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Hi..
Over the past two evenings, I replaced my falling-apart original Suzuki seat cover with a Sargent "custom-fit" seat cover that I mail-ordered last year but never got around to putting it on the seat.
First, a word about the original Suzuki cover. It's a quality piece, it's a shame these things eventually fall apart and aren't available from Suzuki. The fit and finish is very good, and there's a stiff wire inside the lower edge that made it easy to install way-back-when. The fit of the cover over the seat foam was top-notch. The big grommet that allows the seat lock to poke through in the back looks to be a custom part, though the interior diameter is 1", so replacement or re-bending it into place looks possible.
The custom fit of the Sargent cover wasn't very good. They claimed it would fit my seat pan, but it was a little too big in some places (around the nose of the seat, along the rear lower edge, and along the bottom edge of the rear seat), and a bit too small in others (there's a straight edge at the front lower edge of the rear seat where there should be a curve instead, and this gave me no end of trouble). I don't think any seat-cover supplier includes the big grommet...
When I was working on the critical part of the seat at the lower edge between the front and rear sections, I really had to fight to get the just-too-small part of the cover pulled tight enough over the top of the foam to be able to hook it onto the prongs on the bottom of the seat, even after heating with a hairdryer. On the other hand, I know that my cover is on tight. I currently have the big grommet from the original cover half-installed (it's not tight on the vinyl, and it's mostly held in place by its prongs).
The sales staff at Sargent was a pleasure to deal with, and it's my fault for not trying to install the new cover within the original return period. I am amused that Sargent calls the sheet of thin plastic they send you a "moisture barrier".
Sometime when I have a bit of mad money, I will probably order a new replacement seat cover from B and H Specialties at https://www.motorcycleseatcovers.com. They have a photo of their seat cover for the '83 GS1100GL which has the correct OEM-style stitching pattern (the Sargent cover has parallel grooves running crosswise instead).
For what it's worth, the cover did finally go on, and my seat looks pretty good (though not quite correct with the different pattern), and it was fine and comfy on an hour's test ride. (I promise, someday I'll borrow a digital camera and take some pictures...)
Over the past two evenings, I replaced my falling-apart original Suzuki seat cover with a Sargent "custom-fit" seat cover that I mail-ordered last year but never got around to putting it on the seat.
First, a word about the original Suzuki cover. It's a quality piece, it's a shame these things eventually fall apart and aren't available from Suzuki. The fit and finish is very good, and there's a stiff wire inside the lower edge that made it easy to install way-back-when. The fit of the cover over the seat foam was top-notch. The big grommet that allows the seat lock to poke through in the back looks to be a custom part, though the interior diameter is 1", so replacement or re-bending it into place looks possible.
The custom fit of the Sargent cover wasn't very good. They claimed it would fit my seat pan, but it was a little too big in some places (around the nose of the seat, along the rear lower edge, and along the bottom edge of the rear seat), and a bit too small in others (there's a straight edge at the front lower edge of the rear seat where there should be a curve instead, and this gave me no end of trouble). I don't think any seat-cover supplier includes the big grommet...
When I was working on the critical part of the seat at the lower edge between the front and rear sections, I really had to fight to get the just-too-small part of the cover pulled tight enough over the top of the foam to be able to hook it onto the prongs on the bottom of the seat, even after heating with a hairdryer. On the other hand, I know that my cover is on tight. I currently have the big grommet from the original cover half-installed (it's not tight on the vinyl, and it's mostly held in place by its prongs).
The sales staff at Sargent was a pleasure to deal with, and it's my fault for not trying to install the new cover within the original return period. I am amused that Sargent calls the sheet of thin plastic they send you a "moisture barrier".
Sometime when I have a bit of mad money, I will probably order a new replacement seat cover from B and H Specialties at https://www.motorcycleseatcovers.com. They have a photo of their seat cover for the '83 GS1100GL which has the correct OEM-style stitching pattern (the Sargent cover has parallel grooves running crosswise instead).
For what it's worth, the cover did finally go on, and my seat looks pretty good (though not quite correct with the different pattern), and it was fine and comfy on an hour's test ride. (I promise, someday I'll borrow a digital camera and take some pictures...)
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