So, back in February I put my name on the list and sent Robert at Seat Concepts my weight & $132 bucks. This would include the new seat foam and seat cover of my choosing, I decided on the black standard height with center gripper section and carbon fiber vinyl sides. You still use the stock WR seat pan with the new foam and cover. Or you can send them your stock seat pan and have them install the foam & cover for you.. but I choose to do it myself…

I removed the stock seat cover from the pan using a flathead screw driver and needle nose pliers. It was very easy to remove! Here you can see both foams…

Side by side seat foams

The Seat Concepts seat came with some tips on how to install the new foam and cover. I used some 3M Super 77 Multipurpose Adhesive spray adhesive as instructed on the stock seat pan, then put the new foam on. Allowing it plenty of time to dry.

The biggest issue I had was finding the right stapler to do the job. I first started with a hand stapler.. no good, it didn’t work at all. While holding the cover tight then trying with the other hand to staple it through the seat pan is a mighty task.  So, I headed to Harbor Freight to look for a pneumatic stapler that will shoot 1/4″ staples.. but they didn’t have any.  Next stop was Rural King.. and bam.. they had a stapler that would do the job. I picked up a Surebonder Model 9600, under $40 bucks too. I couldn’t find 1/4″ stainless steel staples anywhere locally, so I had to just get regular galvanized steel Arrow JT21 1/4″ crown staples.

Wow.. now things got very easy! Using the pneumatic stapler is really the only way to do a good job on recovering the seat pan if you ask me. You can get the cover pulled tight and then snap a staple right threw the cover into the plastic. One thing I recommend doing is take the old seat cover, place it on the seat pan and then using your pneumatic stapler give it a go. Adjust the air pressure so the staple doesn’t just go right through the cover. A few minutes later I had the seat cover on, nice and tight. Next I cut some access seat cover off of the corners and then put my new seat back on my WR. I approve!

Since you are using the stock seat pan there’s no fitment issues to worry about. Here’s a few photos of the seat.. it fits perfectly even with my Safari gas tank.

Monkey Butt?!?

The real test is… is it worth it? When you feel the Seat Concepts foam you immediately feel a major difference in foams. Seat Concepts is softer, yet more solid. If this makes sense.. the stock foam just has the same consistency. Whereas the Seat Concepts is softer but more firm as pressure is applied. It’s pretty darn cool.

My first long trip with the seat was my Trans-Missouri Trail ride.. over 730 miles and I definitely noticed a big difference! I kept an eye on the mileage to see when my gluteus maximus would begin to get soar.. I’ll have to say it was a good, 40-50 miles LONGER on this seat than the stock. I don’t care what seat you have or how much money you threw at it.. your rear will be soar after so many hours on the saddle. With that said, you can easily add more comfort to your ride by upgrading your seat.

I personally give the Seat Concepts seat two thumbs up.. it’s wider, softer, gripper and has done what it’s purpose is to do.. give me more miles on the saddle. It is a tad bit taller than the stock seat, but you can have Robert sculpt it to your liking and your body weight. This is really important when getting an aftermarket seat. Here’s what I do know.. my Versys has this Corbin seat on it.. cost about four times as much as the Seat Concepts seat (luckily it came on my Versys when I bought it), weights about 100 lbs and is not anywhere near as comfy as my WR Seat Concepts seat. My plan is to talk with Robert over the winter months and see if they could do a custom seat for the Versys.. that would be awesome!

If you are in the market to upgrade your stock seat for your WR250R or any other bike for that matter, I highly recommend contacting Robert at Seat Concepts and see if this upgrade is for you. I know your butt will be happier for it!

The Question:

“With your HDB setup on your WR250R, does the ignition key interfere with the  top clamp at all?”

The Answer:

“Only a tad but enough to cause a bit of fumbling when removing the key. I’ve never had an issue inserting the key, only removing it. So here’s what I did to resolve that and it works great!”

I used my Dremel to round the edge of the key off. The stock key comes to more of a point and this can cause you some aggravation when you try to insert the key. With gloves on it makes it even more frustrating. Don’t get me wrong, without any mod to the key you can still place the key in the ignition. This just makes it a bit smoother.

Items List

1 – Yamaha WR250R w/ ProMoto Billet rear rack
1 – Pelican iM2100 Storm case
1 – 1/4″x12″ rod from your local hardware store
1- Ratchet strap
1 – Cabinet Drawer Rubber pad (optional)

Case Mounted

The goal was to mount my Pelican case without drilling holes in the case. Here you can see what the final install looks like.

Installation

I strategically drilled the holes in the back of the Pelican case.  The way I did it was I drilled three holes, two straight through the right side of the case, then only one on the left side. The left hole I drilled about 1/8″ lower than the right so it would put tension on the rod and help keep it in place. I’m going to see how this holds up, if I need to I can always drill the other side and slide the rod completely thru the left.

One thing to consider when selecting a ratchet strap, make sure its not too long or else the rounded bottom of the ratchet will hit your bike’s rack or seat. The one I used is about 3.5″ long. Of course this will all depend on your rear rack setup and the case you are using. Using a dremel I ground off the pin holding the short strap and hook off the ratchet. Slide the rod through the two holes on right side of the case, then thru the ratchet and now thru the left side.

Next I looped the strap thru the handle of the case and weaved it thru my rear rack and then back into the ratchet on the other side.

For my rear rack it worked best to have the ratchet at the front, the bottom of the ratchet did not hit the rack this way.

Now ratchet that thing down snug, I was surprised how well it strapped down.  Here’s a video showing the finished product.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dismounting the Case

Click here to view the embedded video.

As BigDog commented below, I did take his advice and add a small piece of cabinet drawer rubber padding underneath the case. It worked very well and it helps keep the case from moving or scuffing the rear rack.

Here’s some photos of how I wired this up.  Works perfect!

Tin the ends and slide on the provided grommet.

Pull wire through Powerlet clamp

Connect wires to Powerlet, trim tinned ends as needed.

I added some hot glue to the inside of the gromet for a bit more waterproofing

Close up the Powerlet plug and Complete!

Here’s it connected to my Powerlet socket and charging up my Android….this will come in handy on the TAT this year!

I think this is going to work very well and keep my devices charged while riding!

Here’s what I came up with and on the commute to work it seemed to work very well.

Nice and slim… I followed the outline of my Promoto Billet rack. ADV sticker adds class and better visibility!

Doesn’t stick way out either..

I’ll report back on how this little dude performs over time.. but sure is nice not to have mud all over your back and hydropak anymore.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This little dude is free, it works great and I’ll be able to get those cool angle low shots while riding.  I can even bend the legs around a tree limb or fence post if I need to. So here’s what I came up with:

Here’s all you need to make your own little tripod. The black washer nut piece you don’t really need. I just added it cuz I found it and was going to use some sort of nut to be able to tighten down the legs onto each other.

My Flip Mino weighs 3.3 oz and this little thing holds it up with no problems.  I could easily use stronger gauge wire for a heavier camera.  You can buy tabletop tripods for cheap, but this little contraption will last for ever, need a new leg just cut a new piece of wire and slap it on. I love when a plan comes together!

So I took the advice of ADV’r “Crawdaddy” and put my fender bag on my bike where I wanted it.  Then drilled a small hole through the bag clips, then put a small zip-tie through the hole to secure the clips.  Now I know my bag won’t just fly off and there’s really no need to remove the bag while out on the trail.

Go to Harbor Freight and pick up one of these:

Now remove all the head band stuff and discard.  I used a pencil to draw a smooth guide line and then with a pair scissors cut the edges off.

Its pretty much personal preference on where you mount the shield up on the headlight plate, I wanted to get enough velcro surface area to hold the shield on but as high as I could mount it.  Here’s how mine turned out.  So far… so awesome!

To finish it off.. I have a perdy ADV sticker to go right along the velcro.. live’n it up a bit!

Then I cut the wires running to the socket and soldered them together, heat shrink them and electrical taped for good measure, like so:

So far after 2,000 miles on the bike, no issues at all.