seat lowering.. I seem to have a problem

[izzi81]

The one problem I've had with the zx6r is that it's a wee bit high. I don't mind that much, but I know I'd feel more confident getting the balls of both feet on the ground (or even my whole foot!). Currently it's more like just my toes on the ground.

I did some investigating and getting the seat lowered sounded like the answer to my problem. So I finally got a cheap spare seat on ebay, sent it away to be altered, got it back the other day and have just tried putting it on the bike.

Hmmm.

I got 2" taken off the seat, which I thought had to be enough to at least go from toes to balls of feet on ground - the guy who altered it for me said when he did his he went from toes to feet flat on the ground with 3.5" taken off. But it seems to have no made much difference at all, except now it puts noticeable pressure on my inner thighs because there's less.. shape to the seat, so it's not as comfy (thank goodness I got a spare adjusted!!) Put the seats side by side and there's definitely a height difference, probably 2".

So what's gone wrong? Has anyone else done this to a bike seat - what did you find? Is this something to do with the difference between men and women re. shape of seat? (I did think about attempting diagrams of me sitting on my bike but thought that was getting a bit silly!)

There was me thinking this was the solution to all my problems, and yet it seems to be another costly experiment
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[Sadie]

[Suzuki]

[Bendy]

I got a chunk taken out of mine and because the 'hump' is gone it does force your legs out further and thus remove some of the benefit.

Would probably be less comfy too, if I didn't carry my own padding with me at all times.

[izzi81]

[izzi81]

[Bendy]

Do give it time, mine felt way weird at first.

Not sure how much difference it really makes, but I reckon I can paddle my bike backwards a bit better than before. So even if that 2 inches out the seat gives you half an inch by the time you reach the ground, it could be worthwhile.

[Sadie]

[G]

Has he taken 2" from all over the seat? The back included.

I would consider trying to lower the shock /and/ the forks a little bit (to keep the handling the same).

[izzi81]

Yes it's a general 2" reduction. I have thought about mechanical adjustments but I was always worried about the handling, and also whether it was really worth that level of tinkering!
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"The problem with the French is they have no word for 'entrepreneur' " George W Bush
Age doesn't matter unless you're a cheese
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[Kickstart]

Hi

Common problem seems to be that as you sit lower you are closer to the wider bits of the bike, so your legs are forced to go out before going down.

Also the older foam has probably softened with age.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Mrs Kickstart]

Hi,

I find the width can make a big difference to how long my legs appear.

P&P seating in birmingham https://www.ppseat.co.uk/ can put gel pads in to the seat so it can be really low and fairly comfortable, we had this done for the bandit but it is not cheap.

Give it a bit of time, I found the ZX6R to wide.

bye
C

[G]

Dropping the forks in the yolks and reducing the rear preload will probably make pretty much no difference to the handling, I would have though... aslo is free and easy to do .

[Mr C]

it's possible to just lower the whole bike by a couple of inches by fitting longer tie bars to the rear suspension links south of the shock

check on ebay or get someone to knock some up in stainless, you will only need about 15mm longer tie bars to drop the bike a couple of inches


mine is now fully adjustable (these are expensive - £120) but I can slam my bike down for racing until the the fairing is nearly touching the ground
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187.3bhp = 201mph

[Mr C]

and what G says at the front, drop the forks a bit or it will be nose high and slow steering
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187.3bhp = 201mph

[Kickstart]

Hi

While loads of people get away with it, due to the rising rate linkage at the back you will affect how the rear suspension reacts if you lengthen the dog bones or (even worse) slacken off the preload. Using longer dog bones at least means you then have the full range of adjustments on the shock to compensate.

Hagon sell (for about £250) customer shorter shocks to lower the seat height.

One thing to watch out for if you do drop the suspension is to ensure that the side stand will still work and not hold the bike too close to vertical (or even lean it the wrong way).

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Mr C]

depends how far you go Keith

an inch or so shouldn't affect ride quality that much


I wouldn't dare ride mine fast on the road with it lowered as far as it is


mind you I do sometimes end up at about 80 coming round the corner at the end

the side stand is a valid point, although mine was ok down to about 3" lowered, now it really is slammed it has a couple of inches cut out of the sidestand

btw - these are the adjustables
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187.3bhp = 201mph

[Rob]

Daytona do a boot that has an extra 2cm in the sole. They are called M Star. Might be worth a look for you?
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Love is 1050cc

[Kickstart]

[jayluvmito]

most engineering firms make these, just a ally/stainless bar with rosejoints in the end. wherabouts are you kickstart? i kno a few good bike engineers we have had dealing with-depends wher yuo are..
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one day...

[Kickstart]

Hi

Stafford, but the only local small engineer I know of has closed up shop (ill health).

Getting fixed ones made up would be easy enough, but getting threaded / rose jointed ones is a touch more difficult.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[jayluvmito]

hmm, stafford sounds like oop north to me, lol.

if you speak to a guy called daz at www.broscomb.co.uk based in oxford, i think its a fair trot from you, but his work is top notch and fair priced. if not try streetfighters magazine, plenty off small engineering firms in their which specialize on bike parts.

a threaded tit bar isnt realli a nard thing to make, just making sure the right grade of material is used, splitting at 130mph wouldnt be nice... unfortunetly most the engineers we use are small time ones down south.
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one day...

[Kickstart]

Hi

Cheers, although Oxford is 100 miles away. One breaking really does not appeal.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[izzi81]

thanks for all the tips - threads like this make me wish I knew a bit more about the mechanics of everything! Guess I should go off and read my Haynes

Might have to look into those boots.. nothing technical about those!!
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[Mr C]