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Anybody know of a DFW shop that shaves or custom forms seat foam on bikes?

Joined
Jun 15, 2018
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Location
Arlington
First Name
Bob
Last Name
Moyer
Looking to shave the SV650 seat, or have new foam that is thinner but more dense installed on it for my daughter.

She's a bit short on the inseam and I'm considering dropping the seat height down a bit before lowering the bike and getting the suspension out of sorts.

Have looked at the Corbin... which is nice and lowers her 1.5", but it also costs @ $375, so I thought we'd try someone local shaving her existing seat. Preferably looking in south DFW - Arlington/Mansfield area, but willing to ride somewhere with a good reputation.

Or... has anyone done it themselves? I hear an electric knife does a fairly good job at shaving foam. ;)

Thanks guys!

Bottom pics for reference. You can tell that there is a LOT of foam on this seat. Thinking that 1.5" is a pretty safe bet.

SV650 Stock Seat:

228717


Corbin Seat:

228718
 
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Wish I could offer a place to chk out but I don't know. I have however shaved a seat before. Used an electric carving knife :trust: Fun but messy project. The trick is getting the right curves and shape on it. I had a good staple gun and staples so putting the cover back on was just fine, trimmed the extra around the edges after it was all put together.

I would imagine putting in different foam you'll need some contact adhesive so it stays in place. Maybe something in a spray would work.
 
Wish I could offer a place to chk out but I don't know. I have however shaved a seat before. Used an electric carving knife :trust: Fun but messy project. The trick is getting the right curves and shape on it. I had a good staple gun and staples so putting the cover back on was just fine, trimmed the extra around the edges after it was all put together.

I would imagine putting in different foam you'll need some contact adhesive so it stays in place. Maybe something in a spray would work.

From an old 2008 thread:

there is a guy up there named Rick Butler..he does seat mods that work...Rick_Butler@verizon.net
or call him 972-442-9840

Rick is still around, I bumped into him a short time ago.
 
If yours is the early style (99-02) heres a Corbin on ebay that jus needs a bit of repair... Auction # 254046573174

This way you could keep your seat stock...& if later you wanna sell the Corbin...it'll be repaired & more sellable
 
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I have done several seats, there definitely was a learning curve. Youl’ll need a very sharp electric knife and a steady hand. Shave a very little at a time. Measure and mark on your foam before and shaving. Good, dense foam can be lightly sandpapered to make a fairly smooth surface. Take your time! When you have it where you want it, take a sheet of very thin foam (the kind they line football helmets with, if you can find it), stretch it across the surface of the seat and use spray adhesive to secure it to the main foam. This makes a nice smooth surface. The vinyl seat covers show bumps and imperfections if you don’t cover the foam you have shaped.
I like a firm seat, and have had great results using foam purchased from Sargent, their proprietary firm foam. You have to call them and ask for it, I don’t think it’s listed on their website. It takes sandpapering well, so you can shape it. I cut a big chunk out of the OEM foam in the seat area, glued in the Sargent foam, then shaped it. I did not replace the entire foam with Sargent’s because it is pricey. If you drastically change the shape of the seat the original vinyl cover may not fit well. Can’t help you there, I was always able to just stretch the OEM cover and staple it on. If you’re sure you won’t be removing the cover again, spray adhesive on the top foam before putting the cover on for a nice finish.
The key is taking your time, and checking for fit often (sitting on it, remeasuring, etc.).
Good luck!
 
Hey there,

Thanks for the advice everyone...

Mr2mch... I actually contacted that seller last night with an offer for that seat. The only problem is that per Corbin's FAQ... they charge up to 75% of the new seat price for a recover. So... The price has to be right.

I also have an email out to Corbin with pics of that seat for an actual estimate to recover it.

We'll see how it goes. Right now that's my first option.

I spent the better part of last night reviewing home-made seat carvings on YouTube. Some good tips out there and here in this thread... don't know if I have the patience for it... but you never know.

We'll see what happens when the seller & Corbin responds.

Thanks again folks!
 
I have used Seat Concepts and Fisher seats with fantastic results. You can also try upholstery shops around town. I've cut foam before and then taken the seat to an upholstery shop and had them staple the cover on.
 
& you dont hafta send the Corbin seat back to Corbin just for a recover if the foam is good. Have the seller send you a close up of that area with the split in cover...
Id bet the foam is fine so any good upolsterer can copy the shape of the cover for a new one.
 
& you dont hafta send the Corbin seat back to Corbin just for a recover if the foam is good. Have the seller send you a close up of that area with the split in cover...
Id bet the foam is fine so any good upolsterer can copy the shape of the cover for a new one.

Yep... Definitely considering that option. Re offered a new price, but using the Corbin quote as my main argument for negotiation.

We'll see what happens.
 
A local guy (Granbury) charged me $30 to R&R a seat cover on an XR650.

I thought that very resonable
 
Cutting down the width of the seat between the legs can make a big difference as much as lowering the seat. If the foam pushed her legs apart, that makes it harder to reach the ground.

I would try REALLY hard to find someone local so you can actually be there with her while they shape the seat.
 
Update:

Got the Corbin seat at a much lower price than advertised via the Buy It Now option and negotiating throughout the day.

$75... not bad. Corbin will recover in any of their existing materials and refresh the foam for $175. That's still $125 off of a new seat... and it will be warrantied. However, I may still try to do a local upholstery shop instead if the foam is still good. That could save another $100+ bucks easily. Plus... even a used 99/02 SV650 stock seat is going for over $100 on ebay right now.

Thanks for the helps guys... I'll keep you posted!

PS: Vortex lowering links are arriving today. Sooooo... need to figure out if I'm sending those back. ;)
 
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@Snoopster here on TWT had an 01 SV650S that she put over 70K miles on. She's 5' 2-1/4" tall (or thereabouts). She lowered the bike and chopped the kick stand so it would still lean properly when parked. I don't recall if she messed with the seat. But, lowering the bike didn't affect the handling in any appreciable manner. About the only real difference you'd notice is peg clearance at lean angle if you were riding REALLY aggressively.
 
@Snoopster here on TWT had an 01 SV650S that she put over 70K miles on. She's 5' 2-1/4" tall (or thereabouts). She lowered the bike and chopped the kick stand so it would still lean properly when parked. I don't recall if she messed with the seat. But, lowering the bike didn't affect the handling in any appreciable manner. About the only real difference you'd notice is peg clearance at lean angle if you were riding REALLY aggressively.
Thank you for that info... I spent way too much time on YouTube looking at videos where folks discussed the negative issues with lowering links. Nice to see a positive note about it.
 
There is an upholstery shop at Hwy. 10/Edderville in Richland Hills that shaved the FJR seat for me. He did a nice job and I think it was right at $100.
 
I'm a little late picking up on this thread but..... Bill's Upholstery / Trim Shop in Arlington. They've been on Division for as long as I can remember. I had a Honda seat restitched there years ago; I'm assuming they'll still work on bike seats.
 
Congrats on your purchase. I'm late to the party, but I will mention that on my GS, the Corbin seat promised 1.5" lower, but the design of the seated kicked your legs out further sideways when reaching to the ground. The result was a more comfortable seat while riding, but NOT any additional effective lowering. Good luck!
 
I'm a little late picking up on this thread but..... Bill's Upholstery / Trim Shop in Arlington. They've been on Division for as long as I can remember. I had a Honda seat restitched there years ago; I'm assuming they'll still work on bike seats.
You know... They've been there forever. I used them to re-pad and re-cover my front Tahoe seat... and they did an excellent job.

Can't believe that I didn't think of them. I guess I didn't connect Bill's with "Motorcycle" upholstery.

Thanks for the reminder! 👍🏻
 
They fixed my wife's Mustang II's vinyl top all the way back in 1977. Not that I love vinyl tops - or Mustang IIs. But you know, happy wife, happy life. :-P
 
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