Repairing a big tear in a vinyl seat?

[620dark]

Hello esteemed DTTers,

I've been working away on a '79 CB650, bringing it back from the brink of 33 years of neglect. Original parts may be nice, but original brake fluid is not D:

One of the biggest cosmetic problems (other than a bad paint job) is a large tear in the seat of the bike. Here's a pic with the rip circled and traced:

I've seen suggestions of gluing a piece of canvas to the back of the cover to repair tears like this, but I don't know how something like that would hold, or even what the best glue to use would be.

Has anyone successfully repaired a tear like this, and if so, how? If not, what would your suggestions be? Custom upholstery goes for $200 on up, and that's a bit rich for my blood, and the aftermarket covers seem to be a bit sketchy.

Thanks!

 

[DesmoBro]

i'll sell you my seat for $25 plus shipping it's off of a KZ750(says kawasaki on the back)....not perfect but better shape than yours

 

[VonYinzer]

And wont mount to his frame...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CB650-Four-seat-cover-for-Honda-CB-650-1979-210-/160623193973?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2565e36f75&vxp=mtr

Just save up and buy a replacement. For now, use black duct tape to keep the original cover from falling apart anymore.

 

[620dark]

Thanks guys - I was afraid that this would be the answer. And I went and spent my budget on stupid things like fork seals and tires that weren't dry rotted. Obviously I have to get my priorities in order, right?

 

[kwazykid]

If you really want to be adventurous you could sew up your own seat cover. Or you could just sew on a patch for the front seat. Scraps of vinyl are pretty cheap. I'm doing my whole seat for about 5 bucks.

 

[DesmoBro]

yea first thing Most people on here do is ditch the Old ratty seat ....Or keep it and carve a cooler looking one out of it....then wrap that

 

[farabi67]

how do you upholster a seat?

 

[DesmoBro]

there are many methods u can fasten buttons around the perimeter....Dzus makes all sorts of fasteners as well..... You could use a sewing machine and glue....If i were you i'd put them tires on get them brakes working well and enjoy it with the ratty seat thats on there you can change the seat 100 times and use that one while you figure it all out

 

[620dark]

I'm running out of things to fix on it, and the seat detracts from the look of the bike, so I've been wanting to fix that. Brakes brake, bike runs, forks are sealed, but now the electric starter isn't working right. I can push start it (the bike didn't come with a kick start), so I'm thinking that the battery has died. Two steps forward...

 

[kwazykid]

Is the battery just dead? Or is there a short somewhere? My GR650 stock battery was barely enough to start the bike. If I didn't start it every other day I had to push start it. If I let it run for half an hour or so daily it charged the battery. But I got a bigger battery anyway so its all good now.

If it has to crank several times before starting, the battery may not be the issue. It could be carb related.

 

[620dark]

Naw, don't think it's the carbs. The bike fired right up with the starter, I ran it for probably an hour, and then later, I couldn't get the starter to spin. I popped the bike into 3rd, ran beside it for about 10 feet, let out the clutch, and it fired right up. It ran fine, which makes me think the charging system is ok, but after running it above 3k RPMs for 15 minutes and killing it, it still wouldn't turn over the starter. The run and dump the clutch trick worked again.

It's probably just a dead battery or overheated starter, but I was too tired yesterday to think to slap the voltmeter on the battery and check to see what the voltage was.

 

[DesmoBro]

Pop off the right side engine cover and take a peek if it looks like this you may have found your problem

 

[620dark]

lol, no the ignition system is fine - I had to replace both coils, both spark units, all the plug wires, the plugs, and one of the boots, but it's fine now. That's a pretty rough looking pickup assembly - mine was spotless when I opened it up to set timing - did that one sit with the cover off?

It appears the issue was that I wasn't running the bike at high enough RPMs long enough to charge up the battery. I forgot that the lovely charging system on these bikes only begins to work over 2-3k RPMs even if it is in perfect repair

 

[kwazykid]

I know you're short on cash but a battery tender would be a good investment. Get that battery all charged up without using up gas.

 

[620dark]

I have a decent charger, I just wasn't using it, doh. I did find a new reproduction brake master cylinder on ebay for $27 shipped, so that should take care of the leaky brake master reservoir, and I'm waiting to hear back about a good used seat from a salvage yard in Maine. Here's hoping...closer and closer...

 

[620dark]

The thread for this build is here if you are interested...

http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=35881