Triumphrat

Kev_England · 04-16-2009, 11:44 AM

Can anyone recommend a source for a new seat for a 68 Bonnie?
British-Only have repos for about $450. But I saw these made by P&P and they look real nice and $300. Trouble is they seem only to have the grey top which is the British version:

http://www.deluxecycle.com/pc-158-31...n-england.aspx

Anyone bought a new seat recently?
Cheers.

Snakeoil · 04-16-2009, 12:27 PM

Kev,
If you are handy, and I suspect as a Brit bike owner you are, you might go the route that I'm taking. I watched ebay for a seat to come up that had the proper seat pan for my bike. In this case it was a '66. I kept watching for a crappy modified seat that nobody would want as a seat. I got lucky. A truly ugly seat came up with a homemade cover but the right pan. It was listed as being for a '68 and fitting a 63-70. I got it for 50 bucks, 66 bucks with shipping. Stripped the cover off when it arrived and underneath was the original 66 foam with some extra pieces stuffed in to reshape to the cover that was made for it. I will now use that pan and a new correct cover to make a new seat. Cover's are all about 50 bucks regardless of the vendor and even if I buy new rebond foam to make a new cushion, it will not be more than 15-20 bucks. So I'll have a new seat, with the correct pan for a little over $100. That sure beats a repro with an incorrect pan for $300 minimum.

I'm pretty sure the seat that came on my '66 is correct for your bike. Cover is probably a replacement, but has no defects other than some wear on the Triumph logo. Looks like an original seat. Would not make sense to ship to you in the UK and I'm not ready to part with it yet. But I would think that you could go the pan, foam cover route by finding the correct pan in the UK.
regards,
Rob

Kev_England · 04-16-2009, 12:50 PM

Hey Rob,
Thanks for the reply. Im actually in USA but originally from UK.
I do have the original seat but the pan is rusty so instead of cleaning it up etc. thought Id buy a new one.
Going the re-cover route might be a good idea. I didnt realize the repos didnt have original style pans.

If you replaced the foam -- what type would you use and where would you buy it?
Thanks again.

terdah2 · 04-16-2009, 05:35 PM

I baught mine in England, very nice, made in England and brand new!
Cost me 99GBP.(now it cost 105GBP) This is now about 150USD

http://www.tms-motorcycles.co.uk/sto...asp?cat_id=118

GrandPaulZ · 04-17-2009, 10:25 AM

I could sell you a new repro seat for $250 and make a few bucks doing so.

mike07 · 04-17-2009, 03:27 PM

Walridge motors, another board sponser will sell you a complete seat or just the cover, pan or seat foam. I bought the foam & a seat cover as my pan was in good shape & the look & fit were great. Mike

Snakeoil · 04-18-2009, 10:45 AM

Kev,
Yes, I see now that you are "exiled" from the UK.

I probably should not have made a blanket statement that the repro pans are not like original. I make that comment based on the pictures and one repro seat I've seen in person for a '66. It was dead smooth on the bottom. But then again, I did not see anyone saying that some of the repros are identical to OEM pans.

If you don't buy stock type foam, just search around for a local foam distributor in your area and buy rebond. I am told by our local industrial foam supply house that rebond is the most dense foam you can get. It is the stuff that looked like chopped up multi-color foam glued together, which it actually is. Hence the name, rebond. If you don't have a source locally, hit the local carpet dealers. Their dumpster is always full of scrap carpet pad, most of which is rebond. Make sure you get the top of the line grade pad, because the cheap stuff is terrible. Get a can of spray mastic and laminate the carpet pad to the correct thickness and then carve with an electric carving knife.

Thanks Mike07 for the tip on Waldridge for seat foam. I had done a quick check and did not find any of the US vendors selling foam. Only complete seats or covers. Gonna check their site right now.
regards,
Rob

KADUTZ · 04-18-2009, 10:53 AM

Your local dealer should be able to order you a formed seat foam for a '68. So should any of the mentioned dealers. Granted they do go in & out of stock at the distributor level but with a little patience you can get one.

10drum · 04-18-2009, 09:29 PM

Kev,

I just bought a new seat from this site in Austria:

http://www.vintage-motorcycle.com

The price was $240 (162 EUROs + shipping), delivered in exactly 5 days; $206 if you don't mind a 5 week delivery. The bolt holes are metric but other than that I can't tell it from the original seat that came on my 69 T100R. I would've bought a new cover for my bike but the seat pan and foam was shot, so I took a chance and I'm very satisfied.

KADUTZ · 04-19-2009, 01:09 AM

10drum
One thing concerns me about the seat you recieved. It's the metric bolt holes. A few years back I ordered a seat for a customer. Seat was fairly nice but not really O.E. quality it also had metric blot holes. Problem was holes were drilled off by just enough so seat wouldnt close properly. Guess my question is this have you put the seat on the bike?