PURPOSE: To inform vintage motorcycle restorers of the vast differences and variations in all aspects of restoring and preserving original OEM factory seat covers.

One of the most varied yet most elusive aspects of restoring any vintage motorcycle is obtaining a correct looking seat. The seat on any correctly restored vintage motorcycle is the FOCAL POINT more than any other part of the bike. Why? Everything else can be correct on the bike, but if your seat is WRONG, others will notice and be quick to point it out to you! Why? Simply because ANYONE can get a bike painted correctly, assuming you have a good painter who can either find OEM paint or reproduce colors with state of the art scanning techniques used by paint suppliers. ANYONE can get parts re-chromed to restore their bike. And ANYONE can buy NOS parts, when available, to replace old parts. ANYONE can track down even vintage tires, emblems, reproduction decals and other cosmetic and mechanical parts. Prices vary for all these items, but in the end these items are fairly 'black & white ' cut and dry in nature with few variables.

There is not NEAR the amount of variables involved in any one of these restoration aspects as there are in seat repair and restoration / preservation . Not even CLOSE!

That said consider this. Have you tried locating an ACCURATE reproduction seat cover for your 1970's -80's vintage bike lately? Impossible , right? This is becuase 99% of vintage OEM seat covers produced from approximately 1970 on , the types with multiple pleats and rectangular electronic heat seamed patterns pressed / embossed into the vinyl CAN NOT BE REPRODUCED accurately.

This is where COOL RETRO BIKES comes in. NOT JUST ANYONE can painstakingly REPAIR VINYL, RESTORE & PRESERVE a vinyl seat cover the way we do. The owner T.D. Bash has been a MASTER in the vinyl repair business for over 27 years ! We HAVE that OLD WORLD CRAFTSMANSHIP approach to vintage motorcycle seat covers! This is just one of many reasons we SPECIALIZE in this process. As far as we know we may be the ONLY shop in the world that offers all these services to PRESERVE & RESTORE OEM origianl factory cover seats so that when you receive your finsihed product restored seat it will look factory fresh and be of museum quality !

If you spend $50 on one of 'THEIR' seat cover kits for your fine restoration, plan on DEVALUEING the price of your bike by a few hundred dollars AT LEAST, (enough to PAY FOR OUR RESTORATION / PRESERVATION SERVICES !) because again, the seat is the most variable item and the focal point of any bike. Most any enthusiast that knows these bikes will recognize IMMEDIATELY a CHEAP INFERIOR reproduction seat cover because it wont look even close to original! Look...You put in hours and hours scouring ebay, the internet, and bone yards to find one single part. TIME = $$$MONEY$$$. You no longer have to setlle for less than original. You don't have to look far and wide to find the BEST OEM SEAT RESTORATION / PRESERVATION SERVICES AVAILABLE ANYWHERE. ITS RIGHT HERE!

So dont waste time AND $$$ buying their cheap repro seat cover kit. We have already had customers that went thru this process, only to end up buying our cover &/or sending us their seat to be restored! Instead of DEVALUING your Bike, make the investment now and your bike will INCREASE IN VALUE to MORE THAN PAY for the price of COOL RETRO BIKES OEM original seat cover restoration services

We also are possibly the only shop in the entire world that offers the unique hard to find restoration services offered at CRB including: vinyl and leather repairs, dye services, seat logo replacement using custom color matched to OEM color laquer based vinyl dyes, foam repairs, reproduction hardware to full pan up seat restoration services.

When you receive your finished product restored seat from C R B it will look factory fresh and be of museum quality, ready to win shows!

Don't forget to check one of these auctions out. The SLIDE SHOWS are entertaining as well as educational as to just what is possible in VINTAGE SEAT RESTORATION when done by the most experienced seat restorers in the world,

COOL RETRO BIKES where Our Motto is:

“If We Can’t Save Your Seat…NOBODY CAN!”

 

TYPICAL USED EBAY SEAT TAKEN OFF A JUNK BIKE, UNCLEANED, DIRTY, NASTY WITH HOLES, CUTS, WORN OUT VINYL &/OR FOAM AND A HOST OF HIDDEN FLAWS YOU CAN' T SEE BECAUSE THE SELLER DOESNT WANT YOU TO!
        IF WE HAVE YOUR  ATTENTION NOW ...READ ON  

   

CRB's  12 STEP RESTORATION PROCESS INCLUDES:

1.) ORIGINAL SEAT VINYL CAREFULLY CLEANED WITH EXTRA SOFT FINGER NAIL BRUSH TO REMOVE ALL DIRT & RESIDUE FROM SEAMS AND FAUX STITCHING, WELT CORDS, CREVICES ETC.

2.) COVER RECIEVES OUR EXCLUSIVE VINYL CLEANER / SOFTENING PREP AGENT WHICH AIDS IN TACKING FOR DYE APPLICATION ADHESION. 

3.) DYE HAND APPLIED 3 TIMES  TO ALL STITCHED & WELT CORD SEAMS TO PRESERVE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF OLD THREADS & ELECTRO SEAMS

4.) SEAT VINYL  SPRAYED WITH 3-4  COATS OF PROFESSIONAL GRADE DYE (Custom Matched To OEM HONDA Super Dark BLACK. Dyeing Cover not only serves as cosmetic improvement, but also PRESERVES the cover by adding an additional layer / coat  of 'new' vinyl with UV protectants!

5.) LOGO STENCILED / AIRBRUSH APPLIED USING CUSTOM MATCHED TO OEM SILVER GRAY VINYL DYE (NOT SPRAY CAN PAINT!)

6.) STAINLESS TRIM STRIP REMOVED & ALL SCRATCHES HAND SANDED OUT THEN HIGH POLISHED ON HIGH SPEED BUFFING WHEEL WITH JEWELERS ROUGE

7.) PAN  STRIPPED, PRIMED, PAINTED AND OUR NEW FAUX FOAM TREATMENT (in correct coral red color)  APPLIED TO BREATHER HOLES (this serves the cosmetic purpose of looking new and also practical purpose of eliminating  old foam crumbling & escaping) 

8.) ALL HARDWARE /RUBBER CUSHIONS CLEANED WITH SOLVENTS, DYED, LUBED WITH SILICONE CONDITIONER & REINSTALLED 

9.)  ORIGINAL OEM BELT BUCKLES & LARGE PHILLIPS HEAD MOUNT BOLT HARDWARE RECHROMED TO SHOW-CHROME BETTER THAN NEW (by Dieter's Custom Plating aka: ebayer 'spewicksvintage')

10.) BELT DISASSEMBLED,  ALL OLD STITCHING THREAD REMOVED THEN CAREFULLY RESTITCHED, CLEANED, PREPPED, DYED, REINSTALLED WITH NEWLY CHROMED HARDWARE.

11.) SEAT COVER SPRAYED WITH OUR EXCLUSIVE CONDITIONER

12.) SEAT DOUBLE BOXED FOR SHIPPING WITH CUSTOM MADE TO FIT INNER BOX CONTAING SEAT ONLY , THEN PACKED IN LARGE OUTER BOX TO ASSURE SAFE ARRIVAL OF YOUR INVESTMENT!  

 

ALL OF CRB's  SEATS ARE  READY TO MOUNT AND SHOW!

 

GALLERY THUMBNAIL IMAGES BELOW ARE EXAMPLES OF OUR SEAT RESTORATION PRESERVATION SERVICE

CLICK ON IMAGES ONCE TO ENLARGE, CLICK AGAIN TO SUPERSIZE