Kawasaki Ninja 400 and Z400 Motorcycle Stock Seat Replacement Options

Everyone knows that the seat position on the Ninja 400 and Z400 is uncomfortable and sloping forward.
Here are some links to a few of the available options:
Kawasaki Ergo-Fit Extended Reach Seat
amzn.to/3ZRmruk
Corbin Front and Rear Saddles
www.corbin.com/kawasaki/kn418...
Norton Racing Supersport seat
www.norton-motorsports.com/pr...

[@vanlarson9213]

I bought Kawasaki Z400 replacement seat for taller riders. But it was still stiff, I weight 200 pounds. I also put 1 in risers to raise the handle bars for a more level ride. But the bike rode to ruff to really enjoy. My step son goes everywhere on it, even commutes 40 miles a day. Brags about the gas mileage.

[@powamoto]

Z400 rules awesome bike amazing vids you rocking 😎

[@Z900JerseyJared]

Thanks man right back at you!

[@Jodyrides]

I put a Corbin seat on my Z 400. Much much better. You don’t want more padding, you want a wider seat to spread the load out.. I have a couple videos of my Z 400 with accessories I added including the Corbin seat if you want to take a peek

[@rickrigsby7620]

I have the Norton seat. My advice is, if you get one, keep the original seat. After your ship it you’ll only net $75-80 bucks. Wish I’d kept mine for those 1-2 hour “spirited” rides and use the Norton for longer rides. Z400

[@Z900JerseyJared]

That's funny, I had the same exact thought about keeping the stock seat just in case. Question though: what makes the Norton seat not as good for the spirited rides? (I think this is the answer I was seeking when I was making the video originally)

[@rickrigsby7620]

@@Z900JerseyJared it just puts me a little higher on the bike is all but it isn’t bad. It’s smooth so you can maneuver easily from one side to the other. But the company gives I think 30 days so you have ample time to decide

[@Z900JerseyJared]

@@rickrigsby7620 thanks Rick, I appreciate the info!

[@John_Ridley]

I don't have my Z400 yet, but on my VStrom 650 I absolutely love the Sit-N-Fly seat cover. it gives you a lot of cushion, it provides airflow, and it grips your seat so you don't slide around. It might solve the problem and they're like $25. It made my VStrom stock seat much more comfortable.

[@Z900JerseyJared]

Oh wow that sounds pretty neat. I'm gonna go check those out right now. Thanks!

[@danny100d]

Thanks for posting. I like my seat height but it’s uncomfortable. Going to look at Corbin.

[@Z900JerseyJared]

Thanks Danny! If you end up buying one, post back here to let the community know what you think of it and if the issues are fixed. Stay safe out there brother 🤜🤛

[@803scsubie]

My suggestion to everyone would be the Luimoto seat cover ($140) and the gold gel ($90). I have this set up and it’s great no regrets. I totally forget how bad the seat once was. The gold gel addresses the comfort issues(you could get other gel elsewhere if you want). The seat cover material and built in ridges help with sliding around. It also retains the same overall seat height and seat geometry. On top of it all it also looks the best on the bike compared to the other options in my opinion. They also make a cover for the Kawi ergo seat as well for $10 more I believe.

[@ImTheBoss914]

Thanks, this looks like a good option, thanks for sharing. My biggest gripe with the stock seat is that I always slide forward did this fix that issue for you?

[@803scsubie]

Yeah absolutely it’s helped with that a lot. The material itself is tackier than the stock material so it grips much better(I ride in jeans). Along with the horizontal ribbing or ridges keep you locked in from front to back while still allowing you good movement side to side on your bike.

[@ImTheBoss914]

@@803scsubie Thanks for letting me know, I think I'm going to shoot with this one, the price is half that of Corbin, and even though putting it together myself seems a little daunting at least I will know how well it was put together haha. Glad it helps with the scooting forward thing though, that is literally the worst having my tank be molested by my junk lmfao.

[@Z900JerseyJared]

I ended up buying the Z900 and have no complaints with the seat, but I like the idea of that Luimoto seat cover with the gel insert to make things a little more "cushy" for those extra long rides. Thanks for the suggestion! Have you done any other cool mods so far?

[@c0uchsl0uch]

I bought the Corbin seat in carbon fiber leather with the bright green trim. It is a good option but cost $375 or so, maybe it was $422 whatever. Plus you keep the OEM seat

[@Z900JerseyJared]

I'm definitely digging the bright green with the carbon fiber look. Nice choice! Heard nothing but great things about the Corbin and certainly doesn't hurt that you get to hang on to tet original seat just in case.

[@NoToFear]

The best thing I tried first and works for me was installing handlebar raisers which also moved my bars backwards by an inch. Believe me it is the best modification on the Z if you are hitting the open road. This keeps me slightly backwards on the seat with my regular arm position. However, the seat is 100% fine in MY OPINION without dismissing ANY OTHER opinion mentioned here. I used to do bicycle road racing on those thin rock hard 1/8 inch padding seats. At first I could not do 15 miles on that seat, but spending time in the seat I could eventually do 70 miles. One's body just adapts to circumstances if it is trained through repetition. I had a Suzuki Wee-Strom 650 for 10 years and did 2000 mile trips on it only stopping every 200 miles for gas (do admit it was in South Africa doing about 100mph on average where speed limits are higher so time in the seat was less around 2 hours at a time). I had a gel seat and after 200 miles that gel seat has crushed your prostate more, than the harder stock seat where you rest on your butt bones. Eventually you sit "through" the seat. No matter how much you spent on it. My point is just spend more time in the seat and you will get used to it. My office chair and my Z's seat are equally hard. . . Just for the record. My 2020 Yamaha XT250 has the greatest seat I have ever had on a bike and I have been riding 36 years now. The cushioning is perfect and when I go down a 55mph Pike (as much as I am willing to push the max 75mph this bike has, I just keep going and going. The seat is quite narrow yes, but moving from one butt to the other just works fine. At 76mpg with a 2.9gal tank I must say there was not a single thing I had to do to it to make this bike better in any way.

[@Z900JerseyJared]

I've been looking at some of the gel pads lately as well and think that's definitely a good alternative to just replacing the seat entirely. Do you take the XT250 off road a lot? If so, where do you ride? In NJ, I feel like anywhere you go they would just call the cops on you right away and I'm getting to old for that kind of trouble.

[@johnd9031]

Yes the stock seat is like a rock. Two suggestions. Airhawk seat pad. Or send stock seat out to have it reworked. I found the Airhawk very comfortable.

[@Z900JerseyJared]

Cool I'll check out that airhawk seat pad now. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@moto_zomby5479]

I had a z400. Ended up selling it cuzz i could not get comfortable on that thing no matter what i tried. Sold that. Now i got a cb300r and the stock seat is 100 percent better.

[@Z900JerseyJared]

I've never seen that CB300R before but it looks real sharp. Honda definitely makes a solid motorcycle. I had a CBR600F4i back in the day and that bike never had an issue. Did you go with the yellow or black? Would love to demo that CB1000R some time! I could definitely see myself buying one some day.

[@brashkov]

Ergo fit seat adds a lot more padding but you do slide forward still. The Norton seat is supposed to fix that. I am putting a gel insert in my stock. I own the stock and and ergo.

[@Z900JerseyJared]

Thanks crash, I appreciate your feedback! Guess I'll rule out the ergo one for now. Definitely let me know if the gel insert helps at all.

[@catchpole11]

Still sliding? Damn. I just need something more level to reduce the slide.

[@karlfonner7589]

@@catchpole11 Read the comment that I just posted

[@roryduplantier2158]

Corbin..all the way.Cost?Yes,but the cost of discomfort, is way higher,in the long run.No slippage,and you can get the perfect accents of choice.Trust the many satisfied customers.Next up,4 cylinder Z400.It would be ashamed if it didn't come to America,because it is what we wanted all along.Great hp,with lower insurance cost.

[@Z900JerseyJared]

Yeah, agreed. I've heard nothing but good things about Corbin. Might have to drop the extra $$$ and just go for it. Haven't heard about that 4 cylinder Z400 but it sounds kind of neat. I'm off to go read about it now

[@ImTheBoss914]

Howdy Jared, any other options that have made way into your awareness? The norton seat now REQUIRES you to send your seat its no longer an option :(, and with it being around 4 weeks I don't think i want to go that long without riding. But currently that looks like a really great option consdiering how plush it looks and how it appears that it wont slide you into the tank.

[@Z900JerseyJared]

From what I've seen, most people opt for the Corbin. It's a little more expensive but seems worth it in the long run as far as comfort goes. I don't really like the look of it though and would probably go with the Norton as well. I definitely agree about not wanting to miss 4 weeks (or longer!) Can you make it til winter and do the upgrade in the off-season?

[@ImTheBoss914]

@@Z900JerseyJared oh very true, winter time I don't plan on riding, I was very antsy and didn't even think about winter time = no riding (atleast for my area). Many thanks, the corbin seat doesn't look too bad imo, but it still looks somewhat sloped, the norton seat looks like it completly eliminates any sort of slope on the seat. Thank you very much for replying, and great video, glad someone is talking about how horrid the stock seat is and makes your nuts hug your tank lol

[@karlfonner7589]

OK, here’s what I did with my Z 400 seat. First off, handlebar risers make a difference. when you take the seat off you will notice that there is a bracket that supports the seat that is attached to the motorcycle with two bolts. Believe it or not I went to the dollar store and found those two bolts that were longer in a package of bolts cheap. What I did was replace those bolts with 1 inch thick gasket underneath them to raise the bracket. It still wasn’t good enough. I bought an Amazon aftermarket seat for cheap - big difference. Made from memory foam. I still kept sliding into the tank. so, I bought a Amazon seat cover and stuck A sponge between the seat and the seat Cover. much more comfortable. I feel that it’s The foot pegs are Angled to the dangled that is throwing you forward into the tank

[@Z900JerseyJared]

I love how you went all MacGyver on it! What I did was I went back to the dealership and bought a Z900 🤣

[@karlfonner7589]

@@Z900JerseyJared I hear ya! No way am I selling my Honda 2006 919. 900s are the sweet spot between fast and fuel economy

[@Jodyrides]

I agree with you that the stock Z 400/ninja seat is bad for anything longer than 30 minutes in the saddle. All day rides from 7 AM till 11 PM are completely out of the question on the stock seat I tried a sheepskin with two layers of exercise mat foam which is about an eighth of an inch thick cut to fit the seat under the sheepskin. Tremendous improvement. But it looked too funky I was going to buy that optional seat from Kawasaki so I read some reviews and everyone of them said that seat is as bad as the stock seat.. then I bought a 1 inch thick gel pad on eBay. It is called a “purple gel pad”. It comes in a custom made cover. I have a video of it on KZbin. That is the ticket. The instructions with the gel pads say not to let it sit in a hot car in direct sun temperatures above 100° in the sun. This pad is not made specifically for motorcycles. leaving that sit on your bike in the sun in the summer, because it’s black, I know it’s going to get hotter than 100°. So you have to cover it on those hot sunny days depending on where you live. I was considering getting a Corbin for the Z 400. Then a miracle happened. A used one came up on eBay for $100. All black. They misspelled the word Corbin on the ebay posting..They spelled it carbon, so nobody else found it but me and I got it for the starting price. I got it in November 2021. I live in Pennsylvania so I have not had a chance to ride it with that seat yet. too cold..But I can tell you it is more supportive and a bit wider and a bit thicker.. I can’t see how it would be worse than the stock seat, but if all else fails, I still have that purple gel pad which is more than satisfactory… I have been riding for decades, I’ve had dozens and dozens of motorcycles, I have over 700,000 miles behind bars just on my street bikes, I’m not counting my road race machines I did for eight years -winning six championships, or the dirt bikes and trials bikes I have had.. I can tell you from experience there are things you should do that will make riding more comfortable than just changing your seat.. wear a jockstrap that fits.. You won’t be reaching down there making adjustments at every stop sign if you were one. They are a miracle.use a lot of talcum powder on your junk especially on a hot days. Drink a lot of water even though you are not thirsty. You lose a lot of moisture from wind evaporation when riding a motorcycle, especially if you wear all the gear like I do.Take ibuprofen before you do long rides. Replace your stock foot pegs with rubber top foot pegs. That isolates the engine buzz and the road buzz through the foot pegs that goes up through your legs into your back whether you realize it or not.Just the same way a good seat & suspension insulates your butt and back from the road irregularities. Use foam grips. They also isolate your wrists elbows and shoulders and neck from vibes from the engine and the road. Reducing your fatigue.. use earplugs. The best ones I have found are the swimmers ear plugs at Walmart. You get a small case with about 20 of them in it for a couple bucks. They’re like soft clear silicone or wax I don’t know what they are but they completely seal and you can actually hear better while riding a motorcycle when you get rid of that 110 dB of wind roar at 70mph when traveling.. if there’s a tall windshield available which I found for my Z 400, that reduces the wind pounding fatigue.. make sure you carry water, and lubricating eyedrops, never get the eye drops that claim they get the red out of your eyes. They actually reduce circulation to the eyes by constricting your blood vessels in your eyes. I put a piece of carbon fiber looking contact paper across my helmet drop down sun shield, covering enough so I can see under it with no problem, driving into the sun on a motorcycle, is tough. I covered 90% of the sunvisor on my flip down sunshield. it works very well for me ..It helps a great deal on sunny days protecting your eyes from that angry red ball in the sky… do leg stretches and squats every time you take a break while riding. Especially before you start riding… if you don’t fit your motorcycle, get a different motorcycle. If you are tall, the Z 400 may be too small for you causing you to have your legs bent more when on the foot pegs, shutting off the circulation in your legs because your jeans bunch up behind your knees at that extreme angle. I had a Moto Guzzi V11 sport..my 4th guzzi.. that was the most uncomfortable motorcycle in the entire history of the universe to me. Too much lean forward, too much bending the knees, I was never able to ride that motorcycle for more than an hour Without taking a half hour break. I loved that motorcycle, but it was unrideable..Anytime you see one at a bike gathering, go look at the odometer.. they never have more than 2000 miles put on them a year. I’ve never seen it. A motorcycle Hass to be comfortable. That’s what this video is about, comfort, the seat on the Z400. that last seat in this video, I forget the name right now, but I can tell you by looking at it, that you’re going to be sitting on your balls with that seat The best seat I ever had was a Corbin seat for my Honda pacific coast. It had a lumbar support it was adjustable ,supported your lower back. It was shaped exactly like a horse saddle. It was not thick and soft, it just had the correct shape and it was wide enough to support my butt. I wasn’t sitting on my balls.. I have relatives that live 744 miles away. I rode that Pacific coast with that Corbin seat on several times a year to visit my relatives. Of course I was sore and achy after that ride, but my ass was not broken when I got there or when I got home. The horse saddle shape seems to be very good for me at least The second best seat I ever had was the stock seat on my BMW K 1200 LT. Thin, wide enough, also shaped like a horse saddle, and also almost as thin as a horse saddle. I think the shape is more important than the thickness of the padding… and so is it important to wear a jockstrap, talcum powder down below, jeans that fit correctly, rubber top foot pegs, foam grips, drink lots of water, take an ibuprofen every four hours, and consider upgrading your suspension. I found that a GSXR 600 shock goes right on the Z 400 and the ninja 400. The one I bought was from a 2018 GSXR..I have read that the GSXR750 shock will also fit, but has a higher spring rate. I felt the improvement immediately over ripples and dips and when crossing railroad tracks.I have this in a video on KZbin, the upgrades I made.. I will be making another video giving my opinion and showing the Corbin seat.. I have actually made almost 20 changes/improvements to my Z 400. I only mention a handful of them in the video I have on KZbin.. I am still sorting things, trying different weight fork oils, i’m going to upgrade the front fork springs to match the spring rate of the rear shock spring,.. I am experimenting with tire pressures, but not at the moment because it’s January in Pennsylvania.. I can tell you when I bought this machine used from a beginner that was 6‘6“ tall. He realized after two days that the machine was physically too small for him. when I got the machine it had a Yoshimura muffler on it. It was earsplitting way too loud..It was open. I could drop a golf ball in one hand and it would roll right out the other end. I don’t hate my neighbors. So I bought a stock muffler off of eBay. I think the machine sounds much better with that muted deep tone of the stock unit, which happens to be the one that the factory no doubt spent hundreds of development hours designing. To get the best overall performance on hot days, on cold days, in slow stop and go traffic, on the interstate, at sea level, or while riding in mile high Denver. that’s quite a juggling act they have to do to get these things to run as good or better than the competition, have perfect drivability manners, and pleased tail pipe sniffing EPA test, and the sound test.. I noticed with the Yoshimura muffler, before I had a stock muffler on the machine, but the bike had a slight hesitation when feeding the clutch in to pull away from stoplights and red lights. I had to slip the clutch a bit more to get away from lights without that bug. This is very common when people change the exhaust system or the intake system. people think because it’s louder, it’s faster. I found the opposite to be true most of the time and motorcycles lose their drivability. The worst I can remember where the Suzuki 800 intruders. People would put the slip on mufflers on them. And to make them run correctly they had to do a Dino jet kit upgrade to their carburetors. If you ever rode behind one of those motorcycles after they changed mufflers and did the Dino jet kit which is not reversible because they have to drill out passages in the carburetors, your eyes would burn from the raw gas being dumped through that engine. my advice to everyone is, leave your bike Stock, The factory knows more than you do. And, problems will be covered under warranty. Modified bikes are not covered. It says that right in your owners manual. Even using a non-Kawasaki oriole filter justifies them from covering engine damage. I have seen this on a brand new Honda Gold wing when I was a mechanic at a Yamaha/Honda shop. The guy used a chrome Chinese filter on his Goldwing, there was an engine internal problem, the Honda rep that evaluated whether or not a claim was justified saw the Chinese oil filter, and rejected the claim. That owner had to buy an engine out of a motorcycle salvage yard and have us put the used engine in his machine.. just saying…

[@Z900JerseyJared]

Thanks for the great feedback Jody! I appreciate you taking the time to write back. (Also it's so cool to be talking to a former motorcycle racer!). You're a wealth of riding knowledge and with all of those miles under your belt, I'm definitely going to try a bunch of your ideas. Rubber foot pegs and foam grips sound awesome. I go back and forth on the ear plugs -- I like to block the wind noise, but I also like to be able to hear if someone is creeping too close to me. Maybe I'm just buying the wrong ones, but I think I'll pick up a set of those ones from Walmart that you mentioned. I'm cracking up about your Moto Guzzi comments!! That Corbin seat is expensive, but seems like it's worth every penny. Wish I could get lucky on ebay like you did! Definitely looking forward to your video and hearing your honest opinion about the Corbin seat once it gets warmer out and you've had a chance to try it out on a long ride. Talk to you soon.

[@raymondlivingston8471]

Seriously thanks for the info!!

[@stevefromaustin5325]

Nice video. Can you make another video where you just repeat the word "Bueler" over and over? All kidding aside, great video.

[@Z900JerseyJared]

😂🤣 you're right! I watched it back just now and I definitely need to pump up my enthusiasm A LOT on all of my future videos. Appreciate the constructive criticism and thanks for watching!

[@Rastei]

I have the ergo fit seat in my ninja 400 and it's better than the original for sure. Better position and comfort but I think the real problem of the bike is triangle position with footpegs and handle bar

[@Z900JerseyJared]

Thanks for writing back about the ergo, I think you're the first person to comment who actually has one and this will be a big help for the kawi 400 family. I agree with you about the footpegs, they should have put them lower and a little further back. Do you have any other bikes in the stable? I only have the one for now but I'm always looking

[@catchpole11]

Does the ergo seat solve the angle issue? That's my only concern. I find the OEM seat comfortable enough, I just can't use the rear section of it when tucking in as I slide back down to the tank.

[@jeffomspaugh6691]

Chinese option of a CC Rider set. Real tempted to try it.

[@Z900JerseyJared]

Those look good, never saw em before. For $99 I feel like you really can't go wrong. If you end up buying them, definitely post back here with your findings for the community. Thanks brother!

[@andrewlawton6579]

My dad actually just bought one of these sets for his ninja 400 and it definitely helps. I don't how good it's gonna be long term but if you're a baller on a budget its an option. Helps level out the seat and adds a little more cushion.

[@Z900JerseyJared]

@@andrewlawton6579 thanks for the feedback Andrew we definitely appreciate it! Us budget ballers gotta stick together 😂

[@jeffomspaugh6691]

@@andrewlawton6579 it actually feels better after a few hundred miles of break in

[@karlfonner7589]

@@andrewlawton6579 Read the comment that I posted