Tom
Brown <browns@starnetinc.com>
said that he figured out that the "stock seat is tilted
down too much in the front. This holds true for any of the
three positions you put it in because the front steps are
positioned relative to the rear steps. There are four allen
screws that hold the front steps in place. Shimming under
these screws changes the relationship of the front to the
back. Use flat washers under the screws, but also make a
shim for the space in between so the bracket is supported
across its length. I used stacks of flat washers wrapped
together with black electrical tape. This fits in nicely
and the tape keeps the odd washer from vibrating out. I
put 750 miles on this weekend and had a much less sore butt
and snuggy problem than in rides past.
Two
side effects noted:
1.
The front seat now can rock about ½" on the front
supports. When you’re riding, you can’t tell,
but at stops it will move on you. This isn’t a serious
problem, but it kind of ruins that "of a piece"
quality feeling that one strives for. I’ve seen some
Corbins that do this with the back seat. I’ll look
for a cure, but even with this problem, it’s going
to be much better than stock for long rides.
2.
The bar backs would be put to much better use now because
it’s easier to sit back in the seat. This would also
effectively put the pegs a little further forward for
the rider, which is a good thing in my mind. I couldn’t
see getting bar backs before because I was still riding
up against the tank. From there, bar backs would feel
awkward to me. Sitting on the good part of the seat, the
regular bars feel a little too far forward for me.
Even
though this is a quick fix, Tom still wants get a custom
seat: "but want to wait until winter to order it. This
is a temporary measure to get me through the season, but
it shows signs of working pretty well."
Since
he made it all work, Tom decided document his solution for
a less expensive and quick fix to the RT’s seat problem:
1.
Remove seat.
2.
Locate 4 screws holding the front adjustable seat bracket
to the frame.
3.
Remove one of these, go to hardware store and purchase
longer bolts of the same size. Get plated or stainless
steel.
4.
Also buy 40 plated flat washers for º" bolt size.
5.
Return to base station. Take the 40 washers and make 8
stacks of 5 washers.
6.
Wrap two stacks together with electrical tape. (5 high
by 2 wide)
7.
Repeat step 6
8.
Remove the rest of the bolts holding the seat bracket
to the frame.
9.
Replace one bolt with a longer one with 5 washers under
the bracket and around the bolt. Start the bolt, but don’t
tighten.
10.
Replace the rest of the bolts in a similar manner.
11.
Slide the "two-packs under the brackets between the
bolts. This will give you an even height under the brackets
all the way down the length.
12.
Tighten all four bolts.
13.
Replace seat.
Tom
says the he has "…not found the front of the seat
to interfere with the tank in any way. I have found that
the rear of the front seat will rock on the front mount
of the front seat. This is not a problem while riding and
it does not allow the seat to be removed without the key."
Luc
Schryvers <lucsch@microsoft.com>
Followed up on Tom’s instructions, but made some modifications
that result in better support for the seat bracket.
"I
first tried out some adjustments with nylon washers to get
a good height increase. I uplifted the seat height adjuster
by 10 mm (some 3/8"), taking longer M5 bolts [M5 x
30] plus an added nut, because I couldn’t find allen
bolts in that size. You need to add the nut, just under
the bolt head, in order to be able to fasten the bolt afterwards:
there is no room for tools to fasten otherwise. FYI: the
original allen bolt is M5 x 15. After a first try out of
some 200 miles, I found that this 10 mm uplift was very
good: no yanking on the tank anymore when you release the
throttle, and indeed safer private parts, or at least less
painful ones!
After
that I went to a hobby store and bought a plastic bar of
25 mm wide, 5 mm thick and 1 meter long (last measure not
important). In inches this gives approx. 1" wide, 3/16"
thick. I cut some 81 mm [a bit more than 3"] of the
plastic bar 4 times, and used those 2 by 2 for each side
of the adjustable front bracket to get the 10 mm height
uplift. Drilled 2 holes in those plastic bars to accommodate
the M5 bolts, and voila: the adjustable front bracket is
now supported over its entire length as Tom Brown suggests
to do.
Only
disadvantage for smaller riders: when uplifting 10 mm or
3/8", you only can use the uppermost position of the
seat, the middle and lower setting will not work, because
the stock seat doesn’t fit well under the tank anymore.
I have a 32" inseam and this works for me! I reckon
when you use less than 10 mm or 3/8" uplift, you will
be able to insert the stock seat correctly. Hence I suggest
you first try this exercise by using regular washers to
find an uplift that is suitable for you.
Total
cost: a few USD and an hour of work. Result: less sore butt,
because you don’t slide anymore on the seat and no
numb nuts anymore! Thanks again Tom for the really good
tip: it works for me! Hope this helps others out too."
John
Moran <digisrvs@pdq.net>
Reports that he " tried the seat shimming trick with
a minor variation on the shim construction for better stability
and it does make an appreciable difference on the forward
roll of the seat. The seat still suffers from a lack of
padding, tho’. My /5 stock seat is much more comfortable
than the stock R1100RT seat, and it is plainly evident by
the depth of the foam on each seat."
Fernando
Belair <fbelair@aol.com>
writes: "I read with interest about shimming the seat
to change the angle and increase comfort. Doing it
with washers is fine, but I found a 1/8-inch and a 3/16-inch
flat aluminum bar at Home Depot (about $3 each). With these
I made simple shims that fit under the front seat adjuster
and looks much better than washers. Plus, it supports the
entire adjuster mechanism. Additionally, remove the rubber
bumpers that the rear part of the front seat sits
on. Look at them from above (down into the hole) and you'll
notice that the rubber tapers down into the hole.
With a single-edge razor blade, cut the tapered part of
the rubber off (effectively shortening the bumpers by about
1/4-inch), then replace them on your seat. This complements
the front shim by lowering the rear of the seat, but not
so far as to mis-align the tongue/groove interlock between
the front and rear seat."
