Seat modification for more room.

[Gordone63]

I know many have recommended removing the "butt pad" to give you more room if you are a large rider. I did that along with a cover and some padding to smooth down the place where the pad attached. Recently on an hour-long ride I discovered I was very uncomfortable. I tried putting the pad back on, but I felt cramped. I came up with a solution which will make aesthetic purists cringe, but for me this was an amazing change for comfort.

I took a 10" x 8" piece of 16 gauge or 1/4 inch thick steel and bent it so it more closely matched the curve of the holes in the seat. That piece of steel is much harder to bend than you might think. I then drilled holes and bolted the pad on the top and attached it to the seat with bolts and bent washers on the bottom. The seat plastic around the holes is somewhat fragile. I covered it with some old seat material and 3M spray adhesive to cover it up. The result is more room with lumbar support which doesn't look OEM but boy it is more comfortable.

I also show my low-tech low-cost parking brake.

 

[wspollack]

I know many have recommended removing the "butt pad" to give you more room if you are a large rider. I did that along with a cover and some padding to smooth down the place where the pad attached. Recently on an hour-long ride I discovered I was very uncomfortable. I tried putting the pad back on, but I felt cramped. I came up with a solution which will make aesthetic purists cringe, but for me this was an amazing change for comfort.

I took a 10" x 8" piece of 16 gauge or 1/4 inch thick steel and bent it so it more closely matched the curve of the holes in the seat. That piece of steel is much harder to bend than you might think. I then drilled holes and bolted the pad on the top and attached it to the seat with bolts and bent washers on the bottom. The seat plastic around the holes is somewhat fragile. I covered it with some old seat material and 3M spray adhesive to cover it up. The result is more room with lumbar support which doesn't look OEM but boy it is more comfortable.

I also show my low-tech low-cost parking brake.

I'm not cringing ... much. But, hey, if it works for you, that's what counts.

I've made some aesthetically-challenged mods a time or two, such as ditching a handlebar cover on a Burgman when I added risers/bar-backs. So, yeah, being able to ride a long time in the saddle is much more important than looks.

By the way, unless you have small hands, another comfort option you might want to consider is adding Grip Puppies (or equivalent). These are the ones I've put on two C 400 GTs now: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CP9ADD8/ .