My motorcycle seat has a small tear on the left side, about an inch long by half an inch wide:



Aesthetically, it's not a problem -- you can see about five other blemishes in that small pic. The issue is that over the course of the past 30 years, the tear has allowed water inside the seat and rotted out the foam in that area. It doesn't affect the comfort of the seat, but the bike is kept outside, completely exposed, and water pools up in the foamless void. Sitting on the seat thus causes decade-old, stale, rusty water to pump out, effectively making me look like I've shit all over the left leg of my pants.

I'm not going to replace the seat, and I should probably by a cover. I picked up a $4 "Vinyl Sealant Repair Kit" at Autozone yesterday, but it's just a bottle of glue, that I assume is meant for vinyl that has simply separated from the padding. I've also cut a small slit out of site on the underside of the seat to drain the filth inside.

Quickly browsing Autozone, Lowe's and Google, I don't see much that will help. Any suggestions?

7/19/2010 5:30:52 PM

Don't know about how the rest of it looks, but I imagine it's seen better days. Getting a precut, DIY re-cover kit should be pretty simple for something that common. You can refoam it using the stuff from craft, uphostery, or sewing shops. $40-50 in materials plus some spray adhesive and staples, and you can have a brand new more comfortable, waterproof seat without actually buying a new seat. I came pretty close to doing this on my old GS, but nobody made a pre-fabbed cover for the specific model I have and I didn't feel like cutting and sewing vinyl.

[Edited on July 19, 2010 at 7:03 PM. Reason : .]

7/19/2010 7:03:29 PM

As seen below, it's definitely not the stock seat.



Not sure how easy it would be to get a re-cover kit for that. It's hideous but incredibly comfortable on long rides, so I don't know if I really wanna get a new seat either.

[Edited on July 19, 2010 at 7:09 PM. Reason : out of SITE]

7/19/2010 7:06:15 PM

cover your bike and protect it from the elements. never understand why people just dont cover their motorcycles.

7/19/2010 7:34:41 PM

It was covered until I moved. I'm going to buy a cover like I said in the original post. In the meantime, I have a hole in my seat.

7/19/2010 8:06:36 PM

Yeah, if nothing else a roll of plastic is like a dollar at big lots.

I've had luck patching vinyl by cutting a small piece of fabric, tucking it in the cut and epoxying it into place with that 5 minute weld syringe stuff.

Or...you could make a cafe seat for it.

7/19/2010 8:50:27 PM

Royal upolstry. Ive personaly never used it but I here it works great.

7/19/2010 11:16:15 PM

bike is begging to go cafe racer

7/20/2010 11:21:15 AM

I have had good luck with Master caster on motorcycle and snowmobile seats. and it is only like 10 bucks.

7/20/2010 1:25:27 PM

I'm very surprised nobody has said duct tape yet . . .

[Edited on July 20, 2010 at 6:46 PM. Reason : .]

7/20/2010 6:46:36 PM

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/zip/1873592535.html

Quote :

"Vinyl & Leather Repair kit (Durham 55/54) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 2010-07-31, 3:01PM EDT Reply to: sale-eubh7-1873592535@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vinyl & Leather Repair kit used once- free email at munchkin4160 @ yahoo.com (take spaces out) "

7/31/2010 3:38:51 PM

Quote :

"I'm going to buy a cover like I said in the original post."

c'mon man. duct tape until then.

8/1/2010 10:17:40 PM

Over the past year I've tried every tape known to man. Nothing lasts for very long and in the end I just have a sticky hole between my legs.

wait

8/2/2010 6:33:55 AM

THATS WHAT SHE SAID

8/2/2010 8:58:45 AM