Recovering a motorcycle seat

The information presented here applies to most all motorcycles in general.
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wj_hurd
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Recovering a motorcycle seat

Post by wj_hurd »

Has anyone recovered the stock seat on our bikes?

I searched the forums and found nothing, so I thought I would post. I found a few how to on the good ol' interwebs, but I wanted some first hand if any of you gents might had tackled this task. :rag:

I have purchased a new custom fit black vinyl cover cover and I'm ready to take on this task. However I'm a wee bit scared of jacking this up. :OhNo;

So with that being said, we have any pro's in the mix? :bow:

I want to add some foam for my fat ass, but I don't want to make it too firm. So I'm looking for suggestions on doing this.
I will post picts and some hands on picts when I do this and try to make a how to guide, but I always want to ask those who maybe done so already for tips and pointers. :hat:

So if anyone has some how too's or know how I would appreciate the info.
:putput:
1996 VS1400GL, Jardine Drag pipes, K&N Filters.

navigator
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Re: Recovering a motorcycle seat

Post by navigator »

I've had a stock seat redone, the fellow shaved some stock foam from the underside of the original foam (rather than from the top) to retain the shape, and added some softer foam underneath. The stock foam is quite firm. Had a lot of foam removed from the rear section to make it a solo seat similar to the Corbin Gunfighter. He then crafted a cover to fit the new shape.
If you are going to add foam, you may have to remove some for the cover to fit, that is if the cover is an exact replacement for the stock shape.
The cover is easily removed by removing the staples from the pan and peeing it back.
I will say that the stock cover is glued to the top of the driver section of the original foam, but can be carefully separated.
He said he usually doesn't glue the new cover on, but places a layer of plastic, similar to saran wrap between the cover and foam to keep any seam leakage out.
Good luck with your project.

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wj_hurd
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Re: Recovering a motorcycle seat

Post by wj_hurd »

So no one has done this personally?
UGH!
:Umm:
1996 VS1400GL, Jardine Drag pipes, K&N Filters.

navigator
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Re: Recovering a motorcycle seat

Post by navigator »

wj_hurd wrote:So no one has done this personally?
UGH!
:Umm:
Well, I didn't personally do it, but I saw each step of the operation, and that is what I took from it.
I have peeled the cover back on a Suzuki button tufted pillow gel seat and removed a large wedge of foam from the rear section, so it fit the sissy bar cushion better, rather than being crammed in under it.
Removed the staples, peel it back and slice.
Then staple it back up, it's not rocket science. :cheers:

old time rider
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Re: Recovering a motorcycle seat

Post by old time rider »

I have took the cover off and cut a few down for the drag strip.Added a little foam over top and replaced for work bikes with a 100 mile day five to seven days a week. Even took a few off the base and put on another base that fit bike I needed a better seat on.The real old stuff had metal base and you could use metal screws and a washer to put back on.By 1980 most were plastic . A good hot day or a heat gun can help to make every thing soft and fit snug before the screw in to base.Some have a small hooks made in the plastic base to hold fabric. Really its not that hard if you do very much stuff your self.Good luck. [emoji106]

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sgtcall
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Re: Recovering a motorcycle seat

Post by sgtcall »

I have not tried them but found this when i was looking. They may be a good deal.
https://www.facebook.com/WIJALIS/

Brettmm92
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Re: Recovering a motorcycle seat

Post by Brettmm92 »

I see this is posted a few days ago,I'm curious if you ended up going for it.

Anyways, I made one. One thing I found useful the way I did it was some of the heavy duty loctite adhesive spray you can find at Lowe's. Mine isn't perfect but I can't help but to be proud of it.
Shoot for perfect, get great, think it's good

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Jesserkugelman
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Re: Recovering a motorcycle seat

Post by Jesserkugelman »

i know this post is a month old and if you havent done it yet why not? thats the whole joy in it. i redid mine and it came out great
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image sharing[/img]

Brettmm92
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Re: Recovering a motorcycle seat

Post by Brettmm92 »

Jesserkugelman wrote:i know this post is a month old and if you havent done it yet why not? thats the whole joy in it. i redid mine and it came out great
Image

Image

Image


image sharing[/img]
Right on, what materials did you use for all of that? It looks pretty legit
Shoot for perfect, get great, think it's good

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Jesserkugelman
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Re: Recovering a motorcycle seat

Post by Jesserkugelman »

got it at joann's fabric its a thick vinyl was around $9 a yd and took 3 yards was hard to get the contours without any wrinkles till i threw the fabric in the dryer for about 15 minutes then it was workable enough. i did the seat over 3 yrs ago and havent had any problems yet with the seats and i am pretty hard on it and i park it outside

Brettmm92
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Re: Recovering a motorcycle seat

Post by Brettmm92 »

Heating up the fabric is something I'm gonna have to remember. I've been meaning to do my rear seat but the wires intimidate me.
Shoot for perfect, get great, think it's good

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franktiregod
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Re: Recovering a motorcycle seat

Post by franktiregod »

I dropped mine off at Shanders Upholstery in Macon, Ga and he did it for 65 bucks. I had a spare one that was also ripped which was given to me by BillyJack. I used it so I could keep riding while Shadners had mine.

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wj_hurd
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Re: Recovering a motorcycle seat

Post by wj_hurd »

Well its done... and it kicked my ass!
So let me tell you, I strongly suggest you have a friend assist. Pulling, stretching and tacking the material all at the same time is a BITCH :bang:
Use a good heavy duty stapler, power or air. Fair warning, ARROW staples, SUCK! 1 out of 4 actually hooked well and seated. The rest bent, didn't penetrate or just plain failed. If I ever do this again I will use an air stapler, and not screw around with a powered stapler. It just doesn't seem to have enough punch, or it was the craptastic staples. :fubird:
The seller from E bay Cory was very nice and I recommend his materials. He also included his phone number and was very nice to assist me getting started.
His eBay -
http://www.ebay.com/usr/upsideupholster ... 7675.l2559
Well all in all it was a 3 hour battle, I wasted $10 on addition foam, which when placed was too thick and I had already cut it, so I couldn't return it.

But here is the end results...
Imageimage by Warren Hurd, on Flickr
Imageimage by Warren Hurd, on Flickr

I haven't done the back rest yet, I was too tired to fight with it.

So that's my experience with a seat recover project!
1996 VS1400GL, Jardine Drag pipes, K&N Filters.

navigator
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Re: Recovering a motorcycle seat

Post by navigator »

Looks Good!! [emoji106]

Brettmm92
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Re: Recovering a motorcycle seat

Post by Brettmm92 »

Nice
Shoot for perfect, get great, think it's good

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