Inseam Challenged

Here we go - another project and more $$$

So, I have been thinking about this issue as well. I used to be 5'9.5". But now, after two major low back surgeries and cervical problems as well, I'm now probably something like 5'8"-5'8.5". Luckily, my inseams stayed the same at 30".

I don't have a real problem. If I'm forward on the seat my heels are just a hair off the ground. The only time this becomes an issue is when I get a little to far off vertical when I'm in the garage or parking or something like that. It would be nice to have a little more leverage in those circumstances.

I started thinking about options mainly because my wife has been complaining that her butt bones get sore after only 40 miles or so. I also want to get one of the Utopia driver backrests and I want to make sure I've analyzed the whole setup properly and that I get it right the first time.

I've taken a look at the Saddleman gel pads online and I actually saw one in person at my dealer yesterday. Those gel pads are only about an inch thick. They are expensive and I wouldn't want add-on pads anyway., but the gel idea is interesting. I think having a professional cut, replace, or reshape the foam is the way to go.

I'm wondering whether you get more comfort bang for the buck out of gel material thickness than you do out of whatever type of foam is used in the stock seat. The stock seat feels something like memory foam to me. So, it would make sense to replace the foam if you can lower the seat height by an inch and keep the same level of comfort. At the same time, more padding could be added for the passenger.

As Kook mentions, narrowing the seat by removing foam at the sides would basically make your legs longer. I thought of this too, but I'm wondering if it would be easier to burn your legs on the exhaust that way.

I agree the utopia is an awesome backrest if you are keeping the seat stock I had it on last tweo wings and had the first one for the CTX1300,, here are the pics on the ctxseat If you go to their website the seat in installations pics is mine

OK - to avoid confusion please note that I am copying and pasting this post in both the "inseam challenged" thread and also the "jerky throttle" thread. First to Bob - pics are an excellent idea to send to Allen. I'll do one of how I ride and one of how I move forward when I'm stopped; also one from behind. Here goes the update for both threads:

I have an update about my cable replacement. The dealer that gave me the $78 labor estimate is in Homosassa (Love Motorsports). They are my closest dealer.

I knew that $78 couldn't be correct so I decided to call the Champion Honda dealer in Orlando just to see what they said. They told me 4 hours @ $98 per plus about $60 for the cables.

I've been studying my service manual and I think I could probably do it myself but I don't need that stress and I also don't know how to terminate the cables if they come longer than necessary (i.e. adding ferrules or crimping cables, etc.) - safety first = peace of mind.

After that I decided to call the dealer in Homosassa to tell them I thought they were making a mistake. They appreciated my honesty and, in the end, they gave me a FIRM quote of $276 including parts and labor. I think this is very fair and hopefully I'll have a throttle I can trust - safety first.

So, the cables will be here in another day or two and they promised to fit me in pronto. After that is done, I'm going to send my seat up to Allen at Mean City Cycles (see the "inseam challenged" thread). He'll install the Utopia backrest for me for $25 and when he has my seat in hand, he'll also be able to determine what other mods are possible for us inseam challenged riders.

Tom,

You can easily lower the front end about 3/4" by loosening the clamp bolts on the triple trees and letting the shocks stick up 3/4" more than they do stock. That will help you a little until you can get shorter rear shocks, if that is what you would like to do. I have a set of Stock VTX shocks that you can chop up if you want to try that. People used to chop the spring on them all the time. You can go to the VTXCafe.com and search for shortening shocks or something like that and you will probably find a dozen people telling you how to do it with pics and vids, no less. Let me know if you want my shocks. They are in great shape. If you find you like the shorter shocks you can get some new ones from Progressive that are much better shocks and you can get whatever length you want. An inch shorter shocks will make you almost an inch closer to the ground since you sit promaril over the rear shocks. If you lower the front end also, you will get a full inch or more. Of course, if you are an aggressive rider, you will be scraping the footpegs all the time. Progressive makes shocks in 1/2" increments, so think hard about the stopped ride height advantage vs. the rideability with the lowered suspension. For sure, wait until you get your new seat before you try any of this.

Kookopelli said:

Tom,

You can easily lower the front end about 3/4" by loosening the clamp bolts on the triple trees and letting the shocks stick up 3/4" more than they do stock. That will help you a little until you can get shorter rear shocks, if that is what you would like to do. I have a set of Stock VTX shocks that you can chop up if you want to try that. People used to chop the spring on them all the time. You can go to the VTXCafe.com and search for shortening shocks or something like that and you will probably find a dozen people telling you how to do it with pics and vids, no less. Let me know if you want my shocks. They are in great shape. If you find you like the shorter shocks you can get some new ones from Progressive that are much better shocks and you can get whatever length you want. An inch shorter shocks will make you almost an inch closer to the ground since you sit promaril over the rear shocks. If you lower the front end also, you will get a full inch or more. Of course, if you are an aggressive rider, you will be scraping the footpegs all the time. Progressive makes shocks in 1/2" increments, so think hard about the stopped ride height advantage vs. the rideability with the lowered suspension. For sure, wait until you get your new seat before you try any of this.

Click to expand...

Hey Kook - thank you for the very generous offer re the VTX shocks. I'll do some research to see if I'm up to the task and let you know. I've never replaced shocks on anything myself. If you read my post on my centerstand installation you'll see that I don't get along well with heavy springs under tension. Question - does the center stand support the frame and swingarm enough or is some sort of hoist required to change out the rear shocks? Of course, I'll wait for the seat to see how that goes.

I guess I am not an aggressive driver because I've never scraped with this bike although there have been many times that I was surprised that I didn't. An eon ago, however, I owned a big Harley that scraped frequently. I can say definitively that this is not a feature I find desirable in a bike. I'm well beyond the stage where I need to brag about scraping around every turn. It looks to me, however, like I'd be ok with the ctx lowered an inch. I'll have to really think about the trade-off. Oops, gotta go; my wife is waiting for me impatiently.

Later