Replacement Seats

When I stand back and admire my Commando, the only detractor is the condition of the seat. I have the original wide seat that came on the 69-70 vintage bikes and the vinyl is tired beyond anything that ArmorAll can fix.
I have done some research and have found Waldridge, RK Leighton, and Burtons all have replacements.
What is the wisdom of the board ; buy new or restore? I have a friend that can upholster so a kit is possible but if I am going to to throuble of doing it I want it to look great when finished. Also who have I missed in my search that provides a nice quality product? Thanks in advance as as always , Ron

rons70commando said:

When I stand back and admire my Commando, the only detractor is the condition of the seat. I have the original wide seat that came on the 69-70 vintage bikes and the vinyl is tired beyond anything that ArmorAll can fix.
I have done some research and have found Waldridge, RK Leighton, and Burtons all have replacements.
What is the wisdom of the board ; buy new or restore? I have a friend that can upholster so a kit is possible but if I am going to to throuble of doing it I want it to look great when finished. Also who have I missed in my search that provides a nice quality product? Thanks in advance as as always , Ron

Click to expand...

You don't need a new seat, I'm guessing. More like a new cover and maybe new foam.

I have found that RK Leighton has the closest to original seats. However, the flat '69-'70 seats ought to be pretty easy for a good local upholstery shop to recover if your seat pan is in good shape. Most of the covers available for the early Commando seats don't fit that well, so I would not even try to use a pre-made replacement cover on those seats.

You are very fortunate to have the original seat; I would definitely recommend refurbishing that rather than replacing it. I purchased a Leighton seat to replace the later one that mine had, but you are in the position of being able to use the original as a reference and get it exactly right.

British Cycle Supply in Nova Scotia has a nice choice of seats for Nortons and Triumphs. I bought mine there and it looks very good.

Hi

I brought a Interstate seat with hump from Burtons for my Wideline Featherbed frame, I am very happy with it, is very confortable and looks great on the Norton, was 130 pounds to buy as well i got a interstate seat cover for the old seat for 29 pounds, was easy to put on came with all the clips and the strip that goes around the base and looks like a new seat from the factory, very happy with the results

And it only took 3 working days to arrive to my door from England to Australia, quicker than Australia Post :roll:

Ashley

Leighton. I bought one for my '70 Commando. It looks right, fits right, and has held up for the last 30,000 miles or so. The seat cover is easy to install. If they offer it, get the plastic trim for the bottom edge too.

Greg

I got my seat cover from Walridge. It's made by Leighton. Mike sells a whole kit including the cover, 'chrome' plastic trim and new clips. It's very easy, just follow the instructions on Old Britts site. You may need new foam which you can get on line for about $20, but you will have to cut it to shape yourself, not a big issue with a very sharp knife or and electric knife. It's a certain type of foam made of pieces, when you see it you will know. Standard cover comes with a gold Norton logo on the back which is correct. Just make sure if you want it to look like a 69/70 seat, keep the distance from the bottom of the seat pan to the corner roll at about 3 1/2-4", measure your old seat before taking it apart.



Dave
69S

Does anyone have any experience/comments regarding Andover Norton replacement covers?

My local auto upholsterer wants the ridiculous amount of $200.00 U.S. just to repair a 2 in. long gash in the side panel of my 73 original basketweave seat.
:roll:

Hurry up. You've got 3 days. Nice looking '69-'70 seat.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Norton-Commando ... es&vxp=mtr

Thanks for the info guys.