From guinea pig #1 ::013:: I really do appreciate your time and effort Tom.
"Seat install.
Paul graciously sent me a seat cover to try out on my 2013 Yamaha Super Tenere. My first impressions of the cover were that it was very large and the material was thicker than anticipated. I have installed about 10 or more seat covers over the years so this wasn't my first time, but I'm also not an expert at it. For tools, I used a staple gun, an electric staple gun (this one is older and didn't work well) and a scissors.
I removed the drivers seat and placed the seat cover over it, then flipped it upside down. In hind sight I should have moved the seat as far forward in the cover as possible and I probably would have had enough material to do the rear seat as well. I placed a few staples in the front corners and then pulled the cover tight and put some on the rear of the seat. I wanted to try to get it positioned so that I could cut off the excess material because it does make it a bit cumbersome to work. Once I had the cover looking good front to rear, I cut the excess off the rear and started to staple along the sides, pulling the material tight and flipping over the seat to make sure it all looks good. The seat cover material is stretchy, so it makes it pretty easy to work out wrinkles but it's thick so you need to make sure the staples are going through.
As I made progress along the sides, I cut off the excess material a bit at a time to keep it out of the way. Stapling a bit on one side and then on the other helped keep the cover centered and tight. Once I had it looking pretty good, I went around and added extra staples between the ones I had placed to set it. I trimmed the material one more time closer to the staples to give it a neater appearance.
Placing the seat on the bike, it took a bit of force to get it locked in. The cover adds some thickness to the bottom of the seat. I took the bike on a 200 mile ride shortly after the install. At first I thought that the cover was a bit too rough, felt like it was a meat tenderizer on my back side! But, (butt!) after a bit it became more comfortable and the seat absolutely provides some airflow. I rode it about 50 miles a few mornings ago when it was about 45 degrees and it wasn't too cold, could feel the airflow though. The material isn't grippy but it's not slippery either. I like the texture.
I wish I had paid more attention to getting the cover closer to the front so that I would have had enough material to do the back seat as well, but I rarely take a passenger. I'm pretty sure there is enough material to do both if one were careful with it. "
Tom