Scooter seat
Seat on the GT is a little wide and high for shorter riders. Saddleman leather was at the long Beach show and came over and took a look at the scooter seats. Brought ours to their shop the following Thursday and by Monday afternoon it had been lowered by 1/2 in, sides trimmed by 1/2in each and a gel insert installed, seat looks great, comfortable and allows a 5'6" rider to flat foot. All for a reasonable cost $200
Photos?Originally Posted by t6pilot
Sorry i'am not photo savvy
Placed it on a 650gt seat at long beach BMW differences are hard to discern looking closely its lower and narrower, no change in seams. Gel seat sits under 1/4 foam pad so as not to show. When I picked up seat yesterday salesman Buster explained several other owners have inquired about doing the same. Long beach is considering have it done on demo bike. Saddlemans over all impression of the stock seat is that it is a high quality product, that can be made shorter
FYI I paid full price for seat mods and have no connection with saddleman
They are 15 mins away from LBBMW if you set up a appointment they can do a ride in
Taking seat off bike was pretty simple first seat heat connector, four torx screws finally 2 7mm nuts,
Be careful with fuel door
BMW is releasing a new low seat option, it was announced today. It is supposed to be an item that we can stock. No word on exactly when we'll have it yet, but it's coming soon. Additionally, we're going to be ordering the majority of our GT's with the low seat as we are experiencing quite a few potential buyers finding the seat a little too tall. The new "standard" seat will be even higher than the standard seat is now.
I'm surprised at the apparent number of people with height issues. I'm 5'6" with a 29" inseam and have had no difficulty even in thin soled dress shoes or Five Fingers. I'm thinking this is something you get used to very quickly. (In my case, thinking about the seat would be to get the gel, not the lower saddle height. I had been thinking of a Russell Day Long, and may yet still do that depending on how the seat feels in another few hundred miles - I plan to use my GT for trips back and forth from SF to LA, and at first I thought I disliked the GT seat, but at 650 miles, the stock seat seems to be breaking in noticeably.)
I'm 5'10, 30" inseam and I find the seat on the tall side, it's about the same as my RT 1200. Pretty tall for a scooter, nice to see they'll be a choice in the future.
The thing with the scooter seat is that you have to bow your legs to plant your foot on the ground. So for some you may need a slight taller inseam compared to a motorcycle. However I would have to accommodate the low seat option with less padding to being a little tippy toes as is the case right now. Hopefully after market options may include a back rest for longer trips.
Why don't we have hydraulic seat height adjuster? Just a thought! At slower speeds it automatically moves down to your chosen stop-height.
I think on the Russell Day Longs they traditionally make it narrower at the front so that you can slide forward and get more clearance while still maintaining that gluteus hugging shape in the rear of the seat. When I did the math I think it was going to be like a grand for the seat though! Still may do it depending on how the stock seat feels at 1000 miles (at 770 or so now) - I figure it's a pittance over the life of the bike for long distance comfort.
t6pilot, how did they deal with the heating system when they modified your seat? Are the wires right under the surface of the cover such that they just put the gel pad under the wiring? And has the gel been a significant improvement in comfort?
agree with getting used to it. good riding boots a must! will have to save my flip flops for the vespa!
Last edited by quack; 01-24-2013 at 03:14 AM.
I'm actually thinking after another 150 mile day that I do want to upgrade the seat after all, though not for height. Breaking in did help noticeably, but not enough to make it totally comfortable to ride for a couple of hours straight. Very curious to hear if the gel saddle helps with this, or if I should just go all the way with the Russell. (Note that in my case, I can't hold it against the GT, I've ended up going with a custom on every street bike I've owned - guess I have a delicate rear end.)
I put my old Airhawk seat pad on the seat and it works perfect for me.
I'm actually thinking after another 150 mile day that I do want to upgrade the seat after all, though not for height. Breaking in did help noticeably, but not enough to make it totally comfortable to ride for a couple of hours straight. Very curious to hear if the gel saddle helps with this, or if I should just go all the way with the Russell. (Note that in my case, I can't hold it against the GT, I've ended up going with a custom on every street bike I've owned - guess I have a delicate rear end.
I've got an appt to get a Russell Day Long made in 3 weeks now, and apparently I'm not the first, will let you know how it goes!
Send pic's when you get it, thank's
Will do. After a slight delay, riding up tomorrow night to get it fitted Tuesday, will take pics during the process if they let me.
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