Seat pan question

So I need a little advice.
I removed the cover to my seat planning to shave down the bump in the foam in order to be able to sit far enough back that I don't end up eating my knees (I'm 6'5" and my current seat forces you to sit right at the base of the tank). Prior to removing the cover I thought I had a pretty decent seat pan as everything visible seemed to be in good shape. Upon removing the cover, this is what I saw...


You can see that the sides of the pan are badly rusted and I am now wondering what my options are. I want to keep the pan as I want to keep the latch and hinge function, but I have not had any luck in finding a cheap replacement pan on ebay or at any graveyards here in Vegas. So my question is this...
Can I use fiberglass to sandwich the current pan and build up the areas that are rusted out? I know this will result in a much thicker and heavier pan but I will end up covering the whole thing and don't care about the weight. I just thought this would allow me to maintain the stock pan layout and reuse the hardware while strengthening up the sides that are rusted out. Am I crazy for considering this, or can anyone suggest something better? Or even better still, does anyone have a seat pan that would fit a '79 650 that they are willing to sell for cheap?

650 in Vegas wrote:

...planning to shave down the bump in the foam...to be able to sit far enough back...current seat forces you to sit right at the base of the tank...wondering what my options are...want to keep the latch and hinge function, but I have not had any luck in finding a cheap replacement pan...to maintain the stock pan layout....

What "bump?" Isn't the oem seat a "flat" seat and not a stepped LTD style seat? Am thinking maybe the oem seat was replaced with the current stepped style. And if so, could consider replacing seat with flat style.

Realizing I'm probably misinterpreting the shape issue or simply mistaken about the oem style.

Good Luck!

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationPatton wrote:

...consider replacing seat with flat style....

Here, for example, is a flat seat version.

get yourself some tin snips a good ballpeen hammer and clamp a piece of angle iron in a vise and use it to bend/hammer out a piece of sheetmetal to match the edge of your seat pan and tack weld it on there really good make sure to get rid of the loose metal and rust first then paint it when your done.

what are you looking to pay for a rust free seat pan?

Plummen +1.
I've resurrected three H2 pans this way because they're harder to find than early 650B/C pans, if that's possible.:ohmy:
You can make the little spears to hold the vinyl in the new sheet metal quite easily with a sharp chisel and hammer, too.
Fibreglass won't last, especially if you weigh more than about 100 pounds. It's just not stong enough....unless you put the layers on about at least 1/2" thick all round.
My .02....

First off, thanks for all of the feedback these last 24 hours since I first posted - I love this site because everyone is so helpfull.

In answer to the several questions that were posed, the seat is a LTD style, and not the flat oem style.

While I want to tone down the bump, I dont want to completely remove it and I am looking to keep some of the height in back that you get from the LTD style seat. Here is a pic from another post on this site that shows basically what I am shooting for.

I don't have access to any welding equipment, but could I pop-rivet some new sheet metal instead of tack welding?

Also, I only paid $200 for the bike in the first place, so I am going for as cheap as possible on this one. I don't think I could justify much at all for a rust-free pan - especially when this forum is full of accounts of $5 seat pans found on ebay and at swap meets or junkyards. If you have one pm me with your price and I will get back to you.

Thanks for the advice on how to make the little spears for the vinyl. I had been wondering what would work the best.

Also, to Plummen and H2Rick what gauge of sheet metal did you use? I don't want to go too thick as it will be murder to try and work with, but I don't want to be too skimpy either and end up with a weak point.

id say something in the area of 22-26 gauge,although i tend to use whatever i can lay my hands on.id run the screws or rivets up from the bottem side as to not cause frame clearance issues.

Thanks for all of the input, it looks like I have an excuse to make a Harbour Freight run today as I need snips, a vise, a rivet tool and rivets, and a ball-pein hammer. I love new projects and the tools they allow you to buy!:woohoo:

I'd welcome any other advise that anyone out there in KZ-land has to offer and I will be sure to post pictures of the finished product (assuming I am not so embarrassed by it that I bury it in the desert first).

Wish me luck!

650 in Vegas wrote:

Thanks for all of the input, it looks like I have an excuse to make a Harbour Freight run today as I need snips, a vise, a rivet tool and rivets, and a ball-pein hammer. I love new projects and the tools they allow you to buy!:woohoo:

I'd welcome any other advise that anyone out there in KZ-land has to offer and I will be sure to post pictures of the finished product (assuming I am not so embarrassed by it that I bury it in the desert first).

Wish me luck!

Wishing luck, and lots of it. But maybe should go ahead and add a pick and shovel to the HF shopping list just in case. :laugh:

Vegas, Don't know what your' time is worth, but offer this. torn/ crappy seats show up on ebay often. std/ltd pans are usually the same, with different pads'& covers. a $20 ripped/eroded seat could save hours and give better results.luck G

its all about practice like anything else,you can always swap it out for a better one later if it comes around.