[Irish78]

I know that I'm not an authority on upholstery, and I know there are experts on here that probably have the right way to do this, but I thought I would put what I am doing on here. I'm a novice at best when it comes to upholstery. I did, however, figure if I could take the pieces of seat material apart and then make allowances for cutting waste I could make a pattern to go off of. So I started by ripping the seams, heating the pleather with an iron and then pressing the piece flat until it cooled. This allowed me to take out the shape that the material took over the years.

The seat had two really bad rips in it.

The seat pan is still in good shape being as it's plastic

After taking out the seams from the seat cover, I used steam from an iron to soften the material. Then I clamped it to my bench until it cooled. This made the material really flat which allowed me to make a pattern more easily.

Pattern completed. I'll work on sewing it together next weekend.

 

[Beezer]

I've found a good, low priced source for nice dense foam. I go to Walmart and buy a Coleman sleeping pad for camping.Blue in color, closed cell. It's 1/2" thick. I make layers and cement them together using contact cement. Same to hold it to the seat pan. Use a 4 1/2" grinder with 50 grit sanding disk to shape it (Makes a helova mess). It's very dense which makes the most comfortable motorcycle seats for serious long distance rides and total cost is under $20.

 

[Irish78]

Thanks man! That's a great idea. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to replace the foam or not.

 

[smilie]

Way to take the initiative! I've done boat and heavy equip't. seats in the past but never anything as complex as a bike seat.Let us know how it works out for you!

 

[Irish78]

Will do man. It can't be any more difficult than when I got wrangled into the sewing shop when I was a private lol.

 

[smilie]

Well, that take the amateur out of the title then. Sounds like you have experience.

 

[Irish78]

Stitching holes in canvas and sewing patches is a lot different than this. I'm definitely and amateur lol