I have been toying around with which seat to settle on. At 6'9", 36" inseam, and 270#, I love the GSA's height and ride. 1. GSA stock seats: front adj high, rear low, trying to get the slope out as much as possible, foam way too soft, good for about a 30-45 minute ride (my commute), but brick-butt sets in quickly. I love the look (grey/black), like the height, but the slope and foam are killers. 2. Touratech Kahedo, got it used (might as well have been brand new) from another member, standard height so it is lower than the OEM, still ran it with front high and rear low to keep the slope to a minimum. Foam is very firm, but felt great for 7-10 hour ride days. I did find myself squirming around after the 4th hour, not because of comfort really, but because the scoop off the seat became somewhat numbing -- not like the jewels nodded off, just that I felt like I needed just a bit of room to move fore or aft. So, in my quest to satisfy my own need to fix/tweak/modify things, I exchanged a couple emails with Lendon at Seat Concepts and placed an order for a firm foam (I'm over the 240# suggested max on the std foam) GSA tall setup with carbon fiber/carbon fiber skins. My order shipped in 24 hours and arrived on my side of the continent in less than a week. I only got the replacement foam for the front, just recovering the rear to match. I took my time with installation, using a small pneumatic stapler and 1/4" T50 staples. I did install the plastic under the new covers. Once that first staple started, it was a game of trying to match the seams to the edges as squarely as possible -- in the end, it wasn't that difficult and I believe the results came out pretty well for my first attempt at such a task. The day I brought it home, OEM seats, pretty sure this is both front/rear on high. Touratech std height, high front low rear (bike on centerstand) Seat Concepts, high front, low rear Seat Concepts, high/high -- pretty level with the rear seat and, although the rear seat slopes up, you can slide back on to it with ease And finally, a comparison between OEM '07 GSA front seat and the Seat Concepts Profile of the Seat Concepts I have only sat on the bike, will need to get some contiguous miles on it to comment on the foam. Initial impressions, the seating position is obviously higher and the foam compression feels very stable. The wider aft section is a bit more pleasant to the rump and the ability to slide back on to the rear seat is a big plus. Slope feels almost non existent, especially in the high front/low rear configuration, but I'm also garage testing on the centerstand. I'll get the digital level out Monday and get real measurements on the actual slope when on 2 wheels. Can't wait to get some saddle time! Figured I would share the results for other tall riders.
You and I took almost identical paths (I'm 6'5", 225 lb). Started with the stock seat, went to the Tall Kahedo "hot weather" seat, great for hot days but still not comfortable to me after 2 hours. Then I too went to the Seat Concepts, didn't know they offered a firmer foam, will definitely go that way the next recovering, the standard foam is a bit "squishy" but I can do an 8-hour day on it.
The guy that had my 1150 was 6'8"..I'm 6' and trying shorter seats.lol Nice boat! How's the boat saying go,bust out an other thousand?!
Neighbor's yard in view. His (poorly) repainted Scarab used to be a pretty sweet skid -- told me he used to do some races back in FL. When he first moved in, his numbers on the side were FU-2 For the shorter crowd, I'll only say that being above average height is not as fun as it seems either.
37" inseam, I'm running high in front and low in back. Also forgot to mention, I'm on a GS, not a GSA.
I had a similar experience, so I added some layers of stiff foam under the front area, which helped quite a bit:
I think it is one of those "grass is always greener" kind of situations. I like being tall, but being normal sized would be much easier. Not knocking any of my vertically challenged fellow inmate, as we are all odd in our own way.
This is what's key to me... I hate sitting in a 'cupped' seat where you are pretty much limited to movement - plus the boys don't like to be pinched. I'm currently using someone else's old custom seat - which is better than stock - but my hips go numb after 8 hours or so on the bike. Seat Concepts is looking like an option for me... Either that or take my seat back to the maker and have it customized for me. Sent from my Samsung Note 3
Not if you have to sit in an airplane seat every week or find a motorcycle seat that provides some leg room and sets you back from the tank. The world (and motorcycles) is made for people below the 95th percentile in size. Being a 5 percenter means always making compromises and I'm at the low end of that group. It gets even tougher for some of the 1 percenters posting in this thread. Oh BTW, I have same issue finding a proper seat for this bike. I've tried, bought, sold, and returned about a half dozen different seats. Decided to bite the bullet and ordered a Russell.
First ride today, about 40 minutes, seat adjusted high/high. I got a limited view of what it must be like for shorter legged people to question if they can ride a bike -- for the first time ever, on the centerstand, I couldn't flat-foot both sides to push the bike off (still no problem doing it on the balls of my feet). Seat was comfy with no forward slide tendency. It felt a bit softer than the new Sargent I had installed on my previous VStrom, but still firm enough that I believe it will break in nicely. The wider pad also spread the weight around a bit differently than the OEM, which should prove comfortable in the long haul.
Given your height and weight, you may find the Russell to be your best solution. Price is high depending on you options but I think you will find the way the saddle if configured, your knees will be happier along with your bottom. I'm sure I'll here some feedback on this forum about the price but if you put as much time in the saddle as I do, your be a very happy camper.
I'm 6'2" with a 34" inseam. Here are a couple pics of my Seat Concepts seats that I installed on my GSA in July. The front seat is set high. I can't quite place my feet flat on the ground when stopped so I dropped the aft front seat setting to low. It's a little better and not as much knee crunch as I feared. Ironically, as much as I like the seat I may have to come up with something different because of a recent prostate problem.
+1 on the Russell, I had mine built +2" taller than normal. 6"6", 36" inseam and 240lbs. For long days the Russell is supreme. If I am getting the bike dirty I go with my seat concepts ADV seat, not firm. I went with the soft pad so that I could sink into the seat and spread the weight around a bit. The seat is good for an 8 hour day. For you big boys I would also recommend a Yacugar shock set up. Call Ted first and he will set you up right. http://www.beemershop.com/Merchant5/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=BS&Screen=SFNT Not related, just a happy customer. OBTW, when you re-spring for your big boy weight plan on the bike getting taller.
