On the Road Again!

Finally. The new Elsemade fabricated seat is fitted. It's wider and deeper than the original, with an added gel layer.  Next. Get Claire to try it out. 

At last! I chased up Else Made last week as it was a month since he had told me that I was up to 8th in the queue.  He replied to say that I was very near now..... so I was amazed over the weekend to find that it was done and ready to come back.  I paid by bank transfer.  It should be dispatched today and will arrive midweek.  He hasn't sent a photo of it so I'll have to wait and see.

It seems so long ago since I had an update and so I sent Messenger note across to Elsemade to see where I am in the queue. I am now 19th instead of 33rd. Hopefully it will be ready before summer in time for Claire to get some miles on it before we head off the France in August. Update 9th April Upto 8th.

Update. I messaged Else to see if my seat had arrived as I had heard nothing from Hermes Parcels and when I went on line to track the parcel they had delivered. it. Adrian got back t me with a simple thumbs-up.   So I asked for progress.  My seat is 34th in line to be worked on....   So it is a matter of wait and see....

The seat I bought on eBay went off today to Elsemade with Hermes. The cost was £6.49 for a package up to 5kgs. When I weighed it the box and seat came out at 2.66kgs.  The cut off for the cheaper rate is 2kgs. I have also changed my mind about the finish. The suede effect might look good but when I saw the picture of the faux carbon effect cover I decided that was the way to go. So. Let's see how long it takes for Alastair to turn it around. https://www.elsemade.co.uk/triumph-seats/ Update 25/01/2019 Hermes delivered the package on Thursday, yesterday.

Elsemade has got back to me.  There is less pressure on us to get the job done as Claire won't be pillion on the bike until the summer at the earliest.   Having the seat re-sculptured to make it more comfortable is worth it.  Buying the used seat off eBay means that if and when I sell the bike in the future the original seat will be available as well.  I don't like the idea of hacking that one to bits. I should have done the same a few years ago when I had the Bandit 1200 seat remodelled. In the end it wasn't much better after it came back (not Elsemade!) and looked ugly as well. I have decided to have the seat made an overall 4 inches wider so that it won't clash with the pannier lids when they are opened.  A more sculpted shape with a gel insert to add a bit of comfort to Claire's butt. Less like a brick. There are quite a few options for materials and stitching.  But generally the "Highway" style looks what  I want for Pepé and Claire.  (...

In a bit of a stall point at the moment as Else is not replying to my email nor my Messenger posts.  He gave me a price to do the reshape and I bought a secondhand rear seat to get it done. I emailed last week to see and he posted on FB that his daughter was ill and so he was not working until the new year. I might have to see if there is someone else to do the job instead. I wasn't in a hurry back in October when I kicked this off but as we head into the new year I want to get it booked in and done in time for the better weather when Claire will feel comfortable enough to get on the back. Let's see how it goes and I will start looking for other places to get the job done.

I emailed Elsemade today as I had replied to the messenger post with a picture of the seat I  had bought and an idea of what I wanted done. They hadn't replied but their reply said to email for a quicker response. I wasn't too fussed about speed as I don't expect Claire to want to have a go until the Spring.  But I thought I would chase them up to get the ball rolling in case there is a long wait to get it back. The seat I have comes complete to bolt-on to the rear fender and a quick measure could mean as much as widening the brick by around 2 to 2.5 inches each side of centre will give a wider perch but also still allow the pannier lids to open unobstructed. Else quoted £140 for the job.  Let's see when I can send it up there.

Part of the plans to get Claire back on the bike next year, once her hip has healed after the operation, is to get the rear seat upgraded to make it more comfortable.  Rather than having the current seat chopped up and widened and maybe dished a little to match the front, I was looking for a used seat on eBay and in breakers adverts. No sooner had I had the idea than both sources went quiet and then when some were advertised they were very expensive. I have sourced a guy to do the job and effectively I think he really only needs the seat base to work on as he will restyle the "brick" that it resembles currently into something comfortable and wider. The seller "triumphant20years" is well respected in the Rocket community. So stage 1 will be completed sometime this week.