S 250 Seat Foam

[TeeMon]

I'm trying to find out how thick the seat foam is on the rider's (driver's) portion of the S 250.

My seat is too firm for me and also too tall.   I would like to have an upholstery shop remove some or all of the seat foam of the front portion and reinstall better foam and/or a gel insert but still keep the seat at least one inch lower than stock.

Has any member done this?   Photos?

[old geezer]

I'm trying to find out how thick the seat foam is on the rider's (driver's) portion of the S 250.

My seat is too firm for me and also too tall.   I would like to have an upholstery shop remove some or all of the seat foam of the front portion and reinstall better foam and/or a gel insert but still keep the seat at least one inch lower than stock.

Has any member done this?   Photos?

Let us know how it comes out. I have been thinking about reshaping the foam in my seat.

[TeeMon]

My seat plans might take a while because the upholstery shop is in Sacramento which is at least an hour away. 

In the mean time, I have a very nice, seude covered gel pad that I plan to use on my S250. 

Unfortunately, the pad will increase the seat height for me which is a huge negative.  As it is, I can not sit and have both feet flat on the ground even with my thick soled motorcycle boots.

[eugenec]

Check this out: http://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=5073.msg50692#msg50692

[TeeMon]

I did see that link previously.   I like the idea of removing foam to lower the seat height but it seems that it would also make the seat more uncomfortable.  It's already too uncomfortable for me.   

That's why I not only want to lower it, but I also want to have better foam and/or a gel insert put in to make it more comfortable.

Otherwise, I won't be able to ride it more than 30 miles or so like the SH150i that I used to have.

[eugenec]

Try to remove just enough foam to make it softer and lower but not so much for you to feel the hard plasitic underneath. You can achieve this by shaving off a little bit at a time and test riding it untill you are satisfied.

[TeeMon]

I did a test ride on my S 250 the other day.  I have a Butt Buster brand gel pad with a very nice cover on it that I had bought for my Silverwing.   I put the cover on the S 250 and took it out for a 30 mile ride.

The cover really helped!  I was quite pleased that it made the ride more comfortable and tolerable.  The down side was that it also made the seat height taller.  For me, it made it very tall where I could barely reach the ground on my tip toes while sitting on the scooter - not acceptable for me at all.

After calling around I found an upholstery shop in north Sacramento that will modify the seat for me and then re-cover it.  I plan to have them remove the stock foam and add their own (better foam) and also place a gel insert.   And they will also remove enough foam to make the seat at least an inch lower. 

I hope to have this done in the next couple of weeks.   Not cheap but I hope it works for me.

[TeeMon]

I got bad news today from the upholstery shop that I took my seat to in Sacramento.   They told me that the foam is glued to the cover but that there is only about an inch of cheap foam that goes on the seat pan.

So there is not much they can do to lower the seat and still have enough foam on it to make it comfortable for me.  They did not want to mess with the plastic seat pan (trimming it and heating it up to re-form it).

I will go and pick it up tomorrow and try to live with it as long as I can.  But my guess is that I may not be a long time S 250 owner - the seat is too uncomfortable for me (and too tall).   

[eugenec]

Use a sanding pad you can shave off the foam from the underside. See my earlier post for pictures. Be prepared to create lots of foam dust. Better wear a mask.

[MotoRandy123]

 Their obviously trying to give you underseat storage but at least
they could spend a nickle and use some good foam. Why is it only
aftermarket vendor's know what kind of foam is good?

 Car seats are the same. The old huge bench seats were great!
The new ones are 1" thick with all kinds of sensors and wires and
feel like sitting on a brick!

[TeeMon]

I drove up to Sacramento today and got my seat back from the upholstery shop.  And I just put it back on the scooter.

For now I will use the Butt Buster pad on it although it makes the seat height way too tall for me but at least it cushions the seat and is less painful for my bad back.

Now I have to ponder what to do about this - I am not happy though.

[MotoRandy123]

Someone said Sargent will make you a custom seat. Not sure how much it would cost
but I've had them on other bikes and they were better than stock;

http://www.sargentcycle.com/custserv.htm

Corbin makes seats for a select few scooters. This Vespa seat might be made to work on other scoots;

http://www.corbin.com/vespa/gt.shtml

[TeeMon]

I've had Corbin seats on several of my motorcycles in years past.  I stopped buying their seats because they stopped fitting correctly (would not latch without a lot of work) and they take a long time to break in.

And I don't think that I want to spend that much money on a custom seat for a little scooter.  I've decided to use a Butt Buffer pad for the time being and decide what I'm going to do with the scooter.   But I am not happy.

[johnson]

I read this topic and was thinking about changing the seat to soften the ride on my PS250.   That was until a 300 mile day I had recently.  When the day was over I put the bike in the garage and realized I wasn't sore, tired, or anything.  I have a custom, padded seat on one of my other scoots.  The "firm" PS250 seat was a lot better on long rides than the padded seat.  I have a bad C5 vert and I felt no pain at all the next day.  I'm sticking with the original seat, even though it is a bit too high.