Seat cover removal technique?

[disco51]

Going to try to play around with the diy motorcycle seat rebuild.
Started last night trying to remove the seat cover on a spare 83' r65 seat I got my hands on.  Managed to rip the top off of 2 riverts on the back side of the seat before giving up.  I was unable to get the bottom part out of the hole after the top ripped off.  Thought I'd check in with those who have btdt to see if there is a trick to removing these or if they are just bound to break off...
thanks as always.

[Barry]

What you describe as heads ripping off sounds like it might be rubber buffers rather than rivets.

Is the seat cover attached the same way as your 79 ?  I've recovered a 79 and the rubber buffers are easier to remove once the cover is off.

The cover is secured with metal strips and pop rivets. You just drill the head off the rivets and save the metal strips for re-use. There are also a few rivets with washers rather than metal strips.

[montmil]

I have a DIY seat recover photo essay in the R65 gallery. You might pick up a few tips.

[disco51]

Montmil - saw that link to the photo essay, but guess I need to create an account to see that link.

Barry - It's the pop rivets that are giving me trouble, the rubber bumpers aren't an issue.  Didn't realize I needed to drill these out.  Is that simply just selecting an appropriate size drill bit and going at it?

[disco51]

Ahhh... now I remember.  How do I get registered for the coppermine photo website?  I don't see a "new user" link.

[montmil]

Ahhh... now I remember.  How do I get registered for the coppermine photo website?  I don't see a "new user" link.

Due to spammer SOBs, you'll need to contact our Senior Administrator, Justin, to get your kitchen pass. PM him.

[Barry]

Is that simply just selecting an appropriate size drill bit and going at it?  

The drill should be a little larger than the rivet shank and sharp.  The rivet head will pop off easily and the rivet can then be punched through to the inside. That's the only way to remove body of the rivet.  Try to avoid the whole rivet spinning.

[steven m]

I used a small sharp chisel with a tack hammer to pop the heads off the rivets.  If you have cut the seat off and pulled the foam off as well, the rivets will just fall out.  You don't need a lot of force. Just take your time and clean everything up before putting the new cover on.  Monte's tutorial is very good.
Steve

[nhmaf]

When I recovered my seat on the LS I used a new drill bit that was just a little smaller than the head of the rivet.  With my cordless drill it was a snap to cut through the head and flick them off - save the metal strips the rives pass through, and clean them up good, removing any rust etc.  You can paint them if you like.   Reuse with new pop rivets and rivet gun - <$50...

You'll want to do the seat recovering by starting at one end and going slowly, stretching carefully as you go, and do it on a hot, sunny day - or else have a friend help you with a hair dryer.

[bruce_launceston]

I usually use the same size drill as the rivet shank, you can drill right through the rivet and not enlarge the hole. That way the hole is ready for the new rivet and you don't end up needing larger rivets when you put it back together.

In this case the rivets are #4 ie: 1/8th inch.

The back of the rivet will stay in the foam, there is little point in trying to dig them out if the foam is being reused.

I recovered my seat last month, it was the 4th cover including the factory original.
Some of the foam had degraded and I got it cut out and built up, there were a lot of old rivet backs in the foam!

The vinyl has a suede like finish and is called 'road bike gripper', it has a 2 way stretch so is really good for LS seats. I stitched and installed it myself.

[davidpdx]

Bruce, where did you find that seat cover? I recovered mine last year but that came out looking a lot better. I got some medium density foam from an upholstery place and put a thin sheet of it under the cover to smooth things out.

[bruce_launceston]

I bought the vinyl off the roll and used the old cover as a pattern for the front shape. I have been working the last few years as a canvas goods manufacturer so I stitched it myself with an industrial sewing machine.

I had the foam repaired and a thin foam skin glued over the lot by an automotive trimmer who also sold me the fabric.