One other thing, if you look at enough seats as I have done, you'll see where there's sometimes a unusual design (for lack of a better word) trying to come up through the vinyl. What this is, is the tubular rubber that fits on the edge of the seat pan, to protect the seat pan from cutting into the seat cover vinyl. Over time it gives way, stretches,
and works it way free from the pan up under the seat cover resulting in
a unwelcome design pressing through the vinyl.
To remedy that from happening with the new seat cover, I used very small diameter door gaurd edging. It worked very well and I gorilla glued it to the seat pan edge to keep it there. I used one on each side and one on the back making sure I didn't have a turn where the individual pieces joined.
When I covered the seat, and it was much easier than I had thought it would be, I started from the front, then secured the back (to get it centered, important) with just enough pressure to snag the tabs without cutting through the vinyl, then I started the sides at the front putting just enough pressure for the seat cover to catch the pointed tabs without cutting the vinyl, so I worked the sides front to back alternating each side with each tab as I worked towards the back. Doing this will give you the opportunity to correct any missalignments, stretch the cover, and eliminate wrinkles.
The only concern I had was the back, you must stretch the vinyl enough so that when you put the hand rail on, the vinyl bead joining the back vinyl (the piece with the lettering) doesn't end up over any of the four holes for the hand rail and sits on edge of the sides of the seat pan.
Only when you get everything stretched, centered, and aligned should you start piercing the vinyl with the tabs. It's at that point your pretty much committed. Just don't bend the tabs back down much until your absolutely sure your satisfied with it.
Here's a pic of my bike and seat before I recovered it, now you can see the step of this stepped seat and you can see that rubber tube that was used on the edge of the pan and how it's come off making a funny pattern underneath the vinyl cover.
A new seat cover will do alot for your bike, a new seat covering with gold lettering, well it's a personal preference. I'm just glad I had them do gold lettering because dirt shows up less and that's what I'm used to, having a '78 and now this '79.
Have Fun!
