the seat pan on Bruno is a bit rusted/broken on the lower edge (inbetween the rider and pilion parts of the seat) on one side. some of you have noticed the rear part of the seat flopping up and down while riding. i was looking at sourcing another used pan to do up but the bloody shipping from the states comes to US$80 !!! i'm wondering if mine could be repaired by fiberglass, i.e. if fiberglass would stick onto the metal. i don't think welding a new piece would be possible (or at least not practical) due to a number of reasons but i may be wrong. any suggestions?
Bite the bullet and get a good second hand one. I reckon that would be the cheapest option. I doubt Fibre glass would work unless you did the whole pan and unless you do it yourself (hours of work) it will prolly cost just as much.
You could have yours repair welded, provided it's not totally rotten. You would need to strip the cover and padding off first though. Fabricating a new metal pan looks to be a major mission, after looking at the shape of mine. Croc could be right, buy a second hand one now before they're no longer around!!
this is the one i was looking at. the guy swears it's only surface rust.
I'd be tempted to run with it. It does look like surface rust. However as the freight is so high, I'd insist that he spends the 10 or 20 minutes required to clean (surface rust) and show some more pictures of it before committing. If you offer him an extra $10 (if you proceed with purchase) and he genuinely believes that it is only surface rust... why would he refuse? (unless he's not really sure it's ok)
old guy(sheetmetal worker) down here, they reckon if he has a model to work from he can make a new one.
Someone who can do that economically would definitely be a man worth knowing. I know one (an old fashioned panel beater) but he would charge hundred$
i guess from a model i could make a completely new one out of fiberglass, but that would be a LOT of work with all the reinforcing for the brackets, etc.
flyingcrocodile46 Bite the bullet and get a good second hand one. i'm already biting the bullet with a new stator (but that's another story...)
I'd be a bit cautious with that pan. It looks a bit buckled and bent on one edge, as if it's had an impact and been straightened. That would weaken it and as it's on the bottom lip, you may end up with exactly the same problem. If it's just the bottom edge that is broken, do you reckon there is enough meat to pop rivet a small plate across the broken area. Maybe even tuck a second piece up behind the edge of the padding to form a double splint???
Freight costs suck. I'm keeping a low profile, last time I welded something on a bike it was a Valiant steering rack end
It looks OK Psy. The only areas that have had a bit of treatment are where the hinges mount up. Very minor though. How does it compare overall, to yours?
croc, buckled - yes. split - no. that's a triangular tag that bends to pierce the cover and then bend again to hold the cover in place. some of mine are broken altogether. my seat pan is rusted/broken on that exact "lip" that you mention, that's why i think it would be a difficult repair, unless a strap of metal was used along both sides but that would make the lip quite thick in that area and that would show when the cover is stretched. also, the hinge is like right in the middle of where the lip is broken so that complicates the repair...
a couple more pix
