Seat makers

[maclariz]

I have a GS400 here that is almost ready to go after its rebuild, but I am still without a useable seat. The original has had the pan rust to pieces, and is even missing one of the two hinges. Does anyone know someone who can make a new seat from scratch? I have not had much luck yet. A couple of people I have spoken to would be happy to help in making a seat with a fibreglass pan given a GS400 seat pan in good condition to take a mould from, but this doesn't help me much.

Any ideas????

 

[Planecrazy]

If somebody stateside is willing to take a mold of their GS400 and send THAT to you it might be useful to a custom seat maker in your area. I have no idea what that might cost, but I suspect it wouldn't be too expensive (compared to having somebody fabricate a seat from scratch without a mold). Make sure you provide the exact year and model so that somebody here sends you EXACTLY the seat mold you need.

Good luck with it!

 

[Nessism]

Might be a whole lot easier to call some junkyards to find a good used pan.

 

[gsgeezer]

Get a used pan, then have a local upholstery shop make the rest.

 

[rkubik]

Twin or four?

Twin or four?

Do you have the twin or four-cylinder GS400? There's a new old stock seat on eBay for the twin, I think?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Genuine-Suzuki-G...ryZ35589QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Either way, stuff for these bikes turns up all the time. There's a lot of parts for the GS400, even NOS stuff.

 

[maclariz]

Get a used pan, then have a local upholstery shop make the rest.

Easier said than done. I keep trying the junkyards and ebay, but I haven't found one in several months of looking. In the British weather, 70s metal seatpans just tend to rot. My local bike breaker doesn't rate my chances of finding a single original seatpan in the UK, and thought my only chance of getting an original was somewhere drier (e.g. USA, Australia). So, if you know anyone who's trashed their GS400 (or 425), but still has seat pan in one piece, then drop me a line.

 

[Dave8338]

Give these guys a call, they most likely have one of the best collections of used bike parts in the world. Now, if they would only have everything inside...it get's tough to spend hours out there in the winter months, though I still do. \\/

http://www.sportwheel.com/

 

[maclariz]

Do you have the twin or four-cylinder GS400? There's a new old stock seat on eBay for the twin, I think?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Genuine-Suzuki-G...ryZ35589QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Either way, stuff for these bikes turns up all the time. There's a lot of parts for the GS400, even NOS stuff.

If it fits a GS400, then it's not the 1977-78 one, and probably not the 1991 version either. Looks like it would fit several of the 80s GS450s, though. Thanks for the link, though, I'll try a few more ebay searches in the US and Canada.

 

[ironb12s]

Take that old rusted seat pan and patch it up so it can be used as a mold for a new one. Auto body putty can work wonders, with a bit of fiberglass drywall mesh to cover gaps. Just remove any flaking rust, maybe treat the pan with phosphoric acid, and lather on the filler. Sand away any excess, and you have what is needed for a keylar/fiberglass mold. You only need one surface to be straight/complete for the mold, so work from the top side doing the repair/filling. :-D

In fact, shoot and post a picture or two of your rusted pan so we can see what you have to work with...

 

[maclariz]

Give these guys a call, they most likely have one of the best collections of used bike parts in the world. Now, if they would only have everything inside...it get's tough to spend hours out there in the winter months, though I still do. \\/

http://www.sportwheel.com/

Thanks for the link. I've emailed them and let's see if they have anything.

 

[gert du prez]

GS seat

GS seat

Thanks for the link. I've emailed them and let's see if they have anything.

Hi Maclariz,

If you would find a seat in Belgium somewhere, I could probably go and collect it for you or so... I know a very good seat maker (not from scratch but to fill it up and cover it) that is always willing to help me out cheaply, so...let me know what happens

gert

 

[maclariz]

Hi Maclariz,

If you would find a seat in Belgium somewhere, I could probably go and collect it for you or so... I know a very good seat maker (not from scratch but to fill it up and cover it) that is always willing to help me out cheaply, so...let me know what happens

gert

Thanks for the offer. Does anyone know if it possible to take a mould from an existing good seat and make a copy without damaging the original? If so, then if I could track down someone with a GS400 in good condition, then one possibility would be to do this.

 

[tone]

Hey maclariz

if you do manage to get a mould made off a seat pan give me a shout & i'll knock out as many as you like :-D

i'm uk based as well & although i haven't got time to mould make atm making the part will only take 10 mins & cost just a few quid each

tone

 

[Planecrazy]

Thanks for the offer. Does anyone know if it possible to take a mould from an existing good seat and make a copy without damaging the original? If so, then if I could track down someone with a GS400 in good condition, then one possibility would be to do this.

That's exactly what I had suggested doing on the first page. Of course this depends upon you finding somebody with a good seat who doesn't mind making the mold for you.

Good Luck!

 

[maclariz]

That's exactly what I had suggested doing on the first page. Of course this depends upon you finding somebody with a good seat who doesn't mind making the mold for you.

Good Luck!

What do you take the mould with? Plaster of Paris?

 

[Planecrazy]

What do you take the mould with? Plaster of Paris?

I won't profess to be an expert in that area, but my gut tells me that on an existing seat that you don't want to ruin you would use some sort of latex material to make the initial mold, and build it up so that it is stiff enough to hold its shape after being peeled off the seat pan. Once it's off the seat pan I imagine it would be mailed in its flexible form to you, and your seat builder could then reinforce the outside/bottom of the mold before laying/pouring the fiberglass into it and forming the new seat pan.

If you used plaster you would run into problems with cracking, although I suppose you could reattach the broken pieces together before laying/pouring the fiberglass into it.

Certainly there are a variety of ways to accomplish this task, but in terms of getting a reliable mold shipped over to you I'm guessing the latex is perhaps the best choice. I'm sure there are other options that I'm not even aware of... I'm pretty sure that when museums take molds of fossils in order to duplicate them they often use latex for the initial mold, because it picks up all the details without cracking apart upon removal. Plaster works fine for more basic types of molding.

First try to find somebody who has the seat you need and see if they're willing to help you out with the mold. Truth is, it might be worth your while to have this person take the seat to professional over HERE and have all the work done. Then the seat maker has the original to use as a guide in reproducing the seat. Any additional shipping costs you have to get a complete seat sent over MIGHT be balanced by a lower cost to have it done in the states versus over there -- at least worth checking out.

Good Luck!

 

[tone]

What do you take the mould with? Plaster of Paris?

Possible but not really practical for shipping, latex is not much good either from a laminators point of view (ok for casting tho) the best sort of mould for this job would be one made from glassfibre (4 layers of 600w with core mat between)

The best thing to take the mould off would be a glassfibre replacement seat such as the italian gulairi 2-4 seats Ie a smooth surface to start with \\/

 

[Planecrazy]

Possible but not really practical for shipping, latex is not much good either from a laminators point of view (ok for casting tho) the best sort of mould for this job would be one made from glassfibre (4 layers of 600w with core mat between)

The best thing to take the mould off would be a glassfibre replacement seat such as the italian gulairi 2-4 seats Ie a smooth surface to start with \\/

My concern with using fiberglass for the mold is that the person donating the use of their original seat might frown on the mess and possible damage the fiberglass could cause versus the latex which hypothetically will peel right off. Once the latex is mailed to the seat builder the back of the mold could be stiffened using fiberglass, plaster, or epoxy on the back side before pouring/laying a fiberglass "positive" into the mold which would produce a usable fiberglass seat pan ... at least that's my understanding of how it would work.

Regards,

 

[tone]

My concern with using fiberglass for the mold is that the person donating the use of their original seat might frown on the mess and possible damage the fiberglass could cause versus the latex which hypothetically will peel right off. Once the latex is mailed to the seat builder the back of the mold could be stiffened using fiberglass, plaster, or epoxy on the back side before pouring/laying a fiberglass "positive" into the mold which would produce a usable fiberglass seat pan ... at least that's my understanding of how it would work.

Regards,

Hello again a few points to address there ........
1- A good laminator would not make any mess on the original seat base !
2- No damage would occur apart from maybe the loss of some paint if its a rough original, no damage at all on a glassfibre replica if its not painted
3- It would be virtually impossible to stiffen a latex mold & keep it straight & true so that it fits the frame as per original
4-Latex molds are primarily used for rough casting not laminating as is required for a seat base
5- epoxy is a form of resin... polyester is more common for ease of use
6-the correct name is glassfibre reinforced plastic (grp or glassfibre) not fibreglass

sorry i have strong opinions on this gained from many years working in the industry & watching people with little skill or knowlage messing up simple jobs time & time again

I'll get off my soap box now :-D

 

[Planecrazy]

Hello again a few points to address there ........
1- A good laminator would not make any mess on the original seat base !
2- No damage would occur apart from maybe the loss of some paint if its a rough original, no damage at all on a glassfibre replica if its not painted
3- It would be virtually impossible to stiffen a latex mold & keep it straight & true so that it fits the frame as per original
4-Latex molds are primarily used for rough casting not laminating as is required for a seat base
5- epoxy is a form of resin... polyester is more common for ease of use
6-the correct name is glassfibre reinforced plastic (grp or glassfibre) not fibreglass

sorry i have strong opinions on this gained from many years working in the industry & watching people with little skill or knowlage messing up simple jobs time & time again

I'll get off my soap box now :-D

As I mentioned before I am certainly no expert, so appreciate the education. That said, it sounds like there WOULD be potential damage to the painted surface at the very least, so if I were the one "donating my seat" to the cause I'd be less inclined to do so if my original seat pan was going to be compromised in ANY way (even the minor loss of some paint).

Now, for the important correction ... you Brits tawk funy!! my spell check clearly flags glassfibre as incorrectly spelled, since we all know it is called "fiberglass!" :lol:;-)

Thanks again for the lesson!

Regards,