Motorcycles can accelerate 100% faster than most cars. So, when cruising at such a high speed, a good seat is essential. Do you have an old motorbike seat that needs to be upholstered? Well then, this article will tell you how to reupholster a motorcycle seat and what tools you’ll need.
Keep reading!
Upholstering Steps in Brief
If you want just an idea, not the explanation, these are the key steps:
- Remove the seat from your motorbike.
- Take off the worn old vinyl.
- Cut the new fabric (e.g., vinyl) following the seat measurement.
- Stretch out the fabric around the seat and staple it down.
- Finally, re-install your seat.
Stretching and stapling will be the trickier steps among all, and it will take the maximum time of the entire upholstering process. An extended briefing as under might help you more.
Tools and Materials Required
Purchase breathable cloth or leather material in different colors and textures depending upon how you want your new look to be. Alternatively, one can purchase an automobile upholstery kit that includes foam, thread, and other accessories such as scissors, needles, chalks, marker pens and adhesive.
Preparing the Padding
The first step is to remove the seat from its original place. You will require a screwdriver to loosen the nuts that attach the seat to the motorcycle frame. Remove it with care and keep it elsewhere safely.
Take a knife and cut off any old threading from the seams of the padding. Afterward, remove the vinyl from your seam ripper by sliding out the pins under it, then secure the handle.
Removing Old Foam From Seat
Remove both layers of padding and put them aside for safekeeping. Please do this by slowly cutting through it with your scissors or knife. An excellent way to make sure that you are doing it correctly is to flip over the top layer and cut back and forth under it.
Sewing Material onto Motorcycle Seat
With chalk, mark where you want to sew on your new covers. Ensure that the area marked is large enough for how big your seat and how much material from down will be sewed over it.
Here you will determine how best to sew up all the different pieces of fabric onto your seat. You can choose to use staples, glue, or whatever will produce a professional look and work of art when completed. Cut the excess material off the seat.
Using an ordinary household vacuum, clean all the excess glue and staples. Place your newly covered seat onto the motorcycle and test how comfortable it looks and how well it is seated against the original material.
Concluding Remarks
Upholstering is tough. You will astonish how easy it is once you did the job successfully. But for the first attempt, things may seem complicated – even you may mess up. If you found improper upholstering at the end, you have the chance to take off all staples from the fabric and redo the entire process. If that is not possible for damaged fabric, don’t worry about buying new vinyl, as this costs a little.
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