make a custom seat

[koapono]

decided to try my hand at shaping my own seat, integrating air bladder from airhawk seat cushion.
bought a used seat/saddle pan from e-bay for 50 dollars.
removed old cover and foam, cut bottom off old seat foam to fit in molded sections of seat pan.
bought some quality foam from foam shop in ashland, va, cost for foam was 40 dollars. nice chat with foam folks, every foam used in custom seats is available commercially, no magic/special/proprietary foam used by corbin, russell, et all so anyone with inclination can have a go.
after several attempts at cut, fit, shape, glue, etc i ended up with reasonable facsimile of a "custom" seat.
i set seat on frame and had a sit and fit several times to get the right shape. feels great and can't wait to get finished product and take a loooooooong ride.
I don't sew and this isn't the project to learn on so it's off to local upholstery shop for seat cover.
I'm in it for around 110 dollars counting seat pan, foam, batten fabric and adhesives.
will post final product and cost when i get seat back from upholsterer.

[i-man]

looks good so far! can't wait to see the finished product!

[Elipten]

Very interesting, looking forward to review.

[koapono]

finally! finished the seat project. I ended up having seat cover professionally covered after i ruined a yard or two of marine grade vinyl. i could never pull cover tight enough to remove folds and creases and i don't have sewing skills. Upholstery work ended up being the major cost but i'm happy with end result.
To recap: i bought seat pan off e-bay and foam from local retailer. I had an airhawk cushion already so no additional cost to me there.
my total cost ended up being 425 dollars, approx 300 of which was for upholsterer. He said because he had no pattern and was working freehand that he invested 6 hours in project.
yes, i could have bought aftermarket seat for same amount but not "custom".
I have logged several hundred miles on new seat though not in one trip. Having the option to adjust firmness via air-bladder is nice and will prove worth every penny on my next all day ride.
Not a project for everyone but if you have resources and inclination i'd say give it a go.