back to the sticky seat

[PBJ]

When i got my 85 I thought the seat was dirty. It also was sticky to the touch on the passenger seat. Its already stained a pair of the girlfriends pants. I've tried cleaning it with everything i can think of . So far Windex and nail polish remove have worked BUT Now I'm wondering am i taking a color layer off the top of the seat or am i removing some sort of foreign goo that has been deposited by the prevoius owner in cleaning/treating the seat. The sticky layer can be "rolled" with the finger like glue on a sticker. I read on another site that Armor All might be the culprit If so is there a way to remove it or do i have a seat that needs replacing?

[bongobobny]

The seats sometimes do develop a case of creaping crud that eventually hardens into resin like balls of deposit. That may or may not be your issue. The only seemingly cure is to reupholster or replace the seat. JCWhitney still has replacement seats for 1st gen available...

[RedRider]

Rather than replacing the seats, you may find it less expensive to take it to a local auto upholsery shop. They can often recover the seat with the material of your choice for much less than a new seat.

 

RR

[dynodon]

I think you have a vinyl cover that has been damaged by sun, or maybe improper chemicals. Chances are nothing will help it permanently. (disclaimer) I run a small business selling detailing products, and have found that a product by Lexol, called Vinylex is best for vinyl including seats, vinyl tops, and truck bed covers etc. Any of these products can leave a seat a little slicker than before, but you can make that better by applying the product in modest amounts, wipe off with a clean dry cloth, and then wipe once more with a clean cloth slightly dampened with just water. This takes away some of the protection, but removes most of the slick feel. Vinylex is better in this reguard than most products I have tried.

 

Also this method works well for applying products to the dash, where you want to clean and protect it, but don't want it real shiny, as then it will reflect worse in the windshield. So try wiping down as a last step with a slightly damp cloth.

 

But in your case, find a local upholstery shop, buy a better one on e-bay or the classifieds here and on other Venture sites, or send it off to one of the many good motorcycle seat places.

[SilvrT]

I concur with the other posts.... get it reupholstered. I had this same problem on my '85 ... absolutely nothing seemed to get rid of this "GOO" ... and it kept getting worse. Seems to me the material the seats are covered with was breaking down. I had my seat and passenger backrest professionally redone for $150 and it was a real good job in 2 tone brown/tan. Really made the scoot look good too.

[PBJ]

Thanks Don, Bob and Red for all the advice thats what i thought about this but its good to have back up on what the best possible answers are. there and plenty of Boat re-upholsterers around here i'll try some of them. Phil

[Ozark]

I had exactly the same thing happen on a 'wing I used to have. Without thinking, I laid a cloth that had chrome polish on the seat. The sticky NEVER went away. Had to keep it covered with a towel to keep from ruining every pair of pants I had. Like they said, Re-Upholster it.

[rhncue]

When i got my 85 I thought the seat was dirty. It also was sticky to the touch on the passenger seat. Its already stained a pair of the girlfriends pants. I've tried cleaning it with everything i can think of . So far Windex and nail polish remove have worked BUT Now I'm wondering am i taking a color layer off the top of the seat or am i removing some sort of foreign goo that has been deposited by the prevoius owner in cleaning/treating the seat. The sticky layer can be "rolled" with the finger like glue on a sticker. I read on another site that Armor All might be the culprit If so is there a way to remove it or do i have a seat that needs replacing?

 

My seat was exactly as you describe yours is when I bought my bike. I had it reupholstered and was charged 225.00 at an upholstery shop here in Cincinnati. This was in 1990. I'm thinking of having one done again but I'm going to do it myself with a cover from this place. http://www.motorcycleseatcovers.com/

 

Good luck

Dick

[friesman]

Seems like the 85's are overrepresented in this thread. My Brown seat was the same way so bought a saddlemans seat with the sliding post backrest. (but it only came in black)

But my passengers backrest was getting the same stickness, so I went to a Fibrenew dealer who specializes in fixing all kinds of fabrics and upholstery and he managed to stop the stickiness and dye the backrest black to match my new seat for 50 bucks. So I would recommend Fibrenew to anyone having that issue. http://www.fibrenew.com/automotive

 

BTW I have the old brown seat, but its still a bit sticky but mostly crusty if anyone wants it make me an offer. Perhaps you can get Fibrenew or some other renewal company to fix it for you cheap!

 

Brian

Edited July 10, 2008 by friesman
add a link

[GigaWhiskey]

Mine did the same, had it re-upholstered at a local shop. Good luck on finding the colors and deciding on a stitching. They kind of stitched a V on the back part of the drivers seat for me, lol.

[Ozark]

BTW I have the old brown seat, but its still a bit sticky but mostly crusty if anyone wants it make me an offer. Perhaps you can get Fibrenew or some other renewal company to fix it for you cheap!

 

Brian

 

Might want to look at doing that yourself. Two tone black/brown 1984 seat just sold for $360.00 on ebay.

[mbrood]

Nauga hides don't last real well out in the weather... the surface breaks down... your best bet is to shoot a couple naugas and do a recover.

 

My friend's seat was like that... seat and passenger backrest. I told him it was a Yamaha feature, a new type of seatbelt... sit down and you were quite stuck. Yep, you could feel it try and pull off your jeans when you tried to get up.

 

I tried quite a few cleaners, most were a waste of time for a big area, some wanted to remove the "color"... then I stumbled on a rag soaked in gas... still takes a bit of rubbing (and scrape the melted excess goo) and then some more gas and rubbing... it came out fine, and it only took a week for the gas stink to air out... but a year later they are still clean and non-sticky.

 

I actually was a bit liberal with the gas in a reasonable area and swirled it around with my finger which softened the BLACK goo, then I used a plastic credit card edge to scrape the excess goo up... then more gas rag and rubbing.

[WilCruise]

I saw a post about two years ago (maybe pre-crash) where someone had luck with carb cleaner getting the gunk off the old brown seats. I tried some Seafoam, but no luck that way. I gave up after getting a parts bike with a good seat. Before you spend a ton of money you may want to try that though. What's the worst that could happen... need to replace the seat?

[PBJ]

I find it a real mystery that the material of the seats would do this. But you have all given me some great suggestions. I think first i'm going to experiment with the gasoline and carb cleaner. As I said Nail polish remover was taking some of it up.

 

I called the County office about getting a Naugh permit and they told me that you can only hunt them in odd numbered years so I wouldn't be able to shoot a couple until next season. Beside Naugh's in New york are rather smal and I might have to take down 4 or 5 to get a descent seat out of them.

 

I'm going to be looking into the motorcycle seat cover and the Fibrenew site as well. Both look really good but then too i'd wait until fall when I'm putting the bike up for that loooong winters rest.

Finally hear in the Finger Lakes area we have a lot of upholsterser because of all the boats here so I'll price them against the on line places. Thank you to everyone for all the info I really appreciate it. Phil.

[MikeM8560]

Finger nail polish remover is acetone, and will damage the vinyl surface. making it gummy. good idea on the boat guys. they may be slow with the economy and gas prices alot of shops are slow. I also have a marine canvas/ upholstry buisness.

[PBJ]

I'll keep you in mind thank for the advise.

[uthpda]

My 84 had the same problem...not sure why. I couldn't spring for a new cover or seat...so I just started messing with stuff. I sprayed brake cleaner on it...don't know why, but it worked. Got rid of the sticky and so far it hasn't return and the seat looks ok (didn't change ti to some strange color or anything)

 

I would try that if you are planning to replace it...couldn't hurt.

[Condor]

I think the stuff breaks down from UV exposure. Kinda a sunburn. The '83 I sold came with the 'grunge' when I bought it. Steve..hdhtr.. had some stuff labeled Vinyl Restorer on the shelf that we used on the seat and it seemed to seal up the surface. Wish I could remember the name of the stuff, but afterwards I hit the seat with Farnam's Leather New...kinda a glycerine saddle soap mix..., and although the black scars were left the material stopped breaking down. I think the big secret is to not let the bike sit uncovered for long periods of time exposed to direct sunlight.... like riding it to work and letting it sit in the parking lot all day without putting a cover on it...??

[Joshcur]

My atv seat was so sticky too ..tried washing it..used all kinds of soap..but this week i tried Butter lol yes butter..spread it evenly on seat ..all o er..let it sit on seat for 45 minutes. The wipe it out and wash a bit with water..lol works pretty good .😁😁

[cimmer]

That is an interesting idea and tip. Thanks

[UK_in_NY]

Funny story.. One of the main reasons i bought 1983 was the saddle brown seat. It looks awesome and was in basically perfect condition. When i got it home I gave it a deep leather clean and it came out awesome. I guess because it was always garaged?

 

Now, if I can get the bike on the road I'll be able to sit on it. lol

[saddlebum]

A tip I got from Marcarl and which worked very well as well was to use carb cleaner