Small tip for protecting rear fender with a pillion seat!
#1
04-05-2013, 08:10 PM
Small tip for protecting rear fender with a pillion seat!
Hey guys,
A while ago I posted, having a little rant about how my aftermarket 2-up seat damaged my rear fender. I touched it up with a rattle can which wasn't ideal, but I managed to make some pretty nifty pads for the seat to stop this worsening.
This isn't rocket science, but H-D wanted around $40 for a crappy piece of 3M plastic which I'm convinced would have looked ugly and not worked as well as this.
My choice of saddle was a Lepera Villain, and the bottom has a sort of carpeted surface. They said this would protect the fender, which obviously was a crock with my hindsight spectacles on. Alas, live and learn.
You'll need:
- An old mouse pad.
- Some velcro (took mine off a raggedy sports jacket I had).
- Fabric glue.
Basically just roll up the mouse pad and put it in boiling water. Let it cool until the water is luke-warm and then carefully peel the foam off the hard plastic.
Cut 2 parts to shape for each side (4 in total), and then stick some extra bits sandwiched between the shaped parts for additional padding.
Then glue the rougher part of the velcro to the side that faces the saddle. This way, the velcro will secure the pads to the saddle without actually needing to stick anything to your fender or seat.
Obviously make sure the glue is completely dry before applying the pads anywhere! Also, if the glue has dried you can make final trims to get it to fit perfectly.
If done correctly, your seat will "float" off the fender, making no contact with it whatsoever, even with weight applied to the seat! I pulled the saddle after a good 2 months of riding like this. No damage. Even the crappy rattle can touch up was intact. The great thing about this is nothing stuck permanently to the fender in case you want to stick your solo seat back on, and nothing is glued to the saddle in case you decide to sell it.
Hope someone finds this helpful!
A while ago I posted, having a little rant about how my aftermarket 2-up seat damaged my rear fender. I touched it up with a rattle can which wasn't ideal, but I managed to make some pretty nifty pads for the seat to stop this worsening.
This isn't rocket science, but H-D wanted around $40 for a crappy piece of 3M plastic which I'm convinced would have looked ugly and not worked as well as this.
My choice of saddle was a Lepera Villain, and the bottom has a sort of carpeted surface. They said this would protect the fender, which obviously was a crock with my hindsight spectacles on. Alas, live and learn.
You'll need:
- An old mouse pad.
- Some velcro (took mine off a raggedy sports jacket I had).
- Fabric glue.
Basically just roll up the mouse pad and put it in boiling water. Let it cool until the water is luke-warm and then carefully peel the foam off the hard plastic.
Cut 2 parts to shape for each side (4 in total), and then stick some extra bits sandwiched between the shaped parts for additional padding.
Then glue the rougher part of the velcro to the side that faces the saddle. This way, the velcro will secure the pads to the saddle without actually needing to stick anything to your fender or seat.
Obviously make sure the glue is completely dry before applying the pads anywhere! Also, if the glue has dried you can make final trims to get it to fit perfectly.
If done correctly, your seat will "float" off the fender, making no contact with it whatsoever, even with weight applied to the seat! I pulled the saddle after a good 2 months of riding like this. No damage. Even the crappy rattle can touch up was intact. The great thing about this is nothing stuck permanently to the fender in case you want to stick your solo seat back on, and nothing is glued to the saddle in case you decide to sell it.
Hope someone finds this helpful!
oh wait, nevermind!
#4
04-07-2013, 07:17 AM
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