GN250 cafe seat

[tonci]

Hey guys,


Im new on here and am currently riding a GN250 that i am hoping to customise with a few minor changes towards the Cafe Racer look.


So far i have changed my handlebars with MX style bars mounted downwards for that drop bar look, and have a set of new indicators i hope to have installed on the weekend.


The major issue i am having is in finding a seat to replace the original which has the look of a sofa made for the entire family. Does any one know of seats that can be easily modified to fit the GN? am i better off just making a fiberglass seat, otherwise i saw someone on here had carved up their OEM seat, i was thinking of buyign a second hand seat to try carve into my desired shape then having an professional upholster complete the job


Skills wise im not ashamed to admit im rather limited, but am enjoying the experience none the less, but understand not to over step my skill range.


Cheers guys!

 

[tonci]

Hey guys,


I have decided to go ahead and try make my own seat.... why not?? may as well have fun even if i fail


I have purchased most of the required items that i did not already have today including:


[list type=decimal]
[*]Fibreglass cloth and epoxy
[*]Floral foam for the mould
[*]Aluminium tape
[*]Auto body filler
[*]and few bits and pieces including grinder blades etc
[/list]


Im going to try upload photos of my bike currently and will continue to update as my work progresses.


Due to university requirements may have to wait till the weekend though.


I look forward to receiving feedback and constructive criticism as i progress.


Cheers

 

[tonci]

 

[tonci]

Decided to get cracking on this.


SO far i've only made a hack job of the wooden base i will be glueing the floral foam onto for the mould, and glued the bricks of foam together, i'm not sure if the adhesive i have used is correct as it kept falling apart while i was doing it. I've decided to clamp them all together over night and see what i find tomorrow after work.

this shows my wooden base so far, its still only rough, i figured i would do most of the actual shaping once the foam is glued on anyway PLUS in my defence i only had a hand saw!!

and now my foam, i actually made two sets of 3 bricks like this, left them for a bit and when i checked one fell apart!!
So ive glued the two sets of 3 bricks into one and clamped from both directions. Hopefully this works for my tomorrow, if not i will be needing to get more adhesive for when i glue it onto the wooden board, as i ran out anway. (heavy handed some might say)

 

[Sergio]

Hey,

Nice to see another GN.
Hope you have fun with it!

http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=19808.0

 

[tonci]

hey guys,


managed to get some progress on this project today.


so far i have managed to shape the foam using a loose hacksaw blade and sandpaper and then taped with aluminium tape and waxed with car wax.


this means that tomorrow i will hopefully start work on the fibreglass, although i am worried that i may not have enough of the fibreglass cloth so may need to wait until i've got more from the store before starting.

this photo is from when i was still using the hacksaw blade to get the rough shape sorted.

and heres the mould done. im a little bit worried about the symmetries of the mould but i think ill just let it go. if needed i will layer a thicker level of fibreglass in certain areas so i can sand it back to match better...




Cheers

 

[Big R]

Wear dita the frame look like underneath the original seat pan? And have you ridden the bike with those bars liked that? Usually when bars are flipped, it puts your wrists at very bad angles.

 

[tonci]

Yeah i've been riding my bike with the new handlebars for the last few weeks. angles are not to bad, gets sore after extended rides, but i only commute short distances on it at the moment so no issues.


in terms of underneath the seat pan the frame looked fine? not sure exactly what your asking there

heres my seat mould resting on my bike. i am contemplating removing the rear fender so that the seat can sit an inch or two lower on the rear. otherwise i will have to create some supports in the centre of the seat to ensure it can hold a riders weight without cracking

 

[modifiedamerican]

imo u deff should remove the rear fender so it can sit down more. looks good non the less though

 

[tonci]

Hey guys,

sorry for not updating in sometime i've been caught up doing some home-brew and with the change of jobs.

Since the last update i have fibreglassed the mould, ground off the rough edges and sanded it down before laying the body primer. I have laid the body filler and begun painting with a primer paint.

Unfortunately i forgot to take pictures during the process so instead i only have two images of the point i am at now.

I'm not to fussed about the quality on the base as it will be getting covered with the seat foam anyway, will probably only assist in sticking it down.

I am now planning on making a metal subframe to attach the factory mounts onto to help distribute the weight as much as possible and will hopefully be able to have this done is the upcoming weekend. I have decided that i will completely remove the rear fender and instead mount a tail light into the seats cowling.

Do you guys think i should mount the licence plate to the bottom of the seats cowling below the taillight, or side mount close to the rear suspension? Are there any laws that concern this? (I am in New Zealand btw)

Also i have heard some people use trailer lights as they are a cheap alternative to buying specialist motorcycle tail lights. Are there any things i should be aware of when going this option?

Other than that happy reading and thank you for any comments


Oh an my dad just had his 1924 Indian Scout arrive this weekend from its rebuild and refurb:

 

[crackerman]

I'd stick with the original seat or no seat over you're new one. The seat is one of the few pieces I just went out and bought.

 

[ryanbfast]

I'd stick with the original seat or no seat over you're new one. The seat is one of the few pieces I just went out and bought.

+1