are the oem seat cowls a cover that covers the rear seat or do they have the metal hooks built in them and replace the rear seat? sorry for a rookie question. just curious? thanks.

 

They have the mounting hooks built in to them. You'll have to take the rear seat off and store it somewhere while riding with the seat cowl.

 

thanks. that's all i needed.

 

i've heard cases where seat cowls flew off leaving the baseplate attached securely

so as a precaution
take off the screws that secure the base plate from the cowl's underside
dip them in superglue or somethin and put them back in - do NOT use Loctite as it eats plastic

you'll also notice that solo cowls don't fit as snug as the passenger seat
remedy that if by using a car's door edge guard around the borders of the cowl