Seat covers

[Alpinestar]

Hey, hows everyone doing. I was wondering, on my kdx, I can not stand the slickness of the stock seat cover, going up hills pretty much equals sitting on the rear fender. and I would love more control. My question is this what can I do, I dont want to fork out $$ for a nice perty grahic seat cover, that will get trashed and I will feel terrible after one wreck, I want some kind of fabric like a neoprem type stuff. I know that places make these types of material and you can get them somehow. It wouldnt be that hard really to make a seat cover would you think? I mean just some cuting and stapling maybe im over looking a few steps. But if anyone has seen or done this themselves. let me know. thanks

 

[michigan]

a plain black gripper costs about 50 bucks and they're so "grippy" they'll rip your pants off.
they're also nice and stretchy, so they're easy to put on. they take 20 minutes or so to install.

 

[KDX220rm]

Go with a gripper, but not Ceet, I have seen alot of Ceet seat covers not hold up.

I have a local upholersty shop put my seat covers on and they only charge $18.00. You almost need an air stapler to get the staples through some of that hard plastic.

 

[michigan]

i bought a craftsman stapler for about 20 bucks, and it works great.
a few things that i learned are:
1. don't staple too close to the edge or the staples will stick through the foam and into the cover.
2. make sure the edges of the seat base are smooth to ensure that they don't cut through the seat cover. that is where mine failed.
3. the fewer graphics a cover has, the easier it will be to install because it will stretch more easily.
4. you shouldn't pay 18 bucks for someone else to do it. its easier than changing a front tire.

 

[Jaybird]

I have never had any luck at all with anything but an air stapler. Perhaps it depends on the plastic. (shrug)

 

[wayneo426]

I recently bought a FX gripper. Paid around $70, which I consider alot of money. It does look sweet, and serves its purpose well.
Yesterday, I ordered the gripper material from dennis kirk for $19.99. I feel this is well worth it, since I can put it on myself, with the staple gun. It doesnt have the cool FX graphics, and patch, but will, Im sure, work great as its made from the same material. Makes you wonder why they charge an extra $40 just for the graphics. :think

 

[Matt_H]

One Industries gripper seat I've put one on all my bikes never ripped one yet. I've also heard good things about Acerbis Gripperseat covers Seen a couple at the track.

Matt

 

[KawieKX125]

They are cheap, and fairly easy to install as long as you avoid Nstyle. I got a full grippy, and it was 1/2 inch too small to staple to the base, and it had an unremovable wrickle. They waranteed it and the new one was THE SAME! I asked for another and hopefully it iwll work as the bike has to be sold.
BTW, it has standard foam.

 

[Danman]

I bough a guts seat cover. It realy grippy and looks cool to. The one that I got had a flame job on the back and is black and yellow. I think it was 45 or 50 plus shiping and handling. I got it a MXsouth. It was easy to put on. I just did the top and then pulled as tight as I can to the bottom. Then pull and stapled down on the sides. I looked realy good. I did have some problems with the back corners, but its hardly noticalble. It was the first on that I did my self. I used a spring loaded staple gun. I bought an electric on, but it did not have enough to get the staples in. I even tried a storter staple. The air would be best though, but a plain old spring loaded one would do.

 

[cr125_king]

Go look on ebay for one. I bought a slik graphics kit(shroud , seat cover, and front fender kit), for $60 american. Thats about $100 canadian for me, and i thought it was a great deal.:cool:

 

[Camstyn]

I got the Acerbis grip cover, it's held up well and still looks like new. It was pretty tough to get it to stretch over a tall seat foam, FWIW.

 

[justql]

I had put three different Ceet covers on with a regular stapler, no problem. I then bought a Nstyle cover that I had a heck of a time getting on with a pneumatic staple gun. Go figure.

To the original question of gripper vs smooth. I always thought the gripper was best till I road the smooth. I don't miss it. I guess maybe I'm just geting used to standing on my feet.

 

[spanky250]

Originally posted by justql
I guess maybe I'm just geting used to standing on my feet.

That says it all. I stand more than I sit when riding, so I've never seen the need to invest in a gripper seat. You can't ride fast sitting down, and you should be gripping your bike with your legs anyway. Besides, when I ride someone else's bike with a gripper seat, they tend to pull my pants down when I slide back on the seat, not something I want to fight while ripping through a trail. JMHO

 

[a454elk]

I've got the Craftsman stapler also, it works great and I found that the shorter staples work just fine. I have the Pro Circuit seat cover, not sure who makes it but I found that leaving it in the sun prior to install makes it easy. It has a gripper on the top and smooth on the sides. I don;t seem to have any problem staying on the bike while standing, using the legs is the key. When I do sit down, usually before a seat hop jump, my pants seem to stay in the correct anatomical position!

 

[MX-727]

www.throttlejockey.com

Install the new cover over your old one and it will last longer as the sharp edges of the plastic seat base will be covered already.