“Deadman’s Hand” .44 Caliber Bullet Custom Softail Seat
“Deadman's Hand” .44 Caliber Bullet Custom Softail Seat
I made this seat up for a guy on the east coast back in March '09. This seat came out absolutely beautiful. This is the kind of work that a customer gets when they tell me an idea that they have and say something like, "i'll leave everything else up to your judgement." When you set me loose, you get a beautiful work of art.
Yes, those are REAL bullets. i went bullet shopping for this seat and found these beautiful babies. it makes me want to buy a 44 just so i can use them. They're chrome plated split top hollowpoints. I didn't even know you could buy hollow-points in this state!
This was made on a stock style softail seatpan that was fitted to a custom softail bike. The pan was re-foamed with high density memory foam for much more comfort and sleeker style.
The tooling is skulls on flame backgrounds, and then the “DEADMAN'S HAND” banner that wraps around the deadman hand (Ace's and Eights) all accented in a deep gunmetal metallic silver. If you don't know the story, it comes from the wild west. This is the hand that Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he was shot and murdered, the last card is face down because he was shot before the last card was dealt... dead mans hand.
I picked the alligator side panels because they just look so frickin' nice on an all black tooled seat. The black lacing with chrome eyelets just accents perfect with the bright chrome bullets.
Enjoy,
SPiKE
“JackAss” Jack Daniels Custom Bobber Seat and Solo Sidebag
“JackAss” Custom Bobber Seat and Solo Sidebag
This was a fun project i just finished up in October of '08. It's a seat and solo sidebag for a custom chopper that was done in a "Jack Daniel's" theme. It all came out very nice.
This seat was a bit of a departure for me, because there was no black material on it. It was a quick change of pace, as i get a lot of "all black" tooling seats, or seats with a lot of black in them because all black seats are something that not many seat builders can make look good. Like in paint, black shows every mistake.
It also challenged my design ability... how to make a donkey look cool. 
The matching bag came out very well.
I ran aluminum bar around the inside to give the bag support and keep it from loosing shape when it was empty, and keep it from sagging or flopping when it was full.
Heavy duty straps tie everything together (1/4" thick leather) so they won't wear out, tear, or break no matter what. I made it so that it will fit most all softails and custom hardtails.
Enjoy,
SPiKE
Custom Metallic Flame & Pinstripe Seat for a Softail
Hey folks.
You know, sometimes i just want to be a better photographer. Taking pictures of this seat is one of those times. I just couldn't figure out the lighting/camera settings to make the metallic colors pop out... instead they just look lighter or like they're reflecting light...
This is a seat a made for a custom softail. I matched the colors and design to the paint job itself, which happened to be a metallic flake paint. The really cool part of this seat is that when i color matched the paints, i also matched the metallic. Since i end up mixing almost all of my own colors, i can mix in stuff like metallics and pearl.
I asked for a paint swatch or painted test panel with the colors of his bike on them, so that I could colormatch... Instead he sent me his whole finished and painted fender, so that I could not only color match the seat, but also match the flame design and bright blue pinstripe from his paint job.
After tooling and dying, the super shiny tooled leather got paired with alligator panels, and lacing to make one very nice custom seat. The blue pinstripes were no easy trick to pull off, either. Since leather is already browish color, non-opaque colors like blonde, yellows, and blues are very tricky to mix and color correctly so that they come out how you want them too on the seat.
Enjoy the Pics,
SPiKE
Custom FXDWG Alligator Solo Seat with Lacing
Here's a seat that i made for a Wide Glide a little while back.
not everything i do has to be completely insane. This is a perfect example of how simple, clean lines and make a top-notch seat.
The honey colored alligator material laced with the black material with chrome eyelets gives this seat a subtle, yet amazing look.
“MISERY” Custom CFL Tooled Bobber Seat
Hey Gang, 
This is a bobber seat that i built up for a customer on his CFL seatpan and CFL frame.
His bike was being painted a metallic pewter color and black, so i mixed my own metallic dyes and painted the letters with a silver and pewter metallic colors.
It's hard to get a good picture of shiny dyes like that, and they end up looking like they're gray in the photos. lol... maybe if i actually knew about lighting and cameras and crap i could do it.
Enjoy the pics.
SPiKE
“DRONES” Custom Softail Seat
This is a seat i made for a customer back in June 2008.
He had changed his custom softail's rear fender out for a custom one, and his stock style seat did not fit anymore.
He needed a new seat that would fit correctly, and it had to be stretched about 3" I had him take pictures of the seat area in every which direction with a tape measure in the picture so that i could get the exact measurements needed to stretch his seatpan the correct distance and make it follow the fender correctly. The foam also had to be redone, as he would not be able to reach his controls if he were set the 3" back in the seat.
he told me that he wanted crossed pistons and maybe some fire coming off the top of them, and he wanted it to say DRONES on the seat. all in black.
This is what i came up with. His very own, very custom 'reach' seat. when he got it the seat fit like a glove. All his buddies swore that i had the bike here to make it fit... but i made it work from across the country without ever laying a hand on the bike. :nice:
Enjoy,
SPiKE
1982 “FTW” Custom Tooled and Flame Stitched Custom Seat
Hey Gang,
Here's a seat i did around March '09 ago for a guy and his '82 Sportster. It was a little bit of a new trick in my bag, combining the tooling and embossed stitching like this. Usually the tooling is the centerpiece, not the stitching, but it works out pretty good like this, too.
From this seat I got set up for ready made sportster seats for sale. You don't need to have an existing seat to re-cover, you can get the whole thing from me ready to bolt in place of the stock seat!
Enjoy the Pics!
Later,
SPiKE
Pleated Vintage Look FXD Custom Seat
Pleated Vintage Look FXD Custom Seat
Alright, here's an new old-school trick from me. This was an FXD solo seat that I did a custom re-cover on. It also got a custom foam treatment. It's a 3” reach seat, and I shaved down the nose foam to make it more comfortable and keep the seat from pushing against the insides of the customers legs. (a prevalent problem for stock Harley seats, they are too 'pillowy' in the nose.)
It's old school done in a new way. Vintage pleats and piping. This seat came out better than i thought it would. I had my doubts about the "cool factor" of pleats and piping when i started the project, but in the end i was quite happy with the result. It's a charcoal gray pleated area, and black sides.
Enjoy the pics!
“Screaming Banshee” Custom Pillion Pad
“Screaming Banshee” Custom Pillion Pad
Here's a little pillion pad that a customer ordered from me a long while back. He sent me a picture of a wailing banshee, and said that he wanted that on his seat. He sent me some pictures of his custom front seat and it had flame stitching and braiding.
So, this little pillion pad has a ton of tricks in it's bag. leather braiding, embossed flame stitching/overlay, memory foam padding that tapers from 2 inches in front to 3/4" or so in the back, and the incredibly detailed tooling on the face. I had to invent a new way to tool so that i could get all the detail into the face in such a small space. i especially like the way the eyes turned out.
Enjoy,
SPiKE
“EL GATO” Custom Drop-In Style Seat
“EL GATO” Custom Drop-In Style Seat
Here's a seat i made for a customer who had a "drop in" style seat that sat inside of the bodywork of his frame. hence... it's small.
It's all black on black for a nice subtle look that isn't too flashy. this keeps the seat from detracting from the rest of the bike. so from a distance it's a nice clean black seat... and as you get closer you see more and more detail in the tooling and design.
Enjoy,
SPiKE
