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Shave Seat?

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DTG

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Mar 28, 2011
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Minnesota
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just wondering if anyone has shaved the seat on there Gen 1 and if so by how much, thinking about it as im only 5'6 and really dont want to lower the bike, I can get on the bike fine, and I can flat foot 1 side if i keep my foot on the brake on the other side and slightly lean the bike, but if something were to happen and I needed to quickly catch my bike, its going down at the intersection or parking lot for sure, "sand, slick pavement etc etc"

Thanks
 
DTG said:
just wondering if anyone has shaved the seat on there Gen 1 and if so by how much, thinking about it as im only 5'6 and really dont want to lower the bike, I can get on the bike fine, and I can flat foot 1 side if i keep my foot on the brake on the other side and slightly lean the bike, but if something were to happen and I needed to quickly catch my bike, its going down at the intersection or parking lot for sure, "sand, slick pavement etc etc"

Thanks
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I would think this could be a serious safety issue for you. I'm not sure you'd get enough by shaving the seat to get you flat footed on both sides of the bike, which is ideally what you would want. I'm only 5'2" so I have the lowering kit on my bike. I flat foot the bike with still enough clearance that I don't bottom out the bike even on some pretty crappy roads. You might want to look into it. Just keep your original parts so you can return the bike to stock, or you just raise it back up to stock height if you decide to sell it. This also keeps you from having to buy a new stock seat should you decide to sell the bike.
 
I have to agree with mrsfz1. Im 5'3" on a 09 and i lowered mine 2" using soupys lowering link, i can just touch the balls of my feet. However i've known other experienced short riders who are comfortable with one foot down.
 
I'm 5' 6" and I've ridden some tall bikes and I wouldn't lower any bike. Shave the seat and see how you do. You are going to sacrifice some handling if you lower your bike.
 
If you lower the front and rear the same amount, the handling remains close to constant. What you need to remember is with lowering, you've taken away from clearance so you will drag parts before the same stock bike. This may mean adjusting your riding skills to get more of yourself off the seat in aggressive cornering. As with any change in the dynamics of a bike, work into the change slow. Practice corners to get to know the bike's new characteristics and limits. Once you've discovered those, you can safely have all the fun again.

MrsFZ1inNH is not an aggressive rider thus my lowering her machine isn't causing any issues with her riding style. However, as she gets more confident on the bike, should she touch down any hardware, I may have to raise it a little at a time until she's handling the corners without dragging AND is still comfortable with the foot placement when stopped.

We're headed out after work to get her more miles on the bike so she is more comfortable riding it. She's really doing VERY well with the big liter machine!!! :tup:
 
up_on1 said:
I'm 5' 6" and I've ridden some tall bikes and I wouldn't lower any bike. Shave the seat and see how you do. You are going to sacrifice some handling if you lower your bike.
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I had my first bike (an FZ6R) lowered after riding it for a while and did not notice any change in handling. I also have no problems with handling on my FZ1 and it's lowered A LOT. I can flat foot the bike and I'm only 5'2".
 
I haven't lowered my gen1 either. I don't worry about the handling as much as the clearance. I've seen pics of me in the curves and I don't wanna be scraping hard parts. I bought a lowered seat but traded it for oem because the only difference it made was to get me closer to the pegs, which I didn't really need. I still only got one foot down with or without the lowered seat.

I'm very conscious about where I put the one foot I can get down and if needed, I'm not ashamed to get off the bike to move it around. I figure I spend more time with my feet on the pegs than I do with them on the ground so why bother lowering it?
 
I didn't want to lower my Gen II but after puting on a Gel a couple years ago which raised my butt about 1/2 to 3/4 inch, that meant tip-toeing to get contact with the ground. After I saw a veteran rider like myself dump his bike in a dirt parking lot in a rain storm, I reconsidered lowering it. My friend was a retired MSF instructor and he misjudged the surface. Where he stopped and put his foot down was a pudddle and the bottom was about 1 1/2 " below the surface and he went down like the Titanic. I've also seen a lot of riders, and I'm sure some of you older riders have as well, go down right in the middle of a gas station drive when the surface took a sudden dip right where the rider wanted to stop. It may not be catastrophic, but not being able to reach the ground properly is a greater danger than scraping peg feelers or other soft parts. A fall in a parking lot probably won't kill you but it can break an arm or leg quickly and then you're in a cast for a month or more wishing you were riding. You're not on a horse, you are on a motorcycle and contact with the ground when you want it is a lot better than contact when you don't.
 
MrsFZ1inNH said:
I would think this could be a serious safety issue for you. I'm not sure you'd get enough by shaving the seat to get you flat footed on both sides of the bike, which is ideally what you would want. I'm only 5'2" so I have the lowering kit on my bike. I flat foot the bike with still enough clearance that I don't bottom out the bike even on some pretty crappy roads. You might want to look into it. Just keep your original parts so you can return the bike to stock, or you just raise it back up to stock height if you decide to sell it. This also keeps you from having to buy a new stock seat should you decide to sell the bike.
Click to expand...


How could removing a little foam to make the seat thinner be a matter of safety?
 
I have a 29" inseam and have never been able to bilaterally flat foot any bike I have owned. If I have both feet down I am on the balls of my feet. Usually though I flat foot the left and keep my right covering the brake. That being said I have never once felt unsafe in 20 years.
 
Here is the link to explain how to shave the seat. I cut mine down, so that I wouldn't have to change the suspension. I have a 29 inch inseam. Inseam is what matters, not how much you stick up in the air above the bike. I cut over an inch off. I still have plenty of padding left. Much better support for long rides.

Skiman's Seat Mod
 
There is another option that does not involve your seat or your suspension.
I have short legs as well. And over the years I have never lowered or altered my seat. What I did has had a 25mm sole put on my boots. Job done. There is no difference is feel or anything. Cheapest and easiest solution with out any side effect. Well one. When you’re gunning it and you move your foot position so you have the balls of your feet on the pegs you have to lift your foot 25mm higher. But once you have done it more than once you don’t realise your doing it.
 
I had (wanted) to jump a curb today. It's good to have some ground clearance. :)
Now that's the real reason I'm not getting a 4-1 exhaust for my Gen 1. :)
 
Leave it to an old (74), frugal rider to suggest this, but why not make the rider taller? Nonsense? Not quite.

Take your favorite pair of riding boots to a shoe repair shop and have the soles and heels built up by an inch. Much cheaper than meddling with your bike, same effect in terms of reaching the ground and no impairment in bike's ground clearance.
 
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