Diy Custom Stock Seat For Cheap Bastards

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I've posted this on other forums but I see a continued interest here by fellow cheap bastards looking for an alternative to Sargent, Corbin, Bill Mayer, etc. This a short write up for the front rider section of the VTEC seat but the same can be done for the passenger as well. I've owned three cobins and two sargents over the years so it's obvious I think they are a worthy mod but sometimes money is tight, right? So.......

Sargent will sell a 12X12X2in blank of their foam for $25 plus shipping (foam is shipped in box of foam peanuts=oh the irony). You'll need a stock seat (duh), an electric carving knife or a very sharp blade, med. to fine grit sand paper, cotten batting (walmart fabric section), spray adhesive or some sort of glue that works with foam, and a staple gun (not a desk stapler).

Remove staples with a flat blade screwdriver or similiar from the front working your way about 3/4's of the way back. No need to remove entire cover which would only make recovering more time consuming. Determine the part you want to replace, mark it, and get busy with the knife.

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Next is to measure, cut and shape the sargent foam back into the void. Take your time, measure twice/cut once, etc on this part. Once satisfied, glue in place. If you examine these first two photos, you may notice how little padding there is near the "hump" on the stock foam. I added more there which reduced the step a bit and gave me a little more "user" space. :cool:
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Add batting on top to mask any blems. If you're damn good at the shaping/fitting part, you might be able to skip the batting. When trimming it, leave enough to wrap underneath the seat to staple along with cover. I didn't glue it in place in case I wanted to try a different shape (I did) or need to make adjustments (ditto).

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Recover, pull tight and staple. An extra pair of hands on this step really helps. While stapling, the seat base needs to reinforced on the backside by a rigid source (countertop, etc) or the staples will not fully go in. This will make better sense when you're doing it. TIP: leave seat in sun or use hair dryer for easier cover stretching.

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I rate this mod as about 60% effective of the real deal. I've done a 1600 mile weekend on one and only got monkey butt near the end of the day of interstate droning; never an issue in the twisties. BTW, that tank bag is huge because it's holding two sweaters and a liner I wore during the much chillier morning (damn deserts......)

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The better seat bases, covers, and shape design are what make the pro's that additional 40% better. This is my arbitrary rating; others make think this is just as good while others may rate it as not worth doing at all. Full discloser: I have a sargent on it now because: a) I got it used ($$) here on the forum :fing02: and b) the red piping looks sooooo much better with my rim stripes. :beer:


As always but especially on things like this: YMMV :fing02:

Nice write up thank you.
signed,
Cheap bastard

Maybe not quite as elegant, but probably about the same results.

I did mine following these guys example from seat pant to recovering with new vinyl stitched by auto reupholstery place.

DIY motorcycle seat recovering system

As log as its comfortable, go for it.

Larry
VFRrider

[image: View Post]vfrrider, on Apr 22 2008, 04:24 PM, said:

Maybe not quite as elegant, but probably about the same results.

I did mine following these guys example from seat pant to recovering with new vinyl stitched by auto reupholstery place.

DIY motorcycle seat recovering system

As log as its comfortable, go for it.

Larry
VFRrider

Check out the "More fun" tab on that site, there is a yellow 6th gen in the pics!!

I wonder if slipping one of those gel padded bicycle seat inserts under that foam would work. The trick would be getting it to stay in place.

[image: View Post]mechdziner714, on Apr 22 2008, 03:56 PM, said:

I wonder if slipping one of those gel padded bicycle seat inserts under that foam would work. The trick would be getting it to stay in place.
I tried that on my first vtec. Got the gels out of a bicycle accessory seat cover. I hated it. I also tried a factory suzuki gel seat on my old bandit. Didn't like it either; they're just squishy and isolate you too much from the bike. YMMV tho'.

Nice writeup.
And I think that VFR is stunning looking!!! :blink:
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[image: View Post]FotoMoto, on Apr 22 2008, 05:01 PM, said:

[image: View Post]mechdziner714, on Apr 22 2008, 03:56 PM, said:

I wonder if slipping one of those gel padded bicycle seat inserts under that foam would work. The trick would be getting it to stay in place.
I tried that on my first vtec. Got the gels out of a bicycle accessory seat cover. I hated it. I also tried a factory suzuki gel seat on my old bandit. Didn't like it either; they're just squishy and isolate you too much from the bike. YMMV tho'.

The other problem with the gel, is that it gets really, really hot if you park your bike in the sun.

There's a guy on the V-Strom forum, who lives in the tropics. He posted an accessory to help with this - it's a rolled window shade attached to his top case. When he parks the bike, he pulls down the shade and attaches the handle to his steering stem, to keep the sun off his seat.

:idea3: :laugh:

Nice work. Now, show me how to hollow out the rear section (no pillion) and make a sold form so I can create a trunk space
without losing the form of the seat for myself & I'll not only be really impressed, but I'll send you my seat too. :laugh:

[image: View Post]vfrrider, on Apr 22 2008, 10:24 PM, said:

Maybe not quite as elegant, but probably about the same results.

I did mine following these guys example from seat pant to recovering with new vinyl stitched by auto reupholstery place.

DIY motorcycle seat recovering system

As log as its comfortable, go for it.

Larry
VFRrider At the site linked here they say that 'memory foam' does not make a good seat. I re-did the seat on my (non VFR) bike with the hardest memory foam I could get. It was horrible. 1. it transmitted a lot of road 'noise' which conventional foam completely eliminates. 2. When accelerating or braking it was as if you were sitting on a ball, the back or front of the seat would give way under the increased load - it felt really unstable. I re-did the seat with other foam and it was much better. I shaped the foam with a sanding flap disk as shown in the link.

Nice work. Now, show me how to hollow out the rear section (no pillion) and make a sold form so I can create a trunk space
without losing the form of the seat for myself & I'll not only be really impressed, but I'll send you my seat too. :fing02:

Hey,

I have a great idea.

1. Buy a pillion cover.

2. Cut foam off rear section under pillion cover.

3. Cut rear seat pan past seat lock down tab. Discard.

3. Fold down vinyl where you cut off foam. Staple in place.

4. Reattach pillion cover over new trunk.

Same idea as Sargent World Sport seat. I did it on my 3rd gen. Invisble from outside. Access is still a pain. Working on lockable cover. Pics in the gallery are with new front seat and cover. Invisible.

I kept an extra whole seat to 2 up with backrest on a Renntec luggage rack for a 4th gen. Easy.

Larry
VFRrider

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The other problem with the gel, is that it gets really, really hot if you park your bike in the sun.

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This I learned the hard way, or shall I say "How would you like your nuts and cheeks, rare, medium, or well done"

The gel not only gets hot but retains that heat with little heat loss for hours after.

Rich A

I've been thinking of doing something like this to my bike with an extra seat. Is there any good place to buy foam, other than sargent that is good quality for cheap? And would it be helpful to try sand and reshape any other parts of the seat to make it contour to the body better? I like this idea, better than 200+ if I can find a deal on a corbin or sargent. But I suppose, if I put $50 into a replacement seat, $25 on foam, and the time to put it together it might not be worth it after all...

I've been thinking of doing something like this to my bike with an extra seat. Is there any good place to buy foam, other than sargent that is good quality for cheap? And would it be helpful to try sand and reshape any other parts of the seat to make it contour to the body better? I like this idea, better than 200+ if I can find a deal on a corbin or sargent. But I suppose, if I put $50 into a replacement seat, $25 on foam, and the time to put it together it might not be worth it after all...

There is an industrial-type upholstery shop in the manufacturing district here that will let you walk in and buy high quality foam for a really good price, you might want to check into something like that.