Budget of €500. Do I upgrade the seat or the suspension?

[littlebruv]

Both, look out for a good second hand seat and rear shock if possible

[Ride365]

Seat.......what makes you feel the suspension needs upgrade, has it been at all adjusted for you yet? 

[littlebruv]

The shock is very standard, does its job ok as an all rounder, i had the forks and rear shock adjusted as best possible for my weight and riding style but if you can afford an upgrade you will notice the difference, especially if doing some fast B road riding. The seat is an arse ache if your an heavyweight (18 stone +) , i noticed it the first time i had a test ride on a 2017 Tracer unless the later ones had a major improvement

[maximo]

20 hours ago, betoney said:

Before buying an 'off the shelf' aftermarket seat, check around and see if there is a seat builder in your area.  I am fortunate to live a few hours from a motorcycle custom seat builder, the benefit being that they can make alterations or reshape it specifically for you. 

This is excellent advice. I've done this with my last 4 bikes, compared to an off the shelf for the previous (who knows how many). The pre fab ones were ok, almost always better than stock (tho I've come to realize I'm not a fan of Corbin or Sargent), but the increased benefit of a saddle molded around your own leg melons is amazing. I'm fortunate that Seth Laam is right up the road, and he does tremendous work. Ride in, measure, chat, sculpt, chat, mold, chat, ride away happy. 

[trevinator]

seat first. im pretty happy with my new saddle from terry adcox and the price is pretty reasonable.

[DavidS]

On 1/16/2021 at 7:58 AM, fjray said:

I love my Corbin. 

+1 on the Corbin, I have had one on my FJ09, and again on my Tracer 900

They aren't cheap, but they are very good.....

[fjray]

I might add, when they eventually break in to your own heinie.

[Hogie]

I vote for suspension ( this is starting to look like a referendum😂). My rationale is if the seat hurts your ass you can stop, if the suspension set up doesn’t work you may not be able to stop!

[maximo]

16 hours ago, Hogie said:

( this is starting to look like a referendum😂).

In the spirit of how you in the UK like to name the sides of an issue, shall we call this the bouncers vs sitters? 

[N1ghtr0d]

Quick update lads, I couldn't decide between a seat and shocks so I went and got both. 

I have an Ohlins shock going into the rear tomorrow and my custom heated gel from Bagster has been shipped and will be here in a few days. 

I'll report back once both are installed 

[nhchris]

That's the spirit!!  Well done my friend.

[keithu]

On 1/17/2021 at 5:28 AM, maximo said:

This is excellent advice. I've done this with my last 4 bikes, compared to an off the shelf for the previous (who knows how many). The pre fab ones were ok, almost always better than stock (tho I've come to realize I'm not a fan of Corbin or Sargent), but the increased benefit of a saddle molded around your own leg melons is amazing. I'm fortunate that Seth Laam is right up the road, and he does tremendous work. Ride in, measure, chat, sculpt, chat, mold, chat, ride away happy. 

I think you have to be lucky enough to have a good custom seat builder nearby, though. I believe @betoney and I have the same seat builder, Mr. Ed's Moto. I live just five minutes from the shop, but I don't think everyone has this luxury. 

But yes, if you are this fortunate a custom seat is 100% the way to go. 

[betoney]

12 minutes ago, keithu said:

I think you have to be lucky enough to have a good custom seat builder nearby, though. I believe @betoney and I have the same seat builder, Mr. Ed's Moto. I live just five minutes from the shop, but I don't think everyone has this luxury. 

But yes, if you are this fortunate a custom seat is 100% the way to go. 

My buddy lives in Bend and owns a FJ09 also, he has a custom seat from Mr. Ed's, I have ridden his bike several time and have nothing but great things to say about the seat, VERY nice and comfortable. 

I actually used a different custom seat builder up North in Kingston, Wa. who also builds fantastic seats.

Rich's Custom Seats

---

 

After having a custom seat built, at least FOR ME its like heated grips and cruise control or suspension, I'll never own a bike in the future without them.

[DavidS]

On 1/16/2021 at 6:26 AM, Heli ATP said:

Corbin ranks high on my list...

Corbin

+1 on the Corbin, I had one on my original FJ09, and it was the first upgrade I made to my Tracer 900 GT

[maximo]

On 2/19/2021 at 7:06 AM, betoney said:

After having a custom seat built, at least FOR ME its like heated grips and cruise control or suspension, I'll never own a bike in the future without them.

100%. But I did learn the hard way that saddlemakers are not created equal. The seat on my well-used 20 year old SV650 fell apart, but I didn't want to fork out the $400 for a "real" custom saddle (for some odd reason, the stock saddle fit me perfectly), so I took it to the local guy who my Harley-riding pals swear by. For $75 he'll cut out the old foam, put new foam that matches the original. I figure what could possibly go wrong? Turns out all he does is to put 5 inches of squishy foam and covers it up. That may work for a cruiser, where all your weight is on your tailbone, but for an agile, sporty bike it's torture! Not to mention my body angles are now off.