Run Red Run: Day 3, The Happy Accident

So in making the tail thicker than the front, it ended up creating a fantastically organic shape that really blended in beautifully with the shape of the frame and tank.  Really couldn't have been any luckier given that it was totally unintentional.

The chocolate brown already looked good, so I was eager to get the black/white back on.

I did tape down the foam this time, just to really make sure to preserve the shape and so nothing would shift.

Having to redo the cover several times over also helped nail down the technique.  I would pull the fabric down tight over the prong, mark it with the red sharpie, then use the X-acto to create the smallest hole possible.

Slightly nerve-wracking doing it on the white leather, but it all came out swimmingly on the first try.

Actually mounted on the bike, the seat looks almost perfect.  And the gamble with the two-tone black/white paid off nicely, I think.

Run Red Run: Two-Tone Seat Day 2

Was eager to try out the seat but as soon as I saw it, I was disappointed by the overall height.  It just looked too big for the frame.  The color was fine but it was hard to judge while trying to ignore the thickness.

So I removed all the think orange foam and just kept the original foam layers.  But I added in a bit of the orange padding at the back to fill out the rear, which seemed to have more material.

Then I covered it with the old chocolate cover to test.

Run Red Run: Two-Tone Seat Day 1

Got the new two-tone black on white seat cover from the same "joemama" seller on eBay where I'd gotten both Ivy's light brown seat and the darker brown "chocolate" one.

I did forget to ask for no Honda logo, but the light silver one they put actually doesn't look so bad.

I wanted to get it on the seat so I could check the color, but I didn't want to put any holes in it that I'd regret. So I put in enough padding so that I would only have to punch holes in the bottom "skirt".

I used some orange foam kneeling pads to add the required bulk.

Ivy: Saddle Up

Installed the new seat cover from "joemama1931" (Excel Custom Forming) in Saddle Tan.  When I first tried wrapping it around the seat, it just didn't seem big enough to stretch down.  Ended up removing the thin layer of dark grey soft foam and just leaving the closed cell.  After that, the cover fit pretty well.

A bit fiddly the first time, but now having done it, I'm sure it gets easier every time.  I realized the first trick is to make sure everything is lined up straight (using the ribbing as horizontal guides, for example).  No point in stretching it from front to rear if it's not straight.

Ended up with a strange problem, though.  Even though the ribs looked good and straight, I ended up with the right side cutout not being in the right place.  Going to contact the seller to ask about it...

Red: New Seat

Vinyl seat cover from eBay.  Not too shabby.

Red: Cork

Used some cork to act as pads under the seat.

Red: Brat Seat

Red: Slim Seat

Cut a new minimalist seat last night and topped it with one layer of foam (from an eBay package no less!).

Looks ok for a mock-up.  Next I'll have to add a thin sheet of metal so that you can actually sit on it.

Red: Cleaning up the Old Pan

Used the Dremel to finally cut away the rusted washers holding the bits of leather strap on the bare pan.