When looking at a Vespa 300 series you don’t realize how tall it actually is compared to other motorcycles. It looks like a scooter in a scooter looks like something small that everyone can drive. But when you really look at a Vespa no notice that the seat is quite high and the body quite wide. In fact the top of the seat to the street is over 33 inches which is quite high for most motorcycles. For example a low rider Harley, Yamaha or other type of bikes are between 27 to 29 inches high. The normal bike is between 30 to 33 inches high. Most women with shorter legs would choose a low rider bike with a seat height around 29 inches. My poor wife struggles at low speeds or parking the Vespa because she’s on her tip toes while sitting on the Vespa 300.
So it is time that we solve this problem and solving it we did. The first thing we did was to research and find safe yet high platform motorcycle boots. We searched high and low and only found one model that was actually made in Canada that would add approximately 2 inches height. For those of you interested they are made by RoadKrome and they offer two models (Cascade and Amber). So we ordered these boots and they got us about halfway there. Her feet are still not flat on the ground but she has the top part of her foot touching the ground which helps quite a bit.
I’m not a fan of half fixes so our research continued until we came across a company called Pirate Upholstery.These people specialize in rebuilding, recovering and customization of motorcycle seats. They actually had experience lowering the Vespa seats and even had pictures and the explanation of how and measurements of the final result.
They offered us two options:
We can lower your stock GTS seat in two ways:
Low GTS seat which is approximately 2″ lower and 1/2 the rain cover bin is removed – this seat is very firm as we are removing the stock foam in the rider’s area and replacing it with a firm gel pad. Gel pads are great for absorbing road impacts, however, when not coupled with foam, they are very firm.
X-Low GTS seat which is approximately 3″ lower and we cut into the plastic seat pan to create a metal shelf. This metal shelf then protrudes into the under-seat storage compartment by about 2″. The X-Low is more comfortable then the Low as we are able to add an inch of foam on top of the gel pad. The rain cover bin is removed. There is a “step” between rider and passenger area on the X-Low. I’ve attached a picture for your reference of a seat with the “step”.
Since we are changing the shape of the seat, the original cover will not longer fit, so we need to make a new cover. We have a variety of vinyl’s and leather to choose from – the original cover is vinyl. I will email you a quote for both in separate emails. Piping, designs, channelling are all an additional cost. Alternate color top-stitching is available at no extra charge.
We choose the X-Low option that provides the full 3 inches and is the most comfortable. We also did not want to modify the seat we had in case we eventually needed to sell the GTS. So we shopped around and my friend Keith Laborde from Atlanta had found someone selling one in Texas and one thing led to another and finally we purchased the seat for $ 65.00 including the shipping to Pirate Upholsteries in Kingston New York. So the seat arrived yesterday at Pirate Upholsteries and now we will wait for them to complete their magic. So, we figure that with the boots and the seat, that it will provide a 5 inch difference that will effectively change the seat height from 33 inches to 28 Which! inches which should do the trick.
The Final Result was a Success!
Very nice Peter. There is also Corbin who do custom seats. I parked next to a BMW 1200RS yesterday that had a Corbin seat.
Pirate Upholstery has a great reputation. I think Sylvie will be really happy with the result.
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Chantal (Not Sylvie)
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I am male, and I have the same problem on my Vespa. I ended up with a higher heeled boot and that gives me that extra clearance. but finding them for a man was a hard go. Extreme is the brand I ended up with. Work great but the extra height bothers me when I leave the bike.
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at 5’0″ and shrinking… I really really *really* appreciated this post. I’ve been riding a Yamaha Vino 50 for 3 years now, I love the thing to death… really I do. Except when I go on a rally or a jaunt to the far reaches of Edmonton/St. Albert. (Yes I’ve done it all on my 50 – just have to plan.) My other half has an LX150, and I’m looking at one on Kijiji.
I even already HAVE those boots. And I was going to sell them, I really like them, found them too narrow, but I think I’ll see if my shoemaker can stretch the bunions out for me.
I also hunted for my motorcycle in 2007. When I was shopping – the lowest +1000CC non-HD was the Yamaha Custom 1100. 27.2″ – good thing she is gorgeous. If I could have bought another Suzuki, C-Series I would have, but needed highway oomph for mountain travel.
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Check out my last entry and the seat that I had lowered for my wife at Pirate Upholsteries. The boots got her half way there on the GTS 300. Her heels still were not on the ground but her top part of her foot was touching. After the seat and the boots, she is now flat footed and notices a world of difference moving the bike in and out of parking and at stops.
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How tall is your wife? My wife is 5’1″ and we just bought a GTS 250.
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About the same height
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This is amazing! I’m doing some research on this exact dilema. How tall is your wife?
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Where can I buy this seat for my 2010 125 gts ie Vespa.?
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Yes. Please where can we buy these seats for a Vespa. Whatever model?
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Will the extra low seat take up the room in the storage compartment?
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No
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I need this. But where from?
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The company that did it for me is out of business.
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SIP has a device for about $90 to lower the vespa 150… that’s a good start.
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I have searched SIP and came up empty. By chance do you have a link or part number, even search terms that worked for you? Thank you! Signed, shrinking in Alberta
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