Budget seat mod for the long-legged

From the desk of AK Duc

I have about a 35" inseam, and my legs feel a bit cramped with stock Ninjette ergos.

I looked into footpegs that might have given me more room but didn't find anything I really liked. I was also concerned about lowered pegs interfering with cornering clearance. Then I got to thinking about modifying the seat. At first I thought about getting it reupholstered with added foam under the cover. I'm sure it'd cost a bit and take some time, too.

Then one day I was at Alaska Leather. They sell sheepskin buttpads to riders all around the world. I originally thought about a smaller pad, but instead I got a 15x22 Dualsport model to have extra material to work with. Plus, up here in the cold weather it's nice to have any metal covered by something to prevent direct body contact, so I like how this model extends some up onto the tank. A smaller pad can be used, and Alaska Leather can even cut one any shape or color a person wants if you want to get fancy. You get a 10% discount if you put the word "deadsheep" in the coupon box when ordering.

For the foam I used some closed cell foam REI sells for customizing the fit of a canoe or kayak. It's fairly dense for good support. The stuff I got was also self-adhesive, so I didn't have to mess with any glue. If yours isn’t, use Barge Contact Cement. I've used it a bunch through the years with this kind of foam.

I ended up adding over an inch of height to my seat and am MUCH more comfy on the bike. As it turned out, the seat is now nearly level, instead of stepped. I'll admit it does look a bit odd, but we're pretty used to seeing these pads up here. They are very common among adventure riders who make the trip to Alaska.

Here's how much foam I added

And this is what I ended up with

Here's how big the foam is under the pad:

I could probably cut the pad to contour a little better, but I'd say it's pretty close now.

I'm really happy with the way it turned out for such a simple project.