Modern Vespa

I picked up my new scoot about a month ago, great little machine so far. Runs very smooth and I love the look. BUT, as a 6' tall rider, the more I rode the bike, the more unhappy I became with the seat. There is clearly a contour to the seat which looked adequate but when sitting on the bike, I felt like I had to sit very far forward, on the skinnier part of the seat to not feel like I was sitting on a ridge in the seat pan.

I thought it might just be the foam so I had the seat re-contoured by a local upholstery shop, still uncomfortable. I was very apprehensive about trying to reshape the plastic seat pan, but I was fed up after a longer ride yesterday and maybe feeling a little bold so I went for it.

THE GOOD NEWS is that it WORKED! SO here's what I did. Upon close examination of the seat pan, the problem is that there is a circular indent (I assume to clear a second helmet) right where it doesn't belong in the wide part of the seat. I used a propane torch and CAREFULLY moved it around that area until the plastic started to look shiney. No bubbling, scortching or running, just shiney. Then I quickly closed the seat and sat on the previously uncomfortably high part of the seat as hard as I could, even pulling down a bit on the rear rack as I sat. I kept planted there for a few minutes to be good and sure that the plastic had cooled.

That took care of 99% of it. I then used a little metal L bracket through the hole in the seat pan and applied more heat to even it out. I was afraid the foam would melt or something else bad would happen. It didn't, so as long as you're careful with the torch, it should work for you too!

BTW, the lighting in the seat pan pics makes it look like the re-shape is uneven, it isn't. I found that it pretty much naturally comes out even because with enough weight on that circular indent, it literally pops down, just like the freshness seal on the lid of a snapple bottle. Heating that area and sitting on it just keeps it popped down.

That is a very good idea. I may have to give it a try on the GT200 seat.

I simply bought an airhawk, works wonders!

What I find interesting is the inside knee panel being black. I guess you have a rear drum brake? Is it any good?

I've never ridden a scoot with a rear disc brake so I'm not sure how mine compares. It seems to stop fine though

I'm glad you didn't learn the hard way I'd like to suggest using a heat gun.

I thought about using a heat gun instead but I wanted fast heat and went with the torch instead. My thought was get the plastic hot enough to relax without giving it too much time to transfer to the foam and melt it. Not sure if that would have happened or not. If someone tries something similar with a heat gun, I'd love to hear a report!