Creating a "Fat guy friendly" Dual Sport-esque seat for the 2006 TE-510:
It didn't take me long to get good and tired of the narrow, hard seat on my '06 510.
The uncomfortable seat was one of the reasons I sold my '03 DRZ400S, and I was damned if I was going to secumb to the same pains in the ass that one caused me now that I had a bike that cost almost twice as much.
Initially I bought a set of TALL/HARD foam and seat cover from Guts racing. I had heard good things about them, and considered the price reasonable.
Replacing the foam and cover were a snap, but I had done four or five seat cover replacements in the past, so I sort of knew what to expect. The pan on the Husqvarna has some interesting narrow spots that were somewhat of a bitch to staple into with my old mechanical stapler, but $35 on a close-out, last years model pneumatic brad nailer/stapler at Sears and it became a joy.
I used a very scientific method to determine my needs and results during the trial of the new seat: How long could I ride it before my butt hurt.
Riding off-road the stock seat was just fine, as I seldom sit down for too long at a time, however, as the TE is street legal, and I had bought it fully prepared to use it 50/50, I needed to address the fact that my ass started to hurt after 10 or fifteen minutes of riding on the road.
Once I put the Guts seat on, I rode the exact same stretch of road, and timed it again. Ten minutes...butt feels great! 15 minutes, still good, but...20 minutes...DAMN! I just spent $100 and only got about 5 extra minutes of riding comfort???!!! Not a good investment in my opinion. I was heartbroken. I had the most perfect on-road/off-road bike I had ever dreamed of and was unable to ride it for longer than 20 minutes. Unacceptable.
I had seen on the web that some reputable guys were making custom dual sport seats for the TE's and other bikes for the low, low price of $300-400 dollars (*COUGH*). With my wallet still reeling from the Husqvarna's sticker price, I knew my wife would skin me alive if I told her I needed an extra $350 for a new seat. There had to be another option.
I am no upholsterer, as the following pics clearly show, neither am I that great of a handyman in general. But necessity, they say, is the mother of invention, and I wanted to ride my damned new motorcycle the way I had intended it, and no sore ass was going to stop me!
I harkened back to the days of yore and such bikes as I had ridden in the past without getting a sore bum. They had all had deeper, and wider and more cushy seats. Did I have to make the seat foam thicker? My 1979 RM250N and my 1980 YZ465G had had seats that were dreamily comfortable in comparison. So had my 1987 XL600R which I had ridden from college in Ellensburg back to Gig Harbor on several occasions, about 2 1/2 hours worth. Even my 1990 CR500R had had a seat that I could sit on for hours and never complain. There must be an answer there somewhere. The RM had a shallow, firm seat, and the YZ had had a deeper, soft seat. The XL had had a wide semi-firm seat that wasn't too deep, and the CR had had a wider (than todays bikes) seat that was fairly firm, though not as hard as the basalt-like seats of the 21st century. I took into account that most of the bikes I had based my premise on were strictly dirt bikes, and thus, there may have been some inaccuracy in how well they would work on the dual sport bike. There was only one way to glean accurate data: A field test.
I dug around in my shop and found a ratty 1980 RM400 seat pan, foam and cover that I had plucked from a bike I had restored a few years ago while racing the Vintage class out here in Washington. I had gotten it along with an RM400 frame, swing arm and rear wheel for $20. The seat was wasted. The cover torn completely off, and the foam quite mouse-eaten. Somehow, I had not been able to throw it away though, and now it became valuable again. I ran to the kitchen, and got my wife's electric turkey knife, some duct-tape, and a dark green garbage bag, and ran back to the shop. Ten minutes latter Frankenseat was sitting perched on top of my beautiful 2006 Husky. I had reversed the seat, and hacked off 50% of it's height. I had also trimmed the back (now front) so that it vaguely fit the frame. Then I had covered it with the garbage sack and taped it all together. I threw a leg over, and was impressed by how low I now sat. I am on my tippy toes on the bike with the stock seat, and it was really comfortable to be sitting on it with my feet flat..."Maybe I should look into lowering the seat height as part of my project???!!!", I thought.
One thing at a time. I fired the bike up, glanced at the chronograph, and set off on the same test ride. 10 minutes. 15 minutes. 20 minutes. 25 minutes. 30 minutes and my ass still didn't hurt! Now all I had to do was explain to all my friends why I was riding a new bike with an abortion in place of a seat. 35 minutes and my rump was only starting to get fatigued. I turned for home, and rolled down the driveway at 45 minutes with the same sore rump I had had at 15 minutes with the stock seat. Hmmm. It was time to evaluate my data and proceed to phase 2.
The next day at work, I called the Husky dealer and found out how much a whole new seat was. Armed with this info, I bravely set off to the shop again armed with the electric turkey carver, some adhesive foam spray, and a section of foam I had bought from a local upholstery shop. The lady had told me it was expensive. It cost $16. Including the spray adhesive, I was out the door for under $20. A lot cheaper than that $350 custom seat. If I could make this work...
I am a big guy. Just under 6'1", and weighing in at 250 lbs. I analyzed all the data I had gleaned and figured it was not so much a matter of firm or soft foam, as it was a matter of surface area. I stipped the Guts cover off my seat and sat on it. I found my natural riding spot and traced a few lines onto the foam with a Sharpie marker. Next, I hacked the newly purchased foam into rough blocks and glued them to the sides of my seat. I let it set over night, even though the glue can said it would be useable in 15 minutes. I wasn't taking chances.
I sat on the bike again, and retraced where my rump set on the new foam. I set to work again with the carving knife and began shaping the new foam "outriggers" into a useable shape. I cut and fitted, and fitted and cut until I had the seat roughly shaped the way I had wanted it. I had added about 2.5 to 3" of width to the middle of the seat where my ass sat at leisure, and had tapered the front back to almost stock width. The foam was supposed to be sandable too, but I didn't really have a lot of luck there, and quickly resorted to final shaping with a razor blade.
I had bought a yard of blue vinyl I had planned on using to make a new seat cover, but, in a hurry to test it before dark, found that the Guts cover could just be stretched far enough...WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! I love my new pneumatic stapler. I grabbed my helmet and set off on the now too familiar test drive.
Success.
I raced along the now oh too familiar roadways of this stupid test course without a single butt tingle. I rode for an hour. Then for an hour and a half. Then as darkness descended and my dinner alarm sounding in my empty stomach, I guided the Husqvarna back home with a gigantic grin on my face.
One thing still concerned me: How was this abomination going to ride off road? I had deliberately flared the seat in such a way that I could still slide easily back over the rear fender, in practice, but how was it going to work in some nasty, technical capital forest downhill or low lying tree-across-the-trail maneuver? The next day I (naturally) rode the bike to work, and uttering something about a late afternoon Dr.'s appointment, headed for the hills.
I work about 15 miles from the Waddell Creek entrance to the Capital Forest just outside of Olympia, WA, and have ridden there for years. I took the bike along some well known trails and progressively tried it in gnarlier and gnarlier terrain. Soon, I had forgotten I was supposed to be testing the seat, and was just reveling in the experience. I love this bike, and the seat mod was working perfectly. It in no way was hampering my riding style, and actually seemed to be an improvement here as well, as the slight rise in the back forced me into a more aggressive stance off road. Perfect.
Like I said earlier, I am no upholsterer, but I seem to have been pretty lucky with this project. It really turned out well. I could have done a little better stapling the cover on if I had taken the time, and made it look prettier, but I am all about function over form, and I don't think it turned out that bad anyway.
If you are not entirely happy with the seat on your TE (or any other bike), I hope this narrative gives you the fortitude, inspiration, and resolve to tackle the same project yourself. I couldn't be happier. However, before you ask, no, I am not willing to do yours for you. :)
The Guts Racing Tall/Soft foam with side panniers glued on.
Finished, with the Guts cover stretched to the limits.
In place on the bike, after three months of use.
First day (note seat retaining clip is still not installed), and three months later.
(also note Husqvarna lawn mower in background!!!)
I love this bike.