Honda XL600R Seat Rebuild

[ATC King]

The seat on my XL has been in need of new foam and a cover for years now. Not that anything was trashed, the cover wasn't split and the foam didn't have pieces missing. It was old though, the cover hard and foam soft. My rear hurt after just ten miles.

The cover was hard and would wrinkle up then stay that way. This is after I pressed my fist into it.

That can certainly be felt through the pants and it's not comfortable.

The other issue was the foam had become too soft and I could feel the seat pan, especially at the back where the bolts are that hold it on. They are two little bumps and a huge pain when the foam is that soft.

There really isn't much foam thickness in the seating area, double so at the rear. The bulk of the foam on the sides is where it droops over the frame and the stuff at the very front isn't a riding area, more of nut guard I guess.

There are several sources for new covers but nada for new foam. I got a cover from a manufacturer in Arkansas and its very nice marine grade vinyl with double stitching. Good stuff that should last a while and be comfortable. I wasn't worried about keeping an OE appearance, just comfort and durability.

The first step was getting the current cover off. The foam stayed on the plastic seat pan and I left it instead of risking damage to the foam and it made the foam easier to work with.



That's a lot of old staples to pull and time consuming.

Next was removing the bulk of the old foam with a hacksaw blade.



Because the old foam was mostly intact and could be worked with, I opted for this approach. That made it quicker, less guesswork at creating a stock profile and much less building, cutting, and sanding while still having a good finished product.

Next I done finer removing with a drill equipped with a rust removal wheel. I got the rear section as thin as possible that still had a base to glue new foam to. I put an arrow where those indignant seat bolt bumps show through. That's how thin the overall foam is back there.



I got some sleeping/camping mat at Wally World. It wasn't quite what I've used in the past from there but I guess it'll work all the same. I built that up in layers the cut and sanded it down with an orbital sander.



With a single piece of foam I just put the covers on with no batting, but in this case, with all the layers, I added some.



The last part of attaching the cover is the funnest but takes some time to make certain it's tight and without wrinkles.



It's been raining a lot here and just cold and nasty so I haven't gone out for a ride yet, but just by sitting on it I know it's going to be much, much more comfortable.



I've owned this bike many years and just the drive to buy it was a bit of an adventure in a '64 C10. Here's a picture of one place I've been on it several years back.



I've actually totaled this bike in a crash with a car that ended up with me in an ambulance and surgery later on. I rebuilt it after that and rode several thousands of miles afterwards. Thought I'd share some of the bike's history.

[coolpool]

Wow, incredible repair, well done sir! Sounds like you and the bike have some shared and somewhat intimate relationships, i.e. small bolt humps, lol.

[ATC King]

Thanks for the compliment. That's very generous.

It's such a fun bike, it was a shame the seat had become so uncomfortable. I was glad to have a day to start and finish the seat project.

[sweetip2000]

Can you post some pictures of the bike ? Glad you are ok after that wreck.

[ATC King]

Maybe when I get it back together I'll post a picture.

I've had the bike for about 15 years and done a lot to it in that time but it's always smoked on startup. Now it's smoking all the time. When I bought it I done a pretty thorough inspection but the battery is mounted to the plastic air box and at some point it had a battery leak which ate a hole through the air box under the battery. I didn't know that until well after I first got it. The hole was after the air filter and it had sand in the air box.

I've lived with the minor oil consumption but it's time to do a top end. The engine has to come out to do that and I've had it out before to replace a broken cam chain guide, at which time it replaced both guides, tensioner, cam chain, and valve guide seals.

There are two decompression mechanisms on the bike and at that time I bought both seals for the rocker cover shafts that are external to the cover but misplaced one and that one has been leaking and bugging me since.


Besides that, the bike sits for half a year at a time, and sometimes longer. It's always been a great starting bike even after sitting that long. The last storage time I may have put E-10 fuel in and the jets were plugged up. I cleared those out but the bike was still running bad. I pulled the carbs off (yes, dual carbs) and the decel air valve had holes in the diaphragm.

I originally intended to only rebuild the carbs but to do that on a XL600R the air box needs removed and might as well pull the shock to make it all easier. It's not as easy working on it as the newer XR650L which can get a top end rebuild with the engine still in the bike.

In the time I pulled the carbs I replaced the tires and thought since the shock was out why not upgrade that, so I have a new YSS shock now. Then a bug was put in my head that I should just go ahead and rebuild the engine because it's basically there with just a few wires unplugged and removing the engine bolts.

That all happened earlier this year while it was still relatively cool outside. All work on unnecessary projects pretty much stopped when summer got here. It's still mostly disassembled, and still on the lift. I probably won't touch it again until fall, then I'll get into the engine.

It won't be anything fancy for the engine as it's already fun to ride. A bore large enough to clean up the cylinder, lapping the valves, and new gaskets. I know these engines are good for way more miles than is on mine. This one ingested some debris is why it needs a top end and I've just been putting it off.

Same ol' story...I've put more $$ into the bike than I bought it for. It's a classic and I like riding it. I'm not trying to got crazy on the upgrades, just make it a bit more enjoyable while still keeping it looking stock.

[sweetip2000]

A soon as I heard dual carbs it kinda reminded me of a 2004 Yamaha Vmax I had with the 4 2 bbl carbs. I like the enduro on off road old thumpers but unfortunately I have short legs. I don't know of any bike that has that type of motor that is lower to the ground.
Times are real tight here I just spent a load in parts to repair a frond end on a harley and my taxes are coming up so I gotta hang tight for now. Gas here is 4.00 for regular unleaded 5.60 for diesel.