comfy bum

[SiP]

Has anyone re-covered / stuffed their own seat?
Tried different materials?
(Other than the stock vinyl that's horrible and sweat inducing if the bikes been in the sun)

Or is it just too much hassle and I should take it to a shop?

[oldyam80sg]

I took mine to an upholstery shop that does car seats.It was not cheap but they used heavy material and it is super comfy.

[mro]

Years ago I taught my daughters how to use the sewing machine.
So....about a year or so ago I thought I was pretty handy and was going to make my own cover. Went well until I tried to sew three layers of vinyl.
Home sewing machines just won't do it.


mro
BTW, after 45 minuets doing some by hand....took it to a friend who had one of his uphostery gals finish it for me

[Geezer]

I had the seat on my bike redone with a layer of closed cell foam like the back packers use for sleeping pads then had a thin layer of foam on top of that. I also had the seat done with the minimum stitching possible so that it won't soak up water.

It's a bit firm on short rides but doesn't pack down like the old seat on long rides.

Geezer

[webbcraft2150]

The OEM seat on my 80G is pure torture after 'bout a 100 miles, (thats one reason I like to ride with a Special, sure stop after 80-100 miles ). A riding buddy has a vintage GS1000 and popped the bucks ($400), to have a custom seat made. The difference is fantastic!!! The seat still looks stock but the combination of different foams the seatmaker used made it into a true, long distant seat. While 4 bills is a big chunk of cash, I figure the XS is gonna follow me to the grave so I could/can/will justify it. My interim, cheap fix was to buy a pair of bike shorts that have some padding in the inside of the legs and the seat area. These fit well under my "relaxed fit" jeans and did help.

[ridinghard]

I have the same problem. I think it is just my a$$ though. I have the XS - special seat and it is great as long as I ride with my feet on the stock pegs. When I ride using the forward pegs it starts to be a pain in the seat after about 50 miles. I'm looking for a local place to redo my seat but I'm not keeping my hopes up.

[psycoreefer]

I find that my special seat is ok as long as I can use all three sets of pegs. I'll ride on the driver pegs for a while, switch to using the high way pegs, then switch to putting my feet on the passenger pegs. I actually find the passenger pegs the most comfortable. I think having my legs back rocks me forward and puts the weight on the meaty part of my bum instead of on my tailbone.

[boyat68]

You know that you could bungee cord one of those doughnut "roid" seats or use a partially inflated wheelbarrow inner tube for long rides, but would have to suffer the "Slings and arrows" of the Harley crowd.

[blue giant]

Si,
I just picked up one of those gel seat pads form Canadian Tire. They are for auto's but a few of us are using them on our bikes around here and they work well. They have a non slip bottom so they stay put on the seat, come in black and don't look out of place on a bike. They had them on sale last week for 9 bucks! I should of went back and picked up a couple more for spares!




Paul

[ClarkGriswald]

Im suprised given the huge market of bicycle stuff that there arent more things for motorcycles. Or like how bicycle seats have that groove in em so you dont crush your nerve goin thru your stuff there..

I recovered several seats years ago, a snowmobile and some quads/dirtbikes.

Im not sure about these metal pans on road bikes but the snowmobile was plywood underneath and the dirtbikes were all plastic.. the plastic ones are easy, you just use a stapler to attach the new cover underneath (a real strong one).

Its not to hard though from the ones Ive done (assuming you bought a cover and foam to match or a cover to go on a stock seat foam), but again Ive never done one on a metal pan so no experience there.

[barberad]

I had a friend that was a Parachute Rigger or survival equipment specialist for the air force types. I had a couple of seats recoved by him and he used a layer of that black 2-inch foam rubber that they use on air conditioning ducts. He put that over the stock foam. It was quite comfortable for longer distances. I am pretty sure you could get the foam from an A/C supply store and put it in when the seat was re-covered. There's good money in having seemstress skills. Good thing I was paying in beer at the time.

[skids]

HA! Ya, even cagers at the gas station would have a smirk and a comment or two...

Originally posted by boyat68
You know that you could bungee cord one of those doughnut "roid" seats or use a partially inflated wheelbarrow inner tube for long rides, but would have to suffer the "Slings and arrows" of the Harley crowd.

[xsilerating]

Originally posted by blue giant
Si,
I just picked up one of those gel seat pads form Canadian Tire. They are for auto's but a few of us are using them on our bikes around here and they work well. They have a non slip bottom so they stay put on the seat, come in black and don't look out of place on a bike. They had them on sale last week for 9 bucks! I should of went back and picked up a couple more for spares!




Paul

Yea, but you could of had one for nuthin'

[Yamaniac]

I finally had to do something about my seat. After pullng the cover and drawing lines where I wanted to cut it, I waited about 3 days before I had the courage to steal the bread knife from teh kitchen and start irreversible damage. Had read on a chopper forum of guys using the sleeping bag pads. So I went to Walmart and got the $5 one (spongy foam) and the $11 dollar one (eggcrate, closed cell foam). After cutting both driver and passenger seats down, ended up with 3 layes of the eggcrate stuff for my seat, 2 layers and a gel pad for the wife. We are both happy campers for about $30. I ended up cutting my seat down and putting a little bit of a 'back' to it. That helps tremendously. Also ended up widening the seat out by about an inch or so. All fits really, really tight under stock cover. I know this thread was originally about the covers, so sorry of I hijacked. oh, if you do this, while you are at Wally world, pick up a can of 3m super 77 adhesive. you'll need it to stick everyting together. Oh, I used my electric orbital sander to try and smooth things up... that worked, but didn't work great. Don't know what else to recommend for shaping.

[blue giant]

Originally posted by xsilerating


Yea, but you could of had one for nuthin'

Sorry Dude, thought your offer was just a loaner!

Paul