Not bad for an afternoon's work + pics

[Mike_H]

So, I have decided to fab up my own seat. I know a ton of people have done cafe conversions here on the forum, and posted very good articles on how to make that type of seat. Unfortunately, seat mounting doesn't seem to come up very often, or if it does, they use bolts to hold the rear panel/seat combo on. I am looking to make more of a smooth, crusier style seat. Low profile, and flowing with the lines of the bike. I have some pretty good ideas on how to fab the pan up, but I'm running out of creativity when it comes to clever ways to mount the seat. I have already gotten rid of the stock mounts...due to a failed attempt at grafting a Harley seat on.

Wondering if any of the many great minds out there can help me come up with a good way to mount a seat of this type. I want it to be easily removable, cuz I keep my air pressure gage, ins. papers, fuses, registration, etc under there. I'm thinking about using a 1/4 turn fastener at the rear, (Dzus type) but I'm struggling with the front of the seat. Slide in? more 1/4 turns on the side? Any ideas will be considered. Thanks

 

[johnnay]

I've been looking into this issue as well, and figure the best way to go for the front is to use a tab that slides under the rear tank mount. For the rear, newer seats have a barbed post that fits vertically into a latch - kind of like a hood latch on a car. You can pick these up from ebay easily, and just bolt the male portion to the underside of your pan, and fab a corresponding mount for the female part on the frame - might have to weld in a crosspiece or something.

Of course, make sure you get the key when you get the mechanism.. ](*,)

 

[Mike_H]

yesterday progress

yesterday progress

Got my carbs cleaned up, and painted. Some pics...

All taped and plugged

After paint, Cook at 150 degrees for 30 min....

(For the love of all that is holy, no one tell my wife that this occured...She was sleeping at the time )

All Finished

On the plate for today is to make a seat pan, and finish the mounting of my rear fender. The fender won't be too difficult, I just have to find a Uncle with a welder. Since its Maple Syrup time here in MI, I know exactly where to find him!

 

[tkent02]

After paint, Cook at 150 degrees for 30 min....

What type paint, and why only cook for a half an hour?
Will it be gasoline proof?
Looks very nice.

 

[Mike_H]

It's Duplicolor's High Temp Engine Paint...It doesn't have to bake, but I did just so I could work on them faster without getting fingerprints on them (it was kind of an experiment). The paint hardened up nicely though.

 

[tkent02]

(it was kind of an experiment).

Have you given it the gas test yet?
Curious about that particular paint.

 

[denydog]

It's Duplicolor's High Temp Engine Paint...It doesn't have to bake, but I did just so I could work on them faster without getting fingerprints on them (it was kind of an experiment). The paint hardened up nicely though.

Just a side comment here: I recently used some VHT Universal Aluminum Engine Paint on my motor. The directions on this product require you to cure the paint at 180 degrees or it will not be durable around things like gas. The directions state you can either bake in an oven, or just let the engine come up to temp.

Warning! The fume cloud that developed while I warmed my engine up was unbelievable. I had a hard time with the smoke even in the open doorway of my garage. I would have had a serious problem if I had tried to bake it in my kitchen. Maybe I should have let it dry longer before heating, but it seems to be doing well now.

 

[Mike_H]

Have you given it the gas test yet?
Curious about that particular paint.

Nope, I haven't. Technically, Gas should never come into contact with the outside of the carbs, (Technically )and I've never had any kind of leaks, so I'm not too worried about it.

 

[tkent02]

Technically, I'm not wondering about your carbs.
Technically, I'm wondering about my gas tank.
Which I'm painting today.
And which I don't feel like popping in the oven for 1/2 an hour at 150 degrees.
Technically, Gas should never come into contact with the outside of the gas tank either.

 

[Mike_H]

Ahhh. I see. I think you'll be better off with a base coat/clear coat, which you can also get in a rattle can, but since I haven't painted any of my body panels, I can't speak to that either. Good Luck!

 

[tkent02]

I think you'll be better off with a base coat/clear coat,

I did, duplicolor base and then the high temp engine clear.
It's supposed to be fuel resistant.
It's on my other tank, no problems yet.
Just wondering what you knew about it, and if baking it would make it more resistant to fuel.

 

[beergood]

I used regular engine paint on my other bike's tank, and it proved to be fine with gas.

I used base and clear on my 750 and when I got a little gas on the tank last week it clouded up where it landed. It seams that the base under it is fine, but the clear didn't hold up very well.

I'm going to buff it out and apply some wax and see what happens this summer.

 

[Mike_H]

Seat Progress, The Hard Part is Done

Seat Progress, The Hard Part is Done

So, This weekend, was gorgeous here, and I was so bummed that I wasn't able to ride, so I took my convertible out instead :-D.

The nice weather did inspire me to start busting on this project though, and I got somewhere today. Front Brake calipers are torn apart, ready to go to work with me tonight, and get cleaned up. I'll hit them with caliper paint this time, and replace my crush washers. Maybe, just maybe I won't have to repaint them again next year.

I also got the (insert drumroll, please) seatpan fabbed up. WOOT. Worked out pretty good. The wife and I went out and sat on the bike. When she was seated, I got off the bike, and used a paint marker to mark how far the seat would have to extend. Next, I used cardboard and painters tape, and made a psuedomold for the fiberglass to form around.

The cardboard is under the tape. I used tape to prevent the resin from sticking to the cardboard, but nothing prevented the resin from sticking to the tape. I think next time, I'll try wax paper.

 

[Mike_H]

Next, I cut the glass matting to size, and mixed up some resin...this part was a PITA. I kept having to mix more. It takes a lot more resin than you think it should. Oh yeah, something else I learned...Pay attention to the mix ratios. I had a couple batches "kick" before I had used half the resin. Toss the mix, and start over. Anyway, I got it all layed out. Two layers over the sheetmetal, and four over the framerails, where my 190lbs butt will sit.

With that done, I went for another ride in the convertible, and waited for the resin to set up.

I'm left with this...

Seems pretty stiff right now. I'm going to wait 24 hours for it to fully cure, then reevaluate. I might add a couple more layers of mat to the top, just to be safe.

I also got some closed cell foam from a local rubber supply house. My dad has used it for hunting stands for years, and told me about it. Its about an inch thick, so I think I'm going to use 1 layer of foam, topped with some tempurpedic material to smooth everything out. Pretty excited about the seat pan though. First time I have ever done any fiberglass work, and it seems to have turned out pretty good.

Later

 

[ron bayless]

man that is looking really good.I cant wait to see how it turns out.

 

[beergood]

Looks good so far.

Once you get used to working with it you'll start seeing all sorts of things that you can use fiberglass for.

 

[Bopi]

Great effort, and to think i went with aluminium.

 

[pnut1177]

You have no idea how helpful your listing has been for me. I have been searching for the perfect rear fender and knowing a dynaglide fits no prob is so damn helpful. I have an 883 sportster seat the problem is the front where it meets the tank on the GS is too narrow...wonder if the dyna seat would be wider up front? Thanks for your project it reminds me how I'm not as bad off as I thought. Now if I can just keep the battery charged life will be all that much better

 

[pnut1177]

oh yeah meant to ask is the fender from a regular dynaglide or dyna wide glide?

 

[Mike_H]

oh yeah meant to ask is the fender from a regular dynaglide or dyna wide glide?

Dunno...Just something my buddy had laying around that I liked, and it worked. He said it was from a Dyna, but I'm not sure which model. Hope the Sporty seat works out for you.