Guts tall seat on KX 250/450 2020+ ?

I have a current gen KX450 and prefer GUTS firm/hard stock height seat foam at 6’2”. This is my buddies KX450 with the GUTS tall seat foam, he’s maybe an inch taller than me, and he has definitely questioned the tall seat choice. I myself prefer the lower center of gravity in corners at tracks. Maybe I would prefer it for the desert? Hope this helps!

Don’t screw up the handling of the bike by putting a tall seat on it.  Lower the foot pegs and quit skipping leg day at the gym.  I’m 6’3” and it is plenty roomy for me.

I agree with this. I’m tall and lowered foot pegs and got the tall seat. Tall seat messed with handling significantly more than I ever thought it would. It’s just sitting in the show now and oem is back on. Lowered pegs and bar position are all we need. 

Ive got a Guts tall seat foam and a RJ "winged" tall seat cover that I will sell for $100 plus shipping if you want to try it out that I used on my 19 KX450 for about 10 hours. Both are in great shape. I never felt like it affected bike handling but I switched back to stock to see if the tall seat felt better and I couldn't really tell a difference so stuck with stock for the mental advantage.

I tried their medium foam and it was amazing for a couple rides until it broke down as much or more than the stock foam. So I have since moved to the firm foam, and it’s definitely like sitting on a brick at first, but it doesn’t break down as fast and once it breaks in, it’s perfect.

For the guys lowering pegs. What are you doing to get the brake pedal lower?  I have run out of adjustment (bottoming out on the clevis) and it looks like I’d need to cut the threads on the plunger shaft to get my pedal lower. 

i run my foot pegs in the upper position cause I prefer not to drag my foot pegs and still cut the plunger shaft to allow a lower brake pedal. 

Dude, I know where you ride.  If I can pull off lowering my foot pegs in Red Bud ruts without having my size 14 boots ripped off the pegs, you’ll have no problems at all at Perris, GH, or Pala.  Give it a try.  It really improves the comfort.

Although I'm 6'2", I'm more torso than legs, so I don't really mind it. I need to spin some laps with you at Red Bud some day!!

Look up Vet Fest.  I is absolutely the best run large scale vet race I’ve ever done.  I think Barda is coming out this year to make my bike look fast in the +50 A class.

Will do!

And now back to the OP...

I'm 6'2 and run my pegs in the upper position and I have had my heels hip the ground when I'm standing in a corner. That's the only reason I haven't lowered them.

I also cut the plunger.

                     I'm 6'9" and size 16 boot , I found lowered pegs did not work well for me. I should have tried riding with them more than I did. But I rode one practice at Southwick and my feet kept getting ripped off the pegs. I had never had so much trouble keeping my feet on the pegs. I was shocked that the tiny amount the pegs were lowered by made such a big change.  And looking back, I should have tried them on some other tracks. But it was a drastic change for me.   I have long legs, MX boots normally just meet up with the bottoms of my knee pads and a lot of pants just reach inside the boots. So I'm sure I am on the extreme side of things. I found a tall seat helped me so much when going from sitting to standing when coming out of a bermed corner into a rough section, or on faces of jumps. 

                         At the time I was also riding my MTB a lot and was a pretty strong climber so my legs were strong. But it made it so much easier and more fun. It looked goofy , but I was so much more comfortable. I also ran taller bar mounts, the tallest straightest bars.  For me any change in handling was offset by being so much more comfortable and being able to stand up so much easier. So I did not notice the downsides other than it looked goofy. But I was already making a 450 look like an adult on an 85. And a coworker described how I looked on a bike as " A squirrel f@#$ing a football" . So the goofy seat was the least of my worries.  It was on a Honda CR 250 and CRF450.

                I made the foam myself. I got 2  standard foams and carved and glued them together. I made one of the first bump seats that I saw.  It ended up adding 2 or 3 inches to the seat height . At the time 15mm was what a standard " tall" foam gave you. The tall seats these days are  much taller than the old 15mm extra. If I was you I would buy a second seat to make a tall seat from so you can go back and forth . And if your main concern is how it looks , then the standard foam is probably fine for you. You might be able to put together a seat cover design that helped minimize the goofy factor. make the top black and sides green, maybe a stripe of black on the sides to separate the top and sides some more? I think a single color will make it stick out more as being tall .  

^^^I'm 6'8" with a size 16 boot as well. Totally get the lower CG of a standard seat but the ease of being able to go from sitting to standing was a big difference and makes for a more enjoyable day at the track. My desert bike and adventure bike I also have 2" Rox bar risers and Flexx bars, longer cables etc. Can do a 300-400 mile day off road waaay more comfortably with this setup.

Good God- what are they feedin' you boys?

I took the tall Guts seat foam and made a medium seat for one of my bikes. It started out looking like that tall KX seat, completely flat front to rear, I took about 3/4 inch off and reshaped it to look right. You’re not stuck with whatever they sell, make it whatever you want! 

Older bikes with the swayback seat shape can benefit a lot from a taller seat, most newer bikes are already pretty flat and tall. 

Many ways of shaping the foam with tools you already have too. It's not as difficult as you might think . Go slow and remove small amounts and work it into the shape and height that is a good mix of extra height without being too tall. Watch some videos on Youtube and find one that the person is using the tool you own anr or are comfortable with.

An air powered stapler  is the way to go for installing a seat cover. It will make it almost fun to do. The Harbor Freight gun that uses T50 staples is a very easy to use inexpensive stapler that works well. I've put on over 200 covers without ever oiling the gun. Then I got the Arrow air power version. The tip on the Arrow is a bit bigger than the Harbor Freight gun and  it can be harder to get into the area on the sides of the seat on some bikes. I think if I had oiled the HF gun , it would still be alive and working well now. I think they discontinued the HF gun that I was using. I saw them on closeout not long ago for less than $20. For the average non commercial user , it will last forever. 

I've tried a couple electric consumer style T50 staple guns and non of them had the power they needed to set a staple into the plastic of the seat base. I do not remember all of the brands , a couple plug in style of various brands that I had around from using them for other things. And a Milwaukee M12.  I think my M12 might have some issues though . I got mine right when the first ones were available and it never worked as well as most M12 tools work. So I may have gotten a bad one. The safe bet is air power. You can get the Arrow air power stapler for around  $36.99 at Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes and I'm sure other places. 

I throw the Guts tall seat on my KX450 and put the pegs in the lower position.  I use the Phantom foam and it takes a couple rides to hit the sweet spot for comfort.  Handlebars are in the forward hole in the back position.   I tried taller handlebar holders (Luxon) but it messes with control of the bike too much.   I keep that stock height.   I’m 6’3” and this setup fits me better than any other bike brand.   

For cutting the foam down, I sharpied my cut line on both sides of the foam, basically copying the shape of another seat that I like, measured it a few more times to make sure my marks were even, then made the big cut with a carpenters pull saw. To round the edges and smooth everything out I used 60 grit on a disc that fit my cordless drill. It’s a hour or two work if you’re picky and work slowly. Probably 3 hours if you hurry, lol! 

Do you still have this tall seat? I’d be super interested in buying it if you do. I’m not very tech savvy on this app but if you text me 360-593-4307. I’m in Texas and be happy to pay shipping!

is this a +20mm tall guts foam or a +30mm guts seat foam, looks like a 30 things huge. 

I plan to put a taller seat on my on my  24 KX450 I just picked up.  I’m only 6’2 ish but have really long legs.  I have Guts tall 30mm foam on my Beta 300 RX and my 23 Honda.  Once the foam breaks down it’s not as high.  I couldn’t tell any difference in handling but I’m old and slow.  Guts has a 20mm height also, which I may try this time. 

I also lowered the pegs on both my Beta and my Honda. Haven’t lowered the pegs on my new KX but will over the weekend.