making a tailpiece / bump stop seat for GS400

[anarki650]

I love the fact that I did mine.  ;D  I used a donated beat to hell tank from a cb550 and the stock seat pan.  Cut the hump out of the tank, welded that onto the pan and welded a flat piece of sheet metal to the front of the hump instead of doing an upholstered front to the bum stop.  The upholstery is very DIY, a sheet of marine grade vinyl and some high density foam (both purchased from Hancock Fabrics for a total of about $30).  The pad doesn't look the best, but it works!!!  Only part of the seat I didn't do myself was the paint, sourced my paint to a local guy painting out of his garage because I wanted it to be something a little special (candy tangerine with a spade ghosted into the tank). 

Nothing I could have bought would have been as gratifying, or look as good with the lines of the stock tank IMHO.

[HerrDeacon]

I wouldn't even consider buying one. Just the fact of having a one-of-a-kind item for the bike does it for me. Plus I just like making things. I don't have any real metal working tools, so glassing is the best I'm going to do in terms of fabricating things. Even though mine if far from perfect I still like it. I suck at upholstery so I'd like to do the pad again. With that said, I don't see anything wrong with buying one. There are a lot of quality seats out there for good prices, especially if you don't really have to space or environment to make one.

Andy, love how the seat is shaping up. I like how you used that pink foam, its solid enough for you to sit on it and test things out as you go. I used the green florist foam and so couldn't do that.

Nicely done, can't wait to see it finished.

[Andy]

I have really been on the ropes for about 3 weeks now as to which way to go DIY or bought.....weighing the pros and cons of both sides....the one thing that I keep coming back to is the pride factor in the diy side.  Nothing beats starting and finishing a project saying I did that myself.  I appreciate the info and have a new motivation for getting in the garage more and off the couch.

Half the reason I am doing this is to stay away from the TV.  I spend all day looking at my computer screen for work, after dinner I go shave foam instead of looking at my TV LCD.

you are right about the pride in DIY.  People on here and another board or two I troll around on have been super helpful, even offering to let me glass it up in their shop (mine's unheated and it's -10 below these days).  You make new friends!

[Andy]

Andy, love how the seat is shaping up. I like how you used that pink foam, its solid enough for you to sit on it and test things out as you go. I used the green florist foam and so couldn't do that.

Nicely done, can't wait to see it finished.

And the colour is beyond reproach  ;D

Like I said I had it laying around.  I made a toy sailboat out of blue foam as a kid in NS (you must know what I'm talking about in SJ's, everything seems to be related to the ocean back east and I sure miss it) and it was easy.

thanks for the encouragement!  just a LITTLE BIT MORE work and I think it'll be ready for glass.
The guy who offered to let me glass in his shop is our local club's upholstery king and I might hit him up to do the job.
I am thinking I'll glass the tailpiece, then lay a thin (say 1/8 inch) pad over the seat and the kick up at the back, tape it off, glass up a solid base out of matting, then peel the base off and get him to upholster it.  Bad description, but I want to have the vinyl come up the back and go about an inch toward the back past the top of the butt stop.  I'll attach the seat itself to the tailpiece with velcro.  That should help hide some of the lopsidedness. 

[Andy]

Aluminized.

[anarki650]

Looking good!!!  In fact, looks so good shiny like I'm thinking you need to build one out of aluminum instead of glass and polish it up and give the tank the same polished treatment! 

[Andy]

Looking good!!!  In fact, looks so good shiny like I'm thinking you need to build one out of aluminum instead of glass and polish it up and give the tank the same polished treatment! 

I'd love to do that.  Maybe a dull steel and clearcoat.  This one is going to be white for visibility and because it hides imperfections.  The bike is for my girlfriend so I want her to be seen on the road.  If it was mine I'd be tempted to go black.

[squints]

Andy that looks awesome! really nice work. I dig the aluminum look. Is that paint?

where are you planning on mounting the brake light?

[Andy]

Andy that looks awesome! really nice work. I dig the aluminum look. Is that paint?

where are you planning on mounting the brake light?

It's aluminum tape for duct work.  It protects the foam from the fibreglass resin, which melts the foam.
I haven't fully decided on the tail light because I don't have it yet.  A guy from the BC classic motorcycle club has offered me what sounds like a really cool 60's tail light.  Once I see it I might be able to make up my mind

[kzbell]

Hey Andy, I was curious if you ever finished this project.

[Andy]

Hi KZBell
I haven't finished the project yet, I haven't done anything on it since December.  Winter is my busy time for work and I have only been home 12 days since Dec. 15.  I'm heading home soon though and it's my #1 priority

[Andy]

Over the last few days I have been working on the seat part of this tailpiece.  I put a layer fibreglass cloth on the tailpiece and two layers of fibreglass matting on the seat base.  I then tinfoiled the seat base, the front few inches of the tailpiece and the back of the tank.   I put down two more layers of fibreglass matt over the foil to make a seat pan.  I made the pan about two inches longer and wider  than what I figured I would want it to be, and it goes about three inches up the back of the tank.  Once it was dry I used a belt sander to trim it down chopped up the old seat foam until I had a rough shape and then used the belt sander and 80 grit paper to smooth out the foam.

At a fabric store I found some 1 inch cotton batting to put over the seat foam and smooth the transition to the seat pan.  Using metal clips to hold it, I stretched the batting over the foam and then some leftover vinyl from another project.  Here's a couple of pics.  The first is the tailpiece unglassed with the seat foam on it just to get a feel for the look.  The second is the first test-fit of the foam / batting / vinyl on the seat pan.  There is still lots of finishing work to be done on the pan before I upholster the seat but I am pretty happy with how it looks so far.

[HerrDeacon]

That looks great Andy, really nice work. The shape really suits the bike.

[rstnick]

I like the shape too. Nice work.
I think the H2 project I just picked up is going to be a Cafe project.
You guys have inspired me to make a one off seat.

 

[KOOL RYDER]

I cant wait to see it finished. The lines of the seat really flow from the tank. Good eye.

Kool Ryder