Saving a 1980 750 twin.

awesome news man!

3 year probationary period :sick: damn!

i'm glad it's not that difficult here.

i just sent off for a title on my 66 chevelle for $87.00 should be here anytime.whole deal took about two weeks.

leon

Yeah but its still better than trying to do it in california. I have no intentions of selling this bike anytime soon so 3 years dont sound so bad to me.

so you can get a tag and legally operate it until the title comes in???

leon

Yes, you can register it and get it plated, but I won't be the full legal owner for three years.

did the first pass on the side panel but almost out of thread . Im sweatin doing the final fold seam where the quilted part meets the side, that seam is over 4 ft long.

Mate that is a sweet tail light bracket. Looks period and puts the tail light up nice and tidy close to the seat. Liking it!

at least there is a provision to get it titled and it doesn't really hold you up from using it.

seat cover looks badass!

i'm picky about straight seems and yours looks real good.i know why your sweating the long seam.because if it's not right you won't be happy and will have to start all over because you won't let it slide :whistle: ...

that's that eye for quality comin back to haunt ya !

leon

Too true Leon, too true.... thats partially why i went with the zig zag stitch for the quilting, it really helps hide the unevenness of the seam, unfortunately this is just slightly too much material for this sewing machine to work as intended so i can't rely on the advancer alone but have to manually push it through at a constant speed, it makes things a bit...organic.

Tonight I finally mounted the courage to attempt the fold seam, had a couple beers and went for it. It came out pretty good, not as nice as i would have hoped but i'm cool with it. I ended up splitting the seam into two chunks, and undid the rear seam to insert some webbing to cover up where the two sides meet. I cut the excess out of the cover and stretched it on the pan with tape so i can make sure that my pattern for the boxing section at the front is still good. In the pic of the webbing on the back you can see some small holes where i removed a seam, i thought i sewed inside those but guess i didn't. i have some vinyl repair stuff that will make them virtually undetectable. :whistle: I don't want to ever make another seat, they stress me out too much, some things are better left to the pros.

Vic, I haven't done a seat yet myself so I am curiously watching your build here with that in mind! Am I understanding that stitching the leather to your underlay is what is encouraging those classic ridges to form width wise as well as in that middle transition section where your pattern changes for an inch or so? I'm loving the detail and craftsmanship and especially the design that is showing because of how you have stitched across the seat. What would you do differently next time? Looking forward to your finished product! Also, what kind of foam are you using for your seat?
Cheers

Have you seen these spike strips for fastening the cover to the seat pan? Ed

www.pandkclassicbikes.co.uk/default.html

Jbosh wrote: Am I understanding that stitching the leather to your underlay is what is encouraging those classic ridges to form width wise as well as in that middle transition section where your pattern changes for an inch or so?

Yes I use 1/2" sew foam which has a nylon backing so the thread does not pull through the foam. This is what gives it the quilted ridges. i also use it on the sides as it smoothes out inconsistencies in the foam base.

Jbosh wrote: What would you do differently next time?

Pay a pro! or use a sewing machine intended for this type of work.

Jbosh wrote: Also, what kind of foam are you using for your seat?

2" closed cell foam for the initial layer, then 1/2" gel foam over that. followed by the sew-foam sewed to marine grade vinyl using a 92 weight polyester thread. i did the exact same process for my kz1000 seat

650ed wrote: Have you seen these spike strips for fastening the cover to the seat pan? Ed

www.pandkclassicbikes.co.uk/default.html

I have seen those but i don't like the idea of tearing the vinyl to use them. I prefer to use a small hole punch and pop rivets, which is how he attached the spikes in the video anyway. one less step.

DoctoRot wrote:

650ed wrote: Have you seen these spike strips for fastening the cover to the seat pan? Ed

www.pandkclassicbikes.co.uk/default.html

I have seen those but i don't like the idea of tearing the vinyl to use them. I prefer to use a small hole punch and pop rivets, which is how he attached the spikes in the video anyway. one less step.

Thanks for the picture! I agree, your method of fastening the cover to the pan looks much more robust and neater than the spike strips or the stock seat. Your method means there's no risk of the spikes tearing the cover. Very nice! Ed