FJR Stock Seat

[frayne]

Has anyone ever had their FJR stock seat custom upholstered to add addition padding, foam, etc. to make it a bit more comfy ? Were the results what you had expected ? I noticed a guy on the ST 1300 forum does the ST saddles and many seemed pleased with the results and the costs are reasonable, less than $100. Anyone know of a person that offers similar custom job on the stock FJR seat ?

 

[FJRocket]

If you search the board you'll find lots of information on custom/hacked seats.

I hacked the seat on my '04 to cut it down and make it conform more to my butt. Certainly building a seat up is an option, but you're probably going to have to recover it with new material if you want it taller.

You can pinpoint hot spots under your butt, unstaple the seat cover, shave some foam out for your buns, then just restaple the OEM cover. You can get a lot out of that. You can also cut it down a little and add other kinds of foam or pads. "Astronaut" foam (Confor Foam) is fairly popular. But I think most riders just spend a few hundred bucks and get a custom seat from one of the many seat makers.

Do a little research and hopefully you'll find something that works for you.

 

[teerex51]

...Do a little research and hopefully you'll find something that works for you.

THIS has worked for me B)

Stef

 

[squeezer]

I'll second the search recommendation. There's a ton of discussion on this topic.

But, in general, a few people hack up the seats themselves, generally adding gel inserts.

Others add things on top, most commonly:

Airhawk cushions

Sheepskins covers

wooden bead covers

Many of us have had custom saddles made. Among the options you'll find discussed in other threads:

- Russell Day-Long (which many consider the gold standard)

- Bill Mayer (Bill invented the Russell saddle, which relies on a lot of springs, sold the design to Russell, then started making foam based seats. "Bill Mayer" saddles are now made by his son Rocky. Had one on my Connie and loved it, but don't know if it was built by Bill or Rocky since I bought it used).

- Rick Mayer (Bill's other son. I had a Rick Mayer made for my FJR. It gets 4 out of 4 stars from me. I won't be swapping to something else. Cheaper than the Russell, a little cheaper than brother Rocky.)

- Corbin (they sell a lot of these, which means there are also a lot being resold. Check eBay if you want to go this route.)

- Sargent

Then again, many find the stock seat is just dandy. I had a tough time going over 450 miles/day on it, hence the Rick Mayer order. Before you make a change here, though, do a lot of riding and listen to your butt.

 

[Bustanut joker]

I'll second the search recommendation. There's a ton of discussion on this topic.
Others add things on top, most commonly:

Sheepskin cover

It gets 4 out of 4 stars from me. I won't be swapping to something else brother. listen to your butt.

Ahhh so you're /i] the guy riding without pants.


I was going to get one of those but, ah.. well sheep skin and butts and men well... it ain't right

 


:jester:

 

[squeezer]

Ahhh so you're /i] the guy riding without pants.
I was going to get one of those but, ah.. well sheep skin and butts and men well... it ain't right

 


:jester:

 


Riding without pants... That conjures visions of road rash that I don't want to think about...

 

[Big Dan]

I modified mine by purchasing a piece of hi density foam rubber from Delta Rubber. The stuff is one inch thick and REAL dense. I pulled about 3/4 of the staples out and cut and contoured the foam to fit UNDER the original foam. It's worked very well. There was plenty of material left to staple the cover back in place. I recommend an Electric staple gun and 1/4 inch staples. It's nice to have the little bit of extra leg room without sacrificing handling, and 350 to 400 miles of back roads for 11 hours is no problem.

 

[painman]

Has anyone ever had their FJR stock seat custom upholstered to add addition padding, foam, etc. to make it a bit more comfy ? Were the results what you had expected ? I noticed a guy on the ST 1300 forum does the ST saddles and many seemed pleased with the results and the costs are reasonable, less than $100. Anyone know of a person that offers similar custom job on the stock FJR seat ?

If you can find someone to do your seat for that much and do a good job, jump on it. Did mine with much attention to detail and completely redesigned the seat. Took an upholstery class and it turned out as well as any Russell or other brand. But it was alot of work. You don't have to go as far as this though. Some people remove the staples as mentioned and cut out an area about an inch deep and 4X8"in the middle of the seating area and install another type of foam or gel. I might reccomend purchasing some material called "Pudgee" instead of gel. It is a closed cell foam that feels like gel that works well. It is not reccomended to try and shape this type of material. Just make it level with the surface of your stock seat and replace the cover with staples. It will be an improvement over the soft stock foam. PM. <><

 

[Bunker]

I just removed the cover and shaved some foam from the center of the seat to dish it out somewhat. Amazing how much difference it made... very comfortable now.

 

[Dan23]

Others add things on top, most commonly:Airhawk cushions

Sheepskins covers

wooden bead covers

Signs of the true geek.

 

[Scab]

I sewed a new cover for mine. I added a quarter inch of foam material to the cover material. (headliner material, actually) I did it just to see if I could make a better looking seat cover but was pleasantly surprised to find that it signigicantly added to the comfort and butt-mileage.

As bragged spoken about here: a view from the cheap seats

 

[jwilly]

I sewed a new cover for mine. I added a quarter inch of foam material to the cover material. (headliner material, actually) I did it just to see if I could make a better looking seat cover but was pleasantly surprised to find that it signigicantly added to the comfort and butt-mileage.
As bragged spoken about here: a view from the cheap seats

Here's a picture of Scab's shop out behind his house:

 

[RichieTwo]

I just removed the cover and shaved some foam from the center of the seat to dish it out somewhat. Amazing how much difference it made... very comfortable now.

When you say "shaved", what exactly did you do?

 

[Bunker]

I just removed the cover and shaved some foam from the center of the seat to dish it out somewhat. Amazing how much difference it made... very comfortable now.

When you say "shaved", what exactly did you do?

I used a belt sander (though a rotary would probably works better) to remove foam mostly from the center of the seat. It's actually a little lower in the middle than near the edges, and sort of dish shaped. Looks stock with the cover on as it just stretches across the low area. All day comfort for me.