The seat is the one thing I was really hesitant to undertake on my own. I’d actually tried to do some upholstery on a dying couch a while back and did a bang-up job of making it worse. The one thing I -could- do, though, was at least pick the fabric. My inner ‘dude, i’m waaay too cool for you’ child wanted to do it in leather, but the more I dug into it, the less certain I was it was the best idea due to the amount of weather it might see, and that the quality of leather I’d need to make that ok got awful pricey awful fast. I poked around on a few sites and found some real nice marine-quality vinyl that had a lovely finish to it right in my ballpark.
I ordered a handful of samples that I thought would do the trick and played with combinations.
I knew I wanted the light color on the seat surface, and the darker accent on the sides. I discounted the dark brown pretty quick. I figured it would be one of those looks that was super cool for about four days and then would feel like I was trying way too hard, so it was down to the medium brown or red.
I -really- like the red…but the more I looked at the bike as a whole, the more it felt out of place (ot to mention with the green tank it drifted a little too Christmas-ish). I still really dig that combination and have kept those samples. I will definitely use it on my next project and will build with that color scheme in mind.
So the choice was made.
Christina swung by to pick up the vinyl and the plastic seat pan and set to work. She knocked out the foam in short order and began work on the actual sewing. I will forever be in awe of humans that can do this.
So now, it’s January 5, 2021. We’ve all lived through what’s approaching a year of actual plague, a year of political plague, a year of folks thinking that being a jack-ass on social media is somehow bold and makes one awesome – when folks seem to think that belief is more valid that actual fact, and that everything boils down to a team sport that they themselves don’t actually play but are willing to alienate friends and family ’cause apparently pontification is the new beige. It’s everywhere.
To wit – it’s been heavy and I’ve had my share of down days just like everyone else trying to muddle on through and remember the shiny bits.
But today. Jan. 5. It’s cold and drizzly, about 35 degrees out. House is a little chilly and was a little too quiet. And then I heard the rumble of Christina’s Jeep in the drive. She brought some wild magic, and we gladly wielded it.
After five years of thinking and fiddling about with pencils, wrenches, wood, fire, rubber, plastic and steel…
It’s done.