Sargent Seat Covers?

[mark m]

To those who have installed the Sargent seat covers (you know who you are...), how are they holding up? I have a recovered seat on my 1100, but the vinyl is starting to crack and chunk from being stored outside over a couple of winters before I got to it. Now it has a nice, warm garage but the damage has been done... I like the look of the Sargent's, but I would like to know they last a bit better than the last job that was done.


Mark

[crag antler]

Check with Jethro
He has one of his 83 1100 and it looks sweet 8) 8) 8) 8)
I am going to buy a old ratty seat and recover it with a Sargent's cover,plus a little extra padding.
My seat now is in excellent shape so I don't want to mess with it and I do love the look of the Sargents 8) 8)

[BriTXbike]

Alternative

Bwringer turned me on to this company. I bought a 83' 850G recently that was in dier need of a new seat cover. I was going to buy through Sargent's but the testimonials and customer support for B&H have made me very happy. I received the cover today (Less then a week) and it has been very well made from what I can see. Even has the under wire on the bottom to mold it under the seat and extra padding stitched into the main part of the seat. I will be putting it on probably tomorrow and lots of pictures. I'm a newbie but if I can do it I think just about anybody could and maybe the pics will help

Cover was 69.95 plus shipping

http://www.motorcycleseatcovers.com/index.htm

[UTgws]

I put the sargent on my bike and so far so good, been on for 6 months, the bike is in the garage at the house but sits in full sun at the office.

[Evil Hobbit]

I was thinking about just sending my seat to Sargent and have them rebuld the seat using modern materials. I've heard from folks that have done it that it was worth the $250.

[TheBigRed]

Re: Alternative

Bwringer turned me on to this company. I bought a 83' 850G recently that was in dier need of a new seat cover. I was going to buy through Sargent's but the testimonials and customer support for B&H have made me very happy. I received the cover today (Less then a week) and it has been very well made from what I can see. Even has the under wire on the bottom to mold it under the seat and extra padding stitched into the main part of the seat. I will be putting it on probably tomorrow and lots of pictures. I'm a newbie but if I can do it I think just about anybody could and maybe the pics will help

Cover was 69.95 plus shipping

http://www.motorcycleseatcovers.com/index.htm

I'd be interested in seeing how this comes out.

I need to get my 550 seat to a local shop to see if they can do what I want for a reasonable price. If not I'm very much leaning toward this route.

Amos

[Joe Nardy]

Mark,

I've had my Sargent seat cover for two years and it is holding up well. My bike is kept in a heated garage and is usually covered. The Sargent cover definitely isn't as thick as the stock cover it replaced.

Joe

[jimcor]

The Concours has a recovered, reshaped Sargent seat that the original owner had made. Basketweave vinyl. Been covered but outside last two winters. Looks very good. No cracks or fading and remains supple. Probably cost him a bundle to have it made.

I had Sargent's recover the 550L seat almost ten years ago. Basketweave design. Looks sooo much nicer than stock. Cost me $110. The seat comes inside for the winter. No cracks, or fading. Shame the seat pan is suffering from the rust cancer though. Cover might just outlast the pan.

[kalessin]

I did find that the Sargent Ready-fit replacement cover for my GS1100GL had a fair bit of trouble fitting right... it was cut generously in most areas, but was a little short in the vital "step" area of the seat, down where it needed to be stretched over the metal pan. THe design of the cover put seams in slightly different places around the "step" in the middle, and the pattern on the seat top is different (i got the traditional "pleated" style, not the basketweave or smooth style).

Next time, I'm thinking of trying the http://www.motorcycleseatcovers.com cover, which looks much more like the stock Suzuki original, and I'll also replace the foam under the cover at that time.

[BriTXbike]

Oh yeah baby

Alrighty gentlemen. Well I set out to recover my seat today and I must say I'm very happy with the finished product and the fact that I was able to do it myself. If somebody can show me how to post pictures I can show everyone at once how mine went from start to finish.

Here are a few observations:

1. I worked the top a little with the adhesive to get it just right, mind you it was about 100 degrees in direct sunlight when I was doing this so the material was probably a little more pliable then needed. Also you can see some parts that are not completely snug fitting yet but I think it will work itself out when I take it for a spin and break it in. I had to go to work like RIGHT AFTER I put the seat on the bike and it was about to rain
2. Piece for piece this material and stitching looked to be the EXACT same. The boarder on the bottom had a strip sewn on that was made of heavy material with an under wire to help form fit. Again just like the original.
3. I had my staple gun ready just in case they did make the material a little longer then stock to get a snug fit but all the lengths were just right.
4. I was a little intimidated tackling this project b/c I was worried I wouldn't be able to get it to fit right but for an hour and a half job I think it looks pretty dang good. Sure I could have someone reupholster it for me for 3X the molla but this product is worth every penny.
5. If you do decide to do this, the pictures show there is a rubber guard on the edge. Make sure that is in place before covering the seat or it won't last long at all.
6. I had a good amount of rust on the pan so I just took a wire brush and cleaned it off really well and premiered it to prolong it's life a little longer. Plus I think it looks better.

So what do those folks that put their own Sarg seat on think? I haven't seen any pictures to compare.

[jeneralist]

I sent my whole seat to Sargent's over the winter in 1993-1994. Since then, the bike has spent time in a barn getting sat (and sh@t) on by vagrant peacocks before moving to a suburban garage about three years ago. It's in great shape.

I also just sold a 1983 Yamaha Seca that got reupholstered by Sargent's in 1991. For the past six years or so, that bike just sat -- no polishing, no Armorall, nothin' but the aforementioned peacocks -- and the saddle was in great shape the day I sold the bike.

My husband has a BMW R65 that got reupholstered by Sargent about the time I had my GS done. Today I noticed a few cracks in the vinyl. Not bad for 11 years.

This doesn't answer the question about the seat *cover* -- but if you've got the time to send the saddle away for reupholstery, they do a really great job.

[mark m]

Thank you all for your replies. I will have to look into a new cover as a new winter project.

Mark

[BriTXbike]

Here are the pictures as promised.

Thanks BigRed for the help! =D>




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[Anonymous]

That looks great, I was chicken so I paid a local Auto Upholstry shop $125 US for a custom job. They put pop rivits through the cover into the pan for strength.

[Jethro]

I am happy so far with the cover, but I have a much different material than yours. Mine is Sargents Grip-tex material, it looks like a cross weave. It's held up fine so far, definitely worth the $65 for the cover and foam. Easy to do also.