KTM Adventure seat

[Vagabond]

Recently, there have been many questions reguarding the seat on the KTM Adventure. I know that the seat on the bike has been likened to an upolstered piece of telephone pole. My seat ('02 Adventure)is in the process of being re-done by Sargent Cycle Products in Jacksonville, FL. They are widening, dishing, squaring the crown of the seat, They are installing med. density foam for long range support, and puting a top layer of low density foam for the initial cushy-ness. They are also recovering the seat in a tradenamed (can't remember) material that is supposed to be high durability. I was quoted $175 for everything, sounds expensive, but it's a bargain compared to $100-$150 some local upolsterers wanted just for adding a layer of unshaped foam and recovering the seat. I'll keep you posted on the progress/result.

On another note, I have been informed that the the '03 Adventure seat is the same as the '02 seat, and only the cover has been chaged.

What solutions has any one else come up with?

[Loadedagain]

I dont know.... Rode for 100km yesterday in really muddy/slimy terrain.... My ass is really fuckin sore! :mad:

[Vagabond]

Here's an Adventure R seat modification that you DON'T want to have. The seat was carved up by the owner and recovered. The foam is missing in the middle, and you would be forced to ride sitting on the pan! If there was anything to force you to ride standing ALL the time, this is it Sorry guys, but my picture downloading abilities suck right now. I'll post the "spine-crusher" tomorrow

[jimjib]

I had a professional do my seat the first time and it just wasnt quite right....thats when I got out a knive and bought that non skid matt stuff and fixed it exactly to my liking. The four ktm adventures in our group have all dont there own mods. I think I spent $8.00

I cut my seat pretty low because I like sitting in the bike and not on top of it. I then added a few 1/8 in layers of the matting and that was just enough to kill the vibes.

I just dont think you will ever get exactly what you want....ordering something over the phone.

[Vagabond]

Said jimjib:
I had a professional do my seat the first time and it just wasnt quite right....thats when I got out a knive and bought that non skid matt stuff and fixed it exactly to my liking. The four ktm adventures in our group have all dont there own mods. I think I spent $8.00

I cut my seat pretty low because I like sitting in the bike and not on top of it. I then added a few 1/8 in layers of the matting and that was just enough to kill the vibes.

I just dont think you will ever get exactly what you want....ordering something over the phone.

I'm going to share a little secret with you jimjib. My family is from Jacksonville, and have been using Sargent exclusively since 1963. I know their quality of work, and there was more involved than a "phone call". I'm tall, 6'4" and the seat height suits me just fine. I really have no desire to sit "in" the bike. Low seats hurt my knees, and one of the reasons I bought the KTM was that I fit the machine

[Vagabond]

Said Vagabond:
Here's an Adventure R seat modification that you DON'T want to have. The seat was carved up by the owner and recovered. The foam is missing in the middle, and you would be forced to ride sitting on the pan! If there was anything to force you to ride standing ALL the time, this is it Sorry guys, but my picture downloading abilities suck right now. I'll post the "spine-crusher" tomorrow

I'm going to test my picture downloading skills again. Okay, Here's the "spine-crusher" that I described before

[jimjib]

Thanks for sharing that little secret with me.

[Flanny]

I was debating the same thing for a dog's age.

For a $69 gripper cover from www.GutsRacing.com this is what I did...



It only took a couple of evenings, a bit of 3M spray on contact cement, and some patience pulling the cover tight.

It's still winter up here, so I haven tried it yet, but I think it will be ALOT better than stock (about 1.5" wider, a little firmer support, and flatter for less heigh and forward angle).

Full process pictures at:

http://www.earthwatersnow.com/KTMIma...eat/index.html

[knary]

It only took a couple of evenings, a bit of 3M spray on contact cement, and some patience pulling the cover tight.

It's still winter up here, so I haven tried it yet, but I think it will be ALOT better than stock (about 1.5" wider, a little firmer support, and flatter for less heigh and forward angle).

Full process pictures at:

http://www.earthwatersnow.com/KTMIm...Seat/index.html

What's the orange stuff you put in the center of your seat?

It's great to see all the pics on your site of the mods you've made, but some descriptive text would make a it mucho mucho better. Otherwise it's kinda like charades. :):

[Flanny]

The orange stuff is Ensolite...A high density closed cell foam used for sleeping pads. It's a bit denser than stock foam, but will retain it's suspension value since it won't squeeze air out lit open cell foam.

Since I cut my seat down, it's important to maintain suspension value, so having the closed cell is good.

Yeah...I know about the text descriptions...Thanks for the suggestions...keep 'em coming.

I'm having trouble with the phto grallery generator and adding text...that's the next thing to work on....Takes me a lot of head scratching time to build the stuff!!!

[kv]

You're hitting home by doing the seat yourself. Problem though... I couldn't find any foam near what the stock foam is, in terms of density anyway.

Damn that sure does look good though. I think I'm going to order a whole new seat or new foam and gipper cover... Or, and I just thought of this, send my seat to you! My stock foam isn't any good though... The previous owners broke the foam down to where it actually cracked. I was sitting on the pan if I moved back a little bit.

I've stripped my seat down and I'm left with the pan sitting on my bike. I need to know, from anyone's experience, will a modern LC4 seat work on a 1997 RXC? My seat has steep slope at the front and takes a bolt from the underside to secure it to the bike. I've been told that it will work and then others say that it won't because it won't fit against the tank properly. I was told too that my seat is actually the same seat that's on the Adv R through 2001. That would and wouldn't make sense...

KV

So Flanny, coming to Georgia anytime soon? Please...

[Flanny]

Give Andy at Guts Racing a call...they sell foam too, and will be able to straighten you out on seat compatibility.

I think that the RXC and Adv tank/seat combo are all the same (I've speculated this based on pictures), but have no confirmation.

Andy at Guts will probably be able to fill you in.

[Vagabond]

Well fellas, I received my seat from Sargent last week, and it was exactly what I wanted. But there was a small problem, The seat arrived with a small tear in the cover. The box that the seat arrived in, looked as if the USPS used it as a wheel chock for a 757. This will be my first insurance claim through the postal service (usually they just lose the whole damn thing). I feel a large headache coming on from this situation. It will take about 45 days to process the calim! I'm glad that they feel no need to rush on my behalf, because God forbid if I want to ride soon. On the bright side, Sargent will fix my seat at no charge. The only thing that I have to pay for is shipping (not Postal service), but that will be reimbursed by the USPS some time in this century. I'll post pictures once I get the seat back, again.
Cheers