I lowered only the driver seat, left the pillion seat untouched. Here is what I did...
1. Remove staples from the driver section, just past the support post.
2. Pull back the cover to expose the foam up to the ridge where it kicks up to become the pillion seat.
3. I then took a Sharpie and marked around the edge about 1" down from the top.
4. I took a sharp bread knife and did a general rough cut down to the line I drew.
5. Using an angle grinder, I shaved the foam, making sure to keep it even and symmetrical. Be careful when using the grinder. Make sure that your seat is secured to something solid and keep the grinder blade perpendicular to the foam, otherwise it will grab to much and take off. It usually leaves an ugly "cut" when it takes off! Ask me how I know... and, you look like you are made of foam.
6. After getting a general shape, sorta smooth, I used a random orbit sander with a very coarse disk and literally sanded the foam as smooth as I could get it. I took down the edges and made sure that they were rounded, thus reducing the width of the seat. Don't take down too much because the plastic pan has a "moat" around it and you don't want to remove all the padding from those ridges.
7. I pulled the cover over the newly shaped foam. To do the best job, It is best to use a hair dryer or leave the seat in the sun to soften up the cover so that it stretches easily.
8. I bought an electric stapler but it did not have enough b*lls to push the staples into the very hard plastic of the base. The best thing is a dedicated stapler made for upholstery work. I pulled the cover as tight as I could and stapled it from the back to the front. This pulls it down to the foam.
I will, eventually take the seat to a pro and have a cool new cover made and have him do some further smoothing and maybe add a gel pad. Yes, there are a few small lumps around the front edge, but if you don't look close, it looks pretty damn good! Here are the benefits so far:
Both feet on the ground ... flat. A very secure feeling
Windshield is essentially higher
Seat is firmer... more like a Corbin
As far as I can tell, handling is not affected
Hand position is rotated downward a little bit, putting less pressure the ulnar nerve
Easier to back up
Passenger thinks she is taller
I know that any lowered seat will give you the above benefits, but the best is saving a couple of hundred bucks and will look pro with a new professionally made cover ( with a welt and carbon fiber style vinyl)
Thanks for reading my rambling post!
1. Remove staples from the driver section, just past the support post.
2. Pull back the cover to expose the foam up to the ridge where it kicks up to become the pillion seat.
3. I then took a Sharpie and marked around the edge about 1" down from the top.
4. I took a sharp bread knife and did a general rough cut down to the line I drew.
5. Using an angle grinder, I shaved the foam, making sure to keep it even and symmetrical. Be careful when using the grinder. Make sure that your seat is secured to something solid and keep the grinder blade perpendicular to the foam, otherwise it will grab to much and take off. It usually leaves an ugly "cut" when it takes off! Ask me how I know... and, you look like you are made of foam.
6. After getting a general shape, sorta smooth, I used a random orbit sander with a very coarse disk and literally sanded the foam as smooth as I could get it. I took down the edges and made sure that they were rounded, thus reducing the width of the seat. Don't take down too much because the plastic pan has a "moat" around it and you don't want to remove all the padding from those ridges.
7. I pulled the cover over the newly shaped foam. To do the best job, It is best to use a hair dryer or leave the seat in the sun to soften up the cover so that it stretches easily.
8. I bought an electric stapler but it did not have enough b*lls to push the staples into the very hard plastic of the base. The best thing is a dedicated stapler made for upholstery work. I pulled the cover as tight as I could and stapled it from the back to the front. This pulls it down to the foam.
I will, eventually take the seat to a pro and have a cool new cover made and have him do some further smoothing and maybe add a gel pad. Yes, there are a few small lumps around the front edge, but if you don't look close, it looks pretty damn good! Here are the benefits so far:
Both feet on the ground ... flat. A very secure feeling
Windshield is essentially higher
Seat is firmer... more like a Corbin
As far as I can tell, handling is not affected
Hand position is rotated downward a little bit, putting less pressure the ulnar nerve
Easier to back up
Passenger thinks she is taller
I know that any lowered seat will give you the above benefits, but the best is saving a couple of hundred bucks and will look pro with a new professionally made cover ( with a welt and carbon fiber style vinyl)
Thanks for reading my rambling post!
