WRP +2 Seat Install on a 2014 Vector LTX

[4strokeluvr111]

Last week, I finally pulled the trigger on a WRP +2 seat for my 2014 Vector LTX. Installed it before my Friday and Saturday rides.

I took several pictures of the install and will be posting them all on this thread with as many details as I can. I opted to do the install vs. having WRP do it because I didn't want to wait. If there is a "next time" for me, I will let WRP do the install for $50 (their fee) plus the cost of shipping the seat pan to them.

Why?

1. The amount of trimming/cutting I had to do to the underside of the seat was more (to me) of a job than what WRP said it would be. If I were to have destroyed the foam it would have been me that was out the $300 cost. (see attached picture)

2. I had never installed new seat foam before. I've added seat heaters to sleds and that was easy. Partial uncover and recover is easy to me. But add in spray adhesive (I used too much) and the job get's tricky fast. IMO...if you've never done it, let the pro's at WRP do it.

So here's a pic of the seat on the sled. It raised the height of the seat EXACTLY two (2) inches. I measured before and after which will be shown in pictures.

Likes (after 200 miles):

1. The height increase, for only 2 inches, is great!
2. The seat is MUCH firmer than stock. Not like sitting on a concrete block...just perfect to me!
3. The taper in the sided of the seat leading to the top is perfect....narrower than stock.
4. No additional riser height needed, even if the seat was an inch or two taller.
5. Post install fit and finish is much better than I thought it would be.

Dislikes:

1. Give me another 1, MAYBE 2" of height and then it would be total heaven. The inseam on my pants is 30" so I don't have long legs. I'm 6'0" tall and weigh 205 minus gear.
2. The first day out I hit a good G-out dip and heard a "crack" in the seat. No doubt the white styrofoam cracked somewhere.
3. A comment from a friend has me spooked a bit. He said that WRP using styrofoam is not good as styrofoam and moisture do not go well together.
4. The seat cover has obviously stretched after 200 miles of riding. I installed the cover as tight as I dared. I'm just a tad disappointed in the amount of stretch in the cover.
5. How much foam I had to remove to make it fit right.

So here we go...........

 

[Grimm]

Hmmm, seems like there has been a running change in the kind of foam used since I bought a WRP seat for my Apex. The foam for my seat was white and as soft as my stock one and there definitely is no Styrofoam either. I think that is a very bad choice as it will degrade after a while.

As far as installing the seat, I found it went quite easy for me. A pneumatic stapler is a must, imo. No trimming was required in my case. I noticed a bit of stretch in the seat cover too, and so i took advantage of removing the front half of the cover and stuffed some extra firm foam (from a garden kneeling pad) between the seat pan and the foam, effectively raising the seat a couple of inches more. It makes my ride more comfortable.

 

[Grimm]

Why did you have to remove foam to make it fit?

 

[4strokeluvr111]

Why did you have to remove foam to make it fit?

WRP does not make a seat that will fit the Vector chassis with EPS. You have to remove foam on the area where the "bump" is that's there because of the EPS system.

If I didn't have to remove so much material the install would be fairly straightforward. I do have an air stapler and it is a must for this kind of work.

The complexity of removing foam so the seat will fit and possibility of wrecking the foam (then I AM out $300) are the reasons that I suggest letting WRP do the job.


More to come today.......

 

[Grimm]

Ah okay, now I see. That solid block of styrofoam still baffles me though.

 

[4strokeluvr111]

The WRP seat came quickly via FedEx and was packaged very well. A tech guy at WRP said to order their p/n YA-ST-AX0610-BK. Instructions were good but did not mention cutting the foam. This information came form the tech guy at WRP.

 

[4strokeluvr111]

Here is the new WRP seat cover unfolded after removing from the box.

 

[4strokeluvr111]

Here is the stock seat and what the bottom of the seat pan looks like:

 

[4strokeluvr111]

Removing the stock cover and foam was pretty straight forward. Unless you just want to cut the band around the pin by the rear glovebox, take your time getting the pin out.

That is a seat heater pad made by Heat Demon on top of the seat.

http://heatdemon.com/collections/seat-heaters/products/seat-heater-with-single-high-low-switch

 

[4strokeluvr111]

Once picture here shows the back of the seat pan and foam. It matches up almost perfectly. The other picture shows the front of the seat and how high the foam is above the pan. As I later learned....there is a lot of semi delicate cutting to be done!

 

[4strokeluvr111]

At first I tried using an electric Dremel tool with a couple of different types of bits. I eventually did about 90% of the work with a box cutter but the blade was extended to the shortest setting.

You will see where I used a Sharpee to make the areas in the foam that I felt I needed to cut.

 

[4strokeluvr111]

After taking a great deal of time cutting the foam this is how large the cutout looked. I could have cut a bit more but didn't.

 

[4strokeluvr111]

So this is what it looked like before I used the spray adhesive. It looks a bit deceiving as it took very little pressure to hold it down in the right place.

 

[Grimm]

When you say spray adhesive, you do mean just where the foam meets the seat pan right? not where the seat cover touches the foam I hope.

You probably would have had better luck using a large kitchen chef knife vs the box cutter and dremel.

 

[4strokeluvr111]

This is where I made my first and only (at least to me) mistake. The WRP directions said to use spray adhesive on the seat foam and pan. Me being me, I bought the best 'professional grade" adhesive money could buy (at Menards anyway). I have now dubbed it "Nuclear Fusion" adhesive because holy sheet does it stick FAST. When the can said "no repositioning after sticking the two surfaces together"....they weren't kidding! I also used wayyyy too much adhesive. I sprayed every surfacr on the pan and accordking to the instructions on the can, sprayed several layers on the foam.

I could have used 2 people here...one holding the back and one the front. But it was only me and I started in the rear..then the sides....then the front. I was off a bit in the front and tore the side foam (pictured) trying to reposition it. Not going to happen! It's within a 1/4" and you can't see it or feel that it's off.

The foam in the front of the seat did stick down nicely to the pan. I didn't take a picture of it.