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Cafe seat build...

  • Thread starter Thread starter TheCafeKid
  • Start date Start date
TheCafeKid said:
Why couldnt i leave the foam IN the form?? It could only help to add strength. Any thoughts??
Click to expand...

I think that will look damned nice, excellent work. Perhaps cut a little trunk or glovebox out and leave the rest of the foam in there?
 
SAY! thats a hell of an idea man! Pure genious! Dont think it would be too tough either. Thanks for the compliments as well!
 
I wouldn't leave the foam in there. Unless you cover it or enclose the bottom the foam will gradually brake down and drop down onto the bike like snow - ask me how I know :-D. Some people use paint thinner to get it out "lost foam method" i believe its called. I just broke mine free and sanded the inside smooth.

That is going to be bad ass.
 
Thanks byrdman:) Forgive my ignorance, but you spoke of filling in with Duraglass. What is that exactly, and where can i get it? Is it like that Bondo Hair stuff??
 
Definitely leave the foam in. It adds rigidity and doesn't add to the wieght. I've done a few tracker seats like this. Just glass in the bottom side to encapsulate the foam:

tracker3.jpg


shock1.jpg


I can stand on these seats (180 pounds) with no problem so they are plenty tough.

Cheers,
Spyug.
 
spyug said:
I can stand on these seats (180 pounds) with no problem so they are plenty tough.

Cheers,
Spyug.
Click to expand...

Hey Spybug,

Sweet bikes. How many layers and what weight of glass cloth are you using for seats? Resin type?

Mark
 
TheCafeKid said:
Thanks byrdman:) Forgive my ignorance, but you spoke of filling in with Duraglass. What is that exactly, and where can i get it? Is it like that Bondo Hair stuff??
Click to expand...

Exactly - see if this link works. They sell it at Advanced or Autozone. You can use just the dynaglass alone but its pretty tuff to sand down - don't get too carried away. It just makes the form extremely strong in areas where your bolting it down or sitting. I used additional Bondo in other areas to smooth the imperfections out that I couldn't get just right. Also pick up a tube of glazing putty for the small holes that may appear near the final product.
http://www.partsamerica.com/productdetail.aspx?MfrCode=BND&MfrPartNumber=272&CategoryCode=3373B
 
Mark,
The foam is plain old rigid pink from Home Cheapo but the blue or green stuff works as well. The glass cloth is a light 4 ounce weave applied one layer all over and two layers on the seat pad area. The resin is 2:1 epoxy. I used a product called Cold Cure from Industrial Formulators but any 2 part epoxy should work ( West System, Evercure etc).

As you know, you can't use standard f/glass resin over foam or it will melt it. As epoxy is a bit more expensive you can lessen the cost a bit by painting the foam all over with one coat of epoxy (one ounce or so goes a long way & let it fully cure) then glassing over that with standard resin and cloth. I've been told that you can even paint the foam with white construction glue and glass over that but haven't tried that yet.

Once the glassing is done , you need to skim coat with Bondo to even out any imperfections sand and finish with a primer/surfacer, then paint.

This method is a whole lot easier than mold making for standard fiberglass layup and lends itself well to these kinds of projects. I haven't recorded the building of these seats but I was contemplating making a tank for the tracker so if I do I'll take lots of pictures.

Tank building will be a little different as you use the so called lost foam method whereby you shape the tank, encapsulate it with cloth and resin then drill a hole and pour in acetone to eat away the foam leaving the tank shell.

Hope this helps but feel free to PM me if I can answer any other questions.

Cheers,
Spyug
 
Last edited:
spyug said:
Mark,
The foam is plain old rigid pink from Home Cheapo but the blue or green stuff works as well. The glass cloth is a light 4 ounce weave applied one layer all over and two layers on the seat pad area. The resin is 2:1 epoxy. I used a product called Cold Cure from Industrial Formulators but any 2 part epoxy should work ( West System, Evercure etc).

As you know, you can't use standard f/glass resin over foam or it will melt it. As epoxy is a bit more expensive you can lessen the cost a bit by painting the foam all over with one coat of epoxy (one ounce or so goes a long way & let it fully cure) then glassing over that with standard resin and cloth. I've been told that you can even paint the foam with white construction glue and glass over that but haven't tried that yet.

Once the glassing is done , you need to skim coat with Bondo to even out any imperfections sand and finish with a primer/surfacer, then paint.

This method is a whole lot easier than mold making for standard fiberglass layup and lends itself well to these kinds of projects. I haven't recorded the building of these seats but I was contemplating making a tank for the tracker so if I do I'll take lots of pictures.

Tank building will be a little different as you use the so called lost foam method whereby you shape the tank, encapsulate it with cloth and resin then drill a hole and pour in acetone to eat away the foam leaving the tank shell.

Hope this helps but feel free to PM me if I can answer any other questions.

Cheers,
Spyug
Click to expand...

All good stuff. I simply covered my foam with painters tape. Worked fantastic. I think i built my seat, excluding bondo and paint, which i already have, for about 60 bucks. That seat would normally go for about 140 on Airtech's site, and mine is custom fit to my GS, so i know it will work.
 
looks great man, i am really diggin that tail section. I am takin alittle different approach to my seat. I cut a 1/4 plywood to fit the bike for the seat base and then put down blue painters tape, then tin foil tape, then car wax. She popped off the bike pretty dang good with some kind words and alot of pullin. Now i am tryin to get the rest sorted out then glass the top onto the bottom. Keep up the good work man.

~Scott
 
wow this is a pretty sweet project you got going, im definately subscribing
 
Your seat is coming along quite nicely. For what it's worth, I would hollow that seat out and throw a set of gloves, tools and a rag. If you are more ambitious, figure out a way to move the electricals under there. That is what I am going to do, then lose the side panels. Imagine how clean that will make your bike.

You could leave the foam in to add strength, but think about this, when are you going to need that? Glass is pretty strong stuff as it is, so the only reason I could see you needing it is if: a. you are standing on your tail section, b. your bike is standing on it's tail section. And either way I think you are probably screwed.

One thing I learned from looking at your pictures that will make building my next tailsection easier: Have another dude there. An extra brain and two extra hands would have been worth gold.
 
beergood said:
Your seat is coming along quite nicely. For what it's worth, I would hollow that seat out and throw a set of gloves, tools and a rag. If you are more ambitious, figure out a way to move the electricals under there. That is what I am going to do, then lose the side panels. Imagine how clean that will make your bike.

You could leave the foam in to add strength, but think about this, when are you going to need that? Glass is pretty strong stuff as it is, so the only reason I could see you needing it is if: a. you are standing on your tail section, b. your bike is standing on it's tail section. And either way I think you are probably screwed.

One thing I learned from looking at your pictures that will make building my next tailsection easier: Have another dude there. An extra brain and two extra hands would have been worth gold.
Click to expand...
I thought about moving the battery, but my frame is cut real short. Right behind the shocks, so there's not enough frame there to support a pan to mount the battery on. So that shot that out. I'd like to get rid of the side covers, but they dont look too bad, and i just dont see another way around it. Yeah n1elkyfan was a huge help. I wouldnt have done it without his guidance i dont think, just cause i can be gutless like that at times. I had never worked with the stuff, didnt really know how to go about doing it, and he more or less talked me into it being easy. It really wasnt that hard. Just messy.
 
Cafe, how will this be secured to the bike? Maybe you can fab a sturdy base out of 1/4" ABS to fit under the pan and sit on top of the frame rails. That would offer enough support to mount a bracket and allow the battery to relocated too.
 
Im not sure if even that would be sturdy enough. Plus, im not entirely sure how safe it would be back there with vibration. Mayhaps id need a sealed battery. Anyone ever done this before?? I know a few of the guys on the DoTheTon site have, and they had to super secure it back there.

See what im sayin??

100_0283.jpg


Kurt, have any ideas??
 
Do you have a welder TCK? if so just weld a plate to the frame where you need it, then hit it with that same paint. If not i think you are going to need to get kinda creative with some wood and fiberglass. Either way it soundn't be too hard to get your battery in your seat pan. Good luck keep us all informed.
~Scott
 
I dunno what i'd do with all the other whatnots mounted on the batt box either..
 
I'd go with the sealed battery and maybe a little strip of metal tacked in that way you can just lay the battery down inside the seat pan.... The electronics would be a different story though....
 
+1 on the sealed battery. Maybe the ABS wouldn't be strong enough since I forgot there wouldn't be any frame rail support. Maybe some aluminum, or glass in the ABS for a firmer mount point?

You could move your regulator anywhere, maybe even get it in a location to keep it cooler. If you haven't already done it, you might get a single R/R instead of using the two individual parts.

You could move the signal relay to the tail piece as well, but the only location for the starter relay might be fabbing a small bracket and putting it up closer to the underside of the seat.
 
ohhh i didnt think of that at all!! Mount that stuff under the seat pan itself. already purchased one of Duaneages RRs so thats killt. Is it a bad idea to lay a sealed battery over?
 
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