Renazco Custom Made Seat
I had originally planned on heading down to Corbin seats in Hollister, CA about an hour and a half drive from my home. They make custom seats, but primarily focus on street motorcycles. So after researching on the web I came across Renazco Racing Seats located in Santa Rosa, CA. James, the owner has done quite a few off road and dual sport seats. So I sent him an email and didn’t expect to hear back for quite some time. Having read forum information about his seats, lead times were around 6-8 weeks. Plus it was Christmas time….
To my surprise I heard from him in two days and this was during the Holidays! He mentioned that he was intrigued by ebikes and would be more than willing to build me a custom seat. So I sent him my stock seat and in two days he wrote back to me that he had stripped the upholstery and foam from the seat. He mentioned that the seat pan was of a higher quality than most he sees and the foam was rather hard. He had questions like my inseam length, my weight and if I wanted any color of stitching. I had sent the stock seat to him with blue tape where my ass resides when I ride, which is the back quarter of the stock seat. I also had sent him photos of me sitting on the bike so he could get an idea of my posture while riding.
He wanted to cover the entire seat in suede, but I asked if the sides could be ‘carbon fiber’ and he told me he had just the color grey to match my bike. Suede is the favorite cover for his work since it breathes and grips as well. I also asked that the slope of the stock seat be taken out since it causes me to slide forward when I don’t want to do so. Taking out the slope combined with the suede would make the seat a whole new animal.
So how does it feel? R E M A R K A B L E! The padding he uses which is a special Tempur-Pedic foam over another proprietary foam which is both firm and lush, much like my Manitou Dorado forks! LOL. The shape of the seat now fits my skinny ass and does not hurt my perineum area. I’ve never had anything suede but I can tell you that it’s a fantastic choice. It’s not yet winter here but I can tell it will keep me from having ‘soggy bottom’ during the summer. And its ability to keep me in place and not slide forward is fantastic. Just lifting up a bit to readjust my sitting position is so convenient.
Having never owned anything suede I asked James about caring for the seat. He places a waterproof membrane between the seat upholstery and the foam so the foam does not become a sponge for moisture. He does recommend that you don’t get the seat wet either through rain or washing. So I went on Amazon and found a jumbo shower cap that fits perfectly over the seat when I wash the bike. Bingo!
So is it worth the price? Oh hell yes for me it is! $400.00 is not a small price to pay for anything. But for a handmade, well designed piece of craftsmanship that allows me to ride as long as the battery last rather than how long my ass lasts is a godsend. Each of us gets to choose how/why we spend our hard earned after tax dollars. The Sur Ron brings me more joy and fun than I could have ever imagined before owning one. Now James’ seat makes that joy last longer than ever before. (And all guys want to last longer! LOL!!!!) And since I too am a small business owner I love supporting other small businesses that produce remarkable hand made products.
Adjusting the seat angle
I have found that I prefer a level seating position on my bike, just a personal preference. My custom Renazco seat was MUCH less sloped to the front than the OEM torture rack. I used two M6 Male Female Rubber Vibration Isolators Mounts and M6x10mmx10mm Female Thread Straight Hex Rod Coupling Connector Nuts to raise the front of my seat 1”. This gives me a really great seating position for both sitting and standing. I have a 31” inseam and now while straddling the bike I’m on the balls of my feet rather than flat footed. It makes the distance to the pegs or pedals much more comfortable over the OEM setup.
10 Comments
Mark,
great write-up and detail. I did a very steep, very rocky 2.5 hours yesterday, and found that my butt and bike have about a 2 hour no pain window. The stock seat and my behind do not have range anywhere near my battery potential, in the rocky stuff. being that I am in my initial catastrophic failure ownership period, not ready to drop the money on a custom seat, but your mods on adjusting the seat angle may be helpful with the stock seat. Not sure right now what is technique v. hardware, but fighting seat position while doing steep downhill is not helpful towards keeping my bones intact. Craig
Hey Craig I may or may not ride the same definition of ‘rocky’ as you are encountering. I will say that descending a boulder field is very different than loose rock especially given the angle. Downhill is more of a bitch for me than uphill that’s for sure. I like to hug the sides of my seat to lock me onto the bike. I could not do that with the OEM seat. I’m also not sure how much my staggered pedals give me over mounted pegs. Who knows….
Mark-
Great write up and one hell of a custom job on this bike. Amazing!
A bit about me. I’m a 2 wheel junkie who is 6’3” with a 36.5” inseam and 6’5” wingspan and weigh in at 195. Basically, all arms and legs.
Currently have 3 mountain bikes all size XL, also own a Turbo Levo xl (feels cramped for/aft) and a 2008 KTM XCRW with a Renazco 1.5” raised seat over stock (was 37.8” now 39”).
Although the fun factor for this bike seems perfect, I’m Concerned it will be way too small, both for/ aft and height.
I understand a 21” front wheel adds 1” of height over stock. A custom seat could add 1-2” over stock. I don’t like idea of moving the seat back as that alters weight balance, putting all weight on back wheel. Are there other ways to add height, specifically to increase peg to seat distance. Never having seen the bike makes purchase difficult at best with my super long legs.
Thoughts?
Hey Mike thanks. I wanted to make my SR custom to how I ride and where I ride most often. As a point of reference I am NOT attempting to make my bike into a full ICE Moto KTM/Honda CRF, etc bike. Nope for me it fits into a niche never before filled. And as far as speed, after closed course road racing I have no need for top end performance. To each their own….
So your inseam is 5.5″ longer than mine. And at 6’3″ you are 7″ taller. More like Colin Edwards size than my size, Nicky Hayden! LOL. Glad to hear you are familiar with James’ excellent seats. I’m not going to encourage or discourage you purchasing a Sur Ron. One thing I would NOT recommend is attempting to raise the rear ride height through increasing the length of the shock or removing the progressive linkage to do a direct mount from the swing arm to the frame. At 10.5″ the OEM shock length is such that you can see the spring barely clears the linkage.
Changing the rear tire to a higher profile will help some. I’ve been running the Shinko 244s which are about 3/4″ higher in overall profile than the OEM knobs. I have also added spacers to my Renazco seat to make it more level which also increases the seat height. But my main reason was to take the forward slope out of the OEM seat profile. You can read about how I did that in the Seat section. Changing to a 21er front and lowering the fork stanchions in the triple clamps on the forks if possible will raise the front end. Of course you want to consider how it may change the handling for you.
Your long inseam to me would be the most pressing issue. Beyond raising the seat the way I did and having James make your seat higher in profile I don’t have any other ideas other than having custom made peg brackets fabricated. Yet like all things you never get something for nothing, so lowering the pegs to give you more leg distance will reduce the amount of clearance you have from the ground to the pegs.
Like you I would never move the seat back because it would upset the suspension geometry of the bike. Although I hate Facebook you may want to join the private FB group to see if some owners live near you so you can try to sit on their bike. Hope any of this helps. I love my SR and won’t ever sell it. I learned my lesson when I sold my 1968 Chevy El Camino. SO STUPID!
Who would I speak to about getting a suede seat made for my surron
His contact link is in the first paragraph of this post.
Mark, my leg muscles were actually sore the next day from seat hugging/frame squeezing. probably a valid point on the pedals allowing more or different leg positions. I noted in another post, that I ‘think” having to position pedals to avoid rock impact might be a bit much for me now. The trails that I was on for this ride were very steep, with rocks ranging in size from marble to basketball size. My butt on the seat sort of gave out at about 2 hours, about the same time my mind was getting fatigued trying to stay 10 to 15 feet ahead on the safest line. This type of trail is not what I would call fun, but it is very enlightening about the bikes capability in the ugly stuff. I’ll probably order up the X seat when they are back in stock at Luna, then decide whether to go custom.
Hello Mark, at this moment, I want to call you GOD. I have two Surron X, I just bought for me and my son. I just retired from 30 years military, and thought me and my son could bond with riding. I have been away the majority of his 15 year life, but want to make the most of the time before he leaves the nest. I noticed your seat and absolutely love it. I am a computer nerd, but know good work when I see it. I would like to know how I can get a seat like this made for my bike. The stock seat is very uncomfortable to me. So thank you for any guidance you can provide.
Hey Dewayne, just so you know I forwarded the “at this moment, I want to call you GOD” to my girlfriend. I’ve been telling her that for years, but it’s always met with a roll of her eyes and a slug to my shoulder. I’m really anxious to hear how you and your son will enjoy riding together because my money is on A LOT! The lack of weight has really spoiled me. Now I won’t buy a motorized two wheeler that weighs more than me; seriously. I just bought a CAKE KALK& and will ride both that and my SR until they cremate me.
My 30 year old son decided he is joining the Army and I could not be more excited for him as I believe it will give him the confidence he needs.
So after all of that to answer your question, the Renazco seat I have is far and away the best improvement I ever made to my bike, hands down. James Renazco is not only a master craftsman, but one helluva nice fella. Go to his site and order your seat. I opted for the suede top and love it. It breathes and keeps me from sliding around. He uses some type of magic foam that over the first two weeks conformed well to my butt. It’s like custom now. My seat was his very first Sur Ron seat and I’m happy to highly recommend him to anyone who will listen. Luna did when they produced the Ludicrous Sur Ron Limited Edition. Tell James I said hello and have a great time with your boy.
I would like a custom made suede seat making or my surron ebike who would i speak to about this