Okay, so as to not pollute the BA/Speedy pics thread.... wanted to answer and ask some questions about seat work everybody has had done.
I wanted to recover my stock seat with some bison hide and a stingray pelt that I picked up on Ebay and went searching for somebody to do the work. Had the opportunity to go to a couple of bike shows and meet with some vendors. In the Chicago area there is a guy by the name of Alligator Bob that is supposedly "the dude" if you want custom work. Had some stuff on display and it looked pretty good so talked with him. First off, if you wanna talk to me like your my momma then you better be prepared for the response, gave me a bunch of lip about acquiring my hides on my own as opposed to getting them through him as this would guarantee anything I got was crap. Reluctantly he agreed to do the job but it would cost me dearly....believe he quoted me around 800 bucks. So anyway, his stuff did look nice but after that routine if he would have offered to do it for a pack of smokes and nudie magazine I would have told him to kiss my ass..... oh wait, I did tell him that, that's why I got out of the show so quickly after arriving.
Talked to a few more people....Rick Mayer supposedly another seat god/guru. Had no clue what stingray was, even after I drew the animal in all it's glory swimming along coral heads and crystal clear waters, (this is before Mr. Irwin met his demise *rest his animal molesting soul*.) Okay, move on to next vendor....more of the same. What seemed to me riduculously high prices, how I should have let the seat person select the hides, "oh my GOD!, you did your own foam work!?!?!?!".
Finally came across a dude by the name of Tom out of Milwaukee...his business is Back in the Saddle. Was a pleasure to deal with him, seemed really interested in doing the job, liked my ideas for how to cut everything, was a little leary that I had done my own work on the foam but when he saw it he was relieved, "good job, you wouldn't believe what most people bring me." He also quoted me a price that was about one sixth of what everybody else did but I decided to give him a shot. I think he did an awesome job and am and have been extremely pleased with the work. Here's what it looks like...
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I am looking to have a second seat done now but this time more like the low profile seats that NewSpeedmaster sells....basically just a thin layer of foam or gel and then hand tooled leather stitched to the seat pan. Not really Tom's gig so looking for any recommendations any of you might have.
While you're at it, show them seats off. Would love to see some pics of what everybody else has done.
Steve
I wanted to recover my stock seat with some bison hide and a stingray pelt that I picked up on Ebay and went searching for somebody to do the work. Had the opportunity to go to a couple of bike shows and meet with some vendors. In the Chicago area there is a guy by the name of Alligator Bob that is supposedly "the dude" if you want custom work. Had some stuff on display and it looked pretty good so talked with him. First off, if you wanna talk to me like your my momma then you better be prepared for the response, gave me a bunch of lip about acquiring my hides on my own as opposed to getting them through him as this would guarantee anything I got was crap. Reluctantly he agreed to do the job but it would cost me dearly....believe he quoted me around 800 bucks. So anyway, his stuff did look nice but after that routine if he would have offered to do it for a pack of smokes and nudie magazine I would have told him to kiss my ass..... oh wait, I did tell him that, that's why I got out of the show so quickly after arriving.
Talked to a few more people....Rick Mayer supposedly another seat god/guru. Had no clue what stingray was, even after I drew the animal in all it's glory swimming along coral heads and crystal clear waters, (this is before Mr. Irwin met his demise *rest his animal molesting soul*.) Okay, move on to next vendor....more of the same. What seemed to me riduculously high prices, how I should have let the seat person select the hides, "oh my GOD!, you did your own foam work!?!?!?!".
Finally came across a dude by the name of Tom out of Milwaukee...his business is Back in the Saddle. Was a pleasure to deal with him, seemed really interested in doing the job, liked my ideas for how to cut everything, was a little leary that I had done my own work on the foam but when he saw it he was relieved, "good job, you wouldn't believe what most people bring me." He also quoted me a price that was about one sixth of what everybody else did but I decided to give him a shot. I think he did an awesome job and am and have been extremely pleased with the work. Here's what it looks like...
I am looking to have a second seat done now but this time more like the low profile seats that NewSpeedmaster sells....basically just a thin layer of foam or gel and then hand tooled leather stitched to the seat pan. Not really Tom's gig so looking for any recommendations any of you might have.
While you're at it, show them seats off. Would love to see some pics of what everybody else has done.
Steve
