Killing the "L" Seat -- 1983 GS850GL - Seat Rework

[Wingsconsin]

My First Attempt at creating a seat that I can ride on for more than 15 miles without feeling like my nether regions are under attack from 1 million fleas with flaming pitchforks. ..

I located an extra seat pan and tore into it to see what makes the foam and shape so awful..
I decided that the inherit form of the L seat pushed the rider forward and rolls the hips top over bottom as it does this, which forces the rider to effectively sit on his Man parts as they are squeezed into the metal fuel tank and absorbing bumps while the legs are still bent at an un holy angle with the feet gripping the pegs , those same pegs that are way too close to the riders behind for anyone over 5'6" tall.

My solutions was to cut out the hump - level the seat and try to position the rider BACK and UP...

I did forget to take some pictures while I was in the midst of this seat redo so I will narrate as best I can also..

First I cut out the hump and added some dense foam (garden kneeling pad) that made the seat bottom harder, and wider, and deeper.

Notice the cut out where the forward forcing hump once was...

After this glue set - I added another layer of thinner hard foam (garage floor work pads) that essentially leveled this entire front portion of the seat. The lowest level of added padding was 1" think topped by another layer of hard foam 3/8" thick.

After this was set ) leveled the seat front to back and side to side with a layer of 1" foam that ended by the back cut of the hump (Sorry - no pictures yet..) And topped the entire seat with a layer of 1" foam. The foam was purchased from a local upholstery shop for about $25. In total including the new seat pan ,and foam and adhesive I think I have about $100 invested.

I then stretched a new cover onto it from a material I had left over from a previous project. I know it doesn't match visually , but it was available, cheap and is temporary - I will be making some adjustments to the seat and will then invest in some good permanent BLACK vinyl to cover the seat ...

Here is where it stands today - with additional changes (and inside the seat pictures) coming soon... Please be kind in your comments as this is my FIRST attempt to rebuild a seat ...

 

[850GT_Rider]

Looks good so far! Only your butt will know for sure.....

 

[Steve]

Screw the aesthetics, ... how does it FEEL???

.

 

[Wingsconsin]

First ride on it was 30 miles ...
No problem ...since then several 30 + miles jaunts ...
I am now waiting for crash bar mounted foot pads to give me another foot position..
That will also increase the saddle time .
Feels good .
But - I Know I need a little more padding in the front half ...another layer of 3/8ths would do it.
When I go to recover I will glue in the last 2 laters and glue down the cover too...
But I am happy with it so far ..
When I have it apart again I will take more assembly pictures to share as well ...
But for right now I am too busy riding it

 

[dpep]

I think you have a good idea. It always looked to me that Suzuki created their "chopper look" L models primarily with an exaggerated stepped seat and that it was way too obvious that is what they were doing. Otherwise the models would have been pretty much UJM standard motorcycles in appearance. The result in my opinion was/is a seat that is just plain odd looking. At 6'5" I would not have even considered riding one myself even if it was given to me.

I have always wondered what an L model would look like with a more conventional seat. One cannot just put on a G or E model seat as the pans are different. I look forward to seeing your finished project and comfort evaluation. It already looks a lot more rideable.
...

 

[buttercupairplane]

check out what I did....I just shaved the sucker off and left about an inch of foam over the lock in the back and recovered the seat. I also added foam to push my butt forward because with the flatter bars, I can't reach as well due to my limited arm length.

 

[Wingsconsin]

check out what I did....I just shaved the sucker off and left about an inch of foam over the lock in the back and recovered the seat. I also added foam to push my butt forward because with the flatter bars, I can't reach as well due to my limited arm length.

I am just 6 feet tall ...I wanted more leg room for my 32 inch inseam .
The extra few inches make a difference.

 

[Lankarge]

I actually like the seat on my L! Granted I only went on a 35 mile ride and Im only 5' 8" but its no issue at all. And Buttercupairplane your seat looks awesome! Is that the original cover or did you get one fabricated?

 

[eil]

check out what I did....I just shaved the sucker off and left about an inch of foam over the lock in the back and recovered the seat. I also added foam to push my butt forward because with the flatter bars, I can't reach as well due to my limited arm length.

I was thinking of doing something similar with my 850, nice to see it does look good and that I won't be blazing new territory. Looks like it raises seat height a couple inches, yeah?

 

[Guest]

I'm guessing this whole "can't get comfortable on an L" thing is for riders with far more experience than I have. This is my first motorcycle (except for the 150cc Chinese scooter I road for 2 years just prior to getting the 850L) and about the only thing that gets me is the throttle hand getting a cramp when I first start out, and I'm thinking this is more my 60 years rather than experience that let's me keep my hand in one position for so long that it cramps. I just took a tour of the western states with many 100 mile plus stretches where I was just fine. I'm 5' 10" and weigh 220lbs and I like the seat on my L. It also may be "What you are used to" is comfortable too. I suppose IF I were ever to get another bike, and I don't know why I would other than an accident or catastrophic failure, I might get to like the seat on it too. Or if I keep reading how people modify their bikes to make them more comfortable and get brainwashed into thinking that it could be better...might inspire me to dabble in things like seats. I guess the old adage from the interwebz applies in YMMV. Speaking of mileage...I guess I'd better get back to the carburetors.... Hope that seat works for you Wings...

 

[eil]

Yeah, my butt doesn't have a problem with my 850GL's seat either. Haven't taken it on any particularly long rides, though. The 81's and up have a different seat: the step is much more pronounced. I wonder if that has something to do with their poor reputation.

 

[Wingsconsin]

The seat on my '83 was SHOT.
It was soft and I could feel the metal pan underneath - as well as the hump pushed me forward and awkwardly such that my pelvis tilted forward an I was sitting on the boys as they squeezed against the tank.
It is a work in progress- I will be redoing it again soon -
Adding a layer of foam to the front half (where I sit)
Until I get it just right I will keep the brown cover (it was extra material laying around)
But once it is 'done' I will look to get a nice BLACK cover on it.

Now I need foot pegs for the crash bars....

 

[DanTheMan]

I did a complete make over on my '80 GS850GL. It required some cutting and welding because, as well as the seat (which I had originally replaced with a King/Queen) I replaced the tiny 3.2 gal original tank with a larger 4.2 gal tank. I installed the seat from my '81 850G parts bike. My last long ride on it in 2010 was a 7500 mile round trip to California and back stopping at all the national parks there and back. If you go to my profile and look through my posts you can see the mods I made on the bike and my cross country trips that I made.

It looks like you're on your way to making a good seat though, a little more foam sculpting and it will look as good as it sits.

 

[850GT_Rider]

PM sent.....

 

[Wingsconsin]

PM sent.....

PM answered - :welcoming:

 

[Geo]

Does one dare ask...So what is the most conferable seat model/ configuration for long hauls???

 

[eil]

The GS850s and GS1000s (non-L models) are rumored to be the most butt-friendly bikes of the era.

 

[Grimly]

The GS850s and GS1000s (non-L models) are rumored to be the most butt-friendly bikes of the era.

They weren't bad, at that. I got used to them, but I found if I was on a break for more than a couple of weeks, it took a few days to get my butt seat-hardened again to the 300 mile-plus point. On balance, I'd say it was a toss-up between the GS and the BMW RT seats in the day.

 

[Geo]

I wonder how much age is a factor?

 

[Wingsconsin]

I wonder how much age is a factor?

​Seat age or rider age ...?