Seat Cover Looks Great - Foam, Not So Much...

[stepper]

Hey guys,
I got my hands on a pretty nice CA77 recently but noticed a lot of red dust flaking all over the bike.
After removing the seat I have come to realize that the dust is coming from the rotted out foam inside an externally perfect looking seat. Asside from the rotting red foam, the black foam above the springs where my butt would rest are cracked and deteriorating.

As I mentioned, the seat cover looks just about perfect and I rather like the shape of how it sits now.

So,...
I plan on finding an upholsterer who can replace the foam and restore everything back to how it looks now with reusing the current cover.

But,...
I am a bit afraid that if the seat is taken apart, the current cover may not be reusable as it seems it would be difficult to realign the holes in the cover to the puncture tangs due to foam thickness variations. And, I am afraid that I may end up with a less desirable overall shape if it is messed with.

So my questions are,...
1) Is it reasonable to expect that I can reuse the leather seat cover?
2) Is the overall shape of the seat determined by the leather cover itself? or the foam? or an even combination of the two? Are my worries of getting a funky shaped seat a real cause for concern?
3) Is there a less evasive method of restoring rotting out foam?

Thanks for any help,
Jason

[LOUD MOUSE]

The cover is not leather.
It takes the 2 to get the proper shape. ................lm

Hey guys,
I got my hands on a pretty nice CA77 recently but noticed a lot of red dust flaking all over the bike.
After removing the seat I have come to realize that the dust is coming from the rotted out foam inside an externally perfect looking seat. Asside from the rotting red foam, the black foam above the springs where my butt would rest are cracked and deteriorating.

As I mentioned, the seat cover looks just about perfect and I rather like the shape of how it sits now.

So,...
I plan on finding an upholsterer who can replace the foam and restore everything back to how it looks now with reusing the current cover.

But,...
I am a bit afraid that if the seat is taken apart, the current cover may not be reusable as it seems it would be difficult to realign the holes in the cover to the puncture tangs due to foam thickness variations. And, I am afraid that I may end up with a less desirable overall shape if it is messed with.

So my questions are,...
1) Is it reasonable to expect that I can reuse the leather seat cover?
2) Is the overall shape of the seat determined by the leather cover itself? or the foam? or an even combination of the two? Are my worries of getting a funky shaped seat a real cause for concern?
3) Is there a less evasive method of restoring rotting out foam?

Thanks for any help,
Jason

[modelman]

I've rebuilt 4 seats so far, the first 2 weren't so good, but I did better with the last 2!!

If you carefully pry up the tangs, the cover can be lifted off without tearing it.

The foam on my seat was badly eroded, but only the top 2 layers, these were removed to reveal a still good base-foam, I suspect yours may be similar, these were removed & a couple more layers were glued-on, then shaped to a 'guesstimated' shape, quite easy actually.

Place the cover over your new masterpiece & you will see if its going to work or not.
Re-fettling/shaping may be required, & I found the best way to re-fit is to clip the rear first, using the original slots in the cover, & with the seat upside-down, if its pushed down, the foam compresses & allows slack in the cover to pull towards the front & clip, followed by the sides obviously! I have managed to use ALL the original clip-slots, so it can be done.
One mistake I made was by fitting & re-fitting I broke several tangs, so I had to punch out new ones between the existing, but there's plenty of room to do this.

On another seat, ALL the foam was shot, so I bought some hi-density hard foam, 2 x 1inch layers, followed by softer layers, I use an electric carving knife to get the shape 'almost' right, finished off by using a small Stanley 'surform' & I found light-fast 'sweeps' allowed for easy & rapid shaping.
Go for it, nothing to lose, & once done, its another art you've mastered!!

[stepper]

Thanks for the replies guys...

And Modelman, that's some fine work there!
You have inspired me to give this a shot.