seats

[pd]

Mine is OEM . But , it is just the cheaper heavy plastic cover . ;(



Pete .

[carryall]

Pete, where'd you get the seat cover from?

[pd]

That seat cover is factory original .

I think it may have been an attempt at lowering production cost .
I can understand why we don't see many , as plastics breakdown when exposed to sunlight for extended periods . I'm sure that outdoor storage hasn't done anything many favors .

My bike has been stored inside for , at least , the majority of it's life and most likely all of it's life .

Pete .

[carryall]

That's unique! 

[Ricks]

Anyone know what year they changed to the plastic seat?  I sold one at Portland that wasn't too bad.

[HGontheHD]

I've got the one shown above in this post that is the big seat that Simplex made and it is original. I've used a lot of saddle soap trying to get some moisture back into it. I guess I should try some of the neatsfoot oil.
Huston

[pd]

Saddle soap will take oils out of leather as it cleans . Just like soap will clean the grease / oil off your hands .  Neatsfoot oil is used to replace those oils , preserving and somewhat water proofing leather after cleaning .

Pete .

[carryall]

Or you can try some Mink oil, or as my father called it, "weasel wax" LOL

[bjm]

my understanding is they went with plastic in 1957

[pd]

Agreed . Mink oil is another good leather treatment . I've used both .

Pete .

[oil-lamp]

But aren't y'all talking about the plastic covered seat? I don't think there's much out there for plastic covered seats. 

[HGontheHD]

The thread started with the new seats from Heathers Leathers then went into old original seats and then to the new plastic covered ones.
I must have all the dirt out of the original larger seat cause I've used a lot of saddle soap. I have some mink oil that I will start working into it and see if that helps it out.
Here's another picture of the old larger seat I'm referring to.
The article from the VMBC posted on this site states at some point prior to 1944 an optional larger saddle appeared that required an adapter. I got the adapter with this seat along with a couple other goodies.

Huston
hgonthehd

[pd]

Reese ,

We've talked about both plastic and leather . The original posts were about leather , until I mentioned mine was plastic .

You are right about not much , if anything , that will help plastic . If anyone knows of a product , please post up .

Pete .

[MrMayor]

Meltonian brand creme shoe polish in a jar, (not Kiwi), works great on old leather.  This brand has more dye in it.  Wear rubber gloves when applying it. Just remember that the cracks will soak in more color.  It is sometimes good to buy a lighter color than you think you need for that reason.

[carryall]

Pete, I've had good luck using a heat gun on textured plastic to get rid of the surface scratches and bring back the color.