Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

I don't actually need help this is for the tech docs section but i cant post there so if a mod coudl move it that would be nice.

Ok so it's time to recover that ratty seat. Question is how to do it? Well here is my DYI guide. First off I'd like to point out I cannot claim this is the only, or even correct way to to recover a seat. It is just how i decided to do it after some thought. It is fairly easy and seems to work well though, so no fear I'm steering anyone in completely the wrong direction.
To recover the seat i used vinyl. I managed to get a red that is very close match to Honda red, though any color ya want will do. Just go to your local fabric store and pick what ya want/like.

The seat before recovering:


Step 1: Remove the old seat cover. flip the seat upside down it should be held on by a a bunch of staples. if you use a flat nosed screwdriver you should be able to pry them up and out. Use pliers to pull out any stubborn ones once the screwdriver has lifter them up enough to get a grip with the pliers.


Step 2: Carefully cut the seat along the seams. in this case a 1989 SE50 eliteR that means 3 pieces


Step 3:
now use the old pieces as templates to make new ones. easy enough just place the vinyl with shiny side down and then the piece of the old seat on top of it. Use a pencil or pen (i used a yellow grease pencil) to trace an outline of the old pieces on the vinyl. Then trace a second line about 1/4 inch outside that line(this will be used to make your seam. Cut out the pieces with the scissors following the outer line. you will see that at the bottom where the seat cover was folder over and stapled to the seat it will be a bit longer. You dont actually need to add the 1/4 inch extra here but no harm if you do.






Step 4:
This one is a little bit tricky mostly because your gonna use an iron and unless its got a good teflon coating someone may get mad at you. basically you weld the pieces together using the iron. Vinyl is just a type of plastic and using the iron you can melt and "weld" 2 pieces together. Just follow the inner lines you made where 2 pieces join. you will have to move the parts around a lot and it helps to have a corner of an ironing board or table to make the bends. There are 2 advantages to doing this rather than just sewing them together. First off it is easier than sewing, unless of course you are good at it, which i am not. Secondly it also makes the seams water proof. if you only sew the seams water WILL get in and the foam underneath will take forever to dry out and you will have a permanently wet seat after the first time it gets rained on. After i ran the iron under cold water and used a plastic spatula to scrape off any vinyl stuck to the iron (thats where the teflon coating really helped) sorry no images of me actually doing theis because i only have 2 hands but here what it should look like afterwards inside and out





i know it doesnt look that great but it gets better once its stretched out.

step 5:
Now its time to sew. melting the vinyl together makes a waterproof but not very strong seam. It is best to reinforce it with some thread. No need to be a good sewer. just follow the seams you have already made.



Step 6:
Almost done now just get a staple gun and staple the cover onto the seat pan. I suggest you start at the front then move your way back on each side. To get the right form you will have to pull at the seat cover to get it tight while you staple it. Don't use hulk strength, just enough to pull it tight over the form and give it the right shape.






And here is the end result:

Nice job, Quag. I may do this on Frankenspree instead of buying a cover. You give me hope.

That rear seam looks weak, i use carbon fiber vinyl or wet suit material and have a pro stich it up...

any chance you can get me some measurements or traces of each individual piece? my elite came with a shirt covered seat so no pattern to trace.

Greetings:

Aspiring Upholsterers can also check out Permatex Vinyl Repair Kits at Wally-World. For about $10, comes with liquid vinyl that heat-cures to vulcanize and seal seams, etc. It's possible to duplicate almost any color, too.

bigluelok wrote:any chance you can get me some measurements or traces of each individual piece? my elite came with a shirt covered seat so no pattern to trace.

Just buy one of my seats. PM if interested.

Sorry for the lack of response ive been busy

Bigluelok: if your still looking i could i suppose post pics of the old seat pieces with a ruler to see the scale. but it doesnt take much to figure it out. If you have even one side that isnt too damaged just fold in half to get the other side as they are symetrical.

Maddog: you've misunderstood my intentions and what i actually did. I'm trying to show how you can do this on the cheap and by yourself, so sending out to a professional IS NOT doing it by yourself. Also the original seat is not sewn it is bonded in a manner similar to the one i used. IE glued/welded in some fashion. For reasons i stated, if you only sew the seat, water WILL get into the foam and you will have a perma wet bum while riding. It will never dry out. The seam i sewed was insurance in case the welding doesnt work 100%. So im not worried if it looks perfect, its just backup. I suppose i should have mentioned in the original post that if you iron too little the vinyl doesnt fully bond to itself and if you iron too much it comes off the backing making a very weak seam. A little bit of practice on some scrap vinyl before you tackle the real job will teach you very quickly how long to iron the seams. That is the reason i added the thread. Obviously im not a master tailor but in this case i didnt nead to be. FYI the Seat is holding up very well

hey quag your seat is rockin, although i havent heard of your "welding" tecnique. i stiched my seems and before i put the cover on i wrapped the foam im like a plastic bag so that the foam would not get wet but then again my scooter doesnt see the rain unless by accedent and washing it the seat comes off.

Yahh. nice looking seat dude. could be a bit more snug for stock look ,but well done. Thats nice how you showed the pics for everyone to duplicate.

quag: can you post pics witha ruller for measureing wo i can make my own seat?

bigluelok, yeah i'm slow, sorry.
here ya go on the pics. i did several so it'll be easy for ya to see. the measurements aren't always easy to see, so I'll post what they are as well. remember at there edges that go under the seat there is extra to wrap under and staple on. the overlap for the seams aren't in these pics so add 1/4 of an inch to those sides when doing your cutouts. In fact, if you ad 1/4 inch all around it will just mean extra to wrap under the seat, so no biggie. Just click on the images for a better view. hope this helps ya. And let me know how it works out.

Seat top cover: Length to cutout to front piece 16". To pointy parts above and below the measuring tape is 19"


Seat top: width 17"


Seat front: Length 5", Width 3". You can see the bend in the vinyl where it wrapped under the seat pan for the stapling approx 1"


Seat back: length 33" width at widest part 5" again you can see the crease for the seat pan overlap clearly

thanks QUAG