Seat tear

[duaneage]

I noticed today a very small tear in the top of my otherwise perfect seat. I sold a perfect seat 2 years ago and now regret that decision. I am wondering if anyone has any vinyl repair kits or solutions they can recommend to head off more damage?

THe tear is less than 1/8" in size so it is not a duct tape situation.

[Clone]

Go to an upholstry shop and get some vynil glue, it melts down the material a little and then you use the little patches to match the texture.

[Planecrazy]

For some very similar types of tears in my seat I have used a product called "Tear Repair." It is amazingly strong and because it dries crystal clear it'll pick up the color of whatever you put it on and virtually disappear. I've had it on my 1100G seat (in several places) for three years and it shows no signs of degradation.

I highly recommend the stuff and it can be found at most hardware stores (Menards for sure carries it). Before you use it I recommend you do a few practice runs on scrap. Also, once it's on DON'T TOUCH IT or it will cease to be "invisible." It is great stuff but unforgiving if you try to mess with it, so don't.

If I get a chance I'll post some pics so you can see my "not perfect" results.

Regards,

[Planecrazy]

Ok, here are some quick and dirty (literally) shots of my three-year-old seat repair using "Tear Repair." The seat (and bike) are quite dusty, but even with the dirt you'll notice that the repair appears to be the same color as the seat even though the "glue" is clear. You'll also notice that in the first picture the repair is more noticeable than in the second picture because I tried applying a second coat - big mistake! Even so it's not too noticeable.

Both repairs were done along the bottom front "lip" of the seat where my legs often rub. On the left side (second picture) you'll notice that the top edge of the repair is just starting to peel, but after three years I'm pretty impressed with how well it's held up.






Regards,

[Planecrazy]

Here's what the stuff looks like, and if you click on the picture it'll take you to the manufacturer's website.



Regards,

[bubba]

I never used the tear repair although it looks like it works good. I cannot recommend the repair kits out there. I tried one on a sissy bar pad and the results were less than impressive. My seat has a small tear at the stitching but I think I will have it re-done over the winter. I would say you have nothing to lose by trying the tear repair.

[Planecrazy]

By the way, I forgot to mention that I did NOT follow the repair instructions as thoroughly as I should have or the repair would have come out much better than it did ... but I was young and impatient way back then - hehe!

If and when I redo it I will take the time to do a better more "invisible" job with better prep.

Regards,

[duaneage]

Well I'm going to give it a shot. I commute daily on this bike so the seat gets a lot of ride time. I want to keep it looking original and avoid recovering if possible.

[Zooks]

You could always get it 'vinyl welded'. You'll find upholsterers that do vinyl welding in your local yellow pages. It works brilliantly and will be good as new (literally).

[Zook]

IIRC JC Whitney sells replacement seat covers. May or may not have them for you bike.
Worth a look.

[Zooks]

Zook, when I see your name in the 'recent post list' (on the front page) even I get confused. LOL