Hi Flite Seats....who runs 'em

[userj8670]

Anyone on here run them?? What are your thoughts??

Thinking about putting one on my 350x build as i think it would make shifting weight for a taller person easier. Are they comfortable?

[John_Neary]

Hi Flite makes great seats, the cover is much more durable than stock and the seat foam is nice and firm. You can always shave the foam down to find the height to suit you so even thou they are on the tall side that can be sorted out.

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[userj8670]

Well I was going for the look of the ATV On Demand 350x. It has a hi-flite seat but appears to be a cosmic quad cover. I love the look so I was thinking of going that route. However I have never sat on one so I don't know if it changes rideability at all???

[onformula1]

The "WAX ON" seats were the best, good luck finding one.

The Hi Flite seats are great and I like the taller seat except for MX racing. (Same with TT/FT)

I am 6'1", so the taller seat helps me I use them on bikes, trikes & quads.

[John_Neary]

the Wax On seat now there is a memory, never owned one but they looked so comfy

@userj8670 - If you ride standing up a lot or mostly do straight line riding like desert stuff the taller seat is almost a must have but your higher center of gravity will have an effect in turns and when braking. Donny Banks was a super fast quad guy back in the day and he always raced with a tall seat and it worked for him just fine, he was about 6'3 and most of it was legs.

You can always have a inch or whatever shaved off if it you cant adjust to the full height.

[onformula1]

Tech tip- If you want to cut a seat down, put it in your freezer (Remove the racks) for 24 hours then cut it down with one of these-

http://www.amazon.com/DECKER-EK700-9-Inch-Electric-Carving/dp/B0000DAR49/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1448172558&sr=1-2&keywords=electric+carving+knife

Then put your cover in the dryer for a bit until it is warm before you install it.

[onformula1]

the Wax On seat now there is a memory, never owned one but they looked so comfy

@userj8670 - If you ride standing up a lot or mostly do straight line riding like desert stuff the taller seat is almost a must have but your higher center of gravity will have an effect in turns and when braking. Donny Banks was a super fast quad guy back in the day and he always raced with a tall seat and it worked for him just fine, he was about 6'3 and most of it was legs.

You can always have a inch or whatever shaved off if it you cant adjust to the full height.

WAX ON seats were great and they had rounded edges, unlike the Hi Flite seats which are very "square" on the top side.

[cr480r]

Tech tip- If you want to cut a seat down, put it in your freezer (Remove the racks) for 24 hours then cut it down with one of these-

http://www.amazon.com/DECKER-EK700-9-Inch-Electric-Carving/dp/B0000DAR49/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1448172558&sr=1-2&keywords=electric+carving+knife

Then put your cover in the dryer for a bit until it is warm before you install it.

Good tip. I would like to add that in skilled hands an angle grinder with a flap disc works quite well for smoothing and shaping foam

[BOB MARLIN]

I have a cosmic quad seat on one of my 350x's. You can tell the difference after a long ride. I don't know what the difference is between the Hi Flight and the Cosmics but the Cosmic looks a lot better to me. The High Flights seem to be real tall and square, and look kinda funky- at least to me anyway.

224069


Does anyone really know if there is a difference between High -Flight and Cosmic ?. Or is it just me.

[86T3]

I have a hi flite on my T5 and they came standard on my Cagiva. On my T5 I bought the stock height foam, I don't like the high look of the safety foam. The Cagiva had the safety foam on it, which is nice because it goes up the tank so if you slide forward on a jump it will pad your dice a little. The cagiva seat is very comfortable, I guess it's a trade off between looks and functionality.224083
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[Red Rider]

On my T5 I bought the stock height foam, I don't like the high look of the safety foam.I don't like the look of the tall Hi-Flite seats either.

By, the way your T5 is missing 3 wheels. :p

[86T3]

I just run the inside duals for more traction in the soft stuff :cool: And this was invert install day right before Unadilla

[userj8670]

I have a cosmic quad seat on one of my 350x's. You can tell the difference after a long ride. I don't know what the difference is between the Hi Flight and the Cosmics but the Cosmic looks a lot better to me. The High Flights seem to be real tall and square, and look kinda funky- at least to me anyway.

224069


Does anyone really know if there is a difference between High -Flight and Cosmic ?. Or is it just me.

Now that's a sharp looking X! That right there is the look I am going for. I do agree with a few others here that the mosh cover looks a little better than the Hi Flite covers. ..although they can be had for 150 icluding foam off ebay...

I can't say I ha e ever heard of these WAX ON seats but they sound interesting !

[userj8670]

the Wax On seat now there is a memory, never owned one but they looked so comfy

@userj8670 - If you ride standing up a lot or mostly do straight line riding like desert stuff the taller seat is almost a must have but your higher center of gravity will have an effect in turns and when braking. Donny Banks was a super fast quad guy back in the day and he always raced with a tall seat and it worked for him just fine, he was about 6'3 and most of it was legs.

You can always have a inch or whatever shaved off if it you cant adjust to the full height.

Thanks so much for the reply! I am about 6'2 and I figure it would help me with my sliding. You mentioned shaving off an inch - if I were to get a mosh seat i don't think I would want to mess with it and tske it apart then put it back together lol - I prolly would never get it back together anyway haha.

[Mosh]

350x seats were turds, even in new stock form. The foam was no where near the quality of say the 250r. Typically the front of the seat foam was so thin that staples rubbed through and literally turned the foam to dust. Compound that with a ultra thin pan, that would warp easily and a few rounds of over filled gas attacking the cover and you wound up with a seat that was trash after 1-2 years of normal riding. That is whay so many 350x seats are wasted.

Hi-Flite has gone through a number of new owners over the last 5 years. One was a portable potty company, no lie, that quite frankly was a nightmare to deal with when placing orders. They were sold again under the Hi Flite name and is now owned by CEET.

Now the original Hi-flite owner would allow you to order custom blends of foam density. Soft, Med Hard..
Ceet in the early days had a hard compound foam. Hence Hi-Flite was the better option back in the days for best comfort.
We still purchase the Hi Flite foams from CEET and last I knew CEET still offers thier own branded original line of products as well as products under the Hi-Flite label, but regardless Hi-Flite is now CEET.

As far as foam comfort and density, it is pretty good these days with CEET behind the controls of the foam process. They actually saved the demise of the Hi-Flite brand, by buying it from that "shitty" company last year....(pun intended)

As far as the desert height, the traditional tall foam is not my preference personally, but taller bigger riders would probably disagree.
The stock height offered comes in at about 7/8ths taller than the original foam ever was and quite honestly to the collector may be "out of proportion" but IMO, is the way Honda should have done it from the git-go..Many "rider" customers that orders a 350X foam and seat from "CosmicQuads/ mrs.Mosh" typically will work one on one with her to adjust custom height preferences.

For that hardcore collector/restorer, Mrs. Mosh will adjust the foam to the factory height, although IMO, it is not really recommended just for a fit and function standpoint, and the 350X looks and feels better with the extra 7/8ths of height of the "standard replacement foam" option. The desert foam is drastically taller than OEM.

[userj8670]

Mosh thanks so much for chiming in! I greatly enjoyed reading the information you provided - very well versed in the subject! I like the look of the red hi flite seat on the atv on demand 350x alot - and the one on the 350x posted by BOB MARLIN earlier in tue thread. I seen the foam and cover can be had for $160 on ebay but the cover doesn't really excite me.

I have never been on a desert seat but I'm 6'2 and was thinking it might be a good way to go but then again I have nothing to compare it to....or perhaps the stock 7/8 taller replacement would suffice??

For what it's worth I typically ride in muddy / rocky or bumpy / hilly areas. I don't know if based off that info you could make a recommendation or not. Weighing in about 189.

[Mosh]

I wouldn't want you to make a decision for your comfort based on my preference and not be happy so keep that in mind as I offer my opinion.

Personally I don't like the desert height. Its too tall, may dig into your thighs, looks wierd for my taste, and then you have to run a seamed seat cover. Seams are the defining weak point for any seat cover, whether allowing water to penetrate the foam or just a tearing point.
Any aftermarket seat cover should have a expected life of 1-3 years depending on how hard a guy rides.Keep in mind seatcovers get gas spilled on em, tree branches snagging, boot scuffs, muddy ass grinding on them and crap piled on them in the garage...So they will fail at some point, no matter who makes your cover.
Motocross guys can easily go through one ever 6 months as the riding boots usually tear the base of the cover at the pan while they are hanging off the sides of the machine during racing.
I always recommend a non seamed one piece cover.
If you do however want the desert foam keep this in mind.
If you do go with the desert Foam, Mrs. Mosh makes them with only 2 small seams at the rear panel, and as far as I know, the only one in the industry making a desert cover with the least amount of intrusive seams.
You can always get the desert, run that height..If you dont like a year down the road it can be cut down, but will need a new cover.
Throw a couple old pillows or folded blankets on you machine, and play with height in the back yard and putt around and see what you like height wise, then make a decision if you have that ability and some old pillows or blankets to fold up.

Having said that, Hi Flite covers are probably the strongest/Thickest covers around, but that comes at a price and without downing the product let me elaborate.
The seams are so thick on those covers that once installed, the seams damage the foam. Either buy rashing the foam, or when you do go for a replacement cover, the foam will be permanently deformed with seam indentations. So a different cover in the future would show these foam dents for the heavy duty seams. So, basically you either live with that, buy new foam again that is not dented, or go with a seamless cover that typically is only 60% as thick as the heavy duty cover and will be a little less durable and probably would have half the life of the heavy duty Hi flite cover. If you run the Hi flite cover and stick with that cover when time for replacement, the dented foam should not be a issue, however water intrusion through the seams is still a possibility and may compromise the foam.
So one piece cover may need replaced every few years but should save the foam from dents and wate.

FWIW, we have a friend that is 6-4 over 200 pounds and he likes the standard seat foam we did for his 350x.
We have our own seatcovers that have been on bikes for well over 7 years with minimal wear and still going strong. But like I said earlier, they are probably the most abused cosmetic item on any machine so no matter who you buy from keep that in mind nothing lasts forever.

[Dirtweed]

I have to get off my butt and get my '82 250R pan to Mrs Mosh for a new seat. Thanks for the thread to remind me.

[userj8670]

Mosh - all great info! While I am just looking to get the bike running this weekend I am looking to get my ducks in a row for winter. Would you be able to pm me the cost of the stock replacement vs the hi flite seat? I am very interested however I would not move forward until late winter as there are other costs to get the bike running before the seat. What is your turn around time looking like these days?

Thank you again for sharing your knowledge and the outstanding service! I can't wait to do business- I have seen and heard nothing but good things about your wife's impeccable work!

[Mosh]

I do nothing with pricing or quotes for her business. So I will have her contact you, then you guys can sort it out..
or contact her at .
www.cosmicquads.com
you can reach her faster via the phone number on the website.

This upcoming weekend and next week, she is closed for the holiday, then hunting. She will be open next Monday 12-7. Thanks.