How To

Bar Pad Seat Bump with Andy Smith

Wrenching, Pro Secrets

June 1, 2010

Bump- and step-seats gained popularity, not coincidentally, with the emergence of the potent 450cc four-stroke, as a seat bump can help hold the rider forward on any bike during hard acceleration or steep inclines. This not only reduces fatigue (and arm-pump), but can also help ensure the rider is planted in the correct position.Monster Energy Kawasaki off-road's Andy Smith shows you a way to make and position a hump in your bike's seat with "common everyday household items." Common items if your weekend home is a factory semi, anyway.

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1) Sit on your seat in the attack mode and have someone measure where your butt is from the back of the seat. Take your seat cover off and mark that point on the foam. The hump is made from the foam of a handlebar pad cut to the width of your seat then sliced in half."

2) "You can cut different angles in the pad to make it taller or shorter, but typically everyone starts with a cut right down the middle. Some riders will actually shave the seat down in front of the bump to get a bigger feel. For that we use a Bondo/body scraping tool, but none of our riders prefer that. Trim the bottom edges of the pad up so it tapers down around the sides a little better."

3) "Sticking the bump to the foam is critical. Superglue is the best, then duct tape it, too. Taping it is important because the glue can break loose or the foam can rip and then the bump will start moving around under the cover."

4) "Wrap the front of the seat cover around the front of the seat and pull it back as tight as you can. Staple the back, then the sides with about three staples each just to hold the cover in position. Then start working at the hump. Get it nice and tight. Work your way from the front of the hump toward the back because that's the direction the pressure will be placed on the seat cover anyway. Then work your way up the front. Use quarter-inch staples. You can try to reuse your old seat cover, but it's likely been cut right along the edge at the old staples and you'll have to stretch it pretty hard, so it's best to use a new one."