SplitWeight Waterproof Motorcycle Seat Cover: Rain, rain go away

A big storm was brewing, and I placed my seat rain cover on my FXD before I retired for the evening. When I went down to the hotel parking lot after breakfast, the cover was nowhere to be found. Apparently the high winds that accompanied the prior night’s heavy rains had lifted the cover right off the seat and blown it away to destinations unknown. I figured I’d just order another one, but realized I never really liked that seat cover anyway. Because it was one size fits all, the rain always gathered in the folds (it fit quite loosely on my FXD and even more loosely on my FLD) and ran underneath, pooling in the seat “bucket” and soaking into the seat stitching and the foam, thereby obviating the whole waterproofing concept.

In my online research, I found a company called King of Fleece that offers the SplitWeight Waterproof Motorcycle Seat Cover. According to the website, King of Fleece’s seat cover was truly waterproof and not just “water resistant” like the other seat covers I’d found. And they offered covers in multiple sizes—10 at last count, and more sizes are in the works. Neither my FLD nor my FXD have a stock seat, so I called the company to find out what the best fit for my aftermarket seats would be. It turned out to be the “B” series (the covers are cut to fit general seat shapes and sizes, not necessarily specific models) for both seats, and King of Fleece owner Jim Morabito spent quite a bit of time on the phone with me to explain why his seat covers are different than any others on the market.

The material used is a combination of Lycra and a 100 percent waterproof membrane, and is sun/UV resistant, stretchable and strong (it’s been tested to 5,000 lb. tensile stress per square inch, which is a whole lot more that I could ever produce by tugging and stretching the cover). The stretching properties are very helpful in getting the cover to fit over many different seat sizes and shapes within the range of each cover style. The cover also features hook-and-loop straps to secure it to the seat.

When my SplitWeight cover arrived, I decided to use it for my Dyna, which I was planning to ride to Laconia, since it almost always rains there at least once during Motorcycle Week. I removed the Mustang Wide Super Touring One-Piece Vintage Seat (it includes an attached passenger seat) from the bike, put the cover on (label forward) and used the attached hook-and-loop straps—four on each side—to affix it to the seat’s underside. The Mustang seat is wider than the stock seat so there was some stretching and tugging involved to make sure the entire seat surface was covered. The fit was quite snug, although the cover was raised a bit where it stretched over the seat’s deep “bucket” shape.

Because of the straps, I could leave the cover on while riding without fear of it flapping around or getting caught in the bike’s moving parts. In fact, I actually left it on for my entire week-long trip. I didn’t even notice it was there, from a comfort point of view—no slipping or sliding around on the seat, either. When it did rain, the cover was absolutely waterproof; the seat underneath was bone dry.

Next was the test on my FLD which has a beautifully stitched, leather Danny Gray/AirHawk Weekday 2Up XL seat. The SplitWeight cover fit nicely on the seat, even without using the hook-and-loop straps. This arrangement worked just fine when I left the cover on overnight in a rain storm. Again, not a bit of water crept underneath the cover. However, the fit was snugger if I did use the straps. And Morabito recommends that the straps always be used while riding with the cover on.

I discovered that while either bike was sitting in the hot sun with the cover on, the cover’s surface didn’t heat up nearly as much as the synthetic leather seat on the Dyna or the leather seat on the FLD did. And I also noticed that the air that was able to circulate underneath the cover where it stretched over the seat’s “bucket” allowed the cover to dry more quickly after the rain had stopped.

Although the SplitWeight may be somewhat pricier than others on the market, it is well worth the cost—in my case, $99.95 for the B-series model. I’ve used the cover all summer and it has proved its durability along with all the aforementioned features. The cover is lightweight and stows quite easily in a small space in your saddlebag or luggage.

Seat cover care is simple: don’t let it touch the bike’s hot exhaust system, hand wash it and let it drip dry. SplitWeight seat covers are made in the U.S.A. and have a three-year warranty against defects in workmanship and materials although I don’t expect I’ll have to use it. I am extremely happy with the quality and functionality of the seat cover and I anticipate continued and trouble-free use of the SplitWeight over the lifetime of my bikes.