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Seat application cross-reference?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
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Anonymous

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The seat on my '78 GS750 is not only very shredded, but since the bike had a fairing the seat is of a "touring" style. It is a big pillowy thing that won't really go with the look I am to achieve. I am looking around the local motorcycle yards and was wonder what seats from other Suzuki's will bolt right up with no mods, i.e "a 78-82 gs750 or gs110" or perhaps "none other than the same model and year", although that would be a bit disappointing. Thanks guys, Bob
 
Bob,

I have asked many times to get some clairification on cross referencing parts with no luck. I recently needed to replace my seat on my 81 GS 1100EX and after some intensive research came to find that no other year or model from the same year would fit my rig. I've been a big help, haven't I?

Good luck!
 
That is not what I wanted to hear, but thanks for the input. That sure does narrow my choices.....
 
Bob, though I have not done this myself, I have heard of people rebuilding a seat from the original seat pan. I believe that there have been some threads on this subject, so you might want to do a search. Presumably, a rebuilt seat could be to the form you want (within limitations imposed by the pan).
 
Bob, though I have not done this myself, I have heard of people rebuilding a seat from the original seat pan.
Click to expand...

This would be the route I chose. I bought a seat rebuild kit from Dennis Kirk.com and used my old seat pan. It came out great and is very comfortable. Only problem is that the seat no longer looks anything like stock (which is what I wanted). I did end up with a perfect seat on e-bay, but it cost me. Now I have a double bucket touring seat and the stock setup. Only about $340 later.
 
A quick search of Dennis Kirk led me to some pretty expensive looking kits, so here is my plan. The foam on my double bucket is pretty good. I am going to rip of the shredded cover on my original seat, shave the existing foam to a shape I like, and then sew up my own upholstery. I am a bit of a hobbyist sewist (or seamstress if you like) and have over the last several years made lotsa cool outdoor gear, halloween cosutmes, etc. I am going to look at as many bikes as I can to find a seat style I want to emulate and go from there. When I get done I will post some pics for you cats and kittens. Sadly I did not take a before picture, but I am sure you guys can imagine what a '78 GS750 with Vetter would look like after sitting for almost three years. I got some cool take-off turn signals on Ebay yesterday from a Yamaha R-1 for $30. Once I get a headlight and a quick coat of rattle-can on it, I'll get some pictures posted.


Just for those who do not live in Northern Colorado or Wyoming it is windy here on a Biblical scale. My hot tub cover got blown across the yard, my flagpole with Old Glory snapping proudly is toast, and there are tree limbs down all over. Probably sustained 25mph with gusts to at least 60. My w2hole house is shaking. It is a good day to spend some time in the garage wrenching.

Bob
 
GS Seats Cross-Reference

GS Seats Cross-Reference

Bob,
This is sort of a sideways answer to your question. Go to the Travalcade/Saddlemen website (I think it's www. saddlemen.com). Scroll to Seats for Older Bikes Road and look up the part number for your bike for a replacement foam and cover kit. Then, see what other bikes that same part number fits. This should give you an idea of which OEM Suzuki seats should be interchangeable. Give it a try, it can't hurt!
Brion
 
I have a 77 Gs750, 78 GS1000, 78 GT750 (water buffalo), and 79 GS850. The foam on the 77 GS750 seat broke down so I tried switching the seats from the other bikes. No way! They are all different. Either too long, too wide or the hinges and latches don't line up. If you can find something with the same frame it will probably fit. I would suggest a GS750 of the same or different year as long as the model is close.

As long as the seat pan is in reasonably good condition, rebuilding the seat sounds like fun. The high density foam is somewhat moldable. It is certainly easier to work the foam to fit the pan than to work the foam to fit the cover, so if you find foam and cover from another make or model that you like you may be able to easily graft it onto the pan.

If you like sewing consider making the seat cover out of old leather coats from the local Sally Ann. One coat should have enough leather to make a cover and a coat can be picked up for $10-$15. That is much cheaper than buying the same quanity of vinyl and will feel better on the tush. I have four coats lined up to be sacrificed for such a project. One brown, two black, and one PINK. Making a leather cover is one of my next projects. If you decide to do it, let us know how it turns out.

Junkman
 
Another option is to have a local upholstery rebuild you seat. Or send it to someone like Sargent to have it done. I have used Sargent in the past and had about a two-week turn around from when I shipped them the old seat to getting it back recovered. They offer lots of options so it's worth looking at their site and taking some time to figure out exactly what you want done.

http://www.sargentcycle.com/
 
I also had a problem trying to find a seat cover for my 1980 550E. Some of the saddlemen's or travelcade were close but no cigar. I even bought one that I thought would fit and it almost did....almost. Then I found this webite in Texas that listed a perfect fit for my bike. The website is http://www.motorcycleseatcovers.com. I ordered a new cover from these folks and it fit like a glove and looked like factory original. I had it installed in under an hour and have been very happy with it. The folks were very helpful and my cover arrived in about a week. Check them out.
:D :D
Kevin
 
I have already cut lots of foam from my Double bucket touring seat, and sanded it to the shape I want. My only choices now are to do a home upholstery job, or pay a local upholstery shop. I got estimates of $75 and up from a few shops, and the materials cost would be about $7 if I sew a cover myself. At that rate I can afford a few tries, and get the satisfaction of doing it myself. Anyone who has some upholstery sewing experience or who can point me in the direction of some tips would be really appreciated. In a few weeks I'll get some pics up for you guys. Thanks for all the help and suggestions, keep 'em coming.

Bob

PS - got the Yamaha R1 turn signals installed today and lo and behold........they blinked! and they look cool.
 
For an odd shape such as a seat and particularly a seat that is a "one and only" shape, for a pattern, I cover the seat in 2" wide masking tape running in whatever direction is needed to allow the tape to lay smoothly.
I then use a flair pen to mark off the seam lines on the tape. Next remove the "masking tape seatcover", and cut the tape on the proposed seams. Add 1/2" all around the perimeter of each piece. The foot on my sewing machine measures 1/2" from the foot edge to the needle, so I can sew the seam with no lines marked on the fabric if I have cut the overall patterns sizes accurately. Also, be sure to tack sew an extra width to the lower edges where it will be pulled down and fastened. (it gives you something to hold onto and is removed when the seat is finished) I also wrap the foam in saran wrap just prior to installing the seatcover. Poke some holes in the sides of the foam/saran wrap to allow air to escape.
(it helps to keep the seat from soaking water.)

Earl

BobMachus said:
Anyone who has some upholstery sewing experience or who can point me in the direction of some tips would be really appreciated. In a few weeks I'll get some pics up for you guys. Thanks for all the help and suggestions, keep 'em coming.
Click to expand...
 
seat application cross reference

seat application cross reference

Good technique Earl!! You are my do-it-youself hero of the day. I have several sewing machines, but none of them are heavy-duty or industrial. What do you use?

Junkman
 
That is exactly the kind of tip I was looking for! I'm gonna go buy some wide masking tape right now! I have a 1964 singer 600e. It was the last model with all metal gears and has plenty of power for multiple thicknesses of upholstery vinyl (I have only sewn through 4 layers, but it didn't even seem to notice).
Thanks again Earl,
Bob
 
Re: seat application cross reference

Re: seat application cross reference

I have an old cast iron treadmilll Singer that I picked up at a garage sale 20 years ago for $15. :-) It doesnt do any fancy stitches, but then, I dont need zigzags and button holes for a bike seat. :-) It will sew through four layers of 16 ounce vinyl without a problem. I use the larger eye commercial size needles in it and stranded nylon upholstery thread. The stranded nylon thread is the same as that used by sailmakers and canvas shops/upholstery shops. For someone that has never done a seatcover, it may be a good idea to buy a couple yards of something easy to sew such as denim and make a test cover and check for fit when finished. If you set the needle to very wide spacing (1/8" or more) it is easy to cut the stitches apart if you find you have made a miscalculation. Seatcovers are easy, they just take a little bit of planning for seam edges, overlaps and tucks.
ON foam usage...... I would not use the closed cell foam for the complete cushion as it will not compress to a degree that will be comfortable. Its usually better to make the first layer on the pan closed cell then perhaps a layer of soft, another layer of closed cell and the last three or four layers soft foam. If using a sincle block, go with the soft foam as a single block of closed cell will be exactly like sitting on a concrete block in about ten minutes. :-) :-) Another consideration is that the thinner the material, the easier it will be to make tucks and get it to stretch neatly. For very difficult to shape corners, as you stretch the vinyl around a corner, you can warm it with a hair dryer to help it stretch. Dont use a full fledge heat gun. :-) Its too easy to end up with melted plastic. :-)

Earl




Junkman Frankenbiker said:
Good technique Earl!! You are my do-it-youself hero of the day. I have several sewing machines, but none of them are heavy-duty or industrial. What do you use?

Junkman
Click to expand...
 
Finished the cover today. It is marine grade vinyl and came out ok. I am going to put a 1/4" layer of soft open cell on top of the much firmer foam that the seat was made of. Since the original seat cover had 1/4" soft 'tween the hard foam and vinyl I figured it was ok. I'll get it on the pan tomorrow and try to get some pics to ya. The masking tape hint was GREAT, I couldn't have done half as well without it.
 
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