Seat shaving? Vs lowering a bike? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Seat shaving? Vs lowering a bike?

Katt

Katt

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Hello, I just purchased a new bike for this season. Only problem being is as a short lady (5'3) the zx6r (2008) is a bit tall for me. I heard lowering suspension really messes with the handling of the bike. I also heard that a decent alternative would be to shave the seat a little. Just wondering if anyone has had experience with this sort of thing? I'm thinking .5-1 inch would be enough with my motorcycle boots on.
 
You heard correct, lowering a bike does affect its handling. Don't have experience in shaving a seat but how hard could it be?

Also you can still ride a bike even if you can't plant both feet on the ground, you simply do one foot at once. Once you get used to it its not that big of a deal
 
As Paul said you can still ride it and get comfortable. I know someone hardly taller than you that rides an adventure bike. It just takes some practice getting comfortable. Sport bike seats are already the suck. I would think doing anything to make it less of a seat is going to cause comfort issues on rides longer than 10 mins
 
Ya, a lot of those guys riding tall adventure bikes can't flat foot. One foot's good enough, you know, like the side stand.
Shaving the seat is no big deal. Probably depends how thick it is to start with, you don't want to be sitting on the pan. Any auto upholster could do it.
 
Last fall I was chatting with a guy riding a similar Valkyrie to mine and he mentioned that he had shaved his seat down and narrowed it a little. He was probably about 5'6" if that. Anyways, he used a kitchen electric knife to do it with then refitted the cover back over tightly etc.. Looked fine to me and to be honest I actually liked how he'd made a little more of a divet and cut away some of the wide sides. It was more comfortable I thought. The the original seat is really good for guys with big butts if you fall into that category, I don't. I don't have the nerve to do it though. Don't want to ruin it.
 
Humm well maybe that's why all the short girls wear heels lol! Nah but I'll consider my options. I don't think I'm going to waste time lowering my bike, but I may end up shaving the seat. As it is I can touch on the very tip toes of my feet. Maybe I should ride it a bit first see how it is? Eh well
 
Iv ridden lowered bikes on the street. Felt completely normal.

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zeniceguy said:
Iv ridden lowered bikes on the street. Felt completely normal.
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They CAN feel normal, up to a point, if done correctly to minimize the bad side effects.

As usual, the further away you go from the design geometry, the worse the bad side effects are. Minor lowering, not really an issue. Slammed ... no suspension travel left, no cornering clearance left, wrong swingarm pivot height so lousy grip coming out of corners, and if the engine oil drain plug is the suspension travel limit, something bad might happen if you go over a speed bump (or land a wheelie hard) ...
 
I Shaved the seat on my Husqvarna TE450 and it turned out great. I felt the stock height was even a little tall for me and I'm 6'. It's really easy to do.
#1- Pull out all the staples
#2- draw out the shape to be shaved on the foam(I used a black Sharpie)
#3-cut out the foam being cautious as to the Sharpie outline.
#4-using sandpaper, sand smooth the edges all around
#5-reinstall cover using heavy duty stapler(I used my pneumatic staple gun)

Just another note to the OP. I noticed that your in Peterborough like me. Before I reinstalled my cover I took it down to Hobies sports on Charlotte. The seamstress/owner and I came up with a great looking design and she embroidered it on my seat for only $40. It turned out really well so you might want to look into this to add a little custom design to your bike. Very nice people down at Hobies and I'm glad to support the small businesses in downtown Ptbo. PM me if you have any further questions. Again, shaving a seat is really simple.
Edit: I never said what tool I used to actually cut the foam out with. I took the blade out of a hacksaw and did it freehand. The superfine teeth did a great job and going slow and cautious makes it easy. I don't have a electric meat slicer but lots of people have said that works great as well. Any fine toothed smaller handsaw blade will work. Hope this helps.
 
I'm just under 5'3" and have never lowered a bike. Scoot your butt off and get one foot down. Get used to it - bikes are always gonna be too tall for us.
 
Better off trading the zx6 on a GSXR, much more friendlier for shorter riders.
 
I have had seats re-worked for my wife and daughter in the past, my seat guy does a great job!

If you think you must lower a bike, make sure to do the front and rear the same. You will loose ground clearance and some ability to corner but that comes down to how you ride as well. I do NOT recommend altering the suspension only as a last resort.
 
Touching feet or a foot down is one thing. Trying to support a 400 pound bike with a locked knee is another. For street riding, I say lower it slightly so you're comfortable supporting the bike.
 
A few years ago, I replaced the rear shock on my SV650 with a GSXR 1000 shock and replaced the dog bones as well. I did a lot of reading, asked friends for help, rode a bike with the same mod, etc. The bike felt great at the end on the street and track days. So it can be done, just don't change it a lot. Even better, buy a kit specifc for your bike... or repeat what others already did (like in my case with the SV650)...
 
Shaving the seat is a better option. Just make sure that you take material from the bottom of the foam otherwise when you staple the seat cover back on it will be noticeable where you removed material. Oh and be careful when removing the foam from the plastic, its glued on so gently pull it apart otherwise you might rip or tear the foam. Good luck. Cheers!
 
Roomie said:
As Paul said you can still ride it and get comfortable. I know someone hardly taller than you that rides an adventure bike. It just takes some practice getting comfortable. Sport bike seats are already the suck. I would think doing anything to make it less of a seat is going to cause comfort issues on rides longer than 10 mins
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My SMC + seat pad made it really tall. No biggie supporting it with one foot, BUT I would get frame sliders. It's easier to loose balance.
 
Poindexter said:
Last fall I was chatting with a guy riding a similar Valkyrie to mine and he mentioned that he had shaved his seat down and narrowed it a little. He was probably about 5'6" if that. Anyways, he used a kitchen electric knife to do it with then refitted the cover back over tightly etc.. Looked fine to me and to be honest I actually liked how he'd made a little more of a divet and cut away some of the wide sides. It was more comfortable I thought. The the original seat is really good for guys with big butts if you fall into that category, I don't. I don't have the nerve to do it though. Don't want to ruin it.
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ive read a few people doing this with a electric kitchen knife.
taking the cover off the seat is easy, its all just stapled on. see if you can make the seat slightly more narrow, it will make it easier to put your feet on the ground.

just a heads up, corbin seats sit slightly higher than stock. i can flat foot on both my stock and the corbin but theres a noticeable height difference.

as for lowering the bike, you can lower the rear with a lowering link and slide the tree down a little to level it out....still, i woudnt do it though.
 
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I think I'm going to try the shaving idea first I only need a little bit off so I can touch just a little more. Already have frame sliders ordered c:
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