Okay, let’s talk about messing with the seat height on the little CRF50.
Figuring Out the Problem
So, I got this CRF50, mostly for my kid to learn on, but sometimes I jump on it too, just for kicks. The thing is, for a smaller rider, that stock seat height can feel a bit tall. You want their feet, or at least the balls of their feet, touching the ground comfortably. Makes them feel way more confident when starting or stopping, you know?
First thing I did was just watch my kid try to get on and off, and how they balanced when stopped. Looked a little tippy-toe, not ideal. So, I figured I had to do something about it.
Looking at Options
I poked around online, saw people talking about a few things:
- Lowering links for the suspension: Seemed like overkill for what I needed. Messing with suspension geometry felt like opening a can of worms I didn’t want to deal with on this little bike. Plus, costs money.
- Aftermarket low seats: Definitely an option. Bolt off, bolt on. Easy peasy. But again, costs money, and sometimes they aren’t as comfy.
- Shaving the stock seat foam: This seemed like the way to go for me. Cheap, just needs some elbow grease, and I could customize exactly how much I took off.
Getting Hands-On: Shaving the Seat
Alright, so I decided to try shaving the foam. Here’s basically what I did:
First, gotta get the seat off the bike. Just a couple bolts, super simple. Took it inside so I could make a mess without getting dirt everywhere.
Next step was pulling the seat cover off. It’s usually held on by staples underneath the plastic seat base. I used a flathead screwdriver and some pliers to carefully pry out all those staples. Took a little patience, didn’t wanna rip the cover.
Once the cover was off, you see the foam. I grabbed a marker and kind of drew the shape I wanted, basically taking maybe an inch or so off the top, maybe a bit more dished out in the middle where the rider sits. Didn’t want to go too crazy, just enough to make a difference.
Now for the fun part: cutting the foam. I heard an electric carving knife works great. Don’t have one. I ended up using a sharp serrated bread knife first to get the rough shape, then finished it off with a Dremel tool with a sanding drum attachment to smooth it out. Made a heck of a mess with foam dust, wear a mask for sure!
Took my time, checked the shape often. Made sure it was relatively smooth and even. Didn’t want any weird lumps.
Putting it back together was the reverse. Stretched the seat cover back over the newly shaped foam. This part can be tricky. You gotta pull it tight to avoid wrinkles. Used a staple gun (a decent hand-operated one works fine) to re-staple the cover to the plastic base underneath. Pulled it tight as I went around.
The Result
Bolted the seat back on the bike. Yeah, you could definitely see it was lower. Maybe lost about an inch, inch and a half overall. Put my kid back on it, and bam! Feet much flatter on the ground. Big confidence booster right there.
It might not be the prettiest custom seat job ever, but who cares? It works. Didn’t cost anything but a bit of time and effort. If you need to drop the seat height on a CRF50, shaving the foam is totally doable yourself. Just take your time.
