Author Topic: Seat modifications?/  (Read 3936 times)

scootit

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Seat modifications?/
« on: August 15, 2011, 06:27:03 PM »
Has anyone made any changes to the GV scooter seat yet?? The first thing I did was remove the back rest. I sure miss it but I felt to far farward in the seat. Now I have 3 holes in the seat that I need to recover. My next issue is I must be short. I am 5'2" and I can not touch the ground unless I am on tip toes if I sit back. I have to be at the edge of the seat to touch flat foot. Now that is horrible. I love this sooter except the seat must be changes. I do not know how taller people fit on this scooter. So now I have removed the seat cover& removed the padding. No luck I am still not flat footed. This scooter is wide. Now I have removed the front bracket that opens the seat. The seat is sitting right on the scooter. I got the largest soul protective shoes I can find yesterday. I will put the padding back on today, wrap the seat with a sheet and test drive for a few days. I have not shaved the padding any yet or replaced the hing yet. Any advice???? I am looking for a hing to replace the large one Kymco has used on this scooter.
I just want to be able to touch the ground safely!!
Thanks

JustWantToRide

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Re: Seat modifications?/
« Reply #1 on: August 16, 2011, 03:27:08 PM »
If you need more support to keep from sliding forward, then rather than moving back (where the body of the bike gets bigger) you should firm up the front of the seat with a higher density foam.  When making a change like this - I always try to do it in a way that I can put it back if it doesn't help. 

Get yourself some higher density foam (I actually go in to a local distributor and describe what I want). 

Start out by just adding say a 1/2 inch layer of foam on top - that does it for some people.  If you need more - then cut off the front 6 inches of your existing foam - straight down so you can put it back if you want.  Cut the new piece to replace it and fit and shape it (I use a product called Dragon Skin).  Drape the cover back on and cover with plastic so you can duck tape around it (so it doesn't fall apart).  Check it an see if it is to your liking.  If it is now too firm then the easiest thing to do is to slice it from the front to the back - going down at about a 30 degree angle towards the back of the seat, then do the same to the original piece of your seat - on put the slice of the original on top of the heavier density foam.

With only 2 cuts you can easily glue the foam back together if you want and put the seat back to stock.  If you can't get it the way you want - then take it to an upholstery shop and pay them to do it.  Bring the bike so you can sit on it and explain what you want.

If you aren't trying to keep from sliding foward then for us to help you probably need to explain why you are 5'2" but want to sit further back.
2009 Xciting 500Ri
   52mpg so far

melodys39

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Re: Seat modifications?/
« Reply #2 on: August 23, 2011, 03:42:51 PM »
You might want to try the aftermarket seat made for the GV. It is very comfortable, and has a high backrest. And it is a softer seat. I am also 5'2" and am almost able to flat foot the GV with the custom seat.

The dealer charges about $300 for the seat, but I've found them online for about $230. Not much more than having your seat professionally altered  :)
'09 White Grandvista 250 "Dinky"

Doug9678

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Re: Seat modifications?/
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2011, 05:23:50 PM »
Great example of how to do your own seat modifications CHEAP  -     http://scootdawg.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=200cc&action=print&thread=8429



Or you can get an Airhawk -    http://www.airhawkseatcushions.net/p-242-airhawk-2-medium-cruiser.aspx
« Last Edit: August 23, 2011, 05:39:00 PM by Doug9678 »
2009 GrandVista 249cc
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scootit

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Re: Seat modifications?/
« Reply #4 on: August 30, 2011, 05:31:18 PM »
I just finished removing the front seat hinge from the 2009 GV. I replaced it with a 4 1/2 inch Ball Bearing Door Hinge. The holes on the hinge match the scooter perfectly. I used two L brackets that I attached to the hinge and under the seat. I needed to drill 4 holes in the L bracket to match the screws that are in the seat.  The con to doing this is:: the seat does not pop up anymore, I need to lift seat open and the seat does not open up as wide. I still have all the storage room. The con to this is it lowered the seat for me. I enjoy seating where the back rest goes. For me the shape of the seat here was the best. I was on tip toes and had to move myself forward to stop the scooter and safely touch the ground. This extra inch or so makes my feet almost flat footed. I will keep this adjustment.
Next I need tp make the area when the back rest was softer. Right now the raised screw hole area hits me in the lower back. I have added some 6 inch mending plates to the back rest to raise the back rest higher. The back rest pushes me forward just a bit and I like being back in that area where your butt was ment to be in. I have protected my seat cover with foam and towels so the screws on the backrest do not put holes into the seat cover. After a few days of test riding I will report back.

scootit

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Re: Seat modifications?/
« Reply #5 on: October 15, 2011, 06:23:50 PM »
I am still working on my seat modifications. So far I have raised the back rest up 8 inches. I got 3 mending brackets and used the holes that are on the seat and scooter. This change was easy and I did not make any real changes to the scooter. The only change was to peel off the back rest from the scoot. I needed to bend the bars just a bit to make them slope with the scooter. When completed I used a small square of foam to cover the brackets. I covered the foam with fake leather to match the scooter seat. I made sure the foam cover went up behind the seat and attached to the screws. I just cut some holes into the cover material and slipped it over the holes. I bought a plastic basket from the dollar store, cut out a piece the shape of the back of the seat. Placed the plastic over the screws again cutting holes into the plastic to match the screws. My plastic is bright green, black would be the best color to use if possible. I also got a drawer pull that matched the screw and have a place to bungie to now. The drawer pull helps to keep the plastic on. I will make a cover for the whole seat but you could just keep it this way. This upgrade is great. I had removed the backrest because it pushed me to far forward and I felt like I was falling off the scooter. I missed the backrest.  After riding for 2 hours last week I am so happy to have the back rest back on.
I am still adding form to the front of the seat. So far I have added 6 inch wide foam to the front. I cut the foam piece to slope in the front to match up with the oringinal foam from the seat. I have 3 two inch pieces on top of each other. This makes the nose of the seat look large but I love it. Now I have something for my legs to hold onto and rest against when riding. All I did was hand sew an extra strip of fake leather to the bottom of my seat fabric. I used the holes from the staples so I again never changes the seat fabric to make these changes. I am still working on the comfort of this. When completed I will just staple the seat cover back onto the plastic seat. If needed to sell the scooter someday I just will remove what I did.

mrbios

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Re: Seat modifications?/
« Reply #6 on: November 16, 2018, 09:20:54 PM »
How do you remove the upper back seat backrest?
PaulC

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