Fixing up my GS1100GKE sadle

[OdinTheGod]

Hello.
I have a little saddle project I have to get to.

Saddle to my dear GS1100GKE need some hard love ...





While the foam and the "skin" cover is replaced by a pro. Should I take care of the metal bottom part.

It is pretty rusty. It has some rust damage along the edges where the small attachment studs.

What I wonder is. When the rust is gone. What do I do with the edges? Welding? Fibreglass? Plastic? The metal is thin..

And how do I replace the fixing studs?

Some others who can show / tell about other saddle repairs?

The underside.


The fixing studs:


The rusty edge.





Link to my GS1100GKE Picasa album.

https://picasaweb.google.com/102544127085662791255/MinSuzukiGS1100GK84?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLCJseTamI3tcQ&feat=directlink

[uk gs nut]

seat repair

have a look at www.pandkclassicbikes.co.uk it may help. have a look at there video on seat spike strip. i think you may still need a welder. good luck.

[spyug]

I think the first thing to do is strip everything off and go at it with a wire wheel to get down to raw metal. I think its repairable with some sheet metal welded on. some of that spike strip welded on will sort out your attachment points too. I'm sure a competent auto upholsterer can take care of that for you.

If you can do the welding the next best would be fiberglass but its not going to be as good as steel in this application.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Cheers,
spyug

[argonsagas]

Some sheet metal and a bit of time with a welder will do it.

The seat and pan on my 1100G were pretty well shot when I got the bike, so I had to fabricate it. A pan from an 1100E was found on e-bay.

They are not the same, so the nose of the new pan was chopped off to extend it, and the rest hammered into shape from sheet metal, then welded, with a couple of reinforcing plates laid on. When all the padding/covering is off some of the work can be done from above, which allows you to make new mounts, drill for proper fit and mount them.

The result was not pretty (I had not touched a stick welder in about 25 years), but as strong as the original and, best of all, IT WORKED!

A new king/queen saddle was obtained from E-bay and fitted onto it, and the seat went back on the bike.


An embarrassing aside: As soon as the seat was mounted I climbed onto the bike, bounced it off the centrestand and went for a first ride. Things were good until I reached a major intersection and had to stop there.

I came to a smooth stop, put my foot down and the bike fell over.



I had not considered that the new seat might be a good deal thicker than the original one until the moment my foot went down, ......and I could not reach the ground.

[OdinTheGod]

Tnx for all the super tips and help :-D
Now I have lots too do :-D

[OdinTheGod]

Ok ..
The saddle base has now been sanded, primed and painted. I've got "The spikes". So. Now I'll assemble them. But. As you can see the edges, I have just removed the rust (sand blasted). I have not sanded down the edges.
I'm going to get made "strips" which has the same dimension as the "spikes" that I Pop onto the outside to strengthen the edge (The spikes attached to the inner side). I will use epoxy and pop rivets. However, with the jagged edges epoxy will get a better grip.

I will post more pictures when I made the stripes. So you see what I mean :-)

[OdinTheGod]

An update :-)
The saddle is now at a furniture upholsterer. I popped on the spikes around the underside of the saddle and the reinforced edge around with an additional metal strip.

Now I'm excited about the result :-)





I can not wait until the roads are swept free of pebbles. So I can take the first ride if this season :-)

[1948man]

Robert Plant might say your saddle needed a "Whole Lotta Love." Looks like it's been getting it. Good job and looking forward to seeing the pics with the foam and cover back on.

[OdinTheGod]

Ok..

So now the saddle has its cover :-D






The spikes think I was punch out the wrong way. The spikes should be pointing down so it did not work as knives. I have sent a mail to the spike manufacturer. The Saddle-maker had to sew on a strong edge so that it do not tear.

But it worked out nice :-D







Now I wish it stopped raining..


The next update will be the saddle installed on my GS1100GKE ;-)

[7981GS]

How much to make one of mine look that good?
You even raised the front bucket that is too low for normal sized people!
I would guess that you also moved the seat back in the front rearward as well for the same reason.

Eric