R1150R seat heights

[daveywavey]

Here's my 1st post to the site. I own a 01 r1150r. Love the bike but the winter project is to make it more suitable for my 6'2" frame.
-I have purchased Wunderlich footpeg extenders.
-I will be purchasing bar risers (hopefully the kind that both both rises and moves them aft as well).

I bought the bike used so I do not know which seat height came w/the bike, but I am guessing the lower variety. How does one tell one seat from another - especially when searching on ebay for the new seat?I have heard that the Rockster seat is interchangeable and adds an inch or so of seat height. Is this the best way to go?

Are there other ways of building in extra seat height?

Also, I noticed that Sergant makes great looking (but really pricey!!!) aftermarket seats for r1150r's but they say its only for 02-06 NOT 01s. Can anyone out there explain the difference between an 01 and an 02 r1150r?

Thanks,
Daveywavey

[sweatmark]

Suggest you read this:
http://www.vesware.com/R1150RSeat/RealManSeatR1150R.htm

Despite what you might find via search here, there are 2 factory R1150R (Roadster/Rockster) seats: low and tall/high.

The Roadster OE seat was the low; the Rockster got the tall. Seats are interchangeable, as the mounting points* and rear subframe for the R1150R variants are identical.

*mounting points = two rubber-bushing mounts in front, seat lock posts in mid-rear, and positioning "tail" at back.

In the above post, Ves described raising the seat mounts as first step towards higher seated position. If you remove seat and look at the front mounts, you will notice that the mounts are part of a single metal piece that bolts to the subframe near the shock top mount. You can raise the seat mount piece using longer bolts and washers or other type of shim/standoffs, but you might also need to adjust the mid-rear locking plate in order to secure the seat in its new (higher) position.

For comparison, the R1100** bikes had similar seat mounts at front, but the subframe has three different "steps" that allowed the mount to be positioned low/mid/high for rider comfort. My wife and I rode R850R and R1100R bikes and adjusted the seat height to our respective requirements. A few years later we were riding R1150R Roadster and Rockster, with custom low seat for hers, and aftermarket seat for mine... I didn't like the Rockster's OE tall seat.

[daveywavey]

thanks sweatmark:

I read the vesware link - that sounds pretty good but beyond my limited technical capabilities.

So I guess its go for the rockster seat and hope my experience is more positive than vesware's.

thanks for the quick reply.

[Bruno]

If you look at the seat and it has an aggresive curve and doesn'y allow for any wiggle room you got the lower seat, the higher seat is more flat and allows the rider to shift his butt around.

[Rog(UK) - Yorkshire Dales]

Perhaps in the UK we have three seat height options, becuase my bike came with the low seat and I found it escruciatingly painful. The angle was such that I was always sliding down into the tank and the 'lads' started complaining after only a couple of hours riding. I managed to find a higher BMW seat, which is a lot better, BUT it is not the HIGH seat which is shown on some of the photos.

Rog

[ron prior]

Perhaps in the UK we have three seat height options, becuase my bike came with the low seat and I found it escruciatingly painful. The angle was such that I was always sliding down into the tank and the 'lads' started complaining after only a couple of hours riding. I managed to find a higher BMW seat, which is a lot better, BUT it is not the HIGH seat which is shown on some of the photos.

Rog

I think some of the forward slide is caused by the fact that the feet are so far back. Instead of the legs holding us in place,they are pushing / allowing us to slide forward.

I just added a set of 360 degree adjustable foot pegs, to lower & move forward my feet. But the weather has gone sour & as such haven't been able to really test them out.

[daveywavey]

thanks all for the more complete picture on the seat issue. One last question then: Sweatmark referred to an aftermarket seat that he preferred for his r1150r. Which brand is best, and are they obtainable somewhere other than the manufacturer? the prices I saw for the Sargent seat - ouch!

[mrsteve]

Hi Daveywavey,
I bought an 03 1150R in the summer. I found the seat a bit tall for me, 5' 5" when I rocked up to collect the bike. Luckily the vendor had another seat in the garage which was about an inch lower. It looked identical but seems to have less foam so is a bit lower. I don't know about after market seats but this one suits me now.
Looking at the original sales literature you could have ordered seats with about a 4" height difference. All look the same.
I expect screens will be next. As you are tall you will need a tall screen whereas I can hide behind the smallest of flyscreens.
Helmets have been the talking point hereabouts. I wanted an open face helmet so bought a Nolan N130 in October. Lovely Helmet but suddenly the bike is noisier. Yesterday I pulled on my old Arai Full Face Quantum 5 and bingo the bike is quieter again. As the cold weather has arrived here in France it will be the Arai for the winter.
We never stop learning do we?
Safe riding
Steve

[daveywavey]

Hi Steve: Thanks for filling in another piece of the picture. I suspect, based upon the earlier posts, that BMW offered a more extensive range of seats in Europe than in North America. For the rest of my gear, I do have the not-too-effective touring windshield (and would complain abt the buffeting if it would do any good) and a modular Nolan 104 (heavy but confidence-inspiring).

I've only had the bike for 5k km or so, and am hopeful that the combination of the footpeg extenders, bar risers and a new seat will bring the ergonomics into line with the other obvious joys of the bike.

But meanwhile, it's late November in Toronto, and the bike is already hibernating with a full belly of high test and a stabilizer chaser!

keep the sunny side up,
David

[scdixon]

daveywavey, I just joined this site and saw your post on the footpeg extenders. Was wondering if you had used them by now, and your thoughts on them. How much more room do they give you? I am looking to give my legs a little bit more room. I believe I have the lower seat and was worried that getting a higher seat would cause me to have to lean more forward to reach the handlebars. Thanks for any info you can give!

[gregor]

A bit late in replying I know. I'm just under 6'2" but with a 31.5" inside leg(seam). Got the standard UK seat , 'bars and footrests and my knees grip the tank nicely with horizontal thighs. Got no urge to change anything now after fitting a little genuine BMW,sports screen.

[daveywavey]

Hi folks:

Those damned extenders are sitting in my closet and I haven't put them on yet so I cannot comment on their effectiveness. But meanwhile, I did upgrade to a Tall (or Rockster) seat. This is definitely more comfortable for my 6'2" frame, and allows a bit less of an angle for my knees to bend, but also pitches me forward more. I still think I will get around to installing the extenders, but have been a bit reluctant to for a couple of reasons: in addition to dropping the pegs, they push the rider's feet further outboard and might make it a bit more difficult to engage the pedals. (Wonderlich extenders ship with longer brake and clutch posts to combat this.) Also, these extenders apparently compromise cornering angle so if you're into knee-dragging, these ain't the ticket!

Next on my list is a bar riser to provide relief to the upper part of my body, and we'll see about the pedal extenders. I will post something her when I finally install them.

Keep your sunny side up!
David