In everything related to the seat, I usually recommend that we scratch our pocket a little, either in a good upholsterer, or in buying a new seat .

However, there are times when we cannot find anything that suits the bike we have in mind, and we insist on manufacturing the seat ourselves. Since I don't want to get that idea out of your head, we are going to explain how to make a Cafe Racer seat or how to repair a seat for restoration.

Before starting, if your problem is that your seat has torn, the ideal solution, before upholstering it again, may be a seat patch.


1) The support

Well ends what begins well. For this reason, it is highly recommended that you dedicate the time necessary to perfectly define your support.

The bracket is the part that will attach your seat to the chassis , in other words, your ass to your bike. I prefer that my ass does not touch the asphalt, so I would spend a few hours preparing a good support.

It is at this moment that you have to decide whether your seat will be fixed (bolted to the chassis) or removable (for example, tilting to be able to have a document holder underneath).

I recommend that before preparing any support you have finished your chassis , and especially the subframe, so that the support of your seat is fully compatible with your motorcycle.

The seat base must be made of any material that allows a strong bond between the seat and the motorcycle. Steel is the most recommended, there are those who prefer wood, and if you dare with fiberglass, go ahead, although for me it is too complicated. A very good option is to make the most of the original seat support, even if it has to be cut to adapt it to the new shape of the subframe.

To start, place a large cardboard on your motorcycle and trace with a marker the outline you want the base of the seat to have. Cut it out and use it as a template to draw on your chosen material.

Once the base has been drawn, we will have to add the plates , that is, the folds of the base that will allow it to be anchored to the chassis and that will prevent it from being a sharp and dangerous edge. Once again, I highly recommend pre-making the mold out of cardboard or another flexible material that is easy to work with. If you get your entire seat to be a single piece of steel, which when bending and welded forms your seat, it will be a work of art.


2) The filling

The padding should fulfill the function of shaping the seat and making the experience of driving your motorcycle more pleasant. In other words, it must be made of a comfortable material, but hard enough so that it always returns to its original shape.

The most used padding is upholstery foam . Some people prefer cork, polystyrene or, again, wood. A good foam, it is very easy to work with and has adequate flexibility. You can buy it on Amazon or at any upholstery store (I have never seen an upholstery store in my life, but upholsterers will buy their things somewhere). I recommend this extra firm foam .

I recommend that you at least buy a foam with a density greater than 25kg / m3 , otherwise, the seat will sink too much, although the density is not the only thing that marks the hardness, since there are compounds that make a mattress more firm.

With a good cutter you will have to shape your foam block. It is recommended that the entire seat comes from the same block, but if it is not possible, do not worry, with the upholstery or a special glue you can join everything.

Another good option is to make the padding with a harder material and finish with a gel coat, which works worse, but is only for the final layer of the seat. Here you can see the gel mat .


3) The upholstery

Once you have cut the foam piece with the final shape, we will have to join it to the base. For this you have two options: either use a special foam glue (normal glue with solvents eats the foam) or take advantage of the upholstery to join both pieces. Another good option is to join it with duct tape or with rubber or rubber tapes. If you decide to join the foam, an option that I recommend because you will achieve greater stability in your seat, this is the spray glue you need .

It is time to choose the fabric for the upholstery. It has to be waterproof, if you don't want your seat to turn into a giant sponge every time it rains. Make sure that the fabric is specific for motorcycle or boat seats, it will spend a lot of time outdoors, so a fabric to upholster indoor sofas will not be worth it.

On the internet you will find an infinity of fabrics to upholster your motorcycle seat, leatherette or real leather. Real leather is of much higher quality, breathes better and is more attractive but, on the contrary, it is much more expensive and requires much more care.

I buy the fabric on Amazon. Maybe I abuse this platform, but for me it is the most comfortable and reliable.

As a reference, the leather for upholstery can cost you about € 15 per meter, and it is recommended that it be of quality. You will need to buy a piece that will more than cover your seat, since you will have to make folds.

To upholster, you must place the piece of fabric on top of the seat and staple it to the bottom of the support. Stretch the fabric well so there are no wrinkles. The ideal is to do it with an upholsterer stapler, this is the best upholsterer stapler in value for money .

If you have opted for a steel base, you will need to attach a hard plastic or wood perimeter to be able to staple. This is not difficult: once you have the base finished, you can cut two strips of hard plastic and glue them with a good glue to the steel, or screw them together.

You can finish your upholstery by placing a belt of the same material , remember that it is mandatory if your motorcycle is a two-seater .

Now you just have to anchor everything to the chassis and enjoy a unique element, designed and built by you, and that you could not have bought in any store.

Just in case, I leave you again the link to the seat store , so you can see that they are not expensive at all.