To help with the massive amount of questions that I have been getting about the seat that I have on my 2000 800 RMK that is for sale in the Swapmeet section, I thought I would just post this over here.
http://www.snowestonline.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182900
I apologize, but I do not have any pictures of the seat construction in process. I did this a couple of years ago and it has been working great.
I started the process with a seat from a 2006 IQ. IQ seats from the newer sleds are not as tall (they sit on the tank as opposed to the tunnel) and will require a different setup. I kept the original Gen II tank in the project because there was going to be too much modification to make the IQ tank match the backside of the hood and close off area. I am a strong believer in Chip Foose’s theory that the ultimate makeover involves modifying everything, yet making it difficult for the untrained eye to not realize it’s not factory.
To fabricate the seat I disassembled both seats and combined the two of them. Just remove all of the staples holding the covers on. The foam will lift right off. I then took the Gen II seat frame (both are plastic) and cut it in half. I used the front portion of the Gen II seat that attaches to the tank. You need to use this so that it will still slide into the attachment points of the Gen II gas tank and have the support of sitting on the tank. I then riveted the frame of the IQ seat to it. You will notice that the IQ seat frame is narrower than the Gen II. I trimmed the bottom front corners of the IQ frame around the tank and Gen II frame. You only need to trim it slightly and then push the IQ frame down and rivet. IQ frame will flex around the wider Gen II frame.
I also fabricated an aluminum bottom plate to brace the new seat and clean up the look. This was riveted legthwise along the bottom of the IQ seat because I didn't feel the plastic was strong enough to support my weight when jumping. That being said, my new 2009 RMK has no such support and has the same style plastic frame, so this may not be necessary. In the pictures please disregard the rivet holes in the shape of a V on the support plate. This was from an earlier support design that I used until I saw my first RMK with the rear posts and copied this. I then mounted the seat on the sled to bend and fabricate the rear support posts. I would think that the posts off of a new style sled may be close, but I wanted to ensure the seat was set at the height that I wanted.
Next I laid the IQ foam back on the new seat and trimmed it around the tank. Once everything fits how you want, simply trim and staple the seat cover back on. Just use a standard hand staple gun. One suggestion, I don’t know if they make them, but stainless steel staples would have been ideal. I hope this helps everyone.
http://www.snowestonline.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182900
I apologize, but I do not have any pictures of the seat construction in process. I did this a couple of years ago and it has been working great.
I started the process with a seat from a 2006 IQ. IQ seats from the newer sleds are not as tall (they sit on the tank as opposed to the tunnel) and will require a different setup. I kept the original Gen II tank in the project because there was going to be too much modification to make the IQ tank match the backside of the hood and close off area. I am a strong believer in Chip Foose’s theory that the ultimate makeover involves modifying everything, yet making it difficult for the untrained eye to not realize it’s not factory.
To fabricate the seat I disassembled both seats and combined the two of them. Just remove all of the staples holding the covers on. The foam will lift right off. I then took the Gen II seat frame (both are plastic) and cut it in half. I used the front portion of the Gen II seat that attaches to the tank. You need to use this so that it will still slide into the attachment points of the Gen II gas tank and have the support of sitting on the tank. I then riveted the frame of the IQ seat to it. You will notice that the IQ seat frame is narrower than the Gen II. I trimmed the bottom front corners of the IQ frame around the tank and Gen II frame. You only need to trim it slightly and then push the IQ frame down and rivet. IQ frame will flex around the wider Gen II frame.
I also fabricated an aluminum bottom plate to brace the new seat and clean up the look. This was riveted legthwise along the bottom of the IQ seat because I didn't feel the plastic was strong enough to support my weight when jumping. That being said, my new 2009 RMK has no such support and has the same style plastic frame, so this may not be necessary. In the pictures please disregard the rivet holes in the shape of a V on the support plate. This was from an earlier support design that I used until I saw my first RMK with the rear posts and copied this. I then mounted the seat on the sled to bend and fabricate the rear support posts. I would think that the posts off of a new style sled may be close, but I wanted to ensure the seat was set at the height that I wanted.
Next I laid the IQ foam back on the new seat and trimmed it around the tank. Once everything fits how you want, simply trim and staple the seat cover back on. Just use a standard hand staple gun. One suggestion, I don’t know if they make them, but stainless steel staples would have been ideal. I hope this helps everyone.
