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I apologize for the lack of pictures of the process!
However I wanted to give a brief tutorial for those who hated their L seat as much as I did.
So, what my goal was to cut the seat down a bit to clean up the lines of the bike. Keep in mind that doing what I did will pretty much make carrying a passenger....not a good idea.
First, I used a pair of needle-nose plyers to pull the old seat cover off of the seat bottom (which for some unknown reason is made of metal...) The cover is held by these stupid triangle shaped holders, which on mine had begun to rust, so I had to be careful not to cut myself on them during the entire process.
Some of the seat cover was sticking to the foam. Be very careful how you tear it off as you will definitely damage the foam. The question will be how much.
Once I had the old seat cover in the trash I began to cut the back part of the seat down using a hacksaw. Later in the process I found a brand new breadknife in my kitchen which worked way better for cutting the foam. So find what works best and stick with it. I simply just started cutting in layers until it was low enough for my liking. I then did the same on the front, but only the very front as I wanted the seat to look flatter against the tank than before.
Advice: cut smaller than you think you want. You will mess up and you will need extra foam to be able to smooth out the overall line of the foam.
Next, once I had the general shaping I wanted, I went to work with sandpaper to round out the edges. This would have been much easier with a sanding tool, but hand sanding works too, just uses more time and sweat.
Once that was all done, i still had some places on the foam that werent completely smooth. So, I went to walmart and got some cotton that was next to the foam in the fabrics isle. I forget what it's called but it's basically a big sheet of 1cm cotton padding. You may want to use an old yogamat or something as I forsee the cotton developing mold in the future. I wasn't concerned with this personally, As I could tell there was already mold growing in some areas of the foam underneath. So, if yours is mold and rust free and you want to keep it that way, probably dont use cotton. The reason for the cotton was to eliminate obvious defects once the cover was on.
I sprayed the exposed foam with 3M adhesive spray 45. Let it sit for about 30 seconds then I put a sheet of the cotton on. Pulled it tight around the seat to eliminate and wrinkles. Then I sprayed the cotton and added another layer for good measure. Then, I got my cover ready.
For the cover, I went to Jo Ann fabrics and bought a yard of marine grade vinyl. Cost be about 20 bucks, but it's completely waterproof and seems really durable. I put the vinyl in the dryer for a few minutes to warm it up to increase the stretchiness. sprayed the adhesive on, and then did the same thing with the vinyl as I did with the cotton. Pull it tight as possible as to eliminate wrinkles. Now, on the back corners of the seat I made a fold on each one for the excess cover fabric. Does it look the cleanest? No. But without being able to staple gun the cover into the base, this was as best as I figured I could do. If anyone has any suggestions please submit them. Starting from the front I turned the seat over and began to hook the cover into the triangle things. It takes awhile and some sweat to get it pulled nice and tight. Then cut off the excess. Then use your spray and put it between the bottom and any excess you have left so that it sticks to the base. Remember it takes about 20 seconds to become tacky. Then, voila! You have a seat that looks better than before. Mine doesn't look professional but looks a hell of a lot better than it did!
Before:
DSC_0203.jpg
However I wanted to give a brief tutorial for those who hated their L seat as much as I did.
So, what my goal was to cut the seat down a bit to clean up the lines of the bike. Keep in mind that doing what I did will pretty much make carrying a passenger....not a good idea.
First, I used a pair of needle-nose plyers to pull the old seat cover off of the seat bottom (which for some unknown reason is made of metal...) The cover is held by these stupid triangle shaped holders, which on mine had begun to rust, so I had to be careful not to cut myself on them during the entire process.
Some of the seat cover was sticking to the foam. Be very careful how you tear it off as you will definitely damage the foam. The question will be how much.
Once I had the old seat cover in the trash I began to cut the back part of the seat down using a hacksaw. Later in the process I found a brand new breadknife in my kitchen which worked way better for cutting the foam. So find what works best and stick with it. I simply just started cutting in layers until it was low enough for my liking. I then did the same on the front, but only the very front as I wanted the seat to look flatter against the tank than before.
Advice: cut smaller than you think you want. You will mess up and you will need extra foam to be able to smooth out the overall line of the foam.
Next, once I had the general shaping I wanted, I went to work with sandpaper to round out the edges. This would have been much easier with a sanding tool, but hand sanding works too, just uses more time and sweat.
Once that was all done, i still had some places on the foam that werent completely smooth. So, I went to walmart and got some cotton that was next to the foam in the fabrics isle. I forget what it's called but it's basically a big sheet of 1cm cotton padding. You may want to use an old yogamat or something as I forsee the cotton developing mold in the future. I wasn't concerned with this personally, As I could tell there was already mold growing in some areas of the foam underneath. So, if yours is mold and rust free and you want to keep it that way, probably dont use cotton. The reason for the cotton was to eliminate obvious defects once the cover was on.
I sprayed the exposed foam with 3M adhesive spray 45. Let it sit for about 30 seconds then I put a sheet of the cotton on. Pulled it tight around the seat to eliminate and wrinkles. Then I sprayed the cotton and added another layer for good measure. Then, I got my cover ready.
For the cover, I went to Jo Ann fabrics and bought a yard of marine grade vinyl. Cost be about 20 bucks, but it's completely waterproof and seems really durable. I put the vinyl in the dryer for a few minutes to warm it up to increase the stretchiness. sprayed the adhesive on, and then did the same thing with the vinyl as I did with the cotton. Pull it tight as possible as to eliminate wrinkles. Now, on the back corners of the seat I made a fold on each one for the excess cover fabric. Does it look the cleanest? No. But without being able to staple gun the cover into the base, this was as best as I figured I could do. If anyone has any suggestions please submit them. Starting from the front I turned the seat over and began to hook the cover into the triangle things. It takes awhile and some sweat to get it pulled nice and tight. Then cut off the excess. Then use your spray and put it between the bottom and any excess you have left so that it sticks to the base. Remember it takes about 20 seconds to become tacky. Then, voila! You have a seat that looks better than before. Mine doesn't look professional but looks a hell of a lot better than it did!
Before:
DSC_0203.jpg
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