$40 DIY Norton Manx style seat for your caferacer. No welding

[stange_dk]

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I just completed my seat for my XS650 caferacer but you can easily build a norton manx styled seat for any bike following the same steps.

What you need:

- metal for seat base (I used aluminium and sheet metal) (I paid $10 at a blacksmith)
- a yoga mat or any foam you can shape. has to be dense enough to work on with a grinder. look in the basement or garage for camping gear
- "polster cotton". I got some of the stuff they use as last layer before putting the fabric on furniture. cost a few dollars.
- faux leather for upholstry
- really strong universal contact glue
- a friend with a sowing machine

first the seat basel



Then I marked it up and started bending by hand


Getting there


But the old seat mounts make it sit high on the frame. They have to go. More grinding!


I also have to cut the base to clear the rear fender.

 

[stange_dk]

I cut up one of my mom's yoga mats, glued it together and used a angle grinder with to shape the seat hump.


then you cut the furniture cotton to fit and glue it to the seat foam

I have a friend with a machine that can rivet threaded rivets. These went into the seat base over the frame cross section right behind the battery box. I drilled two holes in the frame here and fasten the eat from underneath with two umbraco bolts. But you can use any mounting method you want...Even hinges (if you want to make the base that wide)

 

[stange_dk]

then you cut 3 parts of vinyl and the softer "cottom" foam:

1. Main seat base that covers the first part. remember to have enough to fasten underneath.
2. "half moon" part, which is the part of the hump that faces forward
3. hum cover. also a (bigger) half moon

glue "cottom foam" pieces to the seat foam.

If you cant sow, get somebody who can to sow it together. it can be done on an ordinary cheap sowing machine. use black tread. remember to try fitting the cover everytime you add a piece so you're sure that its a very tight fit. the vinyl is a bit elastic and you dont want your cover to be loose.

fit the cover loosely onto the seat and turn it upside down. apply contact glue to both the seat base and the cover, where it will be glued together. let it dry (it has to be the type that dries and then hooks instantly when pressed together with other glued surface)

Now, you may want some help. I did it myself but nearly messed it up... as you cant strectch and fit the whole cover at once you have to go point by point.

1. press the "flaps" of the sidecover to against the base and make sure they stay there.
2. glue the front part (that touches the tank). not the entire thing but enough to keep it in place.
3. do the same to the rear of the hump
4. finish the sides of the main part of the seat.
5. fit the hump taking one place of the time and streching the vinyl before pressign it against the base.
6. continue stretching and fitting until your seat cover is smooth.

and here's the finished seat. still need to glue some of the folds underneath the base..

 

[Tim]

Nice work! I did a similar seat for my 550 a while back on a stock seatpan. The 650 is a nice platform for seat making because it's relatively flat in that area of the frame.

I took the easy way out for my current 650 project and bought a new Manx style seat.