How to recover your motorcycle seat on the cheap!

[outdoorsman310]

sweet thanks how can you get decals on there? paint?

[mrmaxstorey]

@outdoorsman310 yeah or stickers

[aperionx]

that blue bike looks just like mine :) I have some gray vinyl I used to make door covers for my samurai, as well as some automotive ceiling padding.

[mrmaxstorey]

@aperionx Right on dude

[Toppye]

how long does the material last for a normal rider?

[mrmaxstorey]

@Toppye This stuff is pretty high quality, Ive had my bike seat covered for about 2 years and it still has the glossy shine on the surface, no signs of wear at all.

[JordieCatastrophe]

thank you sooo much I just bought a Seca II cant wait to redo my seat,great vid

[anthonysoto29]

9:46 workin the corner i see!

[mrmaxstorey]

@anthonysoto29 Workin it like the rent is due

[spelunkerd]

Great video, thanks for posting.

[psdudley1]

You instill confidence. I didn't have to use the tack spray. I stapled mid way on the RH & LH sides and started stretching vinyl working towards the front then back, a staple or two as I went. Don't be afraid to stretch vinyl as tight as you can and use staples sparingly until the vinyl is just the way you want it then staple away. Had to remove/replace a lot of my staples but when finished looks nice. Keep the staples parallel with the seat edge if possible. Thanks again.

[mrmaxstorey]

@psdudley1 Awesome job!

[AlwaysAccused]

why didnt you use the old material as a template ?

[mrmaxstorey]

@AlwaysAccused A number of reasons. First, it was pretty well destroyed. Second, it was in a 3-d shape, whereas my new material was still flat. Third, I needed to stretch the new material pretty well, and if it was pre-cut, I wouldn't have had anywhere to grab onto as I pulled it over the foam.

[JosephW99]

Nice fucking video

I hope I do it as well as you did...

todays the day

[schnellschnells]

I just recovered the seat of my '99 BMW F650 which has a really sloped section that goes up the tank. After fighting with it, I found that I first had to put the vinyl onto the seat from the middle and pull / lay it front to back first, then flip over and start stapling the front sides and then the back, then around. Just wanted to mention this for viewers - a more '3d' seat shape takes a bit more work but is entirely do-able.

Thanks for the great series and keep it up! Your vid saved me $180.

[mrmaxstorey]

@schnellschnells Awesome thanks man, great tip. Yeah I remember I did a virago stepped seat a while back, and it was a major PITA, but still doable. Good job on your seat!

[Moonfleet41]

Hey buddy, nice result there... i use a hair dryer to soften the vinyl while stretching round the last curves, and also, for a softer feel when its done, break the skin off the foam surface with some course sand paper.... great channel you have there fellah... Ride safe.. Del.

[mrmaxstorey]

@Moonfleet41 Wow man thats a great idea I never thought of breaking the skin, thanks

[Moonfleet41]

@mrmaxstorey Hey, thanks right back buddy, never thought of the tumble dryer either, good call.... tips is for sharing hah?

[mrmaxstorey]

@Moonfleet41 You got that right

[WhattheVloggity]

That dryer was made by Chuck Norris

[ShredderBenjamin]

Really informative video... I am tempted to buy a pre-made seat cover off ebay and use this technique to apply it... Not sure I'm brave enough at the moment though!

[mrmaxstorey]

@ShredderBenjamin Hey if I can do it with a flat sheet of vinyl, you can definitely do it with a premade cover!

[joesudbury]

Awesome job! thanks for posting this.

[mrmaxstorey]

@joesudbury No problem! Stay tuned for more motorcycle how-to videos

[toleratetruth]

"...bada boom," lol

[Michiganborn1969]

And just to think all this time I thought it was pronounced Say-ka ok its Seek-a :D

[watanabehefuml]

thank you sir.

[mrmaxstorey]

@watanabehefuml You're welcome

[BAXMAN68]

I totally agree with everyone else, your videos are extreamly informative and easily done. The only queastion that I have is: when placing the vinal in the drier to make it more plyable, what heat setting do you recomend? Thanks for your all of your great vids and please keep them coming :)

[mrmaxstorey]

@BAXMAN68 Thanks for the positive input! I just put it on normal setting, cottons or high heat or whatever. Once I accidentally forgot to take it out and left it in there for over 20 mins and it still didn't melt the vinyl, so you aren't going to hurt it. Motorcycle seats that sit out in the Florida sun get a hot hotter than a dryer gets, as my ass cheeks can tell you!

[dirtydoogle]

Well, I've recovered both my seats and they look fantastic, thanks again mate!

Much easier than I expected too

.

[mrmaxstorey]

@dirtydoogle Right on man glad it worked out

[dirtydoogle]

Thanks for the video mate! Will do both my bikes this week, make them look better and easier to sell!

[mrmaxstorey]

@dirtydoogle Haha that's exactly why I recovered this bike!

[hmathes2006]

thanks for the video starting recover right now

[apwilliams30]

That Craft spray adhesive was actually like 6 or 7 dollars at the local Joanns! Anyway, I am doing the project right now as I watch the video, but with vinyl instead. I hope it works out like the nylon did for you.

[mrmaxstorey]

@apwilliams30 Did I say nylon in the video? I meant vinyl. And 6 bucks for glue! What a ripoff! Good luck on the project tho!

[srosburg]

The seat on my kz650 is a mess, chunks are missing and/or discolored, material ripped, and the base everything sits on is metal with the cover material being held down with metal hooks. Plausible to fix? If so, any suggestions?

[mrmaxstorey]

@srosburg I would say so as long as the metal pan is not too badly rusted, and the hooks aren't broken or weak. Just be sure to fill in those chunks in the foam or replace the foam itself, heat up the cover material in the dryer, and pull it as tight as you can to smooth out the lumps. Good luck man post up your own how-to video if you can, my video doesn't show how to recover a metal pan so that would be good to share.

[srosburg]

@mrmaxstorey Is it reasonable to bring the vinyl into an embrodery shop to have a design embroidered? I like the overall affect of the current pattern and am hoping to restore her to her previous beauty complete with the chrome accent surrounding the base.

[mrmaxstorey]

@srosburg It is only reasonable if you think it is. Get a quote from them, if it is worth your money, then go for it. I have respect for guys who take pride in their machines, and part of that is keeping them looking good.

[srosburg]

@mrmaxstorey Thanks for the input, after I get her running I'll evaluate how much I'm willing to invest into the cosmetics.

[eveRideorg]

In the past I paid $90 to have somebody do this in a shop. With my newer bike I just paid $40 to get a piece of vinyl shipped to me that I will have to staple by myself. Now I'll send it back and pay $10 for what it will cost to cover my seat. AWESOME vid! Dryer trick is epic. When doing this in the future, perhaps it might be beneficial to staple in the front and back first?

[mrmaxstorey]

@eveRideorg Thanks man yeah it really does produce a quality job. I haven't found that starting at any one place is any better than any other, just toss in a buttload of staples and pull it really tight.

[eveRideorg]

@mrmaxstorey Oh man, gotta say once again, BEST VIDEO EVER! Saved a ton of money, got some beige marine grade vinyl from Jo-Ann for less than $10. Thirty minutes later and, yes, a TON of staples, I have a brand-new looking seat. Once again, THANK YOU for this video!

[mrmaxstorey]

@eveRideorg Nice man post up a video of your bike, I'd like to see how another type of material looks on a bike seat

[YoshiMan246]

Me again, Was doing some c-list stalking, Found a old kawasaki 440, in great shape, only thing is oil gets sucked through the air box i think, Sounds like bad piston rings to me but thought i would ask for your input? should i buy it? he only wants 250.00 and clean title

[mrmaxstorey]

@YoshiMan246 A little bit is normal, esp b/c many bikes recirculate crankcase gasses back into the airbox for re-burning. If a lot is noticed generally the problem is actually gas backflowing from the carbs into the airbox, and mixing with crankcase gas. At most all you probably need is a carb cleaning and a new air filter. I say go for it sounds like a good price. Check out my video on tips on buying an old motorcycle.

[norcalbarney]

I just wanted to say your videos are great! I'm sending them to my n00b motorcycle friends. You explain everything very well!

[mrmaxstorey]

@norcalbarney Great glad to help

[YoshiMan246]

Looks very good! all for 20 bucks! if you payed a custom upholstery guy to do it i think they would charge like 200 that's what some guy advertises here in Tx on c-list

[mrmaxstorey]

@YoshiMan246 Man that would be a deal over here in Florida, local company wanted $350. Thats why I learned how to do it myself, save a bit of money.

[jdogface]

Hey max, hopes it's going well. Ive got an unrelated problem regarding a 1990 ninja zx6r. It runs great while on the stand ( I can accelerate, in or out of gear) But when riding I can only go about 2 or 3 blocks then it pops and dies and will not start again for about 15 or 20 minutes. Then I can get about 2 or 3 blocks out of it then pop I get it home, put it on the stand and it'll run forever (or as long as gas remains heheh) Take it off stand the same thing, 2 or 3 blocks max. Crazy huh?

[mrmaxstorey]

@jdogface Could be a fuel delivery problem. Basically, your bike in neutral revving at, say, 4k rpms, is using less gas than the bike riding down the road revving at 4k rpms. This is because the engine obviously moves more freely, and needs less gas, when it doesnt have the bike and you to push around, so on side stand you still get enough gas. Reason you bog down after a lil while and then start up again is that the partial gas block allows the bowls to refill, slowly, and then start the bike.

[MattYonTube]

i don't get it why does this only have 5 views? 

[mrmaxstorey]

@MattYonTube I only posted it 2 hours ago!

[MattYonTube]

@mrmaxstorey oh lol any way you deserve more subscribers

[mrmaxstorey]

@MattYonTube Haha thanks dude just tryin to help out, yknow