I need to repair some tears on a Enfield Bullet vinyl seat, never done this before and can't think of where I can get hold of a small quantity of vinyl to make some patches, and also what adhesive I should go for. I would be very grateful for any advice from anyone who has done this before. I'm not looking for perfection, just a neat functional job.
Not being funny it wouldn't cost a lot of money to get it fully recovered, try a bike breakers they might have a second-hand seat or some spare vinyl off another seat, just use 2 pack epoxy glue, making sure the edges are glued down tight
I think if I have the seat recovered it would cost more than what the bikes worth lol. I just got the seat from e-bay, the p&p was 1/2 as much again as the seat cost! Good idea about the bike breakers though, don't know any where I live but it's given me an idea to go to a car breakers yard and see if I can find a black seat I can cut some from.
unless seat has some real awkward compound curves in it then it's usually a piece of cake John. I've covered half a dozen or so now and would be happy to pass on any tricks. I get all my vinyl from a place on the Weybridge trading estate as they have a big enough range for me but i've ordered 'online' before now. Original Evostik or Cowgum is the best for attaching - needs to be the 'with solvent' type which you have to ask for 'over the counter' - this combined with staples. It is easier to get someone to help but not essential. Also much easier to do in the summer!
I was hoping you would reply Chris! I have a couple of rips in the vinyl that I would like to repair on this seat, can you supply me contact details of the place you mentioned in Weybridge please.
If you decide to go the repair route BLACK Cabriolet Hood Soft top Softtop repair glue hood leak rip adhesive 15g | eBay
I see why you're tempted to just repair the splits John as if you want to replicate the feature running around the perifery it will need stitching on ideally plus you need to sew on the front 'tank butt' as a separate section - something I did on the SS (same as yours) by hand stitching. You can tell if it's a good vinyl/leatherette/leathercloth by how well attached the two sections are after stitching.
John.......Hitchcocks Motorcycles - Various Frame/Chassis Parts Nearly at the bottom of the page.....seat £23. AL.
Thanks Al Not a bad price for the seat, which looks roughly in the same nick as mine; maybe no tears though, but factor in £14.95 P&p and I'm looking at nearly a monkey!
This might do the job Repair Products - Repairing Leather, Vinyl, Tile, Wood, Fabric & Cars - 3 Leather & Vinyl Repair Kits
When I bought my SS it had a very badly cracked and split seat cover, I went to Fabricland in Southampton and bought some vinyl normally used for making cushions on boats, a couple of hours with a hot glue gun and a hot air gun and I had a passable job. The Vinyl's lasted over a year now and for £1.95 a square metre I've still got enough to do it again.
The Shadow, £1.95/sq meter sounds more what I was thinking of! Thanks for the tip. Amusing website btw: http://www.fabricland.co.uk/SHOPS.htm Scroll down to the bottom of the page: ANDY WAREHOUSE MANAGER ON LEFT ALWAYS HAPPY TO SLIP YOU A LENGTH HERE HE IS AGAIN PRETENDING TO WORK
Where are you CRYSTALJOHN? I've had a few seats recovered by a bloke in the Essex area, would be happy to pass on details if its any good to you..?
Hi The Hammer Many thanks for your message. I really just want to put some patches on the seat to make it functional, tidy it up, and keep out any liquids! I'm hoping to pick up some patching material tomorrow from 'Fabricland'. I think I shall stay away from Andy warehouse manager though! ( see above post)
