Hi all,

Seat was splitting on my '05 650 so I did a search and came across Northwest Classic Seat Covers on ebay and I am very impressed. A mix of carbon fiber vinyl and plain vinyl, cut to match stock and fairly easy to install. I think it looks fantastic and only cost around $64 with shipping.

I was so impressed I through together a post with a bunch more pics.

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Zen Motorcyclist
Zen Motorcyclist at RoadRunner Magazine

Red '05 650, Hepco & Becker topcase, Givi engine guards, Givi E-21 sidecases, Garmin Quest2 GPS, Stebel Air Horn, Madstad, Moose Racing windshield, ScalaRider bluetooth comms.

Very nice post. Good to know there are replacement options available,Thanks.

I have the same replacement cover.

I removed the old cover, which was easy enough to do, but I had to take the new cover and the "old" seat base & foam combo to an upholstery shop. Though I'm a big, strong guy I just could not do a good job of stapling using only a mechanical (non-pneumatic / non-electric) stapler, which is all I had to use. The plastic seat base is very hard and it's really difficult (I found it impossible) to seat the staples fully. I think I've read reports from others who had the same experience as me.

Beyond that though, I really like the new cover. It's very nice. The shop did a great job with the install and they did it quick and for a very reasonable price (I paid them $10 more than they asked just because they charged such an unreasonably low price and I could see from my failed installation attempts that a fair bit of physical effort (stretching, holding, stapling) was involved).

In the end, an overall great-looking seat. I really like the use of two different-appearance materials.

Yeah, it certainly wasn't easy. I used a heavy duty stapler I had laying around the house, most of them went in fully, a few I tapped in all the way gently with a hammer. I found that if I perfectly aligned the head of the stapler with the slope of the seat pan they went in most of the way. Had to keep flipping it over to check and to remove staples as I worked the material around removing bubbles and pockets. Really pleased with the look. Definitely need a stapler with larger type staples.

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Zen Motorcyclist
Zen Motorcyclist at RoadRunner Magazine

Red '05 650, Hepco & Becker topcase, Givi engine guards, Givi E-21 sidecases, Garmin Quest2 GPS, Stebel Air Horn, Madstad, Moose Racing windshield, ScalaRider bluetooth comms.

I used a Powershot. Allows you to get good force behind it.

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Zen Motorcyclist
Zen Motorcyclist at RoadRunner Magazine

Red '05 650, Hepco & Becker topcase, Givi engine guards, Givi E-21 sidecases, Garmin Quest2 GPS, Stebel Air Horn, Madstad, Moose Racing windshield, ScalaRider bluetooth comms.