Seat Rebuilder

[tclhb]

http://www.motoseatz.com/pages/seatsforsale.html
I wonder if these guys are any good? They have a few seats premade and judging by those prices it doesn't look too expensive.

[Pimpy1]

They don't look to bad. Don't know how much shipping might be. They have done scooters.

[tclhb]

Looks good!

[Vivo]

Better make sure those stitches are "water seepage proof"...

[Momma bear]

They look nice but try and find someone local.  I found someone that gave me a estimate of $175-225 for a like seat. It all depends on what I want done. I googled his business and found a few good reviews. If you know a good body shop they may be able to recommend someone.

[Stig / Major Tom]

From my experience with rebuilding the LIKE seat I found that I needed to keep trial fitting my rump to the changes I was making to the seat.
I would toss a vinyl scrap over the seat with bungies and take it for test rides. Some were quick, some were 1/2 an hour - until I was sure I had the foam the way I needed it to be.
Then I cut and stapled on that Sailrite 4-way stretch vinyl made for motorcycle seats.

The glueing and shaping of the different types of foam took hours - spread over several days.
The vinyl covering took me 2 tries. The first try was with pretty saddle brown thick vinyl, which left too many wrinkles and pleats. The second try was with the correct black vinyl by SailRite.com - with some side pleats but I can live with it.
 
The LIKE seat has a bizarrely shaped under-seat pan - which causes so much discomfort for a high % or owners. Our seat rebuilds are not simply to repair foam or torn vinyl - but to build a new seat atop the anything-but-flat seat-pan!
It would seem that a distant shop would need experience with our LIKE seats - in order to know how to rebuild them to our satisfaction. I could not work out a schedule for trial fittings with my 2 local shops - so I took a shot at the whole project myself.

My recommendations learned from hours on this seat project:
1) read and watch videos on the whole subject of 2-wheeled seat rebuilds (it seems a lot of motorcycle seats are uncomfortable and need rebuilds from new!)

2) buy the correct foam, as recommended by the pro seat builders, and build your new seat over the existing Kymco foam. It has been molded to match that weird pan.

3) once your foam is comfortable and supportive to your satisfaction - then take it to a pro to have the vinyl put on!

(4 - I was working on a spare seat which I bought off of a wrecked LIKE)

I might take my rebuilt seat for a pro recover this winter - if it snows hard enough to keep me off my scooter!)

I do not much care for the high profile of my rebuilt seat - but when I'm sitting on it I like the added width & edge support and the new sitting position on my scooter - well back from the front - with knees no longer splayed out wide. (6'3", 250lbs) I keep my balance better, too, when I'm not forced to sit so near the leg sheild.

It has been a few weeks since I put this new seat on my  LIKE - I enjoy the difference every time I hop on and have actually quit thinking about the seat.
The shocks issue is on a back burner - and I'm calmly looking for mirrors which provide better blind spot viewing to lanes beside me.

In short: Unless you are a professional upholsterer, $200 paid seems a fair price to make your LIKE so much more comfortable and fun to ride. DIY'ing it is a Jay Oh Bee !

[Vivo]

Have you considered using memory foam, Stig?

[Stig / Major Tom]

Have you considered using memory foam, Stig?

I was going to, but ......
(wait for it!)

.....I forgot!

Actually Vivo, I tried some memory foam...
It did take a 'shape' beneath me - but seemed to deflate down to where I was feeling that plastic ridge in the seat pan. I would have had to add more inches of foam to keep me from sinking to that bump - or use 2 types of a seat foam which kept me supported away from the bump. I chose the latter.
If you're needing a comfy cushion on your nice seat pan - a thin top layer of memory foam probably is the ticket. But, if you're trying to sit comfortably directly on top of a line of 4 golf balls - it did not work for me. That ridge runs the entire width of the seat pan. Soft foam like memory foam cannot deal with a seat pan shaped like 36" of bad road!

Another point to mention : if you need to pull the vinyl really tight it will almost completely collapse the memory foam.

My LIKE is a good 'first scooter' for me. The seat is comfortable now and I have dealt with the well documented poor ergonomics of the seat / leg shield issue. (see www.justgottascoot.com)
And if I need to sell it down the line - I can put the stock seat back on. I had to choose between 3 LIKE's, three 50cc scoots and a bunch of unsold high$$ maxiscoots (and 300 motorcycles)

To see me into my retirement years I will be looking at some big wheel scoots of 250>300cc variety. (Japanese, or SYM or Kymco)