12oclocker Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 I figured out recovering a dirtbike seat is HARD work, especially if you buy the vinyl material yourself, I bought thicker material than the stock seat, which made is extremely hard to stretch over the seat, I traced the stock seat sew pattern, and sew the vinyl with the same pattern, another tough part is the staples, no electric or manual staple gun I had would penetrate the hard plastic, I had to push each staple in by hand with a pair of plyers. I like the black much better than the stock red seat. here's some pics...finished seatmy seat cover design...stock seat cover... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e-flores Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 nice!!! looks good man, and yeah i think the factory uses a compressor with a staples to make sure those things go in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phugitive Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 Dang that is one sweet garage! Ya I had the same problem covering an R1 seat. I bought a heavy duty manual staple gun and still a pain. Next time I am going to use an air stapler like the carpet guys. Your seat looks nice also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12oclocker Posted January 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 thanks, lol, thats my downstairs I remodeled, I still haven't figured out what to do with the downstairs, it used to be a recording studio for my band, but since my band broke up, I bring in the bike to work on them in the warmth, lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReconRat Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 I've done seats, it's difficult to get them proper tight enough, and stay centered etc. Yours looks excellent. Did you use a sewing machine for that?edit: oops, I can see it in the one picture. Is it something heavy duty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12oclocker Posted January 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 I think the sewing machine cost around 200 at walmart, I got it for the wife a long time ago, its just a standard one, she never uses it, I always end up using it for all kinds of crazy stuff like this, lol. I set the stitching pattern on the machine really narrow, so the stitches are a lot stronger than the oem seat was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R1Limited Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 Looks good- some times heating up the materials in the oven/ or with a hair dryer before hand will make it easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReconRat Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 Polyester thread, I hope. Not just cotton thread, or it won't last. Right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12oclocker Posted January 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 right, its not cotton thread, its really strong, synthetic crap, not sure exactly whats it made of, but its hard as hell to break, you cant break it with your hands, you have to cut it with scissors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phugitive Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 I was at Home Depot today and saw an electric staple gun for carpet installation, more than enough power for a seat, it was $170. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12oclocker Posted January 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 wow, I can buy a new seat for that. I just keep using plyers to push in the staples by hand, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magley64 Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 I've tried to do some uppholstery work, I'm not great at it.yours looks great, good job.My dad had the funniest seat recovering story ever...he had a chopper (bicycle) when he was a kid, long forks, banana seat, slick back tire.the seat got a huge tear in it, so he decided to recover it with an old pair of jeans. I guess it looked pretty cool by itself, but it looked completely inappropriate when he would ride it with a pair if jeans on....LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Burgundy Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 looks really nice! good job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12oclocker Posted January 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 thanks guys, jeans huh, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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