The Beginnings of a Little Cafe Racer ..... GS250 Twin ...Cafenated

[txironhead]

Definitely give the wetsuit material a try. A buddy of mine has it on his Goldwing and loves it, and he makes 600+ mile trips a few times a year on it. Almost completely eliminates "butt sweat", is a lot more comfortable and a hell of a lot easier to sit down on in 100 degree weather.

And who says it necessarily has to be black? Granted, it's more traditional, but I've seen a dark blue seat on a metallic blue bike and it looked great, and a red seat on a flat black bike with red graphics, that bike really stood out and looked sharp.

Any decent upholstery shop should be able to find it, especially if they cater to the off-road crowd (can you say hose out your cab and you're done?) You may even be able to find plain neoprene slip-over seat covers for cars and trucks that you can chop up for material, may even be cheaper than buying it from a supplier.

If you look at a lot of the gel strap-on seat covers for bikes they're covered in neoprene.

[bhppy101]

Definitely give the wetsuit material a try. A buddy of mine has it on his Goldwing and loves it, and he makes 600+ mile trips a few times a year on it. Almost completely eliminates "butt sweat", is a lot more comfortable and a hell of a lot easier to sit down on in 100 degree weather.

And who says it necessarily has to be black? Granted, it's more traditional, but I've seen a dark blue seat on a metallic blue bike and it looked great, and a red seat on a flat black bike with red graphics, that bike really stood out and looked sharp.

Any decent upholstery shop should be able to find it, especially if they cater to the off-road crowd (can you say hose out your cab and you're done?) You may even be able to find plain neoprene slip-over seat covers for cars and trucks that you can chop up for material, may even be cheaper than buying it from a supplier.

If you look at a lot of the gel strap-on seat covers for bikes they're covered in neoprene.

I used to have Wet Okole's neoprene covers in my jeep.

[txironhead]

I just thought of something: How cool would it be to find an old wetsuit, use it for the seat, and be the only guy around with a "Body Glove" seat with the logo right in the middle?

Okay, I'm putting my sleep-deprived mind to bed.

[AOD]

I don't like logos on my bikes...but it's a neat idea. Surely people throw away old wetsuits when they rip or fail somewhere. The material could probably be stiched together again.

Dude, that Pacific water is freakin' cold!!!

Working on my motorcycle again tonight hopefully...I have two weeks to button everything up for the West Viriginia GSR Rally!

~Adam

[bhppy101]

I don't like logos on my bikes...but it's a neat idea. Surely people throw away old wetsuits when they rip or fail somewhere. The material could probably be stiched together again.



Dude, that Pacific water is freakin' cold!!!

Working on my motorcycle again tonight hopefully...I have two weeks to button everything up for the West Viriginia GSR Rally!

~Adam

The water probably in the 60's....It feels great in the hot summer!

[AOD]

I visited San Diego two-three years ago in May...that water was f'n cold! I thought walking on the beach would be fun...at least the scenery was nice.

~Adam

[Mike_H]

I visited San Diego two-three years ago in May...that water was f'n cold! I thought walking on the beach would be fun...at least the scenery was nice.

~Adam

You want cold water? I went to college on the shores of Lake Superior. Try swimming in that water in April. Well, not really swimming, but immersion for sure. Unfortunately, getting an endorphin rush from 45° water is about all there is to do there, no real "scenery" to check out

[AOD]

Here in the mountains, you can go whitewater rafting in the rivers. I went in mid-summer and the water temperature was 58-degrees! 8O Talk about refreshing!

~Adam

[j.w.napier]

you are a very sneaky man LOL

wow that's a great hiding place wish i had a place to hide all of my crap not much room when your fender hugs your rear tire and it's only about 10 inches long guess i've got to leave it be anyway ARE YOU DONE YET!!! \\/i want to see it with the gals riding my wife won't even go near my bike? she hates them i love them i finally understand the love hate relationship:shock: anyways take it easy don't work to hard unless it's your bike your working on and have a good one
J.W.Napier

[bhppy101]

I got the seat foamed and upholstered:

I used a disc sander to shape the foam and attached it using som 3m contact adhesive...than I cut some black marine vinyl and sprayed the back with some contact glue alone with the top of the foam....Let both glued sides set up before you place them together but be xtra carefull because once they make contact its almost impossible to take apart without damaging the foam.

Stretched the vinyl over and "poof" I got my seat!

[bhppy101]

Heres how I prep metal before I polish:

I use fine/medium prep disks with a drill adapter. These disks are like scotchbrite pads and they com in different grades






The before pic

[bhppy101]

Sanding it down with these prep discs will save a ton of time and elbow grease!

Heres what it looks like after prepping for polish:




Tomorrow....I will wet sand it with 400 grit...than 600 grit by hand....than use a buffing wheel with compound to polish to a mirror shine!

[txironhead]

I bought some of those discs a long time ago and then realized that it took a special "screwback" adapter for the drill, and I could never find that adapter. Basically, the back of the disc had a plastic "screw" that threaded into the part that chucked into the drill. Is this the kind of setup you're using? Whether it is or not, where do you get the discs and adapter?

They make little Scotchbrite wheels for the Dremel (cheaper if you get the Sears brand, though) that work great for small parts but they wear out really fast. The discs would last much longer.

[JSC]

search on ebay, or talk to your local parts/paint suppliers and ask for Roloc disks

you can get plastic bristle disks that remove paint but not metal, sandpaper disks, and scotchbrite like disks that come in different flavors - blue "polishing", and red/brown "aggressive" that will remove steel in short order

[bhppy101]

I bought some of those discs a long time ago and then realized that it took a special "screwback" adapter for the drill, and I could never find that adapter. Basically, the back of the disc had a plastic "screw" that threaded into the part that chucked into the drill. Is this the kind of setup you're using? Whether it is or not, where do you get the discs and adapter?

They make little Scotchbrite wheels for the Dremel (cheaper if you get the Sears brand, though) that work great for small parts but they wear out really fast. The discs would last much longer.

I get mine from Harbor Freight and Tool....Luckily I live about a mile from the main California wherehouse/shipping center :-D