Re Covering the seat on my Motorcycle !

[Bob]

Although I have done this a few times before its always been a tough task to get it to look good.
and for my VT1100c Honda I wanted it to look good too !
I started by digging out the old sewing machine... cleaning it up lubing everything and then finding out after spending all day on it...that the bobbin "spinner", the tie hook thing... that the gears were stripped... (plastic!)...
so I dug around and found the Other GOOD sewing machine that we have had for years.... last time I used it the foot feed has stopped working on it however... but I figured maybe I could fix it...
...after spending all day on it the next day I discovered the same problem with it as on the old one.
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So I was at a standstill, and set the project aside a while...
in the next few days we went to town and I saw a portable stitcher thing that took 4 AA batteries to operate it... i thought if it actually sewed it would be worth the money.... but alass after getting it home and trying it out it only did a chain stitch ( no bobbin thread) and the silly thing would skip stitches about every 2 inches... making the whole thing unravel !
so the wife took that back....
the next day we went to the fabric store again...same place I bought the 1 yrd of black marine vinyl for the seat covering... they had 2 small sewing machines, and I picked the one that also did the zig-zag stitch... got it home and spent the rest of the evening learning how to operate the silly thing!.
 it sewed Prudy good on thin material but on the Vinyl it had a hard time... but it did work..till I changed thread...then everything quit !
the stronger thread and heavy vinyl actually made the little machine slip in its timing!
...so after changing back to the lighter thread and re setting the timing again...i decided to just sew the silly thing about 4 times with the normal straight stitch... which I did.
 that worked...finally and I got the seat cover made by simply ripping the seams of the old seat cover and laying the pieces out on the material and tracing around them... when I cut them out I left about 1/2" space outside the line for the seam.
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Oddly enough the way they covered these seats is strange... the back/bottom frame of the seat is heavy plastic...and they stapled the fabric into the plastic.... that's all!
... much easier than other methods I have used in years gone by like metal tabs you had to bend over!
...and after much pulling , streaching ,tugging and in general grunting..I finally got it where I could go around and staple every inch of the back of the seat...
... although the fabric isn't as tight as I'd like it to be its good enough for me.
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I also trimmed the foam rubber on the seat a bit shaping it better and putting a few slices in it to soften it up a bit....
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I put the seat on today and am happy with the results... now I get to do the rear passenger seat... weeeee !
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but its good indoor activity when its raining outside !  LOL
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Bob.....

[Bob]

seams like every sewing machine I touch lately I screw up !  LOL
so I dug out the Antique Treadle Sewing Machine that still works... and got it all lubed up and limbered up... and tried it with the heavy thread....
well it didn't like that thread, but it did eventually sew with it. so I got the back rest for the driver re covered ... now all that is left is the sissy-bar pad... and I don't think I'll do it right now...because I don't have enough scraps left... I have to go buy more!...
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I went down to the fabric store and bought a small sewing machine to finish the project on... well that was a joke... the timing slipped on it in the first inch on that Vinyl. so I re set it and got most of it done till I had to just give up and try the old treadle machine....I fought that new machine for a good 4 days and finally gave up on it... never could get the thread to be tight on the bottom of the stitch!
 I should have known better from the start that the old treadle was the one to use... it was made to handle anything you throw at it and I've never seen it fail....
I will take the new machine back as it is simply a piece of junk in a Prudy case! its major draw back is that there is no way to set the bobbin tension and on big stuff you have to have that ability!
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so when I take that small machine back I might get 1/2 a yard of the same material again to do the sissy bar back rest with... that way it will all be new seat covers and look much better.
... all in all it turned out ok... I've done better in my time but its better than the ripped seat that it was!
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so let that be a lesson to ya... either have a really good heavy duty sewing machine to re-do seats or an old treadle sewing machine and allot of time ! LOL
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I was thinking of taking the electric motor out of one of the old junkers and affix it to the Treadle sewing machine... in a manor so it can be removed without damaging the thing.  that would make it easier to use....
 using a treadle sewing machine takes coordination... and if you can't chew bubble gum and walk at the same time your in trouble !  I know I found out!  LOL !  I have seen My Mom sew all day with that sewing machine... funny but I never got it to sound the way it did with her using it ! HAHAHAHA!
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Bob.....