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Message started by Savage Librarian on 11/29/05 at 14:32:52

Title: Build a Seat?
Post by Savage Librarian on 11/29/05 at 14:32:52

At long last I've found the promised land! After riding a Savage for a year and a half, I finally found a forum for it. Good things do come to people who wait, I suppose.

Well, I've asked this question in the FSSNOC forum, and I had my dad ask a similar question in his Shadow VLX forum, but I'm still looking for advice. I don't suppose anyone here happens to have had any experience building their own seat? I've raised the front of my seat a while back, but thanks to a tight budget, I lack the cash to buy so much as a gel pad, let alone a gel seat. Besides, I like doing things myself. I have an old seat pan that I found on ebay for $10 or so, plenty of sheet metal of verious types, vinyl, and the other odd hardware needed. but I lack any experience with foams. Any suggestions as to what types of foam might work best? Anyone fall in love with a shape for their seat? Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated!

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by Jim_R on 11/29/05 at 14:48:56

I put a bicycle gel pad in my seat. Works great. Ahh
u can get vinyl cheap too. Im not sure what foam u will need but it might cost ya more than u think for everything ull need.

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by Savage Librarian on 11/29/05 at 15:13:02

Hadn't thought about bicycle gel pads. That sounds like it's worth a try.

Fortunately, I know some people who use leather and vinyl quite a lot, so they were willing to donate some to a worthy cause (or at least to stop my non-stop begging).

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by Trippah on 11/29/05 at 15:27:59

Not sure where you're at , but if there is a wheelchair manufacturer/modifier in the area, they tend to know a lot about foam. As far as shaping, if there is a good model railroading group near by, they often use the styrofoam, etc for the model trains, and know how to cut and shape. And obviously, an upholstary shop can help ( knowledge wise) aboput the vinyl as far as smoothness and professional look. BEST of luck, in savage land, it's a job that needs doing. ;) I think I might be going at this azz backwards, padding my own seat with holiday food, rather than the savage's. :D

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by jimbrough on 11/29/05 at 16:47:50

I found a guy works part-time out of his garage and re-did my whole seat for $40. Maybe you can find someone similar near you?

I know what you mean about making your own, though. I've been thinking of doing the same thing for quite a while...I'm big and the seat is too low so I raised it and moved it back but I'm still not happy - I think what I want is a suzuki banana seat from the 70s gs550
or some such thing so i will be higher but i can move back and forth when i get restless.

best of luck with yours and i'll let you know if i do anything with a totally new seat.

btw, welcome to the site - this really is the greatest!
Cheers.

Jim

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by lancer on 11/30/05 at 06:37:50

I have done a little reworking of my seat and tried a few different types of foam. For comfort while riding, especially for longer rides, you need a DENSE foam. The foam that comes in the Savage seat is NOT a dense foam, it is a medium weight foam.

The best material of course is the solid gel material. That is what is used in the best wheel chair seat pads, and on mattress pads for those who are permenantly bedfast.

I understand the cost issue, and one way around it is to look for leftover sources...like an upholsty shop that may have stuff in their dumpster big enough for a bike seat.

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by vroom1776 on 11/30/05 at 08:28:05

I made a seat out of 1/8" aluminum. I love the shape of the "seat." I no longer sit on my tailbone! do a search for "metal seat"

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by RadarORiley on 11/30/05 at 11:45:44

Since I gave up my plan to rebuild a seat, I don't have any success stories. I do have advice on how to cut foam. Use an electric carving knife, just put it back before your spouse finds out you cut foam with it. One source of cheap dense foam would be the pads they sell for gardening. I think they call them knee pads.
I purchased a "Gel Seat" from ebay, but it is very stiff, not sure it is what I paid for, but since I needed lower & narrower, it works. Besides, I have lots of natural padding to compensate. ;)

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by mmosel on 11/30/05 at 12:57:24

What about some dense 'memory' foam? I have this 3M chair which I think was called "pound cake" that I picked up at a job many moons ago. I've never found another office chair like this one. The seat is all memory foam, and it kicks serious arse! If I could rework this seat into a seat for the ls650/s40, I'd really have something! There are some foam suppliers on ebay. I would use a combo of dense regular foam with a layer of heavy duty memory foam on top of that. That would be sweet.

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by thehoghunter on 11/30/05 at 15:04:12

You can try http://www.chopperunderground.com/forums/index.php?act=idx

You would have to create an account (just like here) but there has already been discussions on seat making, how-to's, and even a couple of folks that will build seats.

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by woodworker on 11/30/05 at 16:06:25

Check out this site for hi density foam and "pudgee" (gel)http://www.sunmatecushions.com/index.htm
I reshaped my seat, the passenger's seat and the back rest using the above materials and am recovering them with carbon fibre vinyl which I purchased from this outfit
http://www.glfi.com/index.html
Hope this helps you out a bit

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by babbalou on 11/30/05 at 17:19:36

I made a few attempts at a seat redo the past few months. Corbin seats use closed cell foam rubber because it doesn't pack down over time like some open cell foam can. So I went looking & calling everywhere & did Google searches for closed cell foam rubber. Found a few places online that sell it but they wanted a lot of money for some very large sheets. Got some vinyl at an arts & crafts place in town. Got some leather & dye to cover it later but I haven't gotten around to finishing the job. Now I'm looking for a gel pad as wide as the seat is, no luck yet. May try 2 bicycle ones.

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by babbalou on 11/30/05 at 17:29:54

woodworker wrote:

Dang, that's exactly what I need! I didn't see it before I posted. Gonna order one of those & move forward on the seat redo. Thanks. :)

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by lancer on 11/30/05 at 21:42:53

Babbalou, I have gel pads available....12x15x 1.5 or 2.5" and priced from $99-129 depending on thickness and cover material. (nylon, sheepskin or leather)

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by clueless on 12/01/05 at 06:50:52

I always HATED the seat on the Savage ('96). I'm not too little and the seat just murdered me. I'm not so much a fat a$$, but a flat a$$. The hump on the back of the seat was one annoyance, the lack of padding another. I raised the front of the seat and that helped. I used an electric knife to cut part of the hump away, and added two layers of this fiber padding...

http://www.youdonthaveaclue.com/suzuki/fiber small.JPG

that I bought at wal-mart. The hardest part was getting the seat cover back on. Wish I had taken some pictures, and will when I recover in leather. ;D Now I have more room to move back, and with my hwy pegs, I can cruise 'til the tank is dry!!

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by babbalou on 12/01/05 at 15:37:58

I'm thinking of covering my seat in Lycra. I got the leather piece on but it had big folds sticking out on the back corners. Same with the thinner vinyl but less so. Couldn't figure out a way around it. Then I put this stretchy black fabric on it & no wrinkles. Smooth all around. I know from my bicycles seats that the sun fades Lycra after a couple of years in but replacing it should be easy. Staple gun & scissors. Can't find Lycra in stores though, just stuff that resembles it. Hmmm....just had a thought. Neoprene. Like in scuba suits. ::)

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by Tim Krantz on 12/04/05 at 18:07:01

Any large sewing center has foam rubber in various densitys.

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by RadarORiley on 12/05/05 at 10:32:31

Hey Babbalou, lycra is available in large fabric stores as swim suit material, or go to a Goodwill store and buy an old bathing suit, Granny type should give you all the heavy weight lycra you need.

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by babbalou on 12/05/05 at 18:34:09

RadarORiley wrote:

Hey Babbalou, lycra is available in large fabric stores as swim suit material, or go to a Goodwill store and buy an old bathing suit, Granny type should give you all the heavy weight lycra you need.

Didn't think of that. Thanks. :)

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by RadarORiley on 12/06/05 at 09:37:55

Another place to get good quality lycra, bicycle shorts. My kids bought me some that have a padded crotch and inner leg when I was using my 10 speed. They are made of good heavy weight lycra. I have seen them at garage sales & good will stores real cheap.

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by Savage Librarian on 12/06/05 at 16:26:50

On the off chance that anyone is wanting/needing some memory foam for a seat project, you can pick up memory foam pillows at Wal-mart for $15-20. I know I'm planning on using some on the seat I'm currently building. Make for a nice top layer, I think.

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by jimbrough on 12/06/05 at 17:58:32

Are they dense?

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by Savage Librarian on 12/06/05 at 19:13:56

jimbrough wrote:

Are they dense?

Not really. I have denser foam that I'm using for the main part of it, but from the seats I've sat on, a layer of the memory foam on the top seems to work well.

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by mmosel on 12/06/05 at 19:33:02

One thing about Memory foam that I learned the hard way - is that not all memory foam is created equal! I purchased a 4" 5lb rated (most dense) Matress Topper from a "reputable" source on Ebay. After less than a year, the "memory" has "forgotten" itself. Now it's just a soft foamy topper. I'm pretty disappointed.

If I were to buy some for a seat project, I would want to make sure it's really high quality stuff.

Title: Re: Build a Seat?
Post by Savage Librarian on 12/06/05 at 20:36:42

Yeah. I've talked to several people who have used this foam in seats, and they've all been happy with the results. I figure it's worth a shot. Worst case scenario: I get to redesign and rebuild. Which means more fun in the garage and possibly using the stock seat that I've been using for the past year.