How to make your own lowered gel seat!

[mangeldbug]

Originally posted on Squidbusters.com and the DML July of 2006.  It is now May of 2008 and my gel seat ROCKS!  One of the best mods Ive done on my bike by far.

I am short (5'1" with 28" inseam) and no matter bike I got, I knew I would want to lower it some.  With the stock seat, I was on my very tippy toes.  I could ride it fine, but I wanted some more "security".

Me with the Stock Seat


We set the suspension and dropped the forks a little, which helped some, and I had decided against getting some kind of aftermarket lowering link for the Ducati.  After investigating lower seat prices, I decided to just make my own.  And since my seat foam is HARD as a rock, I decided to add a gel insert while I was at it.  (The gel pad I got was from JCWhitney.com.)

What you will need:
pliers
screwdriver or knife you dont care about
electric knife
box cutter
staple gun (electric or pneumatic powered HIGHLY recommended)
Gorilla Glue or some other glue that won't eat foam
liquid barrier (something like saran wrap would work)
contact adhesive (I used Elmers spray glue)
gel insert (optional)

First I removed all the staples from the underside of the seat.  I tried using a screwdriver to pry up the staples, but they were in so flush I had to resort to my Swiss Army Knife.  I dont recommend using a knife you like...it marred up my blade pretty good.  
Since I wasnt going to touch the back half of the seat, I just left the final few staples intact.  



Next I took my cheapie Walmart electric knife and just started hacking away.  Really thats all I was doing...  I figured I would smooth it all out after I got it down to the height I wanted.  You will notice in the next few pictures that I also took a lot of foam out of the sides.  The seat was just too wide as well as being too tall, which would hurt my inner thighs.  (wow, what a huge mess!!  I would recommend doing this part in a garage if possible.)


After I got it down to what I thought was pretty good, Ryan and I took it down and put it on the bike.  I sat on it and decided where I needed to adjust the height, smooth out a corner, ect.  I did that about four times until I felt it was where I wanted it.  
Then Ryan made marks on the seat where I sit so we would know where to put the gel pad.
My ass outline.


Then we took it back upstairs and outlined where I wanted the gel pad.


We then took the box cutter and cut out the foam within the lines.  We made it so that when the gel was placed in the hollow, it would fit flush.  We kept the plastic on the gel pad so it wouldnt stick to everything and we glued it down to the seat with Gorilla Glue.
The dark part in the installed gel pad is there because I actually removed ALL the foam in that area.  There is a hole in the seat going all the way through, maybe for when the factory injected the foam.


Next we reattached the seat cover with a staple gun.  We started at the back and secured it over the hump where the seat cowl will go first since that was unchanged.  Ryan put one staple in the front to hold the cover in place, and then we worked on pulling the center tight across the seat to get it as form-fitting as possible.  

We got it pretty tight, but the seat cover still kind of floats over the seat (but it did that when the seat was stock, too.)  Last I trimmed the extra seat cover beyond the staples so everything would fit nicely on the bike.  

Here is the before and after pics:
Before

After-Ryan is holding it down so you can see the true shape.


I can now almost put the balls of both feet on the ground; big improvement!  I would have liked to have more of my feet on the ground, but there wasnt any more foam to remove.


Overall, I think the seat turned out pretty damn good, especially considering this was my very first time doing this.  

EDIT: October 14, 2006  **IMPORTANT** Please read if you plan to do this mod!
After doing this mod, I noticed stickiness on my seat cover about a month later.  It was worst in very hot weather and grew worse over time.  I was literally glued to the seat and could not move around while riding!
 
The gel is NOT LEAKING.  When I removed the stock cover, I noticed small holes all over in the seat cover (where the "texture" dots are).  When I held it up to the light, you could see right through the cover, and these holes were only where the stickiness was.  (The stickiness was up front where I was sitting, and down my legs on the side sections.)  I now believe the glue that secures the foam to the seat pan was coming through the seat cover through these holes since rain could get in at that location to liquify the glue.  You dont have this problem with a stock seat because the glue is under an inch or two of foam...when I cut the foam, I shaved it down almost to the pan in places.

Dont get discouraged!  There is an easy fix to prevent this! Install a "liquid barrier" on top of the foam/gel and underneath the seat cover.  I ordered a new Sargent "Sport Skinz" seat cover since mine was ruined by the stickiness, and a liquid barrier comes with the cover.  Basically it was a thin sheet of plastic.  You can just lay it on top of the seat or you can use a contact adhesive to secure it.  I used Elmers contact adhesive since it is safe for virtually any surface and non-toxic.  Then put your seat cover back on.  Done.

I really wish I'd have done this from the start.  I could have saved a lot of time and money.  But you learn by trial and error sometimes.

[Serenitynow]

Great work. Thanks for the good write-up!!

[Shortie]

This is awesome. My inseam is about 27" and I was thinking about shaving my Bandit seat a bit since the foam pad is really thick, and after reading your post, I think I'm convinced. I think I can get a free inch or so out if it before the comfort becomes compromised at all and spares aren't awful to find if I goober it up.

Thanks for sharing! 

[brimo]

Love your work.
Anyone out there altered the pillion seat?
My better half is still suffering severe monster a** after the last ride. So looking at doing something similar.   

[Shortie]

Love your work.
Anyone out there altered the pillion seat?
My better half is still suffering severe monster a** after the last ride. So looking at doing something similar.   

Riding pillion on my beau's monster is fun as hell but it's not so easy on the, um, sensitive girly bits if you catch my drift (he has clipons forcing us to both lean way forward, so I can tell you it's not my ass that takes the punishment... though that was probably more info than you really cared to know ). I wear my mountain bike shorts now and that helps. If you do the pillion gel mod, let us know how it turns out!

[mangeldbug]

Thankfully  my "girly bits" are just fine with my gel mod on the main seat.  I would assume shaving the pillion would be basically the same, you just might have to cut down the gel pad to fit.

[herm]

awsome write up for a cool mod!

i have been thinking of turning my old stock seat into a monoposto, and this would be a good mod to do at the same time.

Thanks!!

[dlearl476]

Nice write up.  I'm thinking of adding a gel insert to my Corbin as well.

fwiw, most manufacturers that work with foam use 3M Spray77 for adhesive.  I don't know if that's what Ducati (or their seat manufacturer) uses, but I've never had it "re-liquify" by getting wet.

It's good stuff and relatively easy to work with.  Just like contact cement in a spray.  The hardest part is being patient and letting it set up to "tacky" before mating the two surfaces.

[He Man]

love the write up, i bought a 2nd seat to do this mod on.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/The-Pro-Pad-gel-pad-comfort-motorcycle-seat-MEDIUM_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742Q2em153Q2el1262QQcategoryZ35557QQihZ008QQitemZ180214807715

That gel pad + craigslist $5 electric knife + this guide + new vinyl for the custom seat carving = i hope my ass no longer goes numb on long rides!

[dlearl476]

That gel pad + craigslist $5 electric knife + this guide + new vinyl for the custom seat carving = i hope my ass no longer goes numb on long rides!

That gives me and idea.  I may just "sacrifice" the OEM seat I have sitting on a shelf.  Not really fond of the Corbin that came on the bike.  It's a bit too wide on the front edges, making in uncomfortable on my inner thighs.

[He Man]

This is the respone i got from them regarding their differnet gel pads.

Hi,
 
All three gels do the same job of dispersing vibrations and making you more comfortable.  Each has a different density, requiring a different thickness to still do it's job efficiently.  The Kno Place gel pad is denser than the other two.  It is 3/8 inch thick.  The Pro Pad is mushier and is 1/2 inch thick.  The Travelcade is the mushiest and needs to be 3/4 inch thick to do it's job.  You cannot sink through any of them like some other gels and they do not cause bouncing.  All three are great.  You just have to decide how mushy you want your gel.
 
Thanks,
 
Kno Place Upholstery Co.

3/8 1/2 or 3/4?

Im thinking 1/2, but 3/8 might just be fine.

[mangeldbug]

This is the respone i got from them regarding their differnet gel pads.


3/8 1/2 or 3/4?

Im thinking 1/2, but 3/8 might just be fine.

I dont remember how thick mine was.  I dont think it was an inch but definitely thicker than half an inch.  JC Whitney didnt have different thickness options.

[He Man]

yours was a liquid gel right? You couldnt cut it to shape or anything?

[mangeldbug]

yours was a liquid gel right? You couldnt cut it to shape or anything?

No, mine was not liquid.  I could have cut it down if I wanted to, but I didnt since my seat could accommodate the whole thing.  It came wrapped in plastic, which I could have removed, but I left it on since the bottom of the gel is visible through the bottom of the seat.  It would get nasty dirty if I had unwrapped it.

[He Man]

WOOHOO got my gel seat yesterday. Gonna find some time to install it this week. Ive been sitting on it whenever i get the chance, and gee golly, i am excited. I wanted to pick up a electric knife, but decided i didnt want to wait, or spend $15 needless dollars when my sushi knife is probably just as good.  Mangeldbug, what kind of staple gun did you use? I a regular hand one doenst look like it would be able to do the job.