Shaving Seat Foam

[NacsMXer]

Hi everybody, I did a search on this and really didn't come up with much so I figured Id make a thread on it. Im not the tallest guy at 5'7" and I always have trouble doing no footed cans because my boot always seems to get caught on the seat up by the tank. I kinda wish I had the 250R geometry with the lower seat and higher pegs but the 400's seat seems just too high for me right now. I know a lot of the dirtbikers do this mod for fmx and a lot say it makes it easier to get your foot over. So what type of tools do I need to shave the seat foam down with? Or would I be better off sending it to somebody to have it professionally shaved? If anybody has done this mod, do you like it and does it make a difference? Thanks for your replies. :D

[Dumontexrider]

theres a good article on what to do in the april 2004 issue of transworld mx. i might be able to scan it for you tomorrow

[NacsMXer]

Nice, thanks man i'd really appreciate that. :)

[Juggalo]

you dont need to shave your seat. im about the same height as you..maybe even a little shorter and i can do em just fine..all you need to do is practice a little bit...try practicing on the ground and it should help. dont' ruin your seat to do them tho. the 400ex seat is already a really low seat.

[NacsMXer]

Originally posted by Juggalo
you dont need to shave your seat. im about the same height as you..maybe even a little shorter and i can do em just fine..all you need to do is practice a little bit...try practicing on the ground and it should help. dont' ruin your seat to do them tho. the 400ex seat is already a really low seat.

Yeah I can do a lot of the tricks on the ground with ease: heel clickers, no footed cans, supermans, and fully extended indian airs, but doing NF Cans in the air is a whole different story. Ive got a question though: right when you take off, do you "jump" off the pegs at all to get your body higher up so you can clear the seat? And can you do a single footed can without taking your other foot off the peg? Because with my boots on (on the ground), if I try a single footed can, my boot won't clear the top of the seat up by the tank. Say im practicing a single footed Can to the left side: the only way I can clear the seat is if I jump up and remove my right leg from the peg, thereby producing a no-footed can. So in other words, I cant do single footed cans at all because I would either have to be a little taller, or I would have to jump up to clear the seat-producing a no footed can.
I guess i'm just wondering how much you actually have to "jump" off the pegs because im a little scared of jumping off them too hard and floating up.
Thanks for the advice.

[YFZ450Ridr]

my guess would be a saw-zaw or even like a turkey carver. anything that would cut foam. and prolly like a big file to shape it and smooth it just how u want.

[300extreme#8]

not every jump is the same so u can't just jump up off the faceof the jump,body position is the biggest part of freestyle,ur just not bringin ur feet up high enough,trust me i went through that stage and i wanted to do the same,but next time try throwin 1 foot all the way over and land with both feet on 1 side then after u get that down throw that foot over and lift the other and then land with both feet on teh same side again then try bringin it back,but just bring ur knees up to ur chest then shoot ur feet out like ur kickin something and bring them back

[Juggalo]

yes i can do a 1 foot can while standing on the peg. body position has a lot to do with it..and yeah i do jump up when i go off a jump to do a footed can...i dunno its all just practice i guess. floating is def scary but its not too big of a worry when doin a no footed can. its a pretty safe trick. just give her a try i still say dont ruin your nice seat.

[represent618]

you can shave your seat foam with a cheese grater, then re-use your stock seat cover,

[Narly R]

I used that article in the magazine. I just drew a line where I wanted to cut it, and used a big kitchen knife. It was rough though, so I used a grinder to make it smooth. It worked real well!

[airheadedduner]

I'm shorter then all of you at 5'3 and have no troble:o Try practicing more first before you go as far as to cut your seat.

[NacsMXer]

Thanks for the suggestions everybody. I think im gonna practice bringing my knees closer to my chest like in a cannonball position. My main problem seems to be that i'm not getting off the quad enough. These tricks are extremely easy for me to practice on the ground and I can get them out to full extension and back very quickly but i've found that it feels a lot different in the air to try them. I should probably try them on a smaller jump first and land side-saddle just to get the feel of how much I need to spring off the pegs. The jump i'm trying this on is a 65 foot table that I normally bust heelclickers to no hander landers and what not over, but it felt real sketchy the first time I tried a NF can on it. I think I just need more practice. Thanks again for the help everyone.