Make a motorcycle seat? Why not? My husband Scott just completed building a motorcycle using parts (mostly) from a 1983 Suzuki GR 650...the only thing that remained totally unfinished was the seat. Making one seemed like daunting project at first but I figured anything would be an improvement on what he was currently using- which was a flat piece of unpadded steel, exposed bolts and all. Constructing the seat ended up being quite easy and Scott's happy with how it turned out- mostly because now he doesn't have to worry about avoiding every bump in the road! Here's how we did it:
We started by cutting out multiple templates to determine what shape the seat should be. We then took the template and traced it onto a baking sheet. Yup, a baking sheet. It was strong enough and cheaper than buying a sheet of steel and would do nicely as the seat base.
I traced the same template onto the back of black marine vinyl and then drew a diamond pattern. We decided to use marine vinyl as it is more durable and weather resistant than regular vinyl. Using a sewing machine, (clearly my first time sewing) I stitched the pattern making sure to leave plenty of excess material on all sides.
Suspension
Now that the seat covering was taken care of it was time to think about how we would attach the pan to the bike. Scott didn't like the look of coiled seat springs so as an alternative he bought flat bar steel and used a blow torch to bend it into a U-shape. Scott drilled some holes in the seat pan as well as in the steel "springs" and bolted them to the bottom of the seat. A hinge was then bolted under the front of the seat so when it was attached to the frame it would pivot slightly to allow for movement created by the spring compression.
Now that the seat covering was taken care of it was time to think about how we would attach the pan to the bike. Scott didn't like the look of coiled seat springs so as an alternative he bought flat bar steel and used a blow torch to bend it into a U-shape. Scott drilled some holes in the seat pan as well as in the steel "springs" and bolted them to the bottom of the seat. A hinge was then bolted under the front of the seat so when it was attached to the frame it would pivot slightly to allow for movement created by the spring compression.
We then used the strongest multi-purpose contact glue we could find to affix the foam to the seat pan and the vinyl to the foam. Make sure you do this part outside or in a super well ventilated area as it's pretty potent. Using super glue, we tucked the vinyl edging underneath the seat so the sides looked nice and clean.
When the glue was dry we attached the hinge and mounted the seat to the bike.
When the glue was dry we attached the hinge and mounted the seat to the bike.
Padding
Surprisingly, this proved to be the hardest part as there's so many different options for padding out there. We looked at quite a few options for padding but liked the firmness of a kneeling pad (like the kind used for gardening) and it was perfect. We cut the pad to size using the same template we used for the seat pan and sanded the corners to make them rounded.
Surprisingly, this proved to be the hardest part as there's so many different options for padding out there. We looked at quite a few options for padding but liked the firmness of a kneeling pad (like the kind used for gardening) and it was perfect. We cut the pad to size using the same template we used for the seat pan and sanded the corners to make them rounded.
Before adhering the pad to the pan, we put electrical tape around the pan's edge to soften it a little and help prevent it from wearing through the material over time.
The last step was putting the vinyl over the pad and that's it! I hope this tutorial helps in some small way if you're attempting your own seat....any questions, please let me know :)
