Seat pad advice (gel pad)

[CatatonicBug]

Yeah I posted a thread a while back with a link to Spencer's Moto Care... He does alot of seats...he did my Honda ST1100 seat and earlier this year he redid my '82 XJ1100 seat as well...if you get his LD mod you have the choice of having him lower the seat 1'' or not...also if you dont have the pillion portion done its only $75...at least it was when I had mine done...he is quick too...from the time I sent it out and it came back...7 days total!

I just sent him an e-mail last night, and he says that he won't do seats that are older than 15 years!! How did you get him do do yours??

[madmax-im]

I just sent him an e-mail last night, and he says that he won't do seats that are older than 15 years!! How did you get him do do yours??

Really now thats a surprise...I had previously had my '95 ST1100 stock seat done...then earlier this year I emailed him a pic of my bike and asked him if he could do it...he told me he could do any seat as long as the seat cover was intact..he doesn't re-cover seats. However I will email him and find out whats up...'cuz I was telling everyone here that he could do it...maybe he just changed his mind...Thanks for the heads up...I let y'all know what he says...

[madmax-im]

Sorry Folks

This corresponence says it all...



Ben,

Many/most of the time owners are not aware of the actual condition of their seats, they feel if it looks OK then it must be alright. Unfortunately this is usually not the case and experience has taught me that 15 years is typically the age where seat covers are starting to dry out, pans are becoming brittle, and the seat foam has begun to oxidize. Even a bike sitting in the garage in perfect condition will still suffer from environmental effects. The liability should something happen to the seat, and the difficulty finding replacements was also a deciding factor. I am no longer interested in doing complete rebuilds and restorations which is what many of the older seats I was receiving required. Even now I am struggling with the decision to possibly stop doing ST1100 seats as I have had to turn quite a few away this season due to their condition. Not something I want to do, but many are reaching a point of diminishing return.

I had a similar policy in place at that time but had the break point set at 20 years which has proven to be too long. I did your Maxim seat because I had done your ST seat previously, and it was close to the holiday season so made an exception. Just so you know, once broken down I did find that your Maxim seat neeed quite a bit of extra time and attention in reinforcing.

Thanks and ride safe, Spencer

www.GreatDayToRide.com
Now offering Amsoil, Mothers, and Brite Side products.



Hi Frank... I had you do my '95 ST1100 stock seat 2 years ago...I am on ST-Owners...Then late last year or early this year I asked you if you could re-foam/shape my seat on my '82 Yamaha XJ1100 Maxim...you replied that you could so long as the seat cover was intact. I sent the seat to you and you did it and it came back better than new as for the comfort of it... I assumed this meant you could do other seats for people on my Yamaha website XS11.com. These people are dedicated to maintaining/preserving and riding their vintage Yamahas'...I had been telling the folks there that you could do their seats based upon my fine experiences with you. Just yesterday a discussion on this very subject came up and OFC I mentioned you. A fellow member contacted you and expressed interest in you doing his seat. I just learned that you told him you could/would not work on anything older than 15 years of age. I was pretty surprised to hear that. I repesct your decision and but I was curious as to why you wont work on anything older than 15 years...My bike is 27 yrs old and you did a fine job.
Thanks for your time and explanation. Hope you had a good holiday too.
Sincerely;
Ben M

[CatatonicBug]

So, maybe we need to concentrate on actually reBUILDING the seats rather than just reCOVERING them. If the foam is the problem, and is part of the reason why he won't work on them, we need to come up with some real information on how to do it right. It's just foam, and a cover, so if we could figure out what kind of foam to use, and how to go about cutting it, maybe we could create a Tech Tip on how to do it ourselves?! Anyone on here with upholstery experience willing to share some secrets?

[oseaghdha]

Yeah, not cool.

My seat cover is fine, but the foam seems to be deteriorated. I was going to give that guy some biz.