My seat was bugging me because it was really sloped to the tank so when I was sliding my butt back to tuck on the highway or just take a longer ride I found the seat uncomfortable as many others do. I wanted a comfort seat but at $229 I was balking because I just bought a new helmet and one piece leather suit, I wanted the gear more than a seat.
Anyway to get to my point you can do your own seat with about 1 hour work or about 2 hours if you want to take your time. I used a very sharp long bread knife (serated type knife) and then used a 50 grit belt sander belt that fit tight over a piece of 1x4 wood. Keep in mind I do have a belt sander and disc sander, but after a few short runs I found they cut too fast so I just used the block sander and it works fine and fast...I never new you could sand foam but it sands easy and smooth....(I did research on the internet before I did the seat)
I undid the staples from the the rear of the seat but left the front staples on where the "wings" of the seat are so I could pull the seat cover up to the front of the seat to cut/sand but didn't take it all the way off. This way it stays ready to just pull it back over and staple it without the re-alignment hassle.
After I pulled the cover up exposing the foam I remounted the seat I then drew a centerline on the seat foam using the back bolt and guessing the front center, then used a 2" wide small level to make a very basic grid on the seat foam so I could know if I was cutting relatively straight and keeping the depth correct.
With the seat secured on the bike so it would stay sturdy (bike gets foam all over it which blows off easy) I started to cut at the front part of the seat about 4 inches back where the curve start to raise. Once your at this point you can see how much you want to do to your seat... Anyway for me i just started cutting it taking my time starting at the front then just cutting back at the angle I wanted... I ended up going from zero removal at the front to removing about an 1.5 inches deep 2/3 of the way back then tapering to about 1/4 at the seat bolt. I did a hump orginally and it looked great but it stopped my butt sliding back so I ended up just making it straight which make the seat cover stay flat also.
When you cut with the knife it will leave the foam with ugly waves in it... don't worry they hand sand out easy with the wood block and 50 grit I had some really ugly sections but they just sanded out and blend very easy. and the block allows you to keep it all flat and even.
I took off about 1.5 inches toward the back and it still has about 1.5 inches of foam so your pretty safe with how much foam you have.All it takes is a little patience and a basic knowledge of working with your hands and the shaping is easy. If you've done some wood work its cake...
Anyway it doesn't really look different because I used the same seat cover, but the feel and slope are dramatically different... it flatter and wider and doesn't push me forward or crush my nads.
I would still rather have the DP comfort seat because it looks very cool and has that nice stitching. But this is such an easy and huge improvement for ass comfort that an hour is worth it...
You will need:
long sharp bread knife ( the pros use electric knife)
1/4 inch staples
1 50 grit sanding belt with a 1x4 cut so the belt fits around it very tight
Elbow grease
Patience and some skill with your hands.
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