My custom homemade seat

[OldBaldy]

Being someone of, shall we say, relatively "large girth" (240 lbs, 6'2"), I learned first hand on last year's 8000+ miles to the Dempster Highway and back, that my stock KLR seat was not gonna cut it for our next trip to Labrador/NewFoundLand/Nova Scotia in summer 2010.

Being an inveterate tinkerer by nature (and also due to a strong reluctance to spend so much money on the old pig for a brand new aftermarket seat, I decided that it should be relatively easy to make my own seat.

I mean....it's not exactly a high-tech device. A plastic pan covered by a piece of foam and that covered by a piece of waterproof material, stapled to the pan. How simple is THAT?

I figured the three MAIN issues with the stock seat for me were.....

1. Insufficient and overly soft foam, which squashes to the pan after more than a week or so of 8-12 hour riding days. The last week of our 3-week 8000+mile Artic Trip was a nightmare of insufficient foam cushion for me...to the point hat I rode standing up for periods of time, rode "side saddle" at times, and generally had a majorly painful backside.

2. Insufficient WIDTH pf the seat, at the center portion of the seat, where I sit for long rides.
A 3" wider seat pan and foam would make a HUGE difference to the area in contact, and spread my considerable, errrrr, "muscle" over a larger area, with less intense specific contact/pain points on my smelly end.

3. I wanted more legroom and relaxed ergos that a HIGHER seat would provide. I have long legs, and absolutely no issue with seat height, so an extra inch or so of height would offer me much more relaxed ergos and prevent the tiredness and cramp in the knees and joints from the more cramped position.


So, I decided that I'd modify the stock seat pan by widening it about 3", and then covering it with thicker, wider foam, and finally, covering that with a thick, soft, batting and a stretchy, grippy, waterproof snowmobile cover.

I went ahead and researched foam, and after a mis-step by ordering too soft a foam, I ended up with the firmest, best quality foam from a large online foam seller.

I ordered a 24"x72" piece of the extra firm 4" high HR6130 foam 61304 from RochfordSupply - $62.88
http://www.rochfordsupply.com/shop/F...130/index.html
This piece is sufficient for a number of seats, and as I have 2 KLRs, I decided to get the 72" length to allow some experimentation and have enough for my son's KLR as well as mine.

I also ordered 1 can of their 02112 Rochford Heavy Duty foam spray adhesive for $6.88
http://www.rochfordsupply.com/shop/A...ive/index.html

and a long roll of their 1" batting to smooth the foam edges and provide better wear surface for the foam for $19.88
http://www.rochfordsupply.com/shop/P...ing/index.html

and finally, 2 yards of their waterproof, grippy, stretchy snowmobile seat cover in black for $37.76
http://www.rochfordsupply.com/shop/T...ort/index.html

This was all WAY too much for only 2 seats, but I figured I'd probably need to experiment a bit, and so decided to order sufficient for some waste. The seat cover is only sufficient for the 2 seats, but plenty of foam and lots of batting, etc over.

For widening the pan, I decided to use a cheap fiberglass kit from Autozone, for car repair. It's a Bondo kit of 32 fl oz (roughly 1 litre) and comes with the catalyst in the plastic cap, and about 2 yards of fiberglass cloth. One kit is enough for 1 seat. It cost me $13.88 a while back. Not sure if it's gone up in price since then.

I already had some modeling clay that I'd bought a couple years ago, when I made a custom oversize carbon-fiber airbox for my track Ducati, so I re-used this, to add about 1.5" width the sides of the stock seat pan. I made the pan wider in the middle and the rear of the seat, but tapering to the stock width in the front, so as not to get in the way when standing on the pegs.

At first, I was going to replace the stock pan with the new pan, but later, I decided to simply add the new pan onto the top of the stock pan, nd rivet the two together. This avoids the hassle of making the raised frame contact pads on the bottom of the new pan...and so I took the easy way out. It only adds about 4-5MM to the stock seat pan height.

So, for some pics of the process....

First, I added the modeling clay to the sides, about 3" wider than stock in the middle, and tapering as mentioned in the front. I also filled the deep troughs in the stock pan to make the surface of the pan smoother as my foam is not molded to the pan shape as the stock foam is. I then covered the whole thing with shrink-wrap, to allow quick and easy release once dry, as I was initially going to replace the stock pan and not use it.



The mold covered with a piece of the Bondo fiberglass patch kit glass mat, before pouring on the resin/catalyst mix and applying the extra layers of mat.



The dried fiberglass pan, still attached to the stock pan



The end result, separated from the stock pan (very easy, with the cling wrap!!
(Note this was prior to my decision to simply add the new pan over the top of the stock pan and rivet threm together)
Notice the extra width on the sides.





And the final result. It's not a pretty piece, but I figured that this only adds character to the old pig anyway
NOTE: I removed the front raised part of the seat at the gas tank, because I plan to weld in some extra steel onto the stock gas tank, to take the capacity up another gallon or so.











NOTE: the ride is MUCH more comfortable. I have approximately 2" of uncompressed foam under my butt now, instead of about 0.5", and the extra width makes it much more comfortable for me. The higher seat height IS noticable, and then helps my ergos when riding, and due to my long legs, no issues with reaching the ground, but this is probably not a good option for anyone who is more challenged in the leg department.

NOTE#2: I decided to get a local upholsterer to actually do the final cover install on the pan, as they simply do a much better job that what I could, and I didn;t want to buy a HD stapler needed to reliably staple through the stock plastic pan. This cost me $35, but I could have found a cheaper place. They gave me an option to make a "pretty" seat with seams and welts, much like the custom seats you buy, but I declined on the basis of cost and also reduced waterproofing and strength.

So, not necessarily a "cheap" solution due to my experimentation and excess materials, but I enjoyed it, and am happy with the results and can now do my son's seat for a total of about $50 for some more fiberglass and the upholsterer cost.

[NVGTI]

Nice!!

[DaVeeDoeJayne]

good job, I like it. Never would have thought about making my own seat pan.

[Chuck B]

I kept stock pan but cut out 2" of the stock foam. Added 6lb rebond foam to stock height then added 8lb rebond foam to 1" above. My seat is just over 12" in width. Ive found that dishing the seat makes it much more comfortable but everyone is different. I'll have the upholster add some soft 2lb foam (remove any bumps from rebond foam) then recover with snowmobile vinyl.

[likebikes]

I cut an opening and inserted better foam into my stock seat but I have to say, I'd do it your way next time. I'm getting ready to build a seat for my new recumbemnt bike project and I'm definately going to check our your supplier. How did you fasten the seat covering material? Please explain that since you say you didn't use a stapler.
Thanks!

[OldBaldy]

Originally Posted by likebikes

I cut an opening and inserted better foam into my stock seat but I have to say, I'd do it your way next time. I'm getting ready to build a seat for my new recumbemnt bike project and I'm definately going to check our your supplier. How did you fasten the seat covering material? Please explain that since you say you didn't use a stapler.
Thanks!

To clarify, I did not cover the seat myself. It requires a heavier duty stapler than the regular staplers you find at Lowes, etc - and I didn;t want to buy a fancy stapler just for this one-off project. The upholsterer used a proper furniture stapler and it looks as strong or stronger than the original OEM staples that Kawasaki used.

[Street Ugly]

Hey, that's a highly innovative seat mod, not to mention ambitious, and a job well done. Good for you!

I am 5' 11" and 210 lbs, and just got back from Gaspe, Quebec (3,000 mile trip) after chopping my seat (see "inseam challenged" thread). Still sore all over now for days, not to mention the withdrawl. All I would add is: Slimfast and good physical conditioning. I've never tried it, but I've seen the ads, and understand it works.