New seats on a budget

[GSJake]

I would like to see some of your aftermarket seats on your L models. I have an 850GL and i would like to update the seat a little. So could some of you guys post pics and say how you made your seat or where you purchased it from. I'm a student right now so i have a pretty small budget so i won't be able to buy a $300 seat and if you could say how much you paid for it that would be great. Thanks

[ktp1598]

I am interested as well. Seems like good GL seats are non existent!!

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. GSJake,

If you're on a tight budget, a "repair" or "refresh" might be more in order until more funds are available. If your seat foam is OK, perhaps you can install a new cover. If the seat foam is damaged or worn, Dennis Kirk and others sell foam kits that you can "cut and paste". Check Mr. bwringer's entry in THIS THREAD.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[ThomasTedder]

To do a really cheap job, you could always learn to do your own. I did this seat for about $5 worth of vinyl and scrim (sewing foam) a few years ago on a GS1000 I used to have. It's satisfying in the same way that tuning carbs is.

[bigsmellyfred]

I got a new cover from the Dennis Kirk cataloge. As long as the existing seat foam and sheetmetal (including the prongs) are in good shape, it will look as good as new.

[sabreman-v65]

How about thisfrom a Honda CM185 "Twinstar"? Just a couple easy brackets, and bolted her on .....comfy too!

[snowbeard]

how's this for a cheap seat...






mostly kidding, but I had good luck having a local lady sew up a new seat for my 650 off the original foam and pan. I think it ran $75 but was worth every penny!



thomas, do you have a full on walking foot sewing machine or what? that's cheap once you own the machine...

[lilbilly]

how's this for a cheap seat...






mostly kidding, but I had good luck having a local lady sew up a new seat for my 650 off the original foam and pan. I think it ran $75 but was worth every penny!



thomas, do you have a full on walking foot sewing machine or what? that's cheap once you own the machine...

that's cheap right there and it looks great! Wish I could find someone like that!

[Gumbo76]

New Seat... Slightly higher budget...

Well, I bought a 79 GS550 and decided to do a little update to it... Here a few of the seat. It is a work in progress, but You'll get the idea. Bought it on eBay, but could have bought it from www.HotwingGlass.com. I paid the same price for it on eBay, but it will run you about $190 Shipped...

Anyway, here are a few pics of the seat mocked up suck... Currently I am filling a couple of blemishes and will painting it red.

[ThomasTedder]

thomas, do you have a full on walking foot sewing machine or what? that's cheap once you own the machine...

I do. The walking foot is the secret for big jobs. I made that back when I owned an upholstery shop. I sold my good machine when I sold the business, but I have a nice industrial machine now that I bought out of the classifieds for $100. Keep an eye on the paper and you will come across a cheap one.

[snowbeard]

nice, I just fired up the old singer for a try, man those do not like vinyl or cordura much!

I bet you could offer your services again if you cared to, there's a lot of these old bikes that would look 100% better with just a new seat!!

[rustybronco]

nice, I just fired up the old singer for a try, man those do not like vinyl or cordura much!

You better try a different old Singer... my 201-2 sewed 37 layers of cloth and 18? (can't remember for sure) layers of denim before the needle broke.
I've sewed vinyl and leather with it.

[ThomasTedder]

nice, I just fired up the old singer for a try, man those do not like vinyl or cordura much!

I bet you could offer your services again if you cared to, there's a lot of these old bikes that would look 100% better with just a new seat!!

I've considered it, but to be truthful I've considered bidding on restraunt chairs. It used to be a speciality of mine. I got $20 per seat labor. All stapling, no sewing. I would stack them all up and do 3-4 an hour. I've done as many as many as 100 on a weekend for a restraunt and bar owner.