[KarenK]

My new Burgman 400 will be delivered on Thursday this week. I can hardly wait! I traded my barely rode DR 200 in on this. The DR 200 was too tall for me (I'm about 5',3" and not getting any younger) and my husband in I thought that a scooter would be way to get me riding with him with less worries.
When sitting on it at the dealer, even thought the seat height is only just over 27", I couldn't really get both feet flat on the ground. So now I'm concerned that I wouldn't feel confident when stopped or in low speed maneuvering.

I wondering if anyone out there around my height is riding a 400 and can put my mind at ease.

 

[allwalk]

Hi Karen and congrats on the 400. I personally think it will be a better choice for you over the DR200. Welcome to the forum! Where abouts is Beckwith Township?

 

[Rubble]

Hi Karen, good choice on the 400. I'm taller than 5'3" and I don't even own a Burgman, (yet) but I'm confident that you will find yourself getting very comfortable due to the 400's low center of gravity. It may take a little time and some parking lot practice, but before you know it, you'll be zipping around all over the place with a big grin!

 

[billmeek]

Welcome to the BurgmanUSA forums Karen. Glad to have you join us.

Congratulations on the new Burgman 400.

 

[Randy]

KarenK,
A big welcome and Congratulations on your new ride.
I don't think you need to worry, lower the shocks a couple of turns,
and you will also find you sit forward more when riding (then just sitting in a showroom ) and this gets you closer also.

 

[billmeek]

Karen,

If once you get the bike and you're still having problems flat footing it, remember the backrest can be adjusted forward. Another option is to have a 'nose job' done on the seat to narrow it. You can also have thicker soles added to your riding boots to give you a little more height.

 

[KarenK]

Thanks to everyone for the welcome and your advice. I like the option of the ‘nose job’. Do you have to recover the seat or will the existing cover stretch enough to conform to the new profile? I also understand that Corbin makes a seat for the 400. Does the Corbin lower the height or is it narrower to allow for a better leg angle to the ground? My DR200 had a very high but narrow seat which helped to at least get my toes touching. But is was like sitting on a brick.

Well in any case, I’ll find out later today, Hopefully!, if this is really a concern.

allwalk – Beckwith Township is located between Perth and Ottawa.

Karen

 

[billmeek]

Karen,

A 'nose job' on the seat normally involves narrowing the front of the seat and sometime reducing the thickness of the height of the padding allowing the rider to place their feet on the ground without as wide of stance. They should be able to use the existing cover since they are not adding size to the seat.

Corbin will make a custom seat if you prefer to go that route. A regular Corbin seat for the 400 would not be the way to go as it place you back much farther from the handlebars. A 'close version' or a custom Corbin seat would be required for you.

 

[swstiles]

Karen,

A 'close version' or a custom Corbin seat would be required for you.

Bill, When I talked to corbin they gave me the impression that they only make one seat for the 400. The close seat they said was for the 650

 

[billmeek]

Bill, When I talked to corbin they gave me the impression that they only make one seat for the 400. The close seat they said was for the 650

Evelyn just recieved a Corbin close seat for the 400. See :

http://burgmanusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4593

 

[swstiles]

corbin close seat for 400

Bill, When I talked to corbin they gave me the impression that they only make one seat for the 400. The close seat they said was for the 650

Evelyn just recieved a Corbin close seat for the 400. See :

http://burgmanusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4593

Wow Thanks Bill that's nice to know. I'll have to contact corbin again. I wonder if we could get Evelyn to measure the close seat from some point on the dash to where the back part of the riders seat is?

 

[ClassicGeek]

My wife, who is 5'1", has sat on my Burgman 400 and she was on the balls of her feet/tiptoes. It was about the same situation she had when she rode her Ninja 250 for a couple of years. Due to the relative size of the Burgman, she indicated that she would not be comfortable giving it a try, but that's the kind of person she is... :wink:

A strategy to add to the others mentioned: move forward on the seat, especially when coming to a stop. It's narrower at the front, and the seat height issue isn't so much about seat height as seat width splaying your legs. Having taken the bum stop off mine, I've noticed that even with my 34" inseam, I sometimes can't plant my foot flat. (Which is totally weird to me, but I'm sitting back at the widest part of the seat)

Simon

 

[swstiles]

Re: corbin close seat for 400

Bill I talked to Corbin today and they told me the same as they did before, that they only make one seat for the 400. They told me that there was no such thing as a "close seat " for the 400. He told me that they could make some modification to the 400 seat. (I think for a fee) He said they could make it a little further forward or back but that it wasn't called the close seat. In addition he told me that the "standard" seat for the 650 has been discontinued and they only offer the "close" seat for the 650
now.

Steve

 

[billmeek]

Steve,

If Corbin provided you the correct information, I'd say they're making a BIG mistake on the 650 line. :?

 

[pauljo]

Steve,

If Corbin provided you the correct information, I'd say they're making a BIG mistake on the 650 line. :?

Yep. I definitely could not use the "close" version. I applaud any vendor that chooses to make product for the Burgman line, and I have really liked the Corbin seats I've had on other motorcycles. But they haven't really hit the mark with the Burgmans. There are the occasional issues with the support rod, and a couple of folks received seats where the fabric was damaged. Discontinuing the regular version of the 650 seat would be another bad move. If you are going to play in the over $500 accessory field, you need to get it right. In my opinion, they have not really done that yet.

 

[ajwood]

If you guys look at the avatar picture of Pauljo's 400 in the post above this one, you'll
notice that the forward seat section is slanted upward.
This would explain why I can't move all the way forward on my seat to
compensate for height. I've tried it, but I get the sensation that I could possibly
twist slightly while going over a bump while turning.
That's dangerous - no?

If I were to take the staples out of my seat bottom,
I could remove some foam from the front section to lower the foam.
Re-stapling the seat to take up slack from the removed material would work, because the slant would still be there.

 

[Evelyn]

What a shame. Corbin does make a close seat for the 400 but maybe with my complaining about the backrest (which does not work for the close seat) and the fact that they do not provide an arm to support the weight of the seat, that Corbin may have now decided to discontinue the close seat for the 400.

I can tell you that when you get a nose job the seat is not raised but is much narrower in the crotch which translates to those of us with short legs a chance to put our feet almost flat on the ground (for me the balls of my feet touch the ground which I am most grateful for). One can always slide up toward the nose to get their feet flat esp. when trying to move the scoot backwards. Once again I will say that I have a 26" inseam and have no problem backing up with the Corbin seat.

I also used an 8 and 3/4" wooden dowl to hold the seat up and it works just fine.

I hope this explains some of the problems with us vertically challenged folks :!:

Evelyn

 

[pauljo]

AJ,

Don't be calling my 650 a 400! :wink:

I'll also note that they did put a little extra padding on the seat to get the "roll and pleat" effect in the upholstery. It is probably still very close to the stock shape, but it appears more streamlined due to the lines of the silver side paneling. In my case, sliding up to the front of the seat will never happen because my legs are long enough that there would be no point to doing that.

 

[swstiles]

AJ,

Don't be calling my 650 a 400! :wink:

I'll also note that they did put a little extra padding on the seat to get the "roll and pleat" effect in the upholstery. It is probably still very close to the stock shape, but it appears more streamlined due to the lines of the silver side paneling. In my case, sliding up to the front of the seat will never happen because my legs are long enough that there would be no point to doing that.

Pauljo, did your 650 have a place at the back of seat where there is no foam like it is on the 400 and did they put foam to that area when they reupholstered your stock seat?

 

[swstiles]

Steve,

If Corbin provided you the correct information, I'd say they're making a BIG mistake on the 650 line. :?

Yep. I definitely could not use the "close" version. I applaud any vendor that chooses to make product for the Burgman line, and I have really liked the Corbin seats I've had on other motorcycles. But they haven't really hit the mark with the Burgmans. There are the occasional issues with the support rod, and a couple of folks received seats where the fabric was damaged. Discontinuing the regular version of the 650 seat would be another bad move. If you are going to play in the over $500 accessory field, you need to get it right. In my opinion, they have not really done that yet.

Pauljo, from what I've read on this forum I have to agree with you. Not everyone is 5 ft. 10 like me and I would think that there is enough longer legged folks out there to warrant continuing production on the standard seat for the 650
I was very interested in a corbin seat at first but now I think I will do what you did and have it redone w/o the butt stop if they "and I would think that they would" put padding in the area where there is none with the butt stop off. I'm not as long legged as you are and with the butt stop out it is a little bit to far back, and I think that with the butt stop out the 650 sits a little further back than the 400 so with good foam put in that area it will be about right for me on the 400 . If I didn't have the trouble with my knees that I do the stock seat with the back stop all the way back would probably be about right on the 400 , but I need to strech my legs just a little more to help keep the pain in ck. I know there have been a few complaints about the stock seat on this forum but it seems pretty good to me compared to a lot of other motorcycle seats.

Steve