Scooter seat lowering question

[Oldgunner]

I have a 2009 Kymco People 150 which I bought last fall, from a private owner . I really love the machine, but since I have short legs, I will have to cut the seat down. As with most 'sport' types, it has a sloping seat with bump in the front.
Question: If I actually have to remove that bump..why is it there? Is it to hold the rider on better, or is it just there to accommodate a helmet under the seat?
In other words, if I remove some or all that hard plastic hump from the seat base, will I find myself sliding forward as I ride?

Thanks....oldgunner

[cheapeto]

To me in my wee mind anyway, you have an excellent quality scooter brand, if an upholster shop can reshape the seating padding, your good to go.
OR, if that is not possible, you should have decent resale or trade in value, to find what suites your stature.
Some folks have the skills to fabricate what they would need to do to relocate the gas tank into the floor, reshape the main frame, to lower it that way. But you trade away the storeage area.
I love to follow the Ruckus rebuilds, as some of those guys see the the Ruckus scooter as base for total reconstruction.
However the Ruckus has a lot of part manufactures, with prefab parts ready to bolt on, from headlights to tail lights and everything in between those 2 points.
I absolutely love the Ruckus rebuilds myself, those folks are very dedicated to their rides. So very creative.
I'll be riding down to the Mountain Crawl in Tenn, this year, just to see what the Rucki dudes and dudettes have done to their machines.
Well the 3 days of riding the Tail of The Dragon will be crazy fun to.
Best to you and good luck however you decide.

[Oldgunner]

Thanks Cheapeto;
I now realize that as a novice looking for a scooter, I rather "lucked out" I choosing the People 150. I ran into an article by consumer Reports in 2009 (the year of my scoot) and found that it out performed some good machines (including a Vespa 150) to gain CR's top approval. I believe an upholsterer is my next stop. I am not as concerned with carrying space as I am concerned with getting it to fit. I can fabricate the base to work, so we will see how it goes.

[wheelbender6]

Sorry it took me so long to find this, Gunner. I saw how this guy on another site trimmed his seat on the cheap.
"you can cut your own seat down and save $$$ having it done professionally.

Our Italia 125 fits me fine but the seat is really just a tad to high for my girlfriend who is 5' tall with a 27" inseam. She has a little trouble being flat-footed with the seat at the stock height.

So, I looked into having the seat cut down about 1".

I got quoted $80 to have it done professionally. Could be different where you live.

I wondered, "Can I do it myself?"

I did and it didn't cost one-cent! Here's how:

First, if you don't have a stapler and 1/4" staples like the one shown in one of the last pictures then visit an upholstery shop. Tell them you've cut your seat down and all you need is to have the seat cover stapled back into place. Ask if they'll do that for you, and for how much. The shop I asked did it for nothing!

You can buy a staple gun at Home Depot for around $20-$30 but from my own experience (I bought one once in 1991) since that project this is only the second time I've used it. In other words, its probably not a tool you'll need often in your life.

The other tools I used were a Sharpie like marker, a fine-tooth hacksaw blade, a small screw driver, a 10mm socket+socket wrench (even a small crescent wrench will work if that's all you've got) and a cloth tape measure.

Here are the steps I followed to cut down our seat. I'm not a professional so I'm certain some of you will come up with better ideas. All I can say is, this method will work too.

1) Remove seat from bike by lifting it and removing two 10mm nuts that hold seat to front bracket.


2) Pry out and remove staples holding vinyl seat cover. Remove as far back as indicated in second picture.



3) Pull up and back the seat cover.

4) Pull out and back the thin plastic moisture/protection shield

5) Mark a center line along top of foam extending back as far as you want to sculpture the seat. Then add tic marks each inch from front to rear. My line is 5" from the front ridge. Later I learned it should have been 6" so I made that adjustment later.


6) Next I measured down the front face 1" (see above picture) and marked it then drew a horizontal line across the mark.

7) Next, on one side I drew a line that I thought would be the amount I wanted to cut off.


8) Next I tic'd that line off every inch from the front of the seat.

9) Next I measured from the tic marks on the centerline to a corresponding tic mark on the line on the side of the seat and transferred that measurement to the opposite side.


10) Once the opposite side was finished tic'ing off I connected the tics replicating the line on the other side.

11) Now the fun part. I used a hacksaw blade with a fairly fine tooth count to start cutting from the front rearward. This was the hardest part of the job.


12) To help get a good cut I'd use the hacksaw right along the lines I'd drawn on both sides. That made it easier to cut across with some good accuracy.


13) Slowly and with some difficulty as I neared where the cut was going to end I'd tilt the blade upward. This would be much easier with two people. One to hold the seat while the other is cutting. Sometimes it helped to have something separating the cutout piece from the seat. I wedged my marking pen there.


14) With the cutout removed you'll find your cut will not be as perfect as you'd like. Now you'll need some 100 grit sand paper to start gently sanding and smoothing the seat foam.

15) Once in awhile you'll have to replace the plastic moisture barrier and seatcover to see how it looks when pulled tight. Repeat sanding until it looks good for you.

16) Next hardest part of the job if you don't have a staple gun (they run $25 to $30 at Home Depot) is to find an upholstery shop where you can have the cover stapled back to the seat. I happened to use a place that does custom upholstery for boats. They didn't charge me.


17) Once cover was stapled to the seat I used a scissors to trim any excess vinyl that might interfere with the black rubber seat seal.


18) Project complete! I tried to take these last photos so the light would emphasize how good or bad, your choice, the seat looks after done.

My goal was just to cut down the first 6-7 inches of the seat where my girlfriend can slide up to just before stopping. Once she takes off she can easily slide back into a comfortable riding position and use the seat at its normal height."

[Oldgunner]

Thank you Wheelbender, your explanation was very helpful, as well as being very descriptive. I may well be doing that soon.