DSS Repro Seats

[Athame57]

Hi Dave
As soon as I saw that piping on the front I knew you have a dud, whenever something is mass produced you get some, same with people!  I hope they send you a better one. I've had a few of the DSS seats, the squirrels forced a purchase that shouldn't have been needed, I haven't had any trouble except with the first one, but that turned out to be because there was a rubber stopper on the frame in association with the aftermarket seat in this pic.

[AshimotoK0]

I am wondering if a new supplier out of the ashes of Moretti .. (Bob-the-seat) is now supplying DS and their quality isn't as good as the ones Bobs company was making for DS.

[Laverda Dave]

I've been sent another seat from DSS last week together with a genuine Honda rubber block to replace the oversized block fitted to rgd pattern seat. The piping is straight but it still doesn't fit properly with the nose of the seat rubbing on the tank preventing the seat from closing. I'm going to elongate the fixings holes in the hinge that fits onto the seat pan by 10mm.
Looking at the box it came in it appears to be made in China. There are marks in the vinyl welding as well. It appears as though there's a sacrificial layer that is peeled off following the vinyl welding but in this case it looks like it hasn't all come off.
DSS have said if I'm not happy I can send it back for a full refund, to give DSS some credit, they have tried to help but I feel they already know there's an issue with these pattern parts, this is the second one with the same problem as the first one.

[Murf]

They probably do know the quality isn’t quite right but if they have bought a lode in they will keep trying to sell them, so if it’s not right send it back and get your money back.  If you have your old seat why not get it recovered by a U.K. firm. Even if your seat base isn’t in great condition they can get it repaired and powered coated.   I hope to do this with my 550 seat, the base is in very poor condition, worse than I thought so I need to call them again to check they will take it on. 
I can let you have the name of the company I am going to use if you like, I haven’t got it with me at the moment. They are not cheap, costs are higher than a repro seat but they are supposed to be excellent.

[TrickyMicky]

I've been sent another seat from DSS last week together with a genuine Honda rubber block to replace the oversized block fitted to rgd pattern seat. The piping is straight but it still doesn't fit properly with the nose of the seat rubbing on the tank preventing the seat from closing. I'm going to elongate the fixings holes in the hinge that fits onto the seat pan by 10mm.
Looking at the box it came in it appears to be made in China. There are marks in the vinyl welding as well. It appears as though there's a sacrificial layer that is peeled off following the vinyl welding but in this case it looks like it hasn't all come off.
DSS have said if I'm not happy I can send it back for a full refund, to give DSS some credit, they have tried to help but I feel they already know there's an issue with these pattern parts, this is the second one with the same problem as the first one.

Hi Dave, as mentioned, I fitted a new DSS seat last August which fitted perfectly apart from needing the old rubbers being used. I still have the original which has a perfect base, the original foam is still in good enough condition to make your arse ache, and the cover has a couple of small splits in it, which is why I replaced it. If you are interested I can post a couple of pics, and you can 'Make me an offer that I can't refuse!'  Regards, Mike.  PS, obviously I have had to use the lock and hinge.

[AshimotoK0]

I have never used them directly but I once  bought a job lot of parts which included  CB250K0 and SS125A refurbished  seats, which I found out had been done by R.K. Leightons in Birmingham. The quality was superb and they had managed to get the crocodile skin patterned vinyl and correct gold piping for the SS125 seat.

[AshimotoK0]

I wonder what these covers made by Saddlecraft in South Sheilds are like ... have HONDA logo too.

https://www.saddlecraft.co.uk/product/honda-cb400-four/

Wonder if they bought Bob's tooling?

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[Laverda Dave]

Thank you very much for the offers everyone, much appreciated. I have already filed the mounting holes in the seat hinge (they are now 10mm long) and tried the new seat, it does fit better both at the nose and the seat plunger location but still needs the slots making longer. However, using a round file in such a small hole is tedious so I bought a set of 5mm grinding stones for my Dremmel from ebay, just waiting for them to arrive before giving it another go.
I'll post some photos here of the seat and how it fits.

I wouldn't buy another pattern seat from DSS if these are the ones he is now selling. The seat cover posted by Ash looks the way to go in future and if I had the luxury of the original seat but the one on Ratty was a 2:4 seat. I heavily modified it for my mate 42 years ago to make it a stepped seat to enable his girlfriend to see over the top of his head! It was still fitted to the bike when I bought it last year, it stank of rats and went down the council tip!

[paul G]

I wonder what these covers made by Saddlecraft in South Sheilds are like ... have HONDA logo too.

https://www.saddlecraft.co.uk/product/honda-cb400-four/

Wonder if they bought Bob's tooling?

(Attachment Link)

I had a seat made by them for the Z650 custom I did and it was spot on don't know about their covers.

[Martin6]

I had the same problem with a 750 seat from DSS. The hinge and / or lock was in the wrong position. The seat was also not square to the frame. First fitting was a complete failure. There was no way it would engage into the lock. I had also already sprayed on the logo and the packaging had gone in the bin. This was the final step in my restoration / renovation. So, I was itching to just get on and ride.

I did what you're doing and elongated holes. I also packed with spacers and ended up with it being less noticeable, with an easy click shut. I'm also not impressed with the shiny trim piece around the seat base, which is wrinkled, with a clear polythene coating coming adrift. To my shame, I didn't let DSS know about the problem.

I am now much more careful about checking parts from DS, before I commit. That said, I recently bought replacement screws for the points cover, as mine are shabby. They are NLA, but DS offered the same thread and head, which I would need to cut down by a few mm. When they arrived they were too short! Will cost me more in postage to return them than I'd get as a refund. Fun and games. Still, I'm glad they're around, as my bike wouldn't be on the road without the large number of parts I've had from them.

[Athame57]

I wonder what these covers made by Saddlecraft in South Sheilds are like ... have HONDA logo too.

Interesting but I gather they take a lot of fitting for those not skilled at it! Tools?

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

I'm thinking there might be some decent upholsterers down the smoke who would fit one?

[Laverda Dave]

I used to fit seat covers on bikes when I was 'on the tools' as a coach trimmer during my lunch break. Mostly it was on Honda C50/70/90’s and 125 singles as these were popular with the workforce back then (early 80’s). A lot of the time I had to resort to using Dunlop S758 adhesive to stick the new cover on as the steel hooks on the pressed steel seat pans had rotted away or just broke off through rust. Once a seat cover splits it allows water into the foam and it will just sit there collecting in the lower edge of of the seat base and rotting out the metal hooks.