 New lower seat being made.
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Heya everyone, just posting a few pics of what I am making.   I have formed the blank out of aluminium, next step is to fibreglass it top and bottom to fill in the gaps and give the foam something to stick too (glue does not stick well to aluminium). The I will stick some 30mm thick waterproof foam and shape it using a hot wire. The last steps will be to cover it in leather (or get someone else to cover it, I haven't decided this last step yet) and put some rubber on the base to protect the frame. What do you think? any recommendations?
TBA, Stainless extractors / drag pipes, 65mm over forward controls, Thruxton needles, 904cc, head ported, lowered 1-inch, Console removed, relocated battery box, Australia.
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Oil Expert
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Nifty (as my ex-wife would have put it). I'd find some people to talk to about what sorta foam to use to best resist flattening, and consider shaping it similar to an old fashioned tractor seat if you're looking for long distance comfort.
Remember also that if you use genuine leather you'll have to oil it periodically to stop it cracking, however that would let you carve/stamp/decorate/dye it etc if you see fit.
Don't forget to leave room for the air intake to breathe. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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I picked up some blue colour waterproof foam from Clarks rubber today, it feels pretty good to sit on and will hopefully return to original shape after use.  Leather is my preferance, but I haven't found anywhere to get it done (close to Wollongong), or where to buy blank leather sheets for that matter.  Air intake no problem, it's freaked.
TBA, Stainless extractors / drag pipes, 65mm over forward controls, Thruxton needles, 904cc, head ported, lowered 1-inch, Console removed, relocated battery box, Australia.
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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looks good at that,very nice now if you'd like to make 2 hehe
just tricking
i will use your idea tho lol
Ben
04 yellow&black Speedmaster+the Money Pit{xj jeep}
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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While you're at it Ben, how bout YOU make two and run one down to Brissy for me? It'd give me a good excuse to get a freak. 
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Should be Riding
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Should be Riding
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Can't wait to see your finished seat. Quote:
Leather is my preferance, but I haven't found anywhere to get it done (close to Wollongong), or where to buy blank leather sheets for that matter.
Can't you just grab the hide off of the nearest kangaroo? 
Soren
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Heja Runner Sorry for my question ,bros,but i'm lookin on your 1st Pic in the Background is a little ladder ....aren't you sooooo little in down under, or is it a MUST to use a ladder for "ridin a Triumph?????  ride on greeeetz PETER
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Learned Hand
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Quote:
Heja Runner
Sorry for my question ,bros,but i'm lookin on your 1st Pic in the Background
is a little ladder ....aren't you sooooo little in down under, or is it a MUST to use a ladder for "ridin a Triumph?????
ride on
greeeetz PETER
 Good point, Dog! When I think of Aussies, I usually picture these tall, rough looking dudes - There must be some squatty little dwarfs down under.
2004 Triumph Speedmaster (J Lo) 2006 Yamaha Stratoliner (Adele)
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Duh... dumb americans & germans... shows what you know... EVERYONE knows the ladder is so our pet koalas can get on the pillion seat on their own!
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Quote:
Can't wait to see your finished seat.
Quote:
Leather is my preferance, but I haven't found anywhere to get it done (close to Wollongong), or where to buy blank leather sheets for that matter.
Can't you just grab the hide off of the nearest kangaroo?
Soren
Yes Kangaroo leather should do the trick.... sorry have to go, Skippy just hopped bye so I better get my spear and boomerang to go and catch it!.......
TBA, Stainless extractors / drag pipes, 65mm over forward controls, Thruxton needles, 904cc, head ported, lowered 1-inch, Console removed, relocated battery box, Australia.
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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 I see, it have your humor still...  Are curious about the new "Kaengaroo saddle"  greeettzz PETER
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Hey Runner,
I had one made for the Mrs's SR 250 years ago. A good trimmer should be able to do it. You should be able to get a a sheet of leather from a saddler or on the net. I recall I got a full roo skin from a tanner down south. The roo was fairly cheap and you can't get better leather. There is Wattle Glen tannery in Brisvegas and GREENHALGH TANNERY in Victoria both sell complete roo skins and I suppose you can select a colour. I am happy with the original but I may sheepskin it. Don't know yet. I also need two seats or there would be trouble.
Looks good though.
Cheers
A dog, a bike, a ute,
Now in the deep south.. Newcastle.
Cold winters, cold rain
Come on summer
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Runner
have you finished how did it turn out
you opportuneness Sandman lol
i walked up the street the other day and their was a 40kph sign sign laying be side the road hehe the perfect start for a seat base me thinks
Ben
04 yellow&black Speedmaster+the Money Pit{xj jeep}
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Heya guys, sorry for the late reply. I have now fibreglassed the seat and checked it for fit to the bike.... luckily it fits great! Next step is to attach the foam and shape it. I will try to complete that later this week, next week I am on holidays so it will definantly be finished sometime then! P.S. I was going to post photo's but the photopost page is down... I will do it when it is working again.
TBA, Stainless extractors / drag pipes, 65mm over forward controls, Thruxton needles, 904cc, head ported, lowered 1-inch, Console removed, relocated battery box, Australia.
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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  Here are the updated pics. You will notice I drilled some holes in the base, this is so the fibreglass sticks well. I have fibreglassed both sides. I will glue the foam down tonight!
TBA, Stainless extractors / drag pipes, 65mm over forward controls, Thruxton needles, 904cc, head ported, lowered 1-inch, Console removed, relocated battery box, Australia.
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 Re: New lower seat being made.
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  Here are some progress photo's. I have it all complete now except for leather trim. It feels good to ride on, although I've only been on a short ride so can't comment on long ride comfort. The lower / further back position is good for my height and certainly lowers the centre of gravity which I suppose is a good thing for handling. I am going to get a quote from an upholster to trim it in leather, because I think I would stuff it up.....
TBA, Stainless extractors / drag pipes, 65mm over forward controls, Thruxton needles, 904cc, head ported, lowered 1-inch, Console removed, relocated battery box, Australia.
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Looks great! What color leather? I like your bars/risers too.
There is no greater thrill than being shot at with no consequence. -Churchill
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 Re: New lower seat being made.
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Thanks mate,
I was thinking just black leather, but am now considering either dark grey or dark brown. The stitching will probably go around the edge at the back, then follow to ridge around the front part of the seat.
Maybe I should take votes on what colour to use, what do you all think - Black satin leather, dark grey leather or dark brown leather???
TBA, Stainless extractors / drag pipes, 65mm over forward controls, Thruxton needles, 904cc, head ported, lowered 1-inch, Console removed, relocated battery box, Australia.
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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my vote is for heavy, distressed, black leather, whip stitched, not glossy black, but worn looking.
Dark brown would look cool too, but my vote is for black.
There is no greater thrill than being shot at with no consequence. -Churchill
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Should be Riding
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I always thought brown looked funny on a black bike... Never seen what dark grey would look like, but whatever you do I like the idea of it NOT being shiny.
Benny
Black & Silver '02
Too many mods to list
Not enough miles ridden
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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"Lighten up, Francis."
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"Lighten up, Francis."
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I always thought tan looked good on a black bike.
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Should be Riding
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I think for me it goes back to matching my cows. Black shoes, black belt, etc. It's probly an old school thing, the tan/brown on a black bike.
Benny
Black & Silver '02
Too many mods to list
Not enough miles ridden
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Thanks Guys, It is now at the upholsters. I first asked about the price of brown thick leather with a simple cross stitch around the outside....but almost fell out of my skin when he told me the price! Way too expensive for this project!  So the compromise I went with was to use thin black leather (donated from an old vest that was too big for me), and dress it up a bit by stitching diamond quilted pattern in the middle, and some piping that goes around the edge of the diamond quilted seating area. This should give an old school look which I was after. It should be ready in 4 day time, fingers crossed! 
TBA, Stainless extractors / drag pipes, 65mm over forward controls, Thruxton needles, 904cc, head ported, lowered 1-inch, Console removed, relocated battery box, Australia.
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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I thought a black seat with a contrast stitch, perhaps even baseball style would be nice.....but, maybe later.
Our Liberties We Prize and Our Rights We Will Maintain
If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and will never be.----Thomas Jefferson
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Yer, too late now but I'm interested anyway. Whats the baseball style you refer to?
TBA, Stainless extractors / drag pipes, 65mm over forward controls, Thruxton needles, 904cc, head ported, lowered 1-inch, Console removed, relocated battery box, Australia.
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Quote:
I always thought tan looked good on a black bike.
Me too.
Runner, what kind of foam did you choose? I like how low you went ....I've customized my stock seat via scooping out foam with an electric carving knife, a cheesegrater, and sandpaper.... but I still want to bring it down lower before I attach the new leather seat cover for spring.
I'm thinking maybe I"ll just pull off the stock foam and use the pan and build back up, so I'm curious about your choice to pad the seat pan.
"Let your soul shine,
It's better than sunshine,
It's better than moonshine,
****** sure better than rain."
-ABB
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Hi Paula, I used a 30mm thick water proof foam first, this was cut to a rough shape then glued to the base. Hot glue gun is best glue to use. Then next step was to shape it using a long snap blade knife (cheap one from supermarket) and a hot wire cutter. I made the hot wire cutter from a small insulated bow and guitar string, then connect it up to about 6volts. Instructions for this were found on internet. This got it to the basic shape and comfort level I required. last step was to stretch some 6mm foam sheet over the top and glue down, this was where I was up to in the last photo. The upholster will also use some softer foam under the leather to take out any imperfections. Hope that helps!
TBA, Stainless extractors / drag pipes, 65mm over forward controls, Thruxton needles, 904cc, head ported, lowered 1-inch, Console removed, relocated battery box, Australia.
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Thanks Chris,
Keep the pictures coming!
"Let your soul shine,
It's better than sunshine,
It's better than moonshine,
****** sure better than rain."
-ABB
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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You done good, Chris. Keep us posted on the final results.
I bet red distressed leather or antique orange leather would look good on a black bike.
Another way to make a hot wire tool - take a length of old choke cable innards, and fit it into a pistol type solder gun. You can tailor the radius of the wire based upon choke wire length, or bend to shape.
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Ok, I finally got the seat back from the upholsters.... He took 2 weeks to finish it. I was not happy with the result because he used Vinyl around the outside and the leather in the middle is very loose with folds etc. He understood so ajusted his costs accordingly. I have put the seat on my bike and I'm happy with the comfort level and postion it puts me in, which is lower and further back than the standard seat.     What do you think?
TBA, Stainless extractors / drag pipes, 65mm over forward controls, Thruxton needles, 904cc, head ported, lowered 1-inch, Console removed, relocated battery box, Australia.
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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not a big fan of how the rack sits on the back of the seat but hey its yours and so long as you are happy.....
Duck
Road Rabble MHi
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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I really like the shape of the seat, and the three seams along the seat look sharp. I wouldn't worry about the vinyl on the sides of the seat. I've seen some high end seat done in the same manner. The vinyl weathers better than the leather, but the leather breathes better. Your seat has the leather where you need it. I do agree with Duck in regards to the rack. I just don't think it looks right. Just my opinion, but you asked!
Learning from my mistakes... again and again.
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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Thanks guys, I agree everyone has their own opinion.  I could mount the seat using a 50 cent coin or stainless disk and it would probably look better, but ever since I made the rack I use it all the time so will probably just leave it as is.
TBA, Stainless extractors / drag pipes, 65mm over forward controls, Thruxton needles, 904cc, head ported, lowered 1-inch, Console removed, relocated battery box, Australia.
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Re: New lower seat being made.
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i like the seat
i'm playing with an xv250 sext at the moment if it fits its going on after some re-hopolstery
i chopped the stock one but i feel it is still to wide
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