Seats

01 Jan 2003 Seats

What do we do about the seats? I have not yet heard a lot of complaints about the RV8 seats, but I do know that at least one company makes replacement seats, and several companies make replacement foam. The replacement seats are manufactured by Velo Racing Seats of Australia (http://www.velo.com.au/) and are sold with an RV8 modification by Jon Johanson’s Flymore Pty Ltd. (http://www.flymore.com.au/) also of Australia.

Here is an excerpt from an E-mail exchange with Flymore:

1) what is the price, and estimated shipping cost to Switzerland?

The price for the fibre glass seats is Au$750 each and Au$1100 for the carbon ones. Shipping has been very uncertain since 9-11 and is relatively expensive due to the size of the seats. A very rough guess at the cost would be around the Au$600 mark.

2) how much time do you need between order time and delivery time?

You will need to allow 6 to 8 weeks from ordering the seats until they are ready for shipping.

3) are the Van’s seats normally included in the finish kit? Do you know if they give a discount if I don’t order them?

The only part that you will not need from Van’s is the front seat, back. The cushions are to be made by each builder. You would need to work with someone from Van’s to work out the part numbers of the bits you will not need then they will discount your kit accordingly.

4) do the seats work with a 5-point harness?

Yes. They are designed for the five point harness.

Of course, getting anything from Australia will cost money, but I have not found another company that makes good seats.

Oregon Aero (http://www.oregonaero.com/) sells seat foam, and seems to offer some kind of seat covering service via a third party, but I have not yet quite figured it out.

The Velo seats look very cool, and are probably very comfortable, but strangely, when you search for Jon Johanson on the internet, you see him endorsing the Oregon Aero seat foam.

Another thing to think about and make a decision on. Later.