 NOTE: CREASES MAY OCCUR DURING FOLDING AND SHIPPING OF SEAT COVERS… THIS IS NORMAL. THESE MARKS ARE NOT MATERIAL DEFECTS. YOUR SEAT COVER WILL SMOOTH OUT QUICKLY ONCE INSTALLED AND STRETCHED PROPERLY INTO PLACE. If installing your new cover onto a metal pan seat: All you need is a flat head screw driver , a small hammer, and strong hands. You want to remove the old cover by prying up the small metal tabs located underneath the pan with the screwdriver. (Be very careful not to break them off as they are often rusty and brittle at this point.) Remove the old cover and discard. (Tip: Cover the seat foam with a plastic bag like a trash bag or wal-mart bag before laying down new cover. This makes the new cover easier to position and also provides a moisture barrier. ) Place the new cover over the seat foam and center. Then turn the entire assembly upside down and begin hooking the new cover over those same metal tabs by pressing down on the pan with one hand and hooking the material around the edges with the other. You'll want to compress the foam with the hand that is pressing down on the pan while installing to get a good clean fit. Gently press the metal tabs back down to secure the cover's edges with a small hammer or something similar and you're done! The key is to have a pan in good condition. If you are missing several of your metal tabs, your cover will not lay as nicely. Be aware that there are variables like the condition of your foam and pan that affect the way your new cover will look on the finished product. (Hint: If your foam is in really bad shape, try wrapping it in duct tape to help hold it together and smooth out the rough spots before installing your new cover!) If installing a cover onto a plastic pan seat: The basic installation steps are the same except that your pan will not have metal prongs to hook the cover to. In this case, your primary tool will be a staple gun. We use an air gun as the plastic pan is hard to penetrate, but a good quality electric staple gun will work as well. (Do not try to use a manual staple gun, as you will not have enough power to penetrate the plastic pan) If your new seat cover comes with a passenger strap: Please understand that our passenger straps are for decorative purposes only and should not be relied upon as a passenger safety strap! To install your new passenger strap, we recommend removing the metal end (inserts) from your old passenger strap if available. (Although using the old metal inserts is helpful, it is not necessary, so don’t be alarmed if you don’t have one available.) Because the material of these straps is made of a durable PVC Vinyl, you will have the best results from puncturing your strap with a hot nail or ice pick. Heat the nail or ice pick end on a gas stove or with a torch (if you happen to be handy in that way). Next, push the hot iron through the material to create a hole for the mounting brackets to go through. The hot iron will melt the edges of the material and keep it from fraying. We recommend wrapping the material around the old metal insert so that the strap is “doubled” when mounted. Adjust the strap to the desired tension and mount the other side in the same manner. If you do not have an old insert to use with the strap, the strap will still be very durable simply doubled over and punctured in the same manner before mounting. Any excess strap material is simply tucked under the seat pan out of the way. If your original seat cover has buttons in the seat: It is most likely that you will be unable to remove those buttons without damaging the seat foam. For best results simply install your replacement seat cover over the existing cover. If your new seat cover is equipped with drawstrings: Some new seat covers come equipped with drawstrings for ease of installation. This means of installation is not our preferred method, but we have added this alternative as a courtesy to those who may feel that standard installation is too difficult. These covers are traditionally held in place by the metal/rubber band around the edge of the seat. To install the new cover, you must cut this band away from your old cover and then use it to hold the new cover in place. In addition, these seats have a few metal “clips” under the pan which further secure the cover. We have installed many of these covers in this way, but due to the complicated process involved, we felt that many customers might find the process too difficult. In this case, you may simply install your new cover using the drawstring method, which will serve adequately once the seat is properly in place on the bike. |