seat drying out.. help!!!

[oldviolin501]

my 96 kat seat was all cracked up when i received the bike. i bought a set off of ebay nice with no cracks or tears yet... but they look verrrry dry!! what can i put on them to help this or make them look better for now???

[Nut-Nut]

This won't be much help, but whatever you do do not use Armorall... I have seen people do that in the past and almost slide right off the bike...

[Wild-Bill]

It's covered with vinyl, aka plastic. folks like to coat vinyl with Armor All which makes it look really nice but the silicone in it displaces the oil which keeps the vinyl soft. Unfortunately, despite all kinds of advertising claims, there's not a really good way to fix this. You can try cleaning the seat really well with soap and water (nothing harsh) and then coating it with a light treatment of non-silicone saddle soap. Your best bet may be a trip to a fabric shop for some fresh vinyl. Re-covering a seat isn't too cosmic as long as the vinyl is warm. Shouldn't be a problem in Lafayette this time of year...

[oldviolin501]

I didn't think there was to many solutions. I knew the armorall was a no no. And I was told saddle soap or even car wax.... The wax didn't sit well with me. I don't mind re covering it, was just gonna hold out for now atleast till I get one crack. What about making it shine? No hope there either?
No heat isn't a problem down here!!!

[phantasm]

I've used mink oil in the past. Only draw back is it can get a little (very little) bit tacky when you're trying to slide from side to side.

[Wild-Bill]

Solution for that is to buff it really well. Smear the mink oil on, let it sit in the sun for a while and then start rubbing it down. It's old-school and takes some elbow grease but it's cheap and just as good a solution as anything else. May as well resign yourself to re-covering eventually, though. Now you've got two seats maybe it'd be worth stripping your original down to the pan and rebuilding it, foam and all. (Go for the closed-cell foam, though. The other stuff may seem like it's going to be more comfortable but you really do want firmness. It's much better after the first half hour.)