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@Mr_B
Decided to crack on with this, and visited my local Leather wholesaler. It's in the Fashion district, so the scrap bins are raped on a daily basis. I found some nice thin black leather within the first five minutes of rooting around, but thought it would be too small. 45 minutes later, I hadn't found anything better.
The good news was the price - 50 cents for a scrap of leather!
The adhesive ended up costing much more, a whopping $4.25.
So I got home and got started.
[[/URL]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/190Evoluzione/P1120231_zpsa55de902.jpg
Like I said, I was concerned it might be a bit small.
[URL="http://s20.photobucket.com/user/190Evoluzione/media/P1120232_zps2b8de48c.jpg.html"]](http://s20.photobucket.com/user/190Evoluzione/media/P1120231_zpsa55de902.jpg.html)http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/190Evoluzione/P1120232_zps2b8de48c.jpg
As the saddle has a (narrow) cutout, I decided to deal with that first. Instead of applying adhesive to the whole saddle, I just did a strip in the middle so that I could put the leather on, press it into the groove and then cut a slit using a scalpel.
[[/URL]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/190Evoluzione/P1120233_zps250ab3da.jpg
After that had cured (20 mins) I went on to gluing each side of the saddle.
[URL="http://s20.photobucket.com/user/190Evoluzione/media/P1120234_zps960c3db3.jpg.html"]](http://s20.photobucket.com/user/190Evoluzione/media/P1120233_zps250ab3da.jpg.html)http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/190Evoluzione/P1120234_zps960c3db3.jpg
Another 20 minutes went by waiting for the adhesive to go tacky.
At this point I just wanted to get the top of the saddle adhered properly, quite tight and neat. No rush.
[[/URL]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/190Evoluzione/P1120235_zpsbd9a6806.jpg
Here you can see how I've just pushed the excess leather down into the cutout. It's all glued so it should stay put. Superglue is always on hand if it lifts.
[URL="http://s20.photobucket.com/user/190Evoluzione/media/P1120237_zps69642414.jpg.html"]](http://s20.photobucket.com/user/190Evoluzione/media/P1120235_zpsbd9a6806.jpg.html)http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/190Evoluzione/P1120237_zps69642414.jpg
With the top done, I could turn the saddle over, trim the excess and start working out where I'd need to cut the odd dart or slot to fold all that leather under.
[[/URL]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/190Evoluzione/P1120238_zps7cf8bbd7.jpg
I started at the nose, using a scalpel and scissors to trim away enough to allow me to fold the leather. I then worked my way up the sides of the saddle until I got to the 'hips'. The back is a complex shape, so I had to cut a good few darts.
[URL="http://s20.photobucket.com/user/190Evoluzione/media/P1120241_zps640056be.jpg.html"]](http://s20.photobucket.com/user/190Evoluzione/media/P1120238_zps7cf8bbd7.jpg.html)http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/190Evoluzione/P1120241_zps640056be.jpg
With everything folded in and trimmed, that was me done for the day. Doesn't look too shit for a first attempt, but I doubt Busyman would be happy with this.
[[/URL]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/190Evoluzione/P1120242_zps7d4b2445.jpg
[URL="http://s20.photobucket.com/user/190Evoluzione/media/P1120244_zpsd239a7d4.jpg.html"]](http://s20.photobucket.com/user/190Evoluzione/media/P1120242_zps7d4b2445.jpg.html)http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/190Evoluzione/P1120244_zpsd239a7d4.jpg
[URL="http://s20.photobucket.com/user/190Evoluzione/media/P1120245_zpsf9d65ed1.jpg.html"][/URL]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b216/190Evoluzione/P1120245_zpsf9d65ed1.jpg
I then left it for 24 hours before installing it on the bike and taking it out for a ride.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3685/9673778217_a77c02b3a3_o.jpg
If I were to do it again, I'd definitely cover the saddle rails with masking tape. The adhesive is stringy as fuck and gets everywhere. If you get it on the top of the leather, the rails, or anywhere else you don't want it, rub it off whilst it's tacky (ie within 20 mins of application).