MikesXS / XS650 Direct replacement seats...thoughts?

No worries Pete. Happy to help a brother and a fellow local to me self employed businessman. Everybody wins, gotta love it.

As for the seat artwork. What I have done in the past on different projects is find graphics/artwork on the internet, download and resize on my computer and print it out on sign makers mask or artists mask to make my own stencils. Then tape it to a light table and carefully cut it out with a sharp exacto knife. Carefully clean surface and peel off backing and attach stencil. Mask off rest of seat/whatever to catch over-spray. Make sure all corners are pressed down well or you'll get some paint bleed. Which you can clean up but the edges won't be as crisp. Spray several light 'mist' coats until you're happy with coverage. Don't let paint fully cure to hard. It might be a little brittle and you could lift off sharp corners when you remove the mask.
This would work if you're going to remove all existing lettering.

As you're probably going to paint over the existing logo, making a stencil and getting the size right on a computer would take way more trial and error attempts than I would have the patience for....lol. Major PITA. Also you may find that if you measure the width of different parts of each letter they differ. Trying to get a match for that printed off your computer, likely not.

So, what I would do is still use sign makers or artist mask, cut it into strips and simply use pieces to mask around your letters.

A local sign maker would likely sell you some mask, they have big rolls. I have also found it and artists mask at Curry's Artist Materials. Don't know if you have one in Windsor but other art supply stores would carry mask.
Special vinyl suitable paints are available at Canadian Tire.

Whichever way you go, make up some extra stencils and practice on something to get a feel for the paint and cure/removal time.

A fun Saturday afternoon project.

Enjoy your new seats!
 
Hey Pete. There's a guy on fleabay that sells stencils. Just search under "Yamaha Rear Seat Stencil Vintage". I was going to forward you a listing, but I'm having trouble. I know he sells individuals and some 3 packs for dirt bike seats. You can check with him. His fleabay business name is budmanbaker. There may be other sellers on fleabay as well. His site has installation instructions. Make sure you tell him the correct size.
 
Cool - I checked it out and it looks superb!

What a hell of a great resource this group is!

Thanks TN!

Pete
 
You are welcome. I need one too when I get some time. If I buy one now I will lose it before I use it! I have parts everywhere now that need to be installed before I worry about the seat stencil! Let me know what he says if you do contact him.
 
You are welcome. I need one too when I get some time. If I buy one now I will lose it before I use it! I have parts everywhere now that need to be installed before I worry about the seat stencil! Let me know what he says if you do contact him.

Will do. I should have Lucille's seat back in a week or two and I'll try him then.

Pete
 
Great Pete! Yea, this group is not only very informative, but entertaining as well. I spend much less time watching crap on TV now that I found this site. Enjoy visiting and learn something new every time I visit.
 
- - - the sides which flex a lot more under my delicate butt - will be made of nice new durable material. He can even retain the piping between the top and sides of the saddle.
I will try to replicate the word YAMAHA in some sort of gold paint on the back of the seat if possible. Any suggestions on how to do that would be most welcome.
Once Mike is done with Lucille's seat, he's going to do some modifications to Sylvia's front saddle. Sylvia is my silver 2007 Honda ST1300 - and her seat is a bit of a b@ll-buster, I must admit. The biggest issue is that I slide forward on Sylvia's seat because it has NO grain or stitching at all (very odd in my experience - it looks like big-H simply forgot to do it). Nearly all ST owners complain about this problem - but Honda in their usual "WE KNOW BEST" manner :bow: never fixed this issue on an expensive top-end bike that had a production run from 2003-2014 with the ST1300 and was sold all over the world.
Pete

Hi Pete,
you could cut out a panel from the original seat skirt that had the YAMAHA lettering on it and have Mike sew it onto the new skirt?
My XS11 Flying Pumpkin rig's seat also has a slick top. A sheepskin on top of it kept my rear end anchored and comfortable.
I just flung the sheepskin over the seat and secured it with a bunjie-cord. A more elegant way would be to tailor it to fit.
 
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