old - Fazer Owners Club - old
Bikes, Hints'n'Tips => FZS600 Fazer => Topic started by: Yamazer-92 on 17 September 2013, 06:00:42 pm
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I'm struggling to sell my Fazer and don't want to sell it for pennies, I like it too much and not riding it for 2 weeks has made me miss it alot. I'm now thinking I'm a daft foccer for even trying to sell it. I bought it after a lot of research thinking I would keep it for years as my main bike and then workhorse when I can afford one I really really want which would only come out in the dry (likely GSX1400 or XJR).
My main issue is my right knee in particular hurts when I ride the bike too long. I'm going to go to the doctor as a start, but the knee position of the bike isn't helping and I didn't test ride it when I bought it my dad did who is a couple of inches shorter (I was still on 33hp restriction for a month). It is comfy for 10 miles or less, so sitting on it in the showroom didn't point this out to me. What I'm asking is what can I do to the bike to help with this?
My ideas are :
- Pack out, raise up a few inches and re-cover the seat. The thing I worry about is will my legs go into the tank grooves properly after that?
- Raise the bike with 40mm dog bones.
- Bar risers and wider bars?
- Somehow lowering the foot pegs slightly although I already scrape them if I'm riding a bit OTT.
Also if I were to keep it, I would also need some stainless pipes or to re-weld and paint mine for the 2nd time in a year. There probably isn't much left for them to weld to to be honest but I can't find the Motad Venom stainless ones on ebay anymore? This is all quite a lot to think about and I still have 4 days of the advert left but I just wanted to know if anyone has done these mods or have had a similar problem to me. Thanks.
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My ideas are :
- Pack out, raise up a few inches and re-cover the seat. The thing I worry about is will my legs go into the tank grooves properly after that?
- Raise the bike with 40mm dog bones.
- Bar risers and wider bars?
- Somehow lowering the foot pegs slightly although I already scrape them if I'm riding a bit OTT.
I'm in exactly the same boat and can't ride for more than 90 minutes without serious leg pain. I have considered selling up but I love the bike too much.
The conclusion I came to was that it's the arse to foot distance that's the problem, so raising or lowering the bike won't make any difference except when you're at a stop.
Over winter I'm going to fit adjustable footpegs on it and get a taller seat made up.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-FZS-600-Fazer-1999-Vario-23mm-Adjustable-Front-Footrests-Foot-Peg-/130820080669?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item1e757c041d (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-FZS-600-Fazer-1999-Vario-23mm-Adjustable-Front-Footrests-Foot-Peg-/130820080669?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item1e757c041d)
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Don't buy Motad Venoms off ebay, just ring up Motad & get them for the same price. £150 + postage
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i rode a foxeye like mine earlier this year, which had 2inch extra padding in seat!!...it was totaly amazing in how it transformed the comfort and leg room!!..ime 6ft 1 ......still not done mine yet though?...only thing i have done is lifted bars 30mm,,,
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A nice set of Oberon footpegs lower them by about 10mm, not alot but def noticable.
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How tall are you? I'm 6ft 3 an, with a 38" leg, and I was OK on the Fazer.
BTW, I'm selling some decent downpipes for £80 in my breaking post.
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How tall are you? I'm 6ft 3 an, with a 38" leg, and I was OK on the Fazer.
...fkn hell christo? :eek ....didnt know you only got one leg?.... :rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin
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Seat pads are about £30 on eBay, cheap way of finding out if it helps with the discomfort
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I agree with Mr Self Destruct, it's the arse feet measurement on the fazer that is too squashed....not that i get any pain because i dont but at almost 6 feet i really do feel that i could do with increasing that distance a bit to make it ideal.
One of those air hawk gel pad thingys would probably work a trat plus make the seat comfier on your arse too.
I might try it.
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Another thing to consider, contrary to my earlier post, is that if you're raising the seat height it might be wise to lower the bike by the same amount. That way the arse-ground distance doesn't change.
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Arse implants.......i hear they're all the rage. :moon
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Well I'm glad its not just me anyway. I had this problem on 2 of my previous bikes as well and sold them fairly easily, but I didn't like them like I like my Fazer so wasn't that fussed, they were smaller than the Fazer too. No reviews of the Fazer said "not ideal for tall riders" and it's not a small bike so it was something I wasn't really prepared for.
I do agree it's the pegs to seat distance definitely, especially the right as I have to have the ball of my foot on the peg or the brake lever gets in the way of my boot. I do think my knees may be slightly knackered though because at work if I squat down for too long when I stand up it's really painful at first and I walk like I've just crapped myself for a few seconds, I'm only 21! :eek
Those adjustable pegs look great, quite pricey but worth it if they are an inch or so lower. I don't think it mentions on the advert so does anyone have any and can vouch for them?
I do think padding the seat will be a good idea, I went to Wales and had a small cushion in my waterproofs the whole way and that raised me a few inches which helped as we were covering a couple of hundred miles or so a day which whilst quite bad would have been crippling otherwise.
Christo I'm 6 foot 4 and I can't remember what my leg measurement is but they're pretty long like yours. Like I say I think there may be a medical issue contributing here as well as have had a couple of sport / one biking incident that put a lot of strain on my knees and the right one in particular.
Self destruct I have wanted to raise it a lot higher for quite some time because when I'm filtering or stopped at lights, especially when I have a heavy pillion, my shins feel like they are uncomfortably long in a strange way and it unsettles the bike if I'm not careful so I sometimes have both feet down.
The raising seat thing though - In wales I was a bit worries my legs didn't quite go into the tank grooves as they should. Also I was so much taller than the screen at that point it was doing bugger all. I've always been tempted to make my Fazer naked but there are a few factors stopping me, the main being it's too back-heavy looking when the fairing is taken off and the clocks look like a dogs dinner if you aren't careful, but I have seen some good examples on here that I would consider shamelessly copying.
Other than the knee comfort thing, handling and engine wise this bike is a beaut which is overlooked by most so if it could be fixed I would be more than happy to keep it.
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Arse implants.......i hear they're all the rage. :moon
Oh I'm way ahead of you there darrsi :lol
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One thing possibly of note is that I believe the Fazer seats were re sculpted during a revision. I think one version has a seat with more padding than the other which may move you upward an inch or so.
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One thing possibly of note is that I believe the Fazer seats were re sculpted during a revision. I think one version has a seat with more padding than the other which may move you upward an inch or so.
I can't find any definitive answer on this one way or the other! :wall
There are folk that say the earlier boxeye seat is an inch or two higher, but others say they're the same, and yet others say only the pillion seat is higher.
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I'm 6'1", never had any bother with the old legs.... Have you looked at your leathers (or whatever), are they a decent fit round your knees? Or are they bunching up and pinching - could be the cause of your bother, and a damn sight cheaper fix than a new bike...
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One thing possibly of note is that I believe the Fazer seats were re sculpted during a revision. I think one version has a seat with more padding than the other which may move you upward an inch or so.
I can't find any definitive answer on this one way or the other! :wall
There are folk that say the earlier boxeye seat is an inch or two higher, but others say they're the same, and yet others say only the pillion seat is higher.
I have two Fazers and I'm positive the seat is lower on one :-)
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I've never seen mention before of the seats changing. Possibly one of yours has been cut down, Simon, it's quite a common mod...
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One thing possibly of note is that I believe the Fazer seats were re sculpted during a revision. I think one version has a seat with more padding than the other which may move you upward an inch or so.
I can't find any definitive answer on this one way or the other! :wall
There are folk that say the earlier boxeye seat is an inch or two higher, but others say they're the same, and yet others say only the pillion seat is higher.
I have two Fazers and I'm positive the seat is lower on one :-)
Well if you could take some measurements and let me know which is which I'd be grateful bud! :)
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I do agree it's the pegs to seat distance definitely, especially the right as I have to have the ball of my foot on the peg or the brake lever gets in the way of my boot.
Have you not attempted to adjust the pedal lower? Or are your aches and pains restricting you from lowering it whilst still being able to apply the brake.
Only changes to the seat unit were to the thickness of padding for pillion in conjunction with changing their pegs too afaik!
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I'll have a look tomorrow. I'm reasonably certain the guy I got the bike from hadn't modded the seat.
I don't exactly know where or how to measure the seat height, just that it looked and felt lower when I changed them over. I heard it from someone, but I can't remember who that the seat height changed.
I'll look even more of a prat than I always do when I measure them tomorrow and they're the same. heh heh.
Sorry in advance if I'm incorrect but it didn't look/feel like it. Now I need to go and take my placebo's.
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Rich, I bought new trousers the day I got my fazer and they're decent textile ones which fit well. I don't think I get knee ache in jeans but I only wear jeans rarely and for small trips less than 10 miles where my knee doesn't play up. When I ride my dads SV I don't get the same problem so I'm wondering if it's the tank or something because his bike is about the same size. Either way I'm quite strongly coming down in favour of keeping my Fazer and making it fit me better.
The brake pedal may need to go a bit lower, I can press it down fine now so I can experiment with it I guess but I do sometimes like having the balls of my feet up anyway just would be nice to not have it up always on the right.
This is all probably going to add up though, and I still haven't even bought half the things I was planning to buy when I actually bought the bike due to having to fix stuff.
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Perhaps it's psychological, sorry.
The shiny one does feel lower down but is slipper maybe due to the bike have done 30k rather than 6k on the other or maybe the bloke I bought it from was heavier. Dunno.
Either way having your seat reshaped may help. Sorry for my false lead.
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Rich, I bought new trousers the day I got my fazer and they're decent textile ones which fit well. I don't think I get knee ache in jeans but I only wear jeans rarely and for small trips less than 10 miles where my knee doesn't play up. When I ride my dads SV I don't get the same problem so I'm wondering if it's the tank or something because his bike is about the same size. Either way I'm quite strongly coming down in favour of keeping my Fazer and making it fit me better.
The brake pedal may need to go a bit lower, I can press it down fine now so I can experiment with it I guess but I do sometimes like having the balls of my feet up anyway just would be nice to not have it up always on the right.
This is all probably going to add up though, and I still haven't even bought half the things I was planning to buy when I actually bought the bike due to having to fix stuff.
Is it your right knee then???
If your brake pedal is too high & youre skewing your foot out to the right then that cant really be good for anybodys knees.ive recently adjusted my pedal right down & although ive only done 1 short run since then it did make a difference as I could put my foot on the peg facing forward instead of turned out.
I'd seriously try strapping something to your seat to raise you up, even as an experiment, dont know what you could use but if you found it made a difference you could get a custom seat made up with lots of extra padding for height.still cheaper than changing bike ifit works.
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I asked you before about your leg pains but without response. If you haven't sustained an injury and there is no family history of knee pain it is almost certainly muscular. I found Clair Davies' book on Trigger points worked well for treating most of my muscular pains including legs. Failing that, a decent Rolfer will bend your legs / knees back into the right shape, although they cost a lot more. At 21 there's no way your knees are b0rked ...yet
Regarding the bike, if I were you I would add extra foam to the seat & re-sculpt it. This would then allow your legs to be straighter (as long as you're tall enough to handle the extra seat height).
Then if your seat is higher you may need to add risers.
There are lower pegs on ebay but £££ eg item 130820080669
Failing all that, you may need to consider swapping/part exchanging your bike for the likes of a TDM850 which I found to be much more comfortable
Compare ergonomics here:
http://cycle-ergo.com/ (http://cycle-ergo.com/)
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Perhaps it's psychological, sorry.
The shiny one does feel lower down but is slipper maybe due to the bike have done 30k rather than 6k on the other or maybe the bloke I bought it from was heavier. Dunno.
Either way having your seat reshaped may help. Sorry for my false lead.
Hey don't apologise at all bud, you've given us all definitive proof now! :D
I might buy a scrap seat anyway and see if I can modify the mountings to raise it a little.
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Perhaps it's psychological, sorry.
The shiny one does feel lower down but is slipper maybe due to the bike have done 30k rather than 6k on the other or maybe the bloke I bought it from was heavier. Dunno.
Either way having your seat reshaped may help. Sorry for my false lead.
Hey don't apologise at all bud, you've given us all definitive proof now! :D
I might buy a scrap seat anyway and see if I can modify the mountings to raise it a little.
...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-FAZER-600-FZS-FAZER-1998-2003-FOXEYE-SEAT-SADDLE-RIDERS-SEATS-/111168155144?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts_13&hash=item19e2236e08 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-FAZER-600-FZS-FAZER-1998-2003-FOXEYE-SEAT-SADDLE-RIDERS-SEATS-/111168155144?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts_13&hash=item19e2236e08)
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To Yamazer92
Are you sure it's the seat height and not the seat shape?
I'm around 6ft and felt uncomfortable on my fazer when I first got it.
Wrists ached, knees ached (a bit).
I realised I was always tending to push myself back on the seat when I was braking because the seat slopes towards the tank.
I ended up altering the shape of the seat so it rises up where it meets the tank.
For me it made a massive improvement.
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Perhaps it's psychological, sorry.
The shiny one does feel lower down but is slipper maybe due to the bike have done 30k rather than 6k on the other or maybe the bloke I bought it from was heavier. Dunno.
Either way having your seat reshaped may help. Sorry for my false lead.
Hey don't apologise at all bud, you've given us all definitive proof now! :D
I might buy a scrap seat anyway and see if I can modify the mountings to raise it a little.
...
[url]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-FAZER-600-FZS-FAZER-1998-2003-FOXEYE-SEAT-SADDLE-RIDERS-SEATS-/111168155144?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts_13&hash=item19e2236e08[/url] ([url]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-FAZER-600-FZS-FAZER-1998-2003-FOXEYE-SEAT-SADDLE-RIDERS-SEATS-/111168155144?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts_13&hash=item19e2236e08[/url])
Bought! :D
Now I'll strip the cover off and see if I can mount it underneath my existing seat to raise me up a bit.
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Now this is a little freaky:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-FAZER-600-FZS-FAZER-1998-2003-FOXEYE-SEAT-SADDLE-RIDERS-SEATS/161102233754? (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-FAZER-600-FZS-FAZER-1998-2003-FOXEYE-SEAT-SADDLE-RIDERS-SEATS/161102233754?_trksid=p2047675.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D11%26meid%3D1378222970576605320%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D1005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D111168155144%26)
weird. I'm sure the other one will be fine tho.
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Kebab if you're on about in my advert then I did answer I just didn't go into a lot of detail. I have previously injured it yes but it wasn't major just hurt to walk o straighten fully for a while, it wasn't dislocated or anything. It probably has never properly healed since, so I would agree it is muscular or cartilage related hence why I think it would be a good idea to see a doctor about it to get a professional opinion. I agree about the seat heightening / sculpting and have a friend who's in a family business that makes custom seats for cafe racers so I could ask him if he could do it then get him to put a cover over the top of the new foam.
I did consider a TDM but they seem quite expensive and honestly I couldn't really see any plus points about them over the Fazer except they are very slightly more comfortable. There was one for sale in a showroom near me but it was quite high mileage, I should go and have another look though and ask to sit on it but it didn't look much taller or bigger really. I do want my legs to be straighter though and I'm confident I would be able to easily handle the extra seat height. As said though, the new problems this brings are - the screen will be directing wind directly under my helmet / neck area at that height and my legs may not go into the tank grooves properly.
Noggy it is the right knee and I will look at the brake pedal on friday when I'm off work, I put the ball of my foot on the peg so that I don't have my leg turned out as I have long feet and my boots scrape on the floor if I take a sharp right.
Paul to be honest I have no idea, I did find at first the shape was odd and slid me into the tank but I think I've since got used to it. It's something worth thinking about though, my dad's mk1 SV seat / tank combo is a lot more comfortable it's just not as good a bike.
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Now this is a little freaky:
[url]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-FAZER-600-FZS-FAZER-1998-2003-FOXEYE-SEAT-SADDLE-RIDERS-SEATS/161102233754?[/url] ([url]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-FAZER-600-FZS-FAZER-1998-2003-FOXEYE-SEAT-SADDLE-RIDERS-SEATS/161102233754?_trksid=p2047675.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D11%26meid%3D1378222970576605320%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D1005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D111168155144%26[/url])
weird. I'm sure the other one will be fine tho.
Hmm.... I'm hoping the guy I bought it off just robbed the picture off this advert, but I'll slap a dispute on his ass if it's not right.
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Now this is a little freaky:
[url]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-FAZER-600-FZS-FAZER-1998-2003-FOXEYE-SEAT-SADDLE-RIDERS-SEATS/161102233754?[/url] ([url]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-FAZER-600-FZS-FAZER-1998-2003-FOXEYE-SEAT-SADDLE-RIDERS-SEATS/161102233754?_trksid=p2047675.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D11%26meid%3D1378222970576605320%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D1005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D111168155144%26[/url])
weird. I'm sure the other one will be fine tho.
Hmm.... I'm hoping the guy I bought it off just robbed the picture off this advert, but I'll slap a dispute on his ass if it's not right.
That's the spirit. Bit of eBay dispute, PayPal and credit card fall back. He won't know what slapped him in the face with a kipper if it isn't right :-)
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Just to add to my earlier post, here is the TDM I was on about earlier. I'm not mega interested but will have a look on friday and have a sit on it, my dad has the day off too so he's coming along. I may be more interested when I see it in person, reviews are mixed on the internet with a lot speaking very highly of them and some saying they're very dull. I think the later models like this one are the best ones? Sound nice anyway, bit worried about the mileage but it does have a few nice upgrades like the blue spot calipers on the front.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/bikes/motorcycles/yamaha/tdm/849cc/1999-yamaha-tdm-849-cc-exeter-bfpa-201309048626886?logcode=p (http://www.autotrader.co.uk/bikes/motorcycles/yamaha/tdm/849cc/1999-yamaha-tdm-849-cc-exeter-bfpa-201309048626886?logcode=p)
Will let you know how it goes.
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Well if you've had an injury you probably need to stretch the ligaments & muscles in the surrounding area. The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook can be downloaded for nowt if you're so inclined, might be worth a look.
Do your feet point outward while you walk? If your feet were the hands of a clock, they should be in the 'twelve noon' or 'five minutes to one o'clock' position. If you're 'ten minutes to two' like me, you're almost guaranteed to have leg, knee & lower back problems.
According to http://cycle-ergo.com/ (http://cycle-ergo.com/)
the knee bend for the 96-01 TDM850 is 80 degrees while the Fzs600 is 74 degrees (smaller number means more bent). More foam in the Fazer seat & those low pegs on fleabay might get you to 80 degrees
Personally I loved my TDM but I know they are a bit Marmite. With suspension upgrades they stay with anything on a tight back road, but they are a good 10 ponies down on the FZS :(
You're right, miles are too high on that one, particularly for the price. I'd track down a 30000 miler
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Well I saw the TDM today, had a sit on it and it was definitely taller and had a nice upright position which I liked. That particular one was absolutely not worth the price though and was about 1/4 of the condition my Fazer is in, rear shock looked like it had had it, lots of cracks / scratches all over and the tyres and chain were very worn. But at least I know it's a future candidate and now have a benchmark of what kind of height I need to try and adapt my Fazer too.
Today was the first time I'd ridden my bike for almost a month, started on the button no hassle at all and rode faultlessly for the whole ride over dartmoor we did after viewing the TDM. My knee ache hasn't improved though, if anything it's worse. I'm glad I didn't sell it though and am looking forward to adapting it to myself. It might take a while but I'll take some photos when it's all done.
Oh yeah and kebab when I walk apparently my feet point inwards not out according to my mum although I think they are straight myself. Still going to go to the doctor though.
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Now this is a little freaky:
[url]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-FAZER-600-FZS-FAZER-1998-2003-FOXEYE-SEAT-SADDLE-RIDERS-SEATS/161102233754?[/url] ([url]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-FAZER-600-FZS-FAZER-1998-2003-FOXEYE-SEAT-SADDLE-RIDERS-SEATS/161102233754?_trksid=p2047675.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D11%26meid%3D1378222970576605320%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D1005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D111168155144%26[/url])
weird. I'm sure the other one will be fine tho.
Hmm.... I'm hoping the guy I bought it off just robbed the picture off this advert, but I'll slap a dispute on his ass if it's not right.
That's the spirit. Bit of eBay dispute, PayPal and credit card fall back. He won't know what slapped him in the face with a kipper if it isn't right :-)
Well I got it today and stripped it down. It looks like adding the base to my existing seat will give less than an inch extra height, so it might be better to add the foam on top instead.
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Isn't that the only way?
If you want to be really posh, you can get heater pads for seats that need to be fitted under the cover! :)
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Now this is a little freaky:
[url]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-FAZER-600-FZS-FAZER-1998-2003-FOXEYE-SEAT-SADDLE-RIDERS-SEATS/161102233754?[/url] ([url]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-FAZER-600-FZS-FAZER-1998-2003-FOXEYE-SEAT-SADDLE-RIDERS-SEATS/161102233754?_trksid=p2047675.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D11%26meid%3D1378222970576605320%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D1005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D111168155144%26[/url])
weird. I'm sure the other one will be fine tho.
Hmm.... I'm hoping the guy I bought it off just robbed the picture off this advert, but I'll slap a dispute on his ass if it's not right.
That's the spirit. Bit of eBay dispute, PayPal and credit card fall back. He won't know what slapped him in the face with a kipper if it isn't right :-)
Well I got it today and stripped it down. It looks like adding the base to my existing seat will give less than an inch extra height, so it might be better to add the foam on top instead.
Two things. I'm glad it turned up and was as expected. When I saw the other link I was a little worried. Second, as Darrsi said, why remove foam to add foam? May as well just glue the suckered on top and a heated seat sounds funky too.
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Yeah I was thinking originally that the new seat's base could be bolted to my original seat base to add the height, but it leaves the frame and all a bit exposed to the elements.
Heated pads do sound tempting, and I reckon it'll be no problem to carve the foam up and add the front part under my existing seat. :)
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Yamazer-92 - Don't forget that the thickness of your boot souls and heals plus profile of the toes of the boot will all impact on your comfort so for eg a sleek sports boot will be much more comfortable than an adventure or touring boot which will also have a large instep. I had got myself some of those TCX Infinity GTX type boots but find them too bulky for the FZS.
I'd be interested to hear what kind of boots Punkstig, ExupNut or any other couriers use on their FZS600's?