How to Disassemble a Motorcycle Seat for Reupholstery

Motorcycle seats take a lot of abuse from the sun and elements, and when you need to reupholster one, if you're a do-it-yourself enthusiast, the first step is to disassemble the motorcycle seat for reupholstery.

How to Disassemble a Motorcycle Seat for Reupholstery image courtesy of Pixabay

Steps to Disassemble a Motorcycle Seat for Reupholstery

To get started, after removing the seat from your motorcycle, flip it upside down on table.

This lets you see how the old upholstery is attached.

• Look for staples holding the cover to the seat pan if the pan is plastic or plasti-fiber.
• If the pan is metal, look for sharp small triangles holding the cover to the pan.
• Another way covers have been known to be attached are by hard plastic J-strips that are heat-molded to the vinyl cover.

Disassembling a Stapled Motorcycle Seat Cover

If your hands are sensitive, put on some work gloves and pick up a staple puller.

Drive the tip of the staple puller under the staple and lift while twisting the staple puller.

Remove all of the staples, then peel the old cover off as gently as possible - anything you can keep intact can be used as a pattern - and having a pattern makes the next steps easier.

Disassembling a Motorcycle Seat Cover Attached With Triangle Prongs

Use a staple puller or screwdriver to gently push under the tip of the triangle prong.

Still being gentle, lift up on the point - these are often rusty and break easily if you manhandle them - so if you want them to hold up - go easy.

Gently peel the cover off after the fabric has been released from all the triangles.

Disassembling a Motorcycle Seat Cover Attached With a J-Hook Clip Edge

This one takes a bit of extra hand strength...

You have to press into the foam to let the tension off of the J-hook clip edge - then, it sort of pops because it's snapped on tight if it isn't broken.

Another way is to cut about an inch above the strip of J-hook clip, then peel the top off the foam padding and slide the clip off the pan. (This method can make a headache when you're ready to reassemble the new cover, but there'll be more details about that in following posts.)

Now that you're motorcycle seat is apart, you're ready to move on into the reupholstery steps of patterning, cutting, stitching and stretching the new cover onto the pan. (Oh, and of the foam's bad, that may need replaced, and I'll be back with a tutorial on that, too.

In the meantime, I would like to invite you to check out another great sewing site!

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