Stock Seat New Foam

[Guest MegaMan]

I have inherited a second stock seat for my 6th gen, that I want to try to re-foam so that it fits my bony little bottom really nice. I don't want to shell out CAD$600 to get a Sargent or Corbin, but I can't handle another summer with that damn stock seat. Has anyone redone the foam in a stock seat??? If so what kind of foam did you use, where did you get it, and how did you shape it. I am 160cm (5'6") and only weigh about 65Kg (140 lbs). I would like the re-foamed seat to have a little shorter standover height, but I also want it to be softer. If anyone has any experience with upholstery or foam densities, I would gladly accept a nickel's worth of free advice.

[DEZLPWR]

I just mailed a seat for my VF500 that I won on Ebay for 99 cents to Sargent. For them to completely redo the entire seat, it will cost me about $165. I think that is pretty reasonable.

[Motor_Ref]

I have inherited a second stock seat for my 6th gen, that I want to try to re-foam so that it fits my bony little bottom really nice.  I don't want to shell out CAD$600 to get a Sargent or Corbin, but I can't handle another summer with that damn stock seat.  Has anyone redone the foam in a stock seat???  If so what kind of foam did you use, where did you get it, and how did you shape it.  I am 160cm (5'6") and only weigh about 65Kg (140 lbs).  I would like the re-foamed seat to have a little shorter standover height, but I also want it to be softer.  If anyone has any experience with upholstery or foam densities, I would gladly accept a nickel's worth of free advice.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have not done this myself. But I have taken several seats to my favorite local upholstery shop and whatched/helped while they did it.

They have the experience and the tools. I considered that to be well worth what they charged.

The last time I used Sargent foam. If you call them they will sell it to you. Other times, I have used the foam that was at the shop. I have never been able to find foam at any shop that I thought was stiff enough. The stiff foam is the best part of a Corbin seat.

I used to race bicycles and found out the hard ( no pun intended) way that my answer to a sore butt was not softer foam but harder foam and more riding. Corbin's foam is good because it is stiff enough to shape and then will 'break in' to the shape of your butt.

They glue the additional foam in place with some yellow spray glue. It looks a lot like automotive trim cement to me. I doubt it is, but that is what it looks like. They shape the seat with an air powered equivalent of an electric knive. I am sure that you could use an electric knife. The next step of the shaping is done with a hand held air disc sander. The final shaping is done by hand with sand paper.

They have an air driven stapler to staple the cover back on. They steam and stretch the cover while they are stapling it back on.

hth,

[McCleod]

I have inherited a second stock seat for my 6th gen, that I want to try to re-foam so that it fits my bony little bottom really nice.  I don't want to shell out CAD$600 to get a Sargent or Corbin, but I can't handle another summer with that damn stock seat.  Has anyone redone the foam in a stock seat???  If so what kind of foam did you use, where did you get it, and how did you shape it.  I am 160cm (5'6") and only weigh about 65Kg (140 lbs).  I would like the re-foamed seat to have a little shorter standover height, but I also want it to be softer.  If anyone has any experience with upholstery or foam densities, I would gladly accept a nickel's worth of free advice.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I had Sargent basically completely rebuild my stock seat on an '05 (lower, narrower, softer, custom color, etc.) -- total cost less than $200US. It was worth every penny; maybe you should spend a little more and let the pros do it for you -- just my .02.

[dukeracr]

I bought a bicycle gel pad, the largest I could find, and scooped out the foam. I then replaced the vinyl. Works great, however, I should have used some fabric tape or duct tape to cover the foam/gel edges cos the shape of the pad is visible through the vinyl.

[Lobster]

Member Rivcyko was kind enough to give me his stock seat. he had scooped out some of the stock foam and then inserted a gel pad into the hole. He didn't like it and bought a Sargent. I took the seat to a local seat shop and had them blend the gel pad better and then put about 1" of foam over it, then recover it with some "4 way", marine grade, fake leather. Now the seat has a bit of "bowl" that my big fat ars fits into and it's very nice. I paid the shop ~$200 to have them redo it.

You might be able to get some advice from a local seat shop on foam densities. My personal advice would be to take the seat and your bike to a seat shop, tell them what you want done, and have them do it. You'll likely spend WAY less than a new Sargent and have a more custom made seat.

For what it's worth, I didn't go to a strictly "motorcycle seat shop". I called around to a bunch of auto seat shops until I found someone who also worked on bike seats. You might also want to try calling your local Harley Dealer to see if they know anyone who works on seats who may not be in the Yellow Pages.

Good luck.

[Lifesaver]

I should recommend getting some of that SEALY advanced foam bed mattress stuff. Slice off some stock foam, and glue in the Sealy stuff... Replace the stock vinyl cover.