Topic: to rivet, or not to rivet

[heffay]

I put the new seat cover on the newly shaped stock seat pan for the cb400f.
for those of you that recovered your seats and did nothing but secure it w/ the spikes... how well did it hold up?
for those of you that have riveted your seat covers... how'd that go and any recommendations?
i know some people glue as well... does it hold up, at all?
thanks for the help, in advance.  

[scunny]

on my trail bike I just used ados f2, it's a contact glue and has held up to the demands of river crossings and falling off.

[edbikerii]

If you don't rip it during the install, the spikes work just fine.  I really got overzealous with my latest seat trying to make it taut, and sure enough I ripped it a little.  Not really noticeable unless you know it is there, but it pisses me off.

I had another seat cover that lasted for years without problem with the spike installation, but it was kind of ugly, so I bought a NOS seat.  After a couple years the crappy NOS OEM seat started falling apart, as they are wont to do after a couple years, so I bought a Travelcade cover for it.  The quality of the Travelcade cover is FAR BETTER than the OEM.  Installation can be a pain, though, as you need to heat & stretch without tearing.

Good luck.

I put the new seat cover on the newly shaped stock seat pan for the cb400f.for those of you that recovered your seats and did nothing but secure it w/ the spikes... how well did it hold up?for those of you that have riveted your seat covers... how'd that go and any recommendations?i know some people glue as well... does it hold up, at all?thanks for the help, in advance.  

[nickjtc]

Isn't that what the one frog said to the other one?................Sorry!!!

But seriously though: when I had Sophies seat recovered (professionally) they used the hooky-things inside and it has worked just fine.

[mattcb350f]

The glue's held up just fine on my 350 seat. I used contact cement, the kind in the rectangular can with the brush on the lid.

I thought it might soften up in the sun this summer but nope. It also has a trim piece along the bottom. Not sure it would hold without it.

Just make sure you don't glue to paint, only the pan.

 Matt.

[UnCrash]

Hey Heffay,

There's a product out there which is basically a new spike strip that goes on the inside bottom of the seat pan with rivets.  You stretch the cover over and push it into the new spike strip and bend the spikes over.

Carpy resells the spike strips I believe.

[UnCrash]

Here ya go...

They're called upholstery tack strips.  They're super cheap!  You want the metal one most of the way down the page...

http://www.glfi.com/supplycatalogt.htm

[heffay]

thanks guys... uncrash, i've seen those too.  they look like they'd do the trick but my spikes are just fine, thank you.   

i'm just concerned that the vinyl might rip since it is punctured by the spikes... was getting the verdict, basically.  seeing how hard it was to actually puncture the marine grade vinyl... my concern is minimal.