Tall & Fat: Ideas for seat and shocks?

[Yamafun]

Fellow riders, good day from Michigan.

I purchased an '06 WR 450 this winter and am very excited to put some miles on it - but I have a few questions I'm hoping someone out there can answer...

I'm 6'4" and weigh 250 lbs. and am wondering if anyone...

1) has any ideas on a different seat, pegs or handlebar that might be more suitable for a guy my size. If so, where would I get such things?

2) is there anything I can do to the bikes suspension to help it hold up a fat guy, (250 + 25 pounds of gear = 275 lbs) without going to the gym or buying a lot of new parts.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Russ from Detroit.

[Charles De Mar]

Click here

[timoyz1]

Click here

I read through and didn't see any real tips for the fat guy.No not you Russ, I'm 6' 6", 300 with gear. I upped the fork oil level with heavier weight and stiffened the rear. Good enough for me now I guess.

[Johnny34]

I'm 6'6" 230 and have tried a couple of tall options. The first was powerpegz in the lowered position. Drops the pegs by about a 1/2 inch. The rotation also helps my foot position when seated. Thes pegs are awesome and I highly recommend them.

I have also lowered the angle of my brake and shift lever to compensated for my big feet and the angle my long legs create. For the brake lever adjustment I had to trim some of the bolt length down where it comes out of the master cylinder. This let me get more angle out of the lever. This leaves the levers a bit more exposed to rocks and stumps but I've have had only one instance where the shift lever bent on a fall.

I tried some bar risers that bring the bars up and forward. Awesome for standing and riding roads but didn't like the way it felt in the tight trail areas so I took them off. I'll sell them to you if you want them.

The seat is stock and I don't think I'll be getting a tall seat anytime soon. I have adjusted the sag for my weight but I should actually be on a slightly stiffer spring according to racetech.

[BigBelly]

I'm only 6 foot but I am a slim and cut 325 butt-azz nekid:crazy: . I instantly went with a guts racing tall soft seat foam with gripper cover. I'm taller in the torso so I have often felt like the bars were a little short.

Another guy posted that he didn't like the feel of his bars being up and forward more than stock but I feel akward if I don't do that to my bikes. To each their own. I would highly recommend trying to find another rider that has a set-up already done and ask for a ride...could get costly to make a bunch of changes you may not like.

Suspension, I played with my clickers added better oil, all stock aside from that. Never bottomed out yet. I do jump, but I don't get too crazy either.

Good luck.

[Valerie]

A tall seat, low pegs, and some bar risers are the normal add-ons that tall guys do.

As for suspension.... heavier springs at least. If you are mechanically inclined, springs are easy to install yourself by using your manual.

The TT Store is a good place to start. Give them a call or shoot them an email for what you are looking for and advice on parts they reccomend for you. You'll get all your questions answered, a choice on parts, GREAT customer service and AWESOME pricing.

[Yamafun]

Thanks for all the quick ideas people.

Guts Racing has my seat on order, but these 'powerpegz' people are either out of business or just very hard to locate. It seems like there are a few people out there with adjustable pegs - I'll keep looking...

As for the suspension, I'll try just clicking to stiff and adding some heavier weight oil and see what happens. I'm not ready to throw new springs in yet.

Oh, and Johnny34, let me know what you want for your bar risers, I may want to try them out, (assuming they'll fit an '06 WR450).

Thanks again!

[Cirus]

I'm 6'1" and 235 and run 6.0 in the rear and .50 up front. I added the Fastway pegs, Renthal Jimmy Buttons, and a Scotts submount with raised the bars around an inch or so and the Guts tall soft seat. I've got a set of Renthal Mini Highs that I may add later but it will require longer throttle, hot start, and clutch cables.

[Johnny34]

I sent you an email about the risers. I checked www.powerpegz.com and the website is down. They are sold by a company called Moto Tech Solutions. I found their address and phone online so you should give them a call. Hopefully they are still in business.

MotoTech Solutions

1-800-472-3823

3941 Park Drive

Suite 20-183

El Dorado Hills, CA 95762

[Charles De Mar]

I read through and didn't see any real tips for the fat guy.No not you Russ, I'm 6' 6", 300 with gear. I upped the fork oil level with heavier weight and stiffened the rear. Good enough for me now I guess.

Q: Why does my suspension feel soft and what can I do about it?

A: Your suspension feels soft because it is. It will especially feel soft if you came from an MX bike, as they are valved and sprung stiffer for MX-type aerials. Also, as most japanese bikes are, the bike is sprung for an average rider weight in the 165-pound range. In order to get the suspension to perform the way you want, you'll have to respring the front and rear, at the very least. If you want even more performance, then you're going to have spend some serious money and have the forks and shock professionally reworked. However, it is widely held that no matter what you do to the WR's suspension, the overall design limits what can be done and it will never be able to be brought up to current MX suspension standards.

Q: Who makes a taller/softer/lower seat?

A: Guts Racing is generally considered the best source for a replacement seat.

[timoyz1]

Q: Why does my suspension feel soft and what can I do about it?

A: Your suspension feels soft because it is. It will especially feel soft if you came from an MX bike, as they are valved and sprung stiffer for MX-type aerials. Also, as most japanese bikes are, the bike is sprung for an average rider weight in the 165-pound range. In order to get the suspension to perform the way you want, you'll have to respring the front and rear, at the very least. If you want even more performance, then you're going to have spend some serious money and have the forks and shock professionally reworked. However, it is widely held that no matter what you do to the WR's suspension, the overall design limits what can be done and it will never be able to be brought up to current MX suspension standards.

Q: Who makes a taller/softer/lower seat?

A: Guts Racing is generally considered the best source for a replacement seat.

Yes, I am a blind bastard.

[MotoGoalie]

What a tall seat looks like and other ways to mess with the seat softness.

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=580247&page=3&highlight=yamaha+seat+rant