Seat cover install, stalled...

[hikermikem]

Is there a standard process for attaching a replacement seat cover when those little pointy projections are corroded off around most of the seat pan bottom?

The old cover used a string around the bottom edge to cinch the cover on... kinda sorry I removed it, but it wasn't in great shape.

I was thinking of using shallow, blunt ended sheet-metal screws with a flat washer at selected locations to secure the new cover on.

Open to all suggestions...

Thanks,

mike

[kdo58]

the directions that came with my seat cover said you could use short rivets something like 1/8"

[sschering]

Yeah the pro shops will rivet the cover on..

[salty_monk]

I have some self tappers in one of my seats... I just blunted the pointy end first with a file & used fairly short screws.

Dan

[Macguyver]

Seat Cover Options

Personally, I am not a fan of using the little spike retainers on the OEM seat, or of using anything which goes through the cover to secure it. The original seat cover on my bike was torn up pretty badly underneath because of the triangular spikes used to hold the cover in position. I am leary of anything that will put holes in an otherwise good seat cover to start with. When I re-covered my buddy's yamaha seat, the cover was in decent shape, except where the cover was attached to the seat pan, the factory retainers had ripped through the cover and let it loosen on the seat, apparently made it a little unnerving when riding and the cover would move a bit with you. Eventually it would have ripped right off.

I have been looking at snowmobile seats lately to see how they are secured, and the majority of the ones I have seen are secured with a drawstring, or wrapped over the seat, then under a steel wire secured below the seat pan, and then buttoned back onto themselves.

Due to space constraints on our machines, I would rule out the button onto themselves method, but the drawstring would work nicely. Did you remove just the string, or the channel in the cover as well? Is it a new cover, or a re-used one?

I am going to be recovering my seat again after I get some foam shaped up, and I will be using the forementioned drawstring method to secure the cover. But... I am making the cover out of neoprene, and cutting new foam for the seat pan so I can do everything from start to finish to get the effect I want.

Whichever way you end up going with it, I recommend putting a layer of smoothing foam or thin cotton matting over the seat first to give it a smooth appearance when the cover is back on. Plus it will help soften the seat a touch and make it a bit more comfortable.

Let us know how you proceed, and pics please!

[tas850g]

i didn't like using the pointed projections when i recovered my '79 seat. I'm sure i probably didn't apply it on correctly but i got small tears in the cover where the projections went thru the cover. The tears did not enlarge from riding this summer but still i didn't like that idea. I used rivots with large washers in a few spots.

Next time i would use rivots/washers in all the areas where the seat cover attaches to the pan if possible.