Motorcycle Seats

[Hidemechanic]

I've been reading and it's time for me to ask the question of you seat makers.

Are those seats for town use or are they comfortable enough for extended crusing?

I'm sure there are some guys who can go with either, what is your experience?

My stock seat bites my arss about 20-30 min into a ride and I've tried rebiulding it but no luck.

What foam do you use?(Might be my prob)

Who makes the seat pans?

Is that something a guy can do at home?

If so, how do you go about shaping the pan so you know it will be comfy when it's covered?

I know. Don't tell me. I need an arss transplant, I get that from my OL already.

And yes I'm speeking figuretivly when I say "LMAO", cause it was gone a long time ago.

Nyuk,nyuk, nyuk. GH

[Drac]

"that boy suffers from from that rare and sometimes fatal disease known as noassatall!"

[David]

GH,

I can't speak for everyone because the final opinion depends upon who is giving you that opinion. With regard to my seats

Jeff Cochran one of the founders of Sucker Punch Sallys rides one of my seats from here to the Smokeout in NC every year.

Donny Loos the other founder also rides one of my seats....

Super Dave who works at SPS won't ride one of my seats for a city block.

My son has had one of my seats on his ride for nearly two years.

So go figure.....if your have a tender butt....maybe my seats aren't for you.

If you are riding an older Harley with thick soft padding, it may have degraded to the point that you are sitting on bare steel.

I have two styles of seats one is 1/2" of urathane foam the edge is laced with double loop kangaroo.

The second style has 3/4" of the same closed cell foam the edge is laced with basketweave kangaroo. Both styles of foam are very firm. The seat pans are West Eagle.

Dave Theobald

[outcast]

For comfort I use at 1" of closed cell neoprene foam with gel pad insert. I start out with at least 1/2" on the bottom. Then I take another layer of 1/2" and cut out a hole to near exact dimensions of the gel pad I am inserting. I make sure that there is at least 1" of neoprene at the perimeter of the gel pad for support. Then I glue the neoprene sheets together, with 3M super 77, making sure the hole is centered. Then stick in the gel pad making sure that glue is in contact where the gel pad meets the neoprene. After shaping the foam I cover the whole thing with with another layer of 1/8" neoprene to seal it all in, and hide any undesirable seam exposures. After about 300-500 miles the seat will be broke in nicely and will be conformed to your non existing butt. I hope this helps ya out. It sure did help my butt, and my customers who ride rigids say the same.

Steve

[David]

GH,

I can't speak for everyone because the final opinion depends upon who is giving you that opinion. With regard to my seats

Jeff Cochran one of the founders of Sucker Punch Sallys rides one of my seats from here to the Smokeout in NC every year.

Donny Loos the other founder also rides one of my seats....

Super Dave who works at SPS won't ride one of my seats for a city block.

My son has had one of my seats on his ride for nearly two years.

So go figure.....if your have a tender butt....maybe my seats aren't for you.

If you are riding an older Harley with thick soft padding, it may have degraded to the point that you are sitting on bare steel.

I have two styles of seats one is 1/2" of urathane foam the edge is laced with double loop kangaroo.

The second style has 3/4" of the same closed cell foam the edge is laced with basketweave kangaroo. Both styles of foam are very firm. The seat pans are West Eagle.

Dave Theobald

OOPS, I said Urathane, I meant neoprene. sorry for any confusion.

Dave

[Hidemechanic]

Dave, I figured that's what you meant. I've been using neoprene for some time now on seats and haven't had any complaints. I have used it on my stitch horse and other things I make cusions for (arm rests, baseball mitts ect...) but I think the secret is combining the types of foam.

I think you are also right that the foam in my scoot seat is fetigued.

Steve, your meathod sounds like the ticket for my seat bones. Funny, if I have the right seat I prefer a non padded saddle seat, and can ride all day. I have talked folks out of padding for saddles because at some point the padding compresses to the point that you are on the same hard leather that is under the padding and will most likely cause more problems because the foam is trying to decompress all the time. That's another story.

Where does one find gell foam?

Are you using 12/14 oz. or lighter?

Thanks for the info guys. GH

[outcast]

Try these guys.

http://www.brooklynbuttbuffer.com/

or these guys.

http://stores.ebay.com/Kno-Place-Upholstery-Co

There's a lot of suppliers of gel pads out there. Just gotta huntem down. But I've used both these guys before.

Steve

Edited January 23, 2008 by outcast

[ericluther]

Just use the old school wheel barrow inner tube method on top of your seat, just be careful with the valve stem placement lol

Edited January 23, 2008 by ericluther

[Hidemechanic]

I see there a different color gell pads, is there a dif in the firmness or dencity, or are they different colors because of what they were made with on a give day? GH

[bustedlifter]

Just stick an innertube in it!

Edited January 23, 2008 by bustedlifter

[Jordan]

Don't want to dampen anyone's enthusiasm, but ( there is always a butt isn't there). LOL While the design of seatpans foam types and thickness etc. are all good points that need to be addressed, the entire bike needs to be considered, such as footpeg placement, ride height, bars and controls placement, size of the rider, and the designed in posture (read side profile of the rider), among many other things. Are you riding upright road racer, classic motorofficer, or laidback and stretched out. Just some things to consider. I found that a kidney belt helps to keep me from slouching thereby making the seat more comfortable on longer rides of course frequent refreshment breaks would do the same thing but I'm afraid I don't cover a whole lot of miles in a day that way.LOL Hey whatever works alot of experimenting is in order until you get the right combo of fit and comfort, therein lies the fun and the love of 2 wheeled motorized transport....Jordan

[Hidemechanic]

I thought the valve stem was insurence agaist loss when hitting bumps

Jordan, to a degree I agree. I do ride more comfy with a back support( lunch bag behind me) but if I ride two up(which I want to avoid) then the comfy goes away. It's a 82 v45 Magna, and I am either going to go to a shorter traditional style bars or I'm gonna trade the mag for a Saber(back to the traditional position). I still have the stock seat and haven't found a good deal on an after market(Mustang - Corbin) After seeing our seat guys making solos I thought I'd look into going that route.

As to seat-peg position I think Honda missed the boat there too, as the early Mags are quite crampt.

Like many of us I like trying to do things myself soooo,,,,GH

[wolvenstien]

....or I'm gonna trade the mag for a Saber

You speak crazy sir.....

[DJc]

You speak crazy sir.....

keep the magna and get a sabre, two of hondas cooler bikes imo...

second time I've heard of using an inner tube, can anyone explain that?

[Roger]

i use polymer inserts when requested.

i use between 5 and 8oz leather depending on what's available.

most comfort comes from the the way the seat fits you. more or softer padding won't help it the shape is wrong

[Ghostdog]

Does the Neoprene need to be reg or high quality? an what size or sizes should i buy to make two seats? thickness an so forth? thank you

Edited January 24, 2008 by Ghostdog

[outcast]

Regular will do. How much to buy depends on how thick you want, and the dimensions of your seats.

[Roger]

Does the Neoprene need to be reg or high quality? an what size or sizes should i buy to make two seats? thickness an so forth? thank you

really depends on what you are making. i make quite a few seats and by a sheet at a time.

i buy 1" and if it needs to be thicker i just glue and stack more on top

[Ghostdog]

thank you guys for the quick response. i appreciate it.. Any special glue I should use? Where can I purchase ? Thank you all again.

[David]

All the discussion about foot pegs, handle bars etc. is important to ride comfort but is pretty much out of the control of most seat makers, I have the pans provided to me, I don't know if Beeze makes his own pans or gets them from his customers; but I suspect the later. That means that comfort with regard to riding position is out of the seat makers control. I alway tell customers that I am a leatherworker not a steel fabricator.

Come up with a solo springer pan and I'll make you a seat. I say springer because I dry lace my seats with a front and back hide; beeze wet molds his seats and has a front and side hides. My hands just won't do the wet molding thing anymore.

Dave

[Hidemechanic]

David, are all your seats for HD and or do they have a mount adapter that might accomadate a more generic fit? Know what I mean?

I see the same post patern on all your seats. Thanks GH

[bustedlifter]

Beeze is correct in that it is the shape of the pan that is essential for comfort. I make my pans with a "flat" spot in about the middle and put a small innertube ( razor scooter or small garden tractor) in that spot. With the tube in that position it makes for a most comfortable ride.

I ride a rigid and I get about 80 miles between fillups with my 2.2gal. sportster tank but seat comfort is a non-issue with this set up. I run the seat with 3" springs and about 2-3 psi, I've ridden with people who have expensive, cushy seats who complain about their butts getting sore. They ask how I can handle riding such a thin uncomfortable looking seat and I tell them to try it out, the look they get is priceless!

Edited January 24, 2008 by bustedlifter

[David]

David, are all your seats for HD and or do they have a mount adapter that might accomadate a more generic fit? Know what I mean?

I see the same post patern on all your seats. Thanks GH

My seats are nearly all done on the slim line West Eagle pan.....all have been used on Harley Davidsons except one that I did with the POW MIA art on it. The builder modified his frame mounts to accept it.

Dave

Edited January 24, 2008 by David

[wolvenstien]

Very nice David...... I would be very proud to have that seat on my bike.... just so happens I wear a large POW/MIA back patch on my vest.

[Hidemechanic]

Thanks David.

Busted, you got a picture of that seat somewhere? GH