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350TSS · 12-10-2019, 06:58 AM

Yesterday I made this

which is the first part of upholstering the seat. I wish I had thought more about the upholstery before I made the seat mould as I would have allowed for foam and the thickness of the ambla in the mould design. As it is the foam will have to sit on the outside of the seat pan and the lines at the tank junction / continuation of the tank bottom will be stepped. It is too late now for me to do anything about it.
The strap is made from ambla with 20mm Velcro to attach it to the mould. The ambla was cut 70mm wide and about 60mm longer each end than was needed to cover the hump. The furry loop side of the Velcro was glued to the back of the strap along the middle and the edges folded inwards and glued down. I originally intended to stretch the ambla and mechanically secure the ends under the seat but the addition of the Velcro removed any prospect of that as the Velcro does not stretch. This meant that the trailing edge of the strap, because of the curvature of the hump, was about 3mm too high so some black 4mm piping was then glued to both outer edges. I positioned the strap so the leading edge of the strap overhangs the removable rear hump pad, covering the unsightly junction between the pad and the seat hump, this will also act to limit the volume of water entering the glove box.
As to upholstering the beat base itself, I will use 6mm closed cell rubber over the top and sides of the seat pan and add two thicknesses of 12mm closed cell rubber on the top surface only. I will blend the edges with a drum sander - more dust in the garage.
Attaching the ambla for the base is bit problematic, at first I thought that I would simply glue some hook Velcro on the inside of the return underneath the seat. This will not work for two reasons, first the front and central seat mounts intrude into the space and there is insufficient depth for the Velcro to make a continuous run along each side, and, second I do not think velcro will adhere satisfactorily to the corrugated surface of raw CF and even if it does the corrugated profile will not allow the two halves of the velcro to mate satisfactorily.
Along the sides and the front edge I plan to screw some 3mm x 12 (or 15)mm csk socket cap screws with a nut on the inside about every 40mm along the bottom edge of the seat this will form a row of inward facing studs. The ambla will have holes punched 6mm to sit over the nuts. I will then cut 3 strips (1 each side and a curved one for the tank end of the seat) out of 3mm polypropylene about 12 to 15mm wide with holes drilled 6mm to clear the nuts on the studs. Once the ambla is positioned over the nuts, the polypropylene strips will be placed over the nuts and a 3mm x 12mm washer will be used to clamp the polypropylene strip and thus the ambla in place. If the nuts sit proud of the polypropylene strip a washer will be used so the clamping action is effective.
I can see the first side going on easily, the second will be tricky as the ambla will need to be stretched and the positioning of the punched holes will be critical for the finished product to look OK.
The attachment of the ambla at the seat pad end is extremely problematic as I have no return to screw studs to nor do I have any space for any fixing arrangement to sit underneath the seat pad. I really have not worked that one out yet.

I allowed 4 hours to do the seat upholstery and I have spent that already making the seat pad and the strap nevertheless my ETTC just got down to 150 hours. Also garage clear out is not progressing well, this stuff is far more entertaining.

12-10-2019, 06:58 AM	#1013
350TSS Too much time on my hands member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Shipbourne Bike: M900 Posts: 1,419	Yesterday I made this which is the first part of upholstering the seat. I wish I had thought more about the upholstery before I made the seat mould as I would have allowed for foam and the thickness of the ambla in the mould design. As it is the foam will have to sit on the outside of the seat pan and the lines at the tank junction / continuation of the tank bottom will be stepped. It is too late now for me to do anything about it. The strap is made from ambla with 20mm Velcro to attach it to the mould. The ambla was cut 70mm wide and about 60mm longer each end than was needed to cover the hump. The furry loop side of the Velcro was glued to the back of the strap along the middle and the edges folded inwards and glued down. I originally intended to stretch the ambla and mechanically secure the ends under the seat but the addition of the Velcro removed any prospect of that as the Velcro does not stretch. This meant that the trailing edge of the strap, because of the curvature of the hump, was about 3mm too high so some black 4mm piping was then glued to both outer edges. I positioned the strap so the leading edge of the strap overhangs the removable rear hump pad, covering the unsightly junction between the pad and the seat hump, this will also act to limit the volume of water entering the glove box. As to upholstering the beat base itself, I will use 6mm closed cell rubber over the top and sides of the seat pan and add two thicknesses of 12mm closed cell rubber on the top surface only. I will blend the edges with a drum sander - more dust in the garage. Attaching the ambla for the base is bit problematic, at first I thought that I would simply glue some hook Velcro on the inside of the return underneath the seat. This will not work for two reasons, first the front and central seat mounts intrude into the space and there is insufficient depth for the Velcro to make a continuous run along each side, and, second I do not think velcro will adhere satisfactorily to the corrugated surface of raw CF and even if it does the corrugated profile will not allow the two halves of the velcro to mate satisfactorily. Along the sides and the front edge I plan to screw some 3mm x 12 (or 15)mm csk socket cap screws with a nut on the inside about every 40mm along the bottom edge of the seat this will form a row of inward facing studs. The ambla will have holes punched 6mm to sit over the nuts. I will then cut 3 strips (1 each side and a curved one for the tank end of the seat) out of 3mm polypropylene about 12 to 15mm wide with holes drilled 6mm to clear the nuts on the studs. Once the ambla is positioned over the nuts, the polypropylene strips will be placed over the nuts and a 3mm x 12mm washer will be used to clamp the polypropylene strip and thus the ambla in place. If the nuts sit proud of the polypropylene strip a washer will be used so the clamping action is effective. I can see the first side going on easily, the second will be tricky as the ambla will need to be stretched and the positioning of the punched holes will be critical for the finished product to look OK. The attachment of the ambla at the seat pad end is extremely problematic as I have no return to screw studs to nor do I have any space for any fixing arrangement to sit underneath the seat pad. I really have not worked that one out yet. I allowed 4 hours to do the seat upholstery and I have spent that already making the seat pad and the strap nevertheless my ETTC just got down to 150 hours. Also garage clear out is not progressing well, this stuff is far more entertaining.