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[charlesb]

I just bought the zero ds.  I understand the seat is 33.2" high.  I ordered it without trying out because the dealer didn't have one, but I tried the fxs which was 32.9".  That was a bit high for me so this will be a bit worse.  I would appreciate any help to find a way to lower the seat height.

[Manzanita]

What I find most interesting is the possibility of replacing the seat with a custom fiberglass seat pan to cover the electronics, as the seat itself makes up 3-4" of additional height. Reduce that down to 1.5" and you'll get 2.5" lower. I think the additional height comes from the seat shell itself, not the padding, but you could also try reducing the padding. Basically, there is a bunch of air space under the seat pan, at least on my Zero S.

The easy things to do: reduce your rear preload to zero and slightly lower (1 cm) the fork tubes on the triple tree. Next you could go to lower profile tires. Then you next step might be modifying your rear shock to reduce it's total length. I did bring my Zero S into a suspension shop and although he did say the rear could be lowered, his first inclination would be to try to shave the seat down.

I see the DS has a 19" front wheel, but I imagine swapping that out for a smaller wheel may be complicated because of the brake caliper.

[Killroy]

Also, if you can make the seat thinner in the area that your legs go when you have your feed town, that is effectively lower.

You can gut a stock seat.

Those wheels and tires are big on the DS and FX.

[charlesb]

I'm new to the lingo but are you suggesting adjusting the rear shock to a 0 setting and lowering the front end?  How much can I lower to bike by doing that?  Also, I wonder if anyone has tried to shave down the seat on a 2016 ds, and if so, what were the results.

[Electric Terry]

3 weeks ago you would have had to do a lot of work on your own or at a custom seat shop.  But luckily the obvious easy choice now is the Corbin seat.  I expect after many on this forum get it and talk about it, for less than $400 most Zero owners on this forum will eventually treat their hind end to sitting on one.

All his seats are designed with greater comfort and to hold taller riders by being deeper further back, but also to allow better reach for shorter riders .  It is lower and narrower at the front so your legs can reach.  Taller riders simply slide back.  On my seat I slide back while riding for a super comfy ride (just did a 500 mile day with the new seat and could have kept going and going) and slide forward so I can flat foot both feet on the ground.

http://corbin.com/zero/zero13.shtml

"In the nose area, we sculpt the saddle narrow to allow for good ground reach. "

[charlesb]

How much will it lower seat height?

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

The product page says ½ inch lower in addition to the sculpting forward for ground reach which probably puts it closer to two inches.

[quixotic]

Who knows? You may be pleasantly surprised.  My 1979 BMW R65 supposedly has a seat height of 30.3".  But I can get my heels on the ground MUCH more easily with my 2013 Zero S.  (I'm 5'6" on a good day).

[Killroy]

3 weeks ago you would have had to do a lot of work on your own or at a custom seat shop.  But luckily the obvious easy choice now is the Corbin seat.  I expect after many on this forum get it and talk about it, for less than $400 most Zero owners on this forum will eventually treat their hind end to sitting on one.

All his seats are designed with greater comfort and to hold taller riders by being deeper further back, but also to allow better reach for shorter riders .  It is lower and narrower at the front so your legs can reach.  Taller riders simply slide back.  On my seat I slide back while riding for a super comfy ride (just did a 500 mile day with the new seat and could have kept going and going) and slide forward so I can flat foot both feet on the ground.

http://corbin.com/zero/zero13.shtml

"In the nose area, we sculpt the saddle narrow to allow for good ground reach. "

Even at 5'6" I find the stock seat cramped.  I would like it better if I could further back and get into a slightly lower position for wind protection and maximizing range.

[Manzanita]

I think building a fiberglass seat pan that rests on the frame would be straightforward. Designing some flex in it would be good, not sure how that would be done. There are many custom upholstery shops that could do a professional cover. I do not need to do this for myself, but if my girlfriend gets into riding the bike, I will definitely do it. She is 5'0" and almost has her feet flat when she sits on the zero without the seat (with the electronics covered and thin foam padding). I tucked the fuse-holder that was on the seat frame crossbar into extra space and removed the seat support crossbar, and simply used zip-ties to attach the back of the 'tank' cover to the frame (I guess I didn't mention that above...). The funny thing with the seat so low is that it makes the handlebars and dash seem really high... 

[emoowear]

charelsb, thanks for starting this thread and thanks everyone for the insight.

My friend just recently bought a 2016 S. She is 5'1" on a very good and generous day. The stock ride height is way too high, she could barely make contact with the ground so the guys at hollywood electrics are working on it now.

They initially lowered/shaved the seat but it was still not low enough for her. Our seemingly, only option at this point is to swap out the shocks which "should" be done by next wednesday. I don't know the numbers in which they've lowered it so far and how much they intend on lowering it but I would hope it would be considerable. We understand the necessity for preloads and such but she's a light girl and hopefully there won't be any scraping issues.

If that fails however, i'm not sure which direction to go. Considering a corbin seat for her but not sure how much lower it can be and then there are riding boots with thicker soles...

Manzanita, sounds like your girl and my friend is in the same situation.

I'll update once we get the bike.

[dkw12002]

Seat ht. is often an issue. Zero needs to just offer a lower seat option so people don't have to try different stuff.  Anything over 33 inches is too tall for many people including me. My Honda CB300F has a seat ht. of 30.7 in. but has a lower seat option from Honda that drops it down 1". I never like to mess with the suspension. You could trade that Zero in on 5 new CB300Fs with the proper seat ht. 

[charlesb]

I read somewhere that there is a lot of air space under the seat and that they could design a lower seat very easily.  Since I don't have my bike yet I can't confirm this but if that is so, They should immediately offer a multiple seat height solution.  Seat height problems led me to choose a different motorcycle on 3 occasions.  I bought this one without being able to even sit on it first because I loved the test ride and decided to go electric.  I figured that I would find a solution to the height issue when I get it even if I have to take the seat off and shave it down (something I am not looking forward to doing!!!)

Lets start a petition for seat height options for these zeros

[Kocho]

I don't think there is that much space under the seat. I've looked under mine and the seat is quite thin, and also it is mounted quite close to the frame. OK, I guess maybe one can shave off 1" if it is reworked to be barely higher than the frame.

[charlesb]

Does anyone know how much foam there is on the seat (or better put, how tall is the foam) to determine how much could be shaved.