upholstery question

[toads]

Hi, I decided to pull my bike seat apart seeing as one of the hinges was wiggly due to a rusted out mount, and I have my wonderful obliging husband taken it to work today so he can mig weld it etc, I'll paint the base and stuff and get the whole thing reupholstered, now here's the question, the guys at the upholstering place reckon that stitching a pattern into the seat isn't a good idea, cos stitching can let water through, but Pete's bike has an awesome stitched quilted patter on the seat, and I don't like the fake welded pattern the guy is trying to convince me to get, who has a stitched pattern in their seat, and has it ever been a problem for letting water in?, also what price should I expect to pay, my bike is a cruiser with a stepped pillion seat.

[James Deuce]

PM Cajun, his Father-in-law owns McDonald's Motor Trimmers in Tauranga, and they have an awesome range of bike seats.

[Cajun]

Hi, I decided to pull my bike seat apart seeing as one of the hinges was wiggly due to a rusted out mount, and I have my wonderful obliging husband taken it to work today so he can mig weld it etc, I'll paint the base and stuff and get the whole thing reupholstered, now here's the question, the guys at the upholstering place reckon that stitching a pattern into the seat isn't a good idea, cos stitching can let water through, but Pete's bike has an awesome stitched quilted patter on the seat, and I don't like the fake welded pattern the guy is trying to convince me to get, who has a stitched pattern in their seat, and has it ever been a problem for letting water in?, also what price should I expect to pay, my bike is a cruiser with a stepped pillion seat.

No matter what ya set is like, no seams it gonna let water in sooner or later.

I have a nice logo sewn in to seat. but seams, we normal put a bit of snowseal or simlar in to the seams to stop water getting in a little.

But the seat is for person, we also use special cotten which repals water

[toads]

ok, well if that's the case I'll just go for the stitching then, cos I really don't have my bike out in the wet that much anyway, I use silicon spray on our seats when cleaning them etc to help keep the vinyl supple and stop uv damage etc, I guess it also helps waterproof as well. Can you recommend anything better?

[Milky]

we made the seat for the R65 out of vinyl and plastered the seams with sellys silicone sealant. Hasnt let anything through to the best of my knowledge, but it may deteriorate over time... Having said that, the seams are mainly around the sides and corners of the seat, not the top face, so results may not be as good in your case...

[thehollowmen]

if the seat is leather, try and get it done in waxed thread so it doesn't rot out and use a synthetic / wax based cleaner..
if you use something vege-based it will rot out the seams within a year or so...

normally in leatherwork I recomend using a cotton thread on seams...the new synthetic threads will cut the leather, but cotton types snap and you can re-stitch it... though I suppose this won't matter on an embroyded because you're not likely to pull it...

A decent amount of wax and it should waterproof the holes pretty well... best of luck

[toads]

here's the final result before and after pics

[Magua]

Say....That's a nice bike. No seriously now, what is it?

[toads]

Say....That's a nice bike. No seriously now, what is it?

why thanks it's a kawasaki 400ltd, I am slowly dealing to all the "in your face" kawasaki labels the poor thing is covered with, there was one on the back of the seat, can't do much about the ones on the engine housing, but the ones on the tank will be removed one of these days. The most attractive feature is the low seat height for me a ( short ass) and the bars within easy reach also, most bikes have my arms stretched to the max, not comfortable after a while. It's not exactly a power machine, but I love it!

[pete376403]

Over ten years ago I had a new seat cover made for the GS, using the original as a pattern. The upholsterer did a superb job, duplicating the original "stitching". I used wax (black shoe polish) over the seams and its lasted very well. Water has got in, though and the seat base has rusted. Earlier this year I pulled the seat apart again and after cleaning off as mush rust as possible, laid glassfibre matting and resin over the base to rebuild it.
It seems to be holding together ok.

[James Deuce]

That looks brilliant!

Wanna know something funny? My first bike was a Kawasaki CSR250, also known as a Z250LTD. Looked just like your bike, but was a 250 single with a drum front brake. Was way quicker than a GN250.

[Hitcher]

Toads, can you reach the forward pegs when riding, or does your short-arseness prevent that?

Hey, and leave those Kawasaki badges alone, OK??

[toads]

Toads, can you reach the forward pegs when riding, or does your short-arseness prevent that?

Hey, and leave those Kawasaki badges alone, OK??

Yes Hitcher I can touch those rather unsightly homemade highway pegs, although if I fail to use them on the rally in october then I will be taking them off and leaving them off, they look horrible, like winch handles or something. As for the kawasaki badges, they are ok in moderation, but everything has kawasaki embossed on it on the bike, it's a bit of an overkill don't ya think!!

[James Deuce]

Those badges are worth a small fortune, so be careful if you do take them off.

[Hitcher]

Yes Hitcher I can touch those rather unsightly homemade highway pegs, although if I fail to use them on the rally in october then I will be taking them off and leaving them off, they look horrible, like winch handles or something. As for the kawasaki badges, they are ok in moderation, but everything has kawasaki embossed on it on the bike, it's a bit of an overkill don't ya think!!

I think you're asking the wrong person about Kawasaki badges...

As for forward pegs, Mrs H had a sit on one of those Triumph Bonneville Americas, and while she could get both feet on the ground, she couldn't reach the pegs!! Now maybe if the seat slid forward...