Seat emergency... HElP!

[benjamin550]

So... I got the wise Idea to reshape my horribly uncomfortable seat on my Lifan and I have sort of mucked it up a bit. Does anyone know where to find a spare seat? Its a 200cc LIfan gy-5a. Im going to try the place I bought it, but here in Haiti they dont have good habit of stocking spares.

Kohl

[humanbeing]

As FastDoc said http://chinariders.net/modules.php?n...wtopic&t=14437 Those "pros" can custom made to your favorite.

[Wild_Alaskan]

Are you having trouble getting the cover on or did you take out too much foam?

[benjamin550]

Unfortunately having a custom seat made is not possible here. Also, buying foam is not possible here, not the kind to do this at least.

I basically just did a poor job of reshaping it, and dont have enough foam left over to try again. I finally got it to a point where I like the shape, but it needs a little more foam, which I dont have. Id like to get another seat to throw back on there while I fix the mess I made.

Kohl

[FastDoc]

Heres a thought. :idea:

Remove the foam form the seat. Build up the seat pan with whatever you have. A thick towel or chamois or whatever. Put the remaining foam on top of that and reattach the seat cover. It will be firmer, which may be more comfortable, and it may be lower too. Try it. If it's not great it will at least keep you riding until something else presents itself.

[obso]

Originally Posted by benjamin550

Also, buying foam is not possible here, not the kind to do this at least.

Are you sure? My material of choice for making custom seats is the foam from cheap roll-up camping mattresses. Layer it to the thickness you want using glue in between the layers. Then glue it to the pan, and cut it to the rough shape you want. Use ~40 grit sandpaper to smooth it and put in any contours you want.

Or option B. Get the foam from another bike seat that is bigger than you need and cut it down.


Exhibit A&B

Seat on the red bike on the left (92 Yami xj600) is made from the roll up camping mat and after ~2yrs daily use. The seat on the blue bike (80 Yami sr250) is foam I cut down from a triumph sprint seat.

[MICRider]

I vaguely recall reading about someone rebuilding a motorcycle seat by gluing layers of thick carpet underlay foam onto the existing foam with spray adhesive, and then shaping it with an electric knife. Maybe a place to check for some foam as well?

[benjamin550]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I brought back some foam form the US (like what you find in camping mats) and used that, but I didnt end up with something I liked and I ran out of foam/ spray adhesive. Now, after much haggling at local bike shops I have come away with 2 quite old seat from the moto-taxi style bikes here which should give me ample foam. Now I just need the adhesive. Ive been to 6 places so far and no luck.

I also bought a electric carving knife (like for turkeys) and have been using that. It works awesome, but now one of the blades stopped moving, so its a lot less precise. Oh well, Im sure ill get something I can live with.


Kohl

[humanbeing]

Originally Posted by benjamin550

... I just need the adhesive. Ive been to 6 places so far and no luck. Kohl

Knew somewhere is on renovation? The worker related to "wood" part knows Contact adhesive (the traditional one that smells nasty): local name /brand/ where to find...