Going to make my seat

[Qckslvr]

I have been looking at different café seat pans for a while now. Actually since I bought the bike pretty much. Then I saw some one post that they took an old fuel tank from there bike, and cut it up making it into a seat cowl. This sparked some ideas, and now I am moving forward. So I am taking my old GS550 tank and I am going to cut the back of it off. I will then shorten the stock seat pan on my bike and graft the tank to it. I picked up an Aprilia RSV tail light assembly on e-bay that I will also graft in to the fuel tank/cowl. This tail light will also be my turn signals as well.

I shall post more pictures next week, when I start cutting and grafting. I need to go buy some brazing rod this weekend. I think my mig will be too hot for this project.

[lti_57]

Timley post I am about a month out from doing the same thing to mine
look forward to seeing your progress

[Flyboy]

Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to pay our respects and grieve for this fine GS fuel tank, it lived a good life and will be missed by ........... :'(

[Qckslvr]

Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to pay our respects and grieve for this fine GS fuel tank, it lived a good life and will be missed by ........... :'(

It lived a good and fruit full life. So instead of sending it to the big scrap heap in the sky, it shall live on in part.

[Flaming Chainsaws]

Yes, yes.... I have seen many people use an old gas tank for the seat cowl and surprisingly, it looks good!

I'll be watching this one!

[Gumbo76]

Subscribed! I can't wait to see how it turns out. I have an old GS550 tank as well. Maybe I'll try this out if it looks good. Can't wait to follow along with your progress!

[horsepowerfarm]

We used an old rusted out GS 550 tank for the seat cowl. Not only was it cut like you show in your picture but was narrowed by 3".

[Qckslvr]

Small update for all of you watching. I am brain storming the tail light. I am trying to decided if I am going to mold the tail light into the cowl, or go for a more OEM cut to fit look. The tank/cowl is the right width for the stock seat pan. All I have to do is trim the pan to fit it. I will be able to retain the stock hinges and bumpers. I also need to remove the rear shocks and check suspension travel. I am a little worried about that.

Chopped up and looking good so far


Inside of the tank had a lot of scale, but no pitting, or bad rust. It was a good tank.


I sat some bricks on the seat, and sat in multiple positions. Then I placed some tape on the seat that also represents the thickness of the back pad. Here is the cowl sitting on the bike.

[Qckslvr]

UPDATE TIME.

I am quite impatient, so I have dove into my project with out my tail light. I know better, and should have paid for the expedited shipping but didn't.

So I pulled the old leather jacket off, of which I kept. I think I might use it to cover the new seat . Low and behold there is the old foam pad that is quite distressed. I pulled the pad off, and it did not surprise me what I saw. The rust beast had taken a strong grasp of my seat pan. So I bead blasted where I needed to do my work, and trimmed it to fit the rear cowl.

Tonight I will do another fitting, and make sure everything is where I want it. If all is good it will get a couple of epoxy dabs to hold things in place. Then bring it to work where I can braze it. Then I can trim it out to fit the new tail light when it gets in. I will be removing about 10"s of frame

To refinish the pan I will completely bead blast it, after it is fitted and ready. Then I will treat the pan with POR 15 rust primer. Then a coat of primer, some bondo, K200 primmer filler, and nice coat of deep red with black metal flake. By this time I will have the tank off and prepped as well.







Also I will be taking about 1.5"s off the foam pad. But the foam is very dense and I am trying to find the best way to cut and shape it.

[Agemax]

good sharp carving knife, or even better is an electric carving knife to cut the foam

[Qckslvr]

good sharp carving knife, or even better is an electric carving knife to cut the foam

will it damage the carving knife? I do like to cut turkey with it

[Agemax]

will it damage the carving knife? I do like to cut turkey with it

not joking mate, it will slice through that foam like butter, just less messy

[four_shot]

will it damage the carving knife? I do like to cut turkey with it

I'd just go and get a cheap electric from your local Wal-mart...My wife would kill me for trimming anything non-edible with any of her kitchen cutlery,damage or not. (and she rides!)

[Qckslvr]

I'd just go and get a cheap electric from your local Wal-mart...My wife would kill me for trimming anything non-edible with any of her kitchen cutlery,damage or not. (and she rides!)

I am the chef in the house, wife can burn water.

And I do have an electric carver, I have also been reading up on hot knives.

[ddaniels]

I've talked to many folks who've used an electric knife for shaping seat foam. Works like a charm. I saw a show on tv where a guy was using some kind of rasp for the edges and to get a nice smooth surface. Not sure what kind of rasp though.