New
Custom Printed T-SHIRTS Personalized With YOUR BIKE PHOTO!
PURPOSE:
To inform vintage motorcycle restorers of the vast differences
and variations in all aspects of restoring and preserving
original OEM factory seat covers...our
specialty!
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? Nearly impossible, except for only
the most popular models, 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 finished product restored seat it will look as close
to new as conceivably possible and be of show 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 INCLUDING OUR EXCLUSIVE CHROME TRIM STRIP REPLACEMENT
SERVICE on seats where the chrome trim strip is an integrated part of /molded
into the seat cover (ie HONDA CB350 FOUR, CB360, CB500, CB550, CB750, SL350K2
and more) .
When
you receive your finished product restored seat from C
R B it will look as close
to new as possible for a used original seat makeover, and will be ready to win
shows! More importantly it will be ORIGINAL ISSUE ..the
same as what originall came on the bike from the factory AND it will be PRESERVED,
making it last and looking great for years to come !
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 Cant Save Your Seat NOBODY CAN!
ARE
YOU TIRED OF SETTLING FOR THE 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
Here's
a tip for those entusiasts new to the restoration hobby, what 'purists'
who show their bikes know :
You may find a NOS listed for less on ebay or elsewhere.
NOS (New Old Stock) OEM HONDA seats are not the same as an original issue
( same year as the bike) seat that came on the bike. Honda made replacement
seats for many models, that were offered several years after original production. But
the
grain
patterns in the vinyl were different and there were other slight to very noticable
variations that make your bike incorrect and lose points at judging time.
If
you want a 'truely' original seat that was made the year the bike was made,
and looks new and is preserved to boot, havingCOOL
RETRO BIKESrepair and restore your original issue
OEM cover seat is the only way to get one.