Seat maintenance

[JohnC]

I was at my local dealership today just walking amongst the bikes on the floor.  I noticed that the seats on virtually all the bikes was rather soft, flexible, and generally felt very nice.  The seat on my 2006 Ultra, on the other hand, does not.  It seems like it is less plyable, looks kinda dull, not as soft, etc.

What do you folks recommend for vinyl care? 

I do not want any kind of silcon-based product, which leads to the drying out and cracking of vinyl over time.  A friend of mine recommended a product by Lexol called Vinylex.  I've used Lexol leather conditioner on all of the bike seats I've built and love the Lexol brand.  I imagine this Vinylex stuff must be pretty good too.

Any other recomendations?

[Jeffd]

My 04 flhtc stock seat is soft and looks like new and I have never used anything on it, I also have a custom leather seat that I swap back and forth and probably 45,000 miles on the stock one and 20,000 on the leather one and neither has ever been treated with anything.  I would guess parking them in the sun is hard on them.

[kingvvk]

 303 Protectant. You can find it at marine and boat shops. Pricey but worth every penny.
Hippo turned me on to this stuff. Invented by NASA.

[Bigs]

Like KINGVVK said. 303 Protectant is about the best you can get to protect vinyl. It has UV inhibitors and no petroleum products which can dry out vinyl. I have been using it on my motorhome's vinyl graphics for the last 8 1/2 years and they are still in good shape.
   Bigs

[Baggerlady]

I had my Sundowner seat re-built last year, and he covered it with marine grade vinyl. I asked him what to use to keep it clean, and he used the foam style glass cleaner. Just spray and wipe. Since I park all day in the weather, no shade, he suggested that I use the rain cover to keep it from getting sun damaged and too dirty. The sun had rotted out the stitching on the original cover.

[Ed Y]

ProtectAll (been using it for 19 years) is another good one along with 303 Protectant.

[ViennaHog]

Found out that when you sit on them for extended periods, they do not suffer from UV radiation impact. Seriously, I never used anything else but Amoral on plastic surfaces. Seems to do OK.

[westbrs]

Dos'nt Armoral and 303 leave your seat slippery ?

[Phu Cat]

Sure makes tires slick, Westbrs.  (Ya really don't want to know how I found out.)

PC

[ViennaHog]

Yes, a little bit. Noticeable with some types of cotton pants. Typically I wear leathers, no problems

[Flat Dog]

So it's a good thing to use on a P  pad, then?

[Scooterfish]

I clean my seat with Armoral (gray bottle)when I remove it for the winter storage  and let it set all winter, not as slick in the spring.

[48pan]

Are the late model seats vinyl? I thought they were leather.

[JohnC]

Are the late model seats vinyl? I thought they were leather.

I don't think so.  Based on the number of seats I've seen, I think the majority of Harley's seats are made from a superior-grade vinyl.  Some may have leather inserts, but the bulk of the covering is vinyl.  Pull your seat and peel back around the edge that's stapled to the seat pan.  Cloth-backed vinyl is what you'll probably find.