F-ing seat covers

1. Start at the front, pull it down tight both sides simultaneously and staple. Never done a step seat before, but I imagine it's no different. Take your time, and it will come to you. Did you buy a GOOD cover?
2. No, yes, and I would do it for free except for the first "no".

Make sure to use a good air staplegun.

It's really easy. I've done many of them with a chopped seat. It's easier to do with a buddy so he can help hold while you shoot the staples, but you can do it alone. First, the cover needs to be warm and pliable. Hook the front and back ends over the seat ends and staple them. Then start at the front of the step and pull the cover around the sides. Generally pulling it back and down is best to get it smooth, buy try it in different ways to see,then when it's nice staple it. Then go to the back of the step and repeat. Hit the cover with a hair dryer if you need to so it stays warm and pliable. Then work your way to the front doing the same thing, but pull the staples from the front end first. Then work your way from the step to the back,pulling the staples from the back end first. When done ,put lots of staples in. If you take your time it shouldn't take too long and it'll look sweet. Keep in mind,the cover was made for the stock seat. Chopping the seat leaves more material of the cover to be stretched ,and you will have to stretch it a lot to get it smooth. Follow what I said and you'll be fine.

Even better than a hair dryer,work on it in front of a space heater,hold it up to the heater between each hit with the staple
gun. Using this approach,I was able to stretch a seat cover for a 04-06 RMZ250,onto a 09 RMZ450 seat,and made it look
like it came from the factory. Look it up and see how different those two seats are shaped,only thing was,I had to work from
the back to get the vinyl panel with "SUZUKI" in it to line up.

What kind of staple gun do you recommend? I'v e looked on ebay a couple times but I know nothing about them. Looks like I should be able to get one for $100 or less but I want to be sure it takes the right staples. And what are the right staples? 3/8 x 1/4?

Is it better to put a new seat cover over the old one?

No it's not better. Take the old one off first. I got a cheap air stapler from Harbor freight with the shortest staples they had. I like it for seat covers because the bottom isn't flat. The end where the staple shoots out sticks out some which makes it easy to get to the areas you want the staples in. It was cheap,I think $30. All I use it for is seat covers.Works great and I've had it 8 or 9 years now.

My advice - find a good local upholsterer like someone who does boat seats (or similar) and have them do it for $20. There's a guy by me I found and he does a better job than I have ever seen, takes him about 10 minutes, and charges $20. He has saved me a lot of time, stress, and heart ache.

Someone once told me to leave the seat cover in the sun for a couple hours before installing so its warm and movable. It makes it alot easier to mess with.

Use a heat gun to make the material pliable around the seat bump and tight corners. What I usually do is lay the cover out on the seat and get a general idea of how the cover is going to fall with the bump positioned. Next, I apply 3m spray adhesive on the bump and about 2" to all sides around the bump. Apply some adhesive to the seat cover where the bump will be. Use a heat gun and apply a little bit of heat to the sprayed adhesive, this will make it very tacky and reduce the cure time. Lay the seat cover onto the bump, take some time and make sure it's centered. Apply pressure evenly to the bump. I like to use the edge of a plastic putty knife to push the cover into and around the crevices of the seat bump because it gives a really tight, clean look. When you are satisfied with the look you have around the bump, step away for about an hour and let the adhesive cure. This is going to help when you start working the rest of the cover because it will stay attached and clean looking where you applied it to the bump. The best way to work it is start just behind the bump and work towards the rear, pulling it down and tight as you wrap it around. Save the corners for last because you can fold the extra material you have over and cut slits in the cover to get it to lay nice and flat on the seat pan for stapling. Do the same for the front.

Without using the spray adhesive, it's really hard to get the seat cover to lay nicely over a bump because when you stretch the cover it ends up creating an air space in front of and behind the bump. The only spot the cover will hit the bump will be at the highest point. Over time the material stretches more and it will only work worse. I strongly recommend using the spray adhesive method. Also, if you don't have spray adhesive, grip glue works just as good.

I have used an electric staple gun with 1/4" staples for years for this and it works well, I couldn't find short enough staples for my air stapler so I just stuck with the electric one.

i have done this a few times and it works. just not that great if your trying to add a bump

Different question same concept.... I am looking to purchase a tall seat set up weather it be an SDG or GUTS ect. My question is this: Is there enough material on aftermarket covers to cover a tall seat. All the covers for tall seats are rather plain with no grip. I'm looking at Throttle Jockeys covers with the pleat. BTW I use a staple gun from Northern Tool. They had two models do not buy the cheaper one, it jams. The higher priced unit works awesome. It was recomended to me by a local interior shop.

Don't see a problem with that. Most aftermarket covers have plenty of material to cover anything. Most of the time you are cutting stuff off to staple it. Should be fine.

The new MXA magazine has a good article on seat cover installation.

I just bought a taller seat foam from Factory FX and their seat cover does NOT fit over the taller foam, I ended using an RMZ seat cover on a crf to have enough material. I guess the 07-09 RMZ had wider seats is the reason it works.in this particular application.

I bought an air powered gun from Harbor Freight. We had 2 different electric versions and a couple of hand operated at work and none would go through the base on my 02 RM125. I bought this and it worked very good. There are still a few bent ones but I just pulled and reshot. The link is below $20

http://www.harborfreight.com/20-gauge-wide-crown-air-stapler-68029.html

two people. four hands. This is one of the few things im capable of doing. I used a cheap stanley electric nail gun that also uses staples. Start from the middle. make sure its tight. Stretch over the front end and secure it with only a few - just enough to keep it in place. Go back to the middle and stretch and staple the rest of it. One side - middle t front then middle to back. Keeping tension the whole time. Good luck with it. It might take a few attempts.

Here are some tips to install a seat cover:

1: start from the front and install two staples on the nose of the seat
2: move to the rear of the seat and pull the cover so that it is a little tight not to much, and install two more staples
3: now in the center of the seat pull each side over the corners on the base, and install two staples on each side

Now the basic cover is installed, and you can start pulling the material over the edges and stapling one staple about every inch. If wrinkles are still on the seat push them out and re-staple that section of material. it always helps to have the cover at room temp, or even a little warmer to help with the stretch of the material.

If you have any questions or need a seat cover let me know, info@motoseat.com

Thanks

Travis

I throw the cover in the dryer. Pull it out hit it with a pneumatic stapler. It goes on like soft butter.

Leave it in the sun for a bit, or use a heat gun to heat the cover up a bit.
Start with the front, staple, pull it tight and evenly to the back, staple it. Now work the sides all around and get the cover even over the seat and make sure you pull the dam thing super tight. It's also much easier with two people.

Good Luck!