Refurbishing a 250es seat questions.

[Kyle250es]

I have a seat coming in for my 250es (1986) cause I was using a nice 200m seat that came with the wheeler. It didnt fit the contours of my bike so I bought a new seat. What I want to do, and have to, is new foam and a seat cover and here are my questions. Will the seat covers specified on ebay actually fit properly? And what do I do about the foam? Try and cut a chunk of walmart foam to shape?

If anyone has done it before I'd be thankful for the advice!

[dougspcs]

I have a seat coming in for my 250es (1986) cause I was using a nice 200m seat that came with the wheeler. It didnt fit the contours of my bike so I bought a new seat. What I want to do, and have to, is new foam and a seat cover and here are my questions. Will the seat covers specified on ebay actually fit properly? And what do I do about the foam? Try and cut a chunk of walmart foam to shape?

If anyone has done it before I'd be thankful for the advice!

Take it to an upholstery shop and pay for it to be done..it'll last you 20 years. I've seem some nasty home jobs around..it definitely pays to do it right if you want to take pride in your trike.

[Kyle250es]

I live in the middle of no where, some travelling is required to find an upholstery shop. It may be worth it though, you're right.

[effort=results]

well sir i may be some help . i just redid my 110 top to bottom. seat was in bad shape rusted out pan missing foam. the whole 9. first thing u need to check is if the seat pan is ok and still had its teeth to mount the seat cover with. if it doesnt u may wana check out my video . i used fiberglass and staples to rebuild my seatpan and have a way to attach the seat cover. as far as the foam goes . just find a piece a foam that matches the density of the remaining seat .use spray glue and lay it into missing areas. use a air grinder with a heavy grit pad at high speed and make quick passes and shape it in. i got my seat cover for 40 bucks on ebay from hc-camo-seating. i love it . good luck . at 19:40 is where i talk about the seat but there is some pics that shows the foam i shaped in . it kinda long vid .

http://youtu.be/F8x6MsEUz8Q

[Larry T Moore]

when I did my 86 200x I took it to a shop ..the lady had never done a trike seat and did it for free cuz she was afraid she'd mess it up... she asked if I wanted a better foam pad..the one I had was fine but she suggested more foam on the butt so I said cut one and see?...so she hot knifed a piece of foam and made the back a little bigger and it looked GREAT!..she stapled it and I said thanks..I offered to pay and she said she needed experience on seats and send others her way....so I sent a bunch of MX buddies over and she redid theirs for years till she retired..

[kb0nly]

HC is the one I get my covers from to. Awesome product, they use a really heavy material that's a bit more work to stretch and staple but it holds up a lot better. I have had mine on through a cold winter of plowing and a hot summer so far and no signs of trouble.

[tripledog]

I also bought a seat cover from HC on ebay, along with an air stapler to assist me in installing the cover. The hardest part was rebuilding the seat foam (there were many big chunks missing). I replaced the missing foam with pieces carved from an old motorcycle seat, and adhered them to the existing foam with 3M brand Super 77 spray adhesive. I also added a layer of 1/4'' foam to the entire top of the seat. I used a utility knife to do the final shaping of the foam. The seat isn't perfect, but I think it looks okay for my first effort.

[kb0nly]

The seat looks darn good to me!

[6speedthumper]

I love recovering seats! Have done a good 5 of em. All but one have been on my own bikes. It is actually very, very, easy. You just need to take your time. Be sure to test fit the cover BEFORE you begin stapling. You'l have to find what area to start in, and "work" the cover out from there. Many of the staples you first put in will end up being removed as you go. Once you start to get the sticthing to "flow" with the contours of the seat, and the colors (like the 2 tone one above^^^) to flow/fit right, you'll install the staples that end up staying. Don't be afraid to stretch it either, that material is made to be stretched a fair amount.

FYI, I use an electric staple gun. Also, you'll have to trim some "left overs" from the bottom of the pan, once you have it stapled in place for the final fitment. May not be much, may me a lot. Either way, don't throw that stuff out. Go over the outside of your seat to feel for any staples that may be threatening to poke through the cover. You can pull those staples, and use a little of the left overs to add a layer or 2/3 under the staple so it won't poke through that pretty new cover when you ride. It also helps to keep it from poking you!

[dougspcs]

'thumpers' description is exactly why I take mine to an upholstery guy..

Without the proper stapler you are just using straight staples which could poke thru the new cover and scratch your leg..also they will back out in time.

Since an upholstery stapler crimps the staple as it inserts it you won't get that..it will stand up much better over time. If you have one then go nutz, if not pay a guy..it's worth it.

Like I said you'll get another 20 years out of it..

[Flyingw]

A while back, the Mosh's posted a how to on covering seats with a great explaination and pics of the process. It was spot on. The key to putting vinyl on anything is heat. Get a heat gun if you already don't have one. Heating the material makes stretching the vinyl so much easier. I have also found if you lay a layer of 1/4" headliner foam over the seat foam and tack it down prior to covering it, it covers up any blemishes and adds a little extra padding. A fine wire upholostry stapler is also a benefit. Pretty cheap on Ebay. Its paid for itsself a few times now.

[6speedthumper]

Mine isn't an upholostry stapler, it's just an electric stapler that does the tiny brats nails, too. Was my grandfathers. Anyhow, the stock staples I have pulled (3 Honda, 1 Yamaha, and 1 Polaris seat(s) have all been straight staples. I did dad's Honda 300 seat a good ten years ago, and it is still perfect. I did my Honda's seat 5 years ago, still good. Big thing I have found is to do it on a good table to press down firmly with the stapler to get them to drive in all the way. I also use a small ball peen hammer to tap some staples home. Works very well. I also added 1" of foam to my Warrior's seat without issue. Just used headliner adhesive to bond it to the seat foam.

[tripledog]

All the staples I pulled from the 250ES seat were also straight staples. The key is to get the right length staples. I used 3/8 inch by 1/8 inch stainless staples. I had a bit of trouble at first with the staples tearing through the cover, regardless of how I adjusted the intake air pressure of the stapler. I simply cut strips from a clear soda bottle to act as "washers" between the staples and the seat cover. Worked out pretty good.

[hublake]

A couple of years ago I had a 73 Honda atc 70 that came with only the pan. No foam. I found a website that sold formed foam and bought one and took it to a local upholster and he made a cover and it looks great. Can't remember the web site but it was on ebay.

[6speedthumper]

All the staples I pulled from the 250ES seat were also straight staples. The key is to get the right length staples. I used 3/8 inch by 1/8 inch stainless staples. I had a bit of trouble at first with the staples tearing through the cover, regardless of how I adjusted the intake air pressure of the stapler. I simply cut strips from a clear soda bottle to act as "washers" between the staples and the seat cover. Worked out pretty good.

I think mine are 1/4" staples. Not too sure now. Would have to look. The electric gun works perfect, just enough power.

[tripledog]

I tried using my Arrow electric stapler/nailer at first. All of the struggling involved in getting the staples to penetrate the pan made for a sloppy looking start. The air stapler is sweet! Not rocket science, but there is a bit of a learning curve involved in using it. I am sure my 200es seat, after I recover it, will look much nicer than my 250es first effort.

[6speedthumper]

My first attempt was on my dad's 300. Used a Saddleman seat cover. Fit perfect. All the others I got were nice budget priced units. All worked well, but, just didn't fit right on like the Saddleman. The one I got for my Warrior was a handstitched unit though, and fit great.

[CodyRosa]

173325 Sorry no close ups. I just had my mom make me a custom seat cover. I didn't have a staple gun powerful enough so all I did was used self tapping screws. lol might think its stupid but I put all my weight over one of the screw and never felt it, I still haven't felt it when riding.. The screws are smaller AND are not next to the edge where the staples normally are, they're about 2 to 3 inches in. We put 1/4 foam over the original.. and I also ran out of self tappers so its not pulled as tight as it could be just yet.

Your seat looks really good! Good job!

[tvpierce]

If you want to DIY, lots of great tips here:

http://diymotorcycleseat.com/

[tripledog]

CodyRosa, your mom certainly has some tailoring skills. I think that seat came out pretty darn good!

[Kyle250es]

Thank you all for the sound advice! I'll be more likely to do this myself or atleast attempt to but it does seem that there is an upholstery place nearby. Depending on the cost, I may go that route. I did enjoy the link to the foam science website. What an odd but great source of information. Anyone go pictures of a good 250es seat to model what I'm trying to achieve? Thank you all!

[tvpierce]

It may seem odd, but there is a huge market for aftermarket motorcycle seats. Corbin, Russell, and Meyer are some of the big companies. I'm not a Harley guy, but I bet there are several that cater just to them since they represent the lion share of the motorcycle market.

[Glen]

I bought a cover off ebay and just a regular staple gun, it really wasn't too hard, I was suprised

[kb0nly]

I buy a good cover and toss it in the clothes dryer, high heat, for around 20 mins. Your dryer may be different as far as temp and cycle, but the key is to get it HOT. I wear some mechanix gloves that are good for working on hot engines. After the cover is nice and hot it goes on like butter, its soft and just flows around the shape of the seat. After it cools its nice and taught and ready to go. I just use an electric hobby/craft stapler with 3/8" staples.