Saddlemen Replacement Two-Piece Seat Cover - H512

I ordered a Saddleman seat cover for my 1981 Kz1000 LTD and it shipped the next day, arriving just a few days later. The cover looked better than I expected. I removed what was left of the old seat cover and, following the instruction sheet, pried out the metal teeth around the inside of the seat pan, that held the seat cover on.
Using a very sharp carving knife, I trimmed the foam seat pad. The LTD seat has a pronounced step from the rider to the passenger seat and I trimmed the step back about an inch and slightly increased the angle of the step. This had the effect of allowing a bit more leg room on the bike and feels like better low back support.
The seat cover fit on over the original foam with no problem, and after my trim job on the foam, the lower seam, of the step area of the pad, fell perfectly into place along the curved base of the step.
Cosmetically, it is a one hundred percent improvement in the appearance of the bike.
A friend had stopped by on his bike, just as I was preparing to install the cover and he commented how great it was to see something that could make such a difference, come out of the box and go right on like that!
Thanks guys!

Very nice fit, look and feel is better than original!

So far I'm not impressed.

I've fitted several seat covers before and had not issues.

This cover is not cut right - the lower section of the seat driver is "WAY" to big such that it would take 1" of foam to take up the slop. To validate I took it to two upohlstery shops and they said the same thing, and confirmed the original foam is perfect - no settling, sagging (i.e. apart from a small seam separation the original cover fit perfect and looked really good).

The material texture is not as nice as the original.

As for durability - the seams are not reinforced with a double sewn layer of material covering the seam on the inside. The threads were allready starting to pull through on the install process. The seat cover is also about 1" to short which causes the front to crunch shorter and it doesn't intersect the tank properly like it original.

I called Saddlemens and they agreed to install the cover if I pay shipping. Ok good - but I still will be out $40 shipping, downtime, and a big hassle.

Let's wait and see - maybe they make it right after they recieve it - I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Update coming.

Great product at a great price through DK ! I really like how easy it is to install the seat cover on my 77 Yamaha XS650 seat. Also installed a seat cover of the same brand on my 79 XS650 several years ago & it is still in great condition.
Thanks DK !

I installed this on my 1981 yamaha maxim.fit very nice ,takes some elbow grease to install but the finished product is worth it.

My cover looks great. The installation was a little testing but that was partly due to the condition of my seat pan hooks and how tight the cover needed to be stretched. All in all though, not too tough. One problem I did note was that that the hole and grommet at the rear of the seat was too small for my lock cylinder to protrude through. I had to enlarge the hole and reuse my OEM grommet. My bike (Suzuki GS 1100GL) has a lock in the rear to take the seat off.

I like the look of the seat cover. I got this for my 1996 nighthawk CB750.

It came with a draw string. No way it could be installed with that and you wouldn't want to. You will want to staple it like the original was done. You will also want to remove the original cover. Oh, and your staple gun from the home center will not work. Even the best one (arrow t-50) cant drive staples into the hard plastic. You will need to find someone with a pneumatic upholstery stapler.

I found a guy who does furniture repairs for a local furniture store. he did it in exchange for a case of beer.

The cover was a very tight fit. It seems the seams are stretched too tight and could pull apart. It took two of us to stretch it into the correct position. I'm afraid the seams may pull apart eventually. I have only about 50 miles of riding on the new seat and so far so good.

I like the way it looks. No wrinkles, nice texture.

when i got this cover i didn't think it was going to work or look right. couldn't get it to fit, wrinkles, not sitting flat where the seat steps down. thought i wasted my money. the instruction said to use a heat gun, i don't have one. i have a space heater in my room and i wondered if that might help. i hung the cover in front of it about a foot and a half from the heating elements. after about 5 minutes i tried it. WOW what a difference a little heat made, stretched right into place, so i pulled it back off, sprayed the top of the seat with adhesive, stretched it back in place and about 10 minutes later was done! it doesn't look like i recovered the seat it looks like i bought a brand new seat!! DON'T TRY TO PUT IT ON COLD!! GET IT WARM AND IT GOES ON EASY!!

I had never recovered a seat before. The cover was a perfect fit. Make sure you lay the cover out flat in a warm area before installing. Makes install a lot easier.

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Bought this for an 82 Kaw 440 LTD , fit great and looks good as factory. Second Saddlemen seat cover I have bought for different cycles and really like how fit and last. Excellent choice to recover your seat yourself!

They go on very easily if you can heat them up a bit. I put them in front of a utility space heater for a bout a minute on each side. This made them nice and stretchable. Fit right over the old covers and had to do very little stapeling on the underside to tighten. My 1986 Honda Shadow VT1100C is rockin like never before. Very close replicas to the original.

appearance as close to the original seat as possible in a more flexible tougher material. Should be the last cover this seat will ever need.

This is the second seat cover I have purchased and the quality was very, very good and the install was pretty easy. My wife was impressed with the new seatcover and how much better my 1978 Honda CB750K looks now. I am very happy with the fit and finish of the cover.

The only thing missing is the Bird Icon. Though not a perfect color match, the black cover looks pretty good with the dark brown OEM cover on my 1991. You will remove the original pad backing with the OEM seat cover since this one comes with it's own...just cut the cords from the OEM seat. You will however need someone with strong hands to help you install this cover unless you have access to a "foam press". It requires compressing the original seat foam to be able to stretch the cover sides around the seat pan and staple it in place. I used my knee and body weight to compress the padding and stretch the cover in place while my wife stapled it. Install the ends...front and rear... first. It took us about 30 min. to install the cover on the pan.
Some instructions...none came with mine and a foam press would make this job a snap. A very good buy!

The only thing that MIGHT be alittle concern is the materal. It seems to be alot softer than the old seat but it may wear just as good. If it wasn't for that I would have given it a perfect score! Everything else, the look and ease of putting it on is great. One thing that I can say for sure is there is no way you can beat the shipping time unless you find it in a store and buy it. I ordered it on a monday and wendsday it was here! I have NEVER gotting anything that I ordered thru the mail that fast!!! Keep up with the great work Dennis Kirk!

The cover fit well, and required re-tightening for the first couple rides, once the fabric was broken in it stayed tight and looks like a new seat. Good quality product, especially for the price

I recently fixed up my 1982 KZ1100 with a new paint job and cafe fairing. I wanted a custom upholstered seat but the cost was just too much. I decided to try the Saddlemen seat cover and I couldn't be happier. If you take your time and follow the directions you will be able to get near factory quality for a fraction of the price. I do recommend using a heat gun or hair dryer to heat the material to aid in stretching over the seat foam.

I had read several negative reviews before buying but decided to try for myself. The seat matches the original on my CB750 perfectly, the quality is good. Others complained it was hard to stretch but I followed directions used a heat gun to make make it easier to stretch and it worked. Seat needs to be tight to not have wrinkles in it. I am very satisfied and would definitely recommend.

i purchase this seat cover and it made my seat look brand new again i like the look and it fits real good

The seat cover on my Nighthawk 650 was tearing up after 17 years. I was going to make my own out of some leather. I decided to try Saddlemen's replacement. It worked very well. The material is sturdy with backing material sewn on to cover any small imperfections in the foam. There was a synch string sewn around the perimeter to make tightening the seat cover easier. I used a pneumatic stapler to fasten the material to the plastic seat pan. All told, I spent 45 minutes removing and installing the seat cover, and it looks great! I would say it is leather by looking at it. It is quite comfortable (beats the old hard vinyl). I definitely would use Saddlemen for other seat replacement.

This cover took a little persuading, but that's what you gotta do with vinyl anyhow! once the project was all done, i couldnt have told the difference between it and factory!

These cover are a perfect fit and easy to install. Better than the factory covers.

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The after-market cover is tight, it stretches nicely after 10min. in dryer. I recommend medium heat with a couple of dry towels. It looks like a factory cover and I got it at nearly half the price through DK. A quarter of the price to send it into a shop.

I purchased this for my Gold Wing. It came as promised in the mail with the return label for shipping, if needed. It fit tight and we had to remove the old one to get this one on but it fit real tight and looks great. We did lay it in the sun for a couple of hours and tackled it together. It took over an hour to complete it. It does take two people to hold and compress the cushions. Glad we got it. Off to shop for something else for my bike!

Takes time to fit, but looks professional. Fast delivery service.

The replacement cover was an exact fit on my KZ440LTD. I let the cover side outside in 90 degree heat for 30 minutes and had no problem stretching the cover on the seat frame.

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This cover is one of the best I have ever installed.Looked great and clean.With the pull string it was also the easiest cover I have ever used

The seat has no texture,meaning no air circulation = MONKEY BUTT. price is good, fitting went pretty easy w/ air stapler from harbor freight. looks nice. But not the best cover for hi-mile days. about 5K miles later.

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I really like this seat cover good price me and my wife put this seat cover on it took us about 3 hrs to put it on. after we put it on we put some armor all on it . it is very shinny.