NancysToy
Motorbike Professor
Stitched or dished seats on motorcycles tend to gather water, then leak through the stiches or seams into the foam. The retained water feeds back and soaks your backside for some time after the rain has stopped, often for days. One can obtain a seat rain cover if a custom seat is purchased, but for those with a stock seat (or the BRP Comfort Seat for the RS), there are few alternatives. We decided to make our own seat rain covers.
You will need about a yard of 55"-58" wide urethane or silicone coated, waterproof pack cloth, and about ten feet of round elastic cord. We were able to find a remnant of about 4' of 58" urethane coated, light nylon material. We were able to get two covers out of this, a wider one for the RT, and a slightly narrower one for Nancy's RS. I would not recommend trying this, as we were very tight on material, and the covers are very exacting to install as a result. More material will allow easier installation.
We placed the material on the seats, and marked the edges of the seat on it, all around, pushing it into the seat as we went, so it would not be too tight. This is easier with two people (and maybe a sandbag or two
). You will need at least an inch of additional material outside your marks, for the seams. Two inches would give some slack, and make installation easier. Bigger is better...measure twice, cut once! You will end up with a long oval, or rounded rectangle, of material when cut to size. Fold over about 3/4"-1" of material all around, and sew about a 1/2"-3/4" inch hem. Don't get too near the edge. The edge of the coated material does not have to be heat sealed to prevent fraying, as regular nylon would. Leave a couple of inches of the hem open on one end, to insert the elastic cord. Fit to the seat and gather to fit, then tie and trim the cord. I recommend using packaging tape or heat shrink on the cord ends, to prevent fraying, and to help keep the knot from pulling out. I taped the ends to the rest of the cord, after I tied a square knot.
The seat covers fold/rolls up small, and take up little trunk room. They fit snugly, but form to the seat when we are sitting on them, and keep rain from soaking into the seat. You can also fit the regular Spyder cover over the Spyder, without removing the rain cover, so the Spyder is ready to go when you are. For light rain, the cover keeps the seat dry, and can be used as the only cover if you ride after the rain passes. Just remove the cover and sit on a nice, dry seat.
Here is the back of the cover, showing the coating, seam, and gathered edge.
Close-up of the hem.
Install the cover by hooking it over the back of the seat first, then raising the seat and stretching it over the edges, hooking the elastic cord of the hem inside, under the seat edge.
The seat rain cover installed and ready to go.
You will need about a yard of 55"-58" wide urethane or silicone coated, waterproof pack cloth, and about ten feet of round elastic cord. We were able to find a remnant of about 4' of 58" urethane coated, light nylon material. We were able to get two covers out of this, a wider one for the RT, and a slightly narrower one for Nancy's RS. I would not recommend trying this, as we were very tight on material, and the covers are very exacting to install as a result. More material will allow easier installation.
We placed the material on the seats, and marked the edges of the seat on it, all around, pushing it into the seat as we went, so it would not be too tight. This is easier with two people (and maybe a sandbag or two
). You will need at least an inch of additional material outside your marks, for the seams. Two inches would give some slack, and make installation easier. Bigger is better...measure twice, cut once! You will end up with a long oval, or rounded rectangle, of material when cut to size. Fold over about 3/4"-1" of material all around, and sew about a 1/2"-3/4" inch hem. Don't get too near the edge. The edge of the coated material does not have to be heat sealed to prevent fraying, as regular nylon would. Leave a couple of inches of the hem open on one end, to insert the elastic cord. Fit to the seat and gather to fit, then tie and trim the cord. I recommend using packaging tape or heat shrink on the cord ends, to prevent fraying, and to help keep the knot from pulling out. I taped the ends to the rest of the cord, after I tied a square knot.The seat covers fold/rolls up small, and take up little trunk room. They fit snugly, but form to the seat when we are sitting on them, and keep rain from soaking into the seat. You can also fit the regular Spyder cover over the Spyder, without removing the rain cover, so the Spyder is ready to go when you are. For light rain, the cover keeps the seat dry, and can be used as the only cover if you ride after the rain passes. Just remove the cover and sit on a nice, dry seat.
Here is the back of the cover, showing the coating, seam, and gathered edge.
Close-up of the hem.
Install the cover by hooking it over the back of the seat first, then raising the seat and stretching it over the edges, hooking the elastic cord of the hem inside, under the seat edge.
The seat rain cover installed and ready to go.
