
They asked me for information such as weight, height, inseam, physical issues with my present seat. I also provided them with medical history that seemed important (I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and have 3 vertebrae in my back that have compression fractures). My weight put me right in between their Standard Foam (harder) and their Soft Foam (softer), I opted for the Standard as I ride with a (hard) Corbin on my Pacific Coast.
Anyhow, as I have already said, I got my kit today. It came in a cardboard box that had been pretty trashed by FedEx but the contents were in good shape. The foam and the cover were just rattling around in the box and no stuffing (such as wadded up newspaper was in there). Here is the contents pulled out of the box and propped on top of the box.
I made a run to Harbor Freight right after the kit came to buy me a staple gun (pneumatic), some staples, and some spray adhesive. After getting back to the house, I removed the old cover by popping the old staples up with a common screwdriver and pulling them out with a pair of needle-nose pliers. The old foam was easy to pull off the seat pan after removing the old cover. I put the old seat foam (right) and the new seat foam (left) on my table on the back porch and took a couple of pictures so that you could see the difference.
I then took the seat pan out to the picnic table and sprayed the pan with the adhesive and put the foam in place on it. I did a light coat only on the pan so the the adhesive would help the foam to stay in place on the pan after the cover was installed but would still allow me to easily remove the foam at a later time if I wished to. I then stapled the cover in place. Tip: I discovered that it is possible to pull the cover too tight and when you do the staples pull right through the cover when you release pressure.
After getting the cover stapled in place, I put the seat back onto the bike and took a couple of pictures to share with you.
I took a short ride afterwards and found the seat firm but comfortable. I won't know for sure how improved the seat is until I take a longish ride on it but I can say already that I am not hitting the pan with my butt like I was with the stock seat.
:thumbup: