**Revised 11/25/07**
*Revisions made - Content: Simple directions/guidelines with each photo
Photos: Each reply = each "step/phase" of the project
Replies: Combined suggestions/comments to assist others easier

************************************************** ********************************

The first thing to do is give credit where it's due. So with that said I must generously thank the following members for their contribution to the project for giving the idea, suggestions, and tips to help make this easier/better. [ul][*]devils haircut [*]jackyl[*]mudpuddle[*]matkiwi[/ul]Honestly, this is quite simply the cheapest, and easiest modification to make the bike even more comfortable to your own arse and not the MOCO's! From the few years of playing paintball, and with all the different paintball guns on the market, the one that fit/worked best was the one modified for me. Modifying the seat only seemed to follow the same principal in my head, and it helped to ease the worries about screwing it up

Think of it this way - You can go out and buy a $200-$300 seat out of a catalog that you may or may not like. You are going to spend more in the long run bouncing from one seat to another. Sitting on some helps, and getting feedback from others, well everybody's arse is different, as well as riding posture. If you have a stock seat (or can find one cheap) you may be able to work with it to get your own "style" and fit. By modifying your stock seat you are likely to save a lot of money, and get a seat that fits you. Having a seat that fits you properly is about the same as having a good pair of work boots; they are comfy and you can wear them all day. Having a comfortable seat is how most of us find the way to be on the road a lot more, and stopping to stretch a whole lot less between gas stops.

The other perk to modifying your own seat is that with the money you saved from buying a new seat, you could potentially take that money and invest into a custom seat cover (depending on how extravegant you want it). You kind of get a "2 for 1" deal this way because not only would you have a comfortable seat, but also a nice custom looking one too. Should you choose to just use the stock seat cover, no problems, put that money into the motor, or into a future trip, let's face it, if you're comfortable you are going do more riding plain and simple.

************************************************** ********************************

Materials Needed
[ul][*]Seat - Stock seats can be found relatively cheap usually on EBay or the Classifieds[*]Needle Nose/Pliers - Help with pulling staples[*]Awl/Similar pointy object to remove staples[*]Staple gun - Electric, Pneumatic, or Mechanical works fine (Electric/Pneumatic make it very easy)[*]10mm/ 3/8" Staples - No shorter as they may not hold into the seat pan.[*]Cutting Tools - Serated Knife/Scissors (a bit rough), Electric Bread Knife (Better), Electric "Hotwire" (Best IMO)[*]Adhesive - Great to use when laying over a plastic barrier on the foam, or in certain areas when laying the cover down.[*]Sharpie - A pen works, but a Sharpie shows up much better[*]References - Hey, you are about to C U T into your

__________________
Turbo Project\\\Custom Seat

Cont'd -



6) Now that the cover has been removed, and we have determined the seat will withstand the modifcations. It is time to get our your references and loko them over. This is where you start to finalize (yes this is not reversable, can be, but very dicey) the seat changes. Here you can see the general idea of what I am going for. I am trying to combine the looks of a Mustang Fastback seat and the HD Sidekick seat. I like the deep bucket they both have, Sidekick has a subtle line from the bucket to rear pillon that I am going to try and duplicate as well. The slant downward on the Fastback's rear pillon is another feature I am going to incorporate into this seat. The other change will be the inner thigh area as well to make it fit better in the legs.




7) Here we start drawing out your lines of areas that will be modified. You do not have to be an artist in order to draw on the seat. As you create the lines, try to draw them in a fashion that you will understand what needs to be done in that area (ie shave, curve, remove etc...). At this point you can still make subtle alterations to the finished goal by working with your lines. Below I have marked off the areas on the rear pillion, the bucket, and inner thigh areas to be modified;



Striaght on shot shows the innner thigh area, bucket, and rear pillion adjustments/curve;



8) This is where you may want to sit back for a bit and rethink all of your lines. Make any changes/alterations now because once you start, you may not be able to change it. Take whatever cutting tool you are using, and start slowly removing the foam from the areas you wish to change. Be sure to take your time here and cut away in small increments the closer you get to your desired form. It's a messy job, but everything will start to take its ideal shape during this point of the project.

Rear Pillion slope;



Top shot of narrowing where rear pillion meets the main seat;



Side shot of thigh area and bucket cut out;

__________________
Turbo Project\\\Custom Seat

**UPDATED 11/24/07

Went to good old Kmart and bought some supplies this morning to finish the seat up. I bought an electric stapler (just makes it way easier to do this stuff), and some Spray adhesive to keep the plastic cover in place.

Here I am laying down the plastic after spraying the adhesive on the foam (*Note- You can see I added a bit of a "bump" in the center of the seat to help keep my arse planted in the bucket);


Plastic is all on and letting the adhesive set before pulling the cover back on;



Cover on, good shot of the new bucket cut into the seat. I added a bit of adhesive in the bucket area to hold the cover down in that area a bit;



Top down shot, you can really see how narrow the thigh area is now;



Took the bike out today for about 100 miles. The seat worked out perfect. Hit a few bumps where my butt would normally slide up and back on the stock seat, I didn't move an inch. Cracked the throttle a few times and the bucket held me right in place each and every time. The inner thigh area was also really comfortable at stop lights and cruising down the road, the bike just felt good and stable sitting on it.

Here are a couple photos. After sitting on the seat a while the cover is starting to conform to the new contours of the foam, and the bucket is coming out more noticeably;












Sitting on the seat now is just awesome. With the thigh area cut out it makes the bike seem like I am sitting on a sporty, nice and thin. The bucket is more noticeable when you sit into the seat, very "stable" feeling with your butt planted seemingly unmoveable now. Overall I am pleased with the results. As for the custom cover, I need to spend a little time thinking on that one. I don't want anything really fancy, but some contrast will be nice.

__________________
Turbo Project\\\Custom Seat

RESERVED FOR FINAL PRODUCT UPDATE!

__________________
Turbo Project\\\Custom Seat

use a electric bread knife. works awesome on foam. instead of tearing it off. jackyl

Yea i didn't have anything else to use....so I improvised and cut a strip at a time, then dragged the blade across to smooth some spots. That worked "alright" but could be better.

What I was just remembering from when I did model railroad scenery and used this foam , is that you get one of the small track power supplies, hook a wire coat hanger to it, used the "speed" knob to control the heat through the wire...worked awesome, literally like cutting butter!

<_< Craigslist here I come!

__________________
Turbo Project\\\Custom Seat

Battery charger.
Wire from positive to negative.

mud

__________________

waiting to see the finnished adjustments

__________________
Oneshotdog

Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.
John Wayne

*DELETE ME*

__________________
Turbo Project\\\Custom Seat

Looking good ... here's the one I'm doing from scratch ... hoping to get it covered this weekend ... http://www.hdforums.com/m_2435349/tm.htm

__________________