81 GS450EX Seat Modifications

[Guest]

I have searched, can't find any seat mods to make this seat more comfortable on the 81 GS450EX. Any suggestions? I'm about to take it to the local seat shop and have one custom made. My ass can only take so many 4-5 hour rides on that tiny thin seat. Any projects/mods links to old posts I couldn't find etc will help. Orlando, FL area... we have a few custom seat shops in the area, I would like to try and do this myself first. I have a scrap seat frame for it to test out on. Would like to have one on before the trip in July.

Thanks,

[Gorminrider]

I have the same seat and agree it gets a bit sore on a long ride when weather is warm...(I get annoyed on the thighs firstly) But I suggest a sheepskin or a blanket or a foam pad to just test whether relief is found for you.. These make the seat a little wider and taller but are softer....Making a thicker seat will lift you a bit but you might consider narrowing it too and avoiding making any seam that has a ridge sewn in. Mockups take time but hopefully save disappointment.

[Pb9717]

try www.amsss.com

he will redo your stock seat with new foam, memory foam and/or gel insert. He did mine. Its now great. under $200 bucks.

[Blue Falcon]

Well, found a gel pad. its UltraGel 5/8" thick, 16" long, 5" at front 6.5" at rear.... almost perfect for the seat. Going to order on Friday and put in the following weekend. Will let you know how it goes... I'll take pictures and post.

[Blue Falcon]

Finished my seat.

What you will need:

Gel Pad ( you can either get plain gel or foam backed ) I ordered an ULTRAGEL seat pad Medium RP shape was perfect for my 450E seat
Spray glue
flex-seal liquid - 1-2 qt's
Automotive upholstery tools ( you can do with what you have, this make the job so much easier ( $15 at harbor freight )
Staple gun/staples ( if you have a stapled seat ) my 450 didn't it had the shark tooth metal seat with a wire lined seat cover
Retractable razor knife
Razor scraper
Sharpie
Straight edge
Scissors
WD-40
Dawn dish liquid
and a dirt/wind free work area and band-aids

Before starting, measure where you are seated on the seat in proper riding position. where do you butt cheek bones sit on the seat. Measure twice...then measure again.

1. take seat off bike
2. flip seat over, do you have discs holding your seat rails on? spray some WD-40 on the plastic or metal pins and gently remove the discs, if screwed on...I shouldn't need to explain this to you.
3. remove rails and check for latch areas to see if you need to remove them to get cover off and on, make a choice here
4. use staple tool and remove staples from seat fabric and seat back, if shark tooth, gently pry up the 35 year old metal and gently pull the wire over the tooth. you will get cut by teeth if not careful
5. remove seat cover to view the wonderful exposed foam.
6. complete new foam or work with what you have? either way move to step 7
7. mark on the seat your butt cheek bone measurement
8. lay the gel pad over the seat and even it out... make sure you have front and back space from your cheek measurement.
9. using sharpie, draw outline of gel pad and set gel pad aside
10. draw a grid inside the gel pad outline on seat foam
11. measure the thickness of the gel pad and set your razor knife to that depth
12. cut along the inside of pad outline and along grid lines
13. using razor scraper, remove the cells out of the grid area ( unless you are perfect in every way, this will be uneven, but do your best to keep depth right )
14. try to even out the pad area of removed foam
15. check depth. make sure seat is level for next step (at least the cavity)
16. get flex-seal and pour into cavity you created ONLY ENOUGH TO LEVEL OUT THE SURFACE OF THE REMOVED FOAM AREA OF CAVITY. This will give a good surface for the gel pad to adhere to and buffer against. uneven foam creates ripples in the gel.
17. walk away and let the flex seal set overnight
18. after set, take gel pad and put in the cavity, should be a nice even fit now take out the gel pad
19. spray glue the seat foam, the cavity and gel pad
20. put in gel pad and pinch the foam edge to the pad.... good spray glue sets fast... you did buy the good stuff didn't you?
21. let sit for about 20 mins.... in the meantime, have your partner helping you spray the WD-40 on your hands and the spray glue will come off with little to no effort(wd-40 also removes paint overspray, grease, oil, tar, asphalt, bugs etc. from both you and your bike). now go wash off the wd-40 with some dawn dish liquid.
22. spray entire area to be covered by the smoothing foam and also spray the attach side of the smoothing foam
23. lay smoothing foam over area and ...well... smooth out the foam, let sit about 20 mins.
24. put your seat cover back on either stretching over the shark teeth and bending them back into place or using your staple gun, stapling back into place. use band-aids for finger punctures as needed.
25. put the hardware and rails back on
26. admire your finished work and put seat back on the bike.
27. go for a ride...feel the difference

Hope this helps... my first time doing it and planning it out was the difference between this being a train wreck or a success. I LOVE MY SEAT now.

[Joe Garfield]

Why not bring it to Sargent?! They're in Florida too!!

Edit: whoops! Submitted reply before getting to last post.