The assembly of a motorcycle consists of several different sections that will [hopefully] come together to form a cohesive final product. Going down the list of “to do’s” that lay before me as I work towards my final product can be both exciting and overwhelming. One area in particular that I had been racking my brain on was the seat. Despite being a fairly simple piece, it is oh so crucial to the style and finish to the bike.
Seat Pan
Seat Foam
Seat Cover
How could those three components cause me so much grief? A few preliminary questions had to be addressed before this project went underway. Would I use any of the stock parts in making my one-off saddle? If the answer was no, then I needed to figure out how to craft a new seat pan, source foam, and then also source a cover. If the answer was yes, then I needed to be very careful in how I went about this process.
Altering an original piece and failing to make a usable finished product would be sacrilegious and would definitely result in loss of sleep. Even altering an OEM piece to make it suit your needs and retain its functionality would surely make some cringe. Myself included from time to time.
Even with all of my reservations about cutting into stock parts, I seem to do it anyway. The story with the seat pan is no different. I chose to use the stock seat pan and it needed some serious alterations to fit my needs.
The seat needed cut down on the sides to fit the slimmed down vision in my head. I wanted to expose the frame rails and give the bike a cleaner silhouette. The sides of the seat pan in its stock form hang down past the frame rails. The construction of the item in question is what I’m guessing to be a plastic of some sort; Hard in construction but with a little flex. What tool would I use to cut and trim this material? And how would I do so in a manner that left a clean and level edge?
A bench grinder came to mind as a stationary tool that would give me enough control to shave down the sections of side skirting that needed modification. I, however, do not own a bench grinder and also work in a shop that has no power. This created a problem, and just like most of my projects, requires a work around to facilitate my current situation. Fortunately for me I had a tripped plan to visit my parents in the near future from the start of the seat debacle. There I could find my father's electrified shop where a bench grinder did, in fact, reside. This way I could give a test run of sorts as to what a grinding wheel would do to the mint condition original seat.
As with my gas tank, I was now in a position of sink or swim. One can only show so much hesitation when it comes to getting something done. Luckily, to my surprise, a bench grinder made a smooth and clean cut. It was like a hot knife through butter, and for my purposes, would do just fine. This actually pushed me to finally purchase a bench grinder for my personal use. This project alone made it justifiable, and I am positive that it will be put to use down the road. As of now, I am just using the tool in my apartment when necessary.
I had found my method, but was not out of the woods yet. The shaping of the seat pan required a lot of back and forth: marking, measuring, grinding, putting the seat on the bike, staring at it, and taking it off. The actual cutting of the seat was easy and fairly low commitment as far as time. Getting it just right, however, was what took time. Without power, I had to go back and forth between my apartment and the worksite, which was frustrating to say the least.
Seat Pan- Seat Foam
- Seat Cover
Next on the list was the foam. This is what sits in between the seat cover and seat pan. Questions to address in this section include fan favorites like: Will I use the stock seat foam? If yes, then how will the stock seat foam be modified to fit the shape wanted. For this build, I wanted to slim down the seat. The stock foam is anything but slim. The end goal is to make a seat that looks good but is also functional and won’t feel like you are sitting on sycamore floors.
This is where the final two stages of the overall seat blend together and what one wants may get blocked by what is feasible. My original plan was to not use the stock seat foam. However, I needed to talk to my upholsterer about different materials and how they would work with the cover I was using.
The stock seat pan is anything but flat; It has curves and ridges, and hardware that allow it to lock. At this point in time, I had committed to using the stock seat pan as I had already sliced into it with a grinding wheel. This was what I was using. That being said, upon consultation with my upholsterer, I was informed it would be very hard for them to use another foam material on a base with such obscure shape.
This isn’t the news I wanted to hear, but when faced with obstacles like this, decisions have to be made. The upholsterer tells me they can trim down the excess seat foam that doesn’t line up with my now trimmed seat pan but that they can not thin down the foam itself. Reasons for which being that it would most likely lead to a botched job with an uneven seat surface and imperfections. This was a little disappointing, but I came to the conclusion that leaving the thickness of the foam itself was the best way to move forward.
Seat PanSeat Foam- Seat Cover
Here is the next problem with upholstering the seat: The amount of leather I bought. I purchased roughly eight square feet and I really thought this would be enough. And I was partially right. This was enough leather to do make a seat cover, but barely. The amount would also not allow for one single piece to be used for the sides of the cover, resulting in stitch lines running vertically where two pieces joined together. If you have an image in your head of a specific shape paired with specific stitch lines, I would recommend purchasing a healthy amount of leather to be on the safe side.
Seat PanSeat FoamSeat Cover
The three elements that made up this puzzle had been conquered. Despite the minor inconveniences that were laid out in front of me during this process, it was a relatively simple process. I honestly owe the success of this component to my upholsterer. I left the seat in their capable hands and roughly a month later, I received a call alerting me it was finished. This was a nerve racking time. What if I don’t like it? What will be the next step? How will I recover? A few moments of high stress were followed by extreme relief. Another piece to my motorcycle puzzle was complete and it came in the form of a stunning seat.
A beautiful piece of leather draped over a simple piece of plastic with some foam sandwiched in between. Who knew something so seemingly simple would have so many different variables to sift through? And all for something to sit on.