How much could I get for an XJ1100 seat that looks recently recoverd?

[LCS249]

Am planning on buying the one I'm trying to post, send it to Diamond Seats to be recovered and then sell the one on my bike.

It's in very good shape, but I need to be able to move farther back.

thanks, LCS

[trbig]

$10

Do you want me to send that now from Paypal or what??

Seriously, there's no telling. Your best bet is Ebay and hope that someone needs one really bad? Actually... hope at least TWO people need one really bad!


Tod

[LCS249]

So, better to just send my current seat to Diamond and not bother with an old, beat up one just for the pan?

Know of one for $20 plus $16 S&H that I figured I'd have sent directly to Diamond.

thanks, LCS

[Jerry]

Diamond will build the seat on a new pan they manufacture, at least that is what they did with mine. I still have the old seat, which was recovered by the PO. The Diamond seat does not come with the 'fingers' needed by the XJ to hold the seat in place.

My recommendation: Pull the fingers off the seat you now have, let Diamond build the new seat on a new pan, and install the 'fingers' when you get the new seat.

I did not check the difference in price between a new Diamond pan and supplying an old one for a base. If it is more than the cost of getting the used seat, by all means go the less expensive route.

I have a shot of the uderside of the Diamond seat with thier pan at http://idisk.mac.com/jerryfields/Pub...eat/index.html
Click on the Pan link.

[DJinNH]

Originally posted by Jerry
Diamond will build the seat on a new pan they manufacture, at least that is what they did with mine. I still have the old seat, which was recovered by the PO. The Diamond seat does not come with the 'fingers' needed by the XJ to hold the seat in place.


I have a shot of the uderside of the Diamond seat with thier pan at http://idisk.mac.com/jerryfields/Pub...eat/index.html
Click on the Pan link.

Wow, that really looks great.

Don

[LCS249]

For some reason in my case, Mark at Diamond asked me to send in my seat to be certain since I want to be able to move back.

That will mean raising it a bit to get past the rise - he thought having the original seat would be safer.

I found one on eBay - all beat up - for 20 plus 16 S&H.

Planning to have it sent directly to FL.

thanks, LCS

P.S. How do you like the feel of that new seat? Does the velour make it hard to move?

[Jerry]

P.S. How do you like the feel of that new seat? Does the velour make it hard to move?

Diamond quoted me choice of insert material. I went with the red as I had originally intended to repaint the bike New Ruby Red, never got round to it...

Photo is now 7 years old, was taken when the seat was new in 2001 as I had ordered it during the winter of 2000. Has faded a bit since.

Seat is very comfortable. I found the insert material to have enough give to be able to change positions, but not so slipery you have to clinch you cheeks in a turn to stay put.

I probably have 35K or more miles on my Diamond seat, best upgrade I ever did to make long-haul riding enjoyable. The recovered OEM seat was a real pain in the ass.

Note: It did take a few hundred miles for the Diamond seat to break in. When I first put it on I wondered if I had made a mistake - $420.00 seat on a $650.00 motorcycle - but after a few hundred miles it really started feeling good. Give it some time before you make a final judgement.

[LCS249]

Thank you, Jerry. That's very helpful.

I'm right around 6' with a 32" inseam so my knees are up around the tank - I'm always fidgeting, trying to move a couple of inches back.

Mark at Diamond said he can take care of that, plus give the cheeks the solid support and cradling so I won't feel like I need to move.

Guess we'll see.

The seat is going to be nearly identical to yours - black velour on top and vinyl on the sides.

Have you ever found the need for the rain cover Mark mentioned?

best, Leon

[Jerry]

I use the cover just as a cover. When I ride to work I slip the cover over the seat to help cut down fading, bird droppings, and 'stuff' from getting on the seat. Have put it on in the rain, but the fabric is slippery and not comfortable riding that way. Now I generally ride without it, getting wet doesn't seem to make much differenct to the seat.

Diamond has designed a seat that offers much more support than the stocker. In particular, the seat 'pocket' has a much straighter back and is deeper than stock. You won't move much on the Diamond, and your back and kidneys will thank you for making the switch!

Riding comfort has been the topic of many threads. I am 6' 1", also with a 32 inch inseam, and the stock seat position works for me because of a few other mods I have made.

My problem is angle of the knees. On long-haul trips it is the knees that cause me the most problems. The Diamond helped, but did not cure, the problem. The seat position is stock.

The XJ seat height is a bit lower than the XS, making a large frame a bit harder to fit. I went with a compromise in that I installed mini-floorboards about 1 - 1.5 inches lower than the stock footpeg height. You give up ground clearance by doing this, so if you are a foot-peg dragger in normal riding, this may not be the best solution for you. In my case, most miles are interstate, so the loss of clearance is not such a big issue. The result was a better knee and ankle angle, making the seating position more comfortable. The thread that discusses this, with a couple photos, is: http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...ht=floorboards

Also, the XJ's handlebars are adjustable up-down and for width. The bars are mounted on splines. If you have a shop or owner's manual, the process on how to change the bars is nicely outlined. In my case, raising the bars one spline up from stock, and 1 spline out made a significant difference in riding comfort. (I had done this before getting the Diamond seat.)

Another common item: Adding an extra set of riding pegs to the engine guards for an alternative foot position. Switching between the main set, rear set, and forward set will help with long trip comfort.

Finally, I have added a throttle lock, which works well on mostly level stretches of road. With the throttle locked I can ride using only the left or right had, giving the other side a rest and allowing slight differences in seating position, enough to help reduce fatigue substantially.

Other folks have many additional ideas to aid in creating a better riding position and reducing fatigue. One person goes as far as removing the rear pockets on his jeans so the seams don't rub on long trips! You might want to do a search on riding comfort, seats, forwad controls, footpegs, or other associated words. Lots of good ideas out there, this is a very small list.

So, while the Diamond will be the biggest upgrade you can make for riding comfort, many smaller (and some free) adjustments or accessories can also make the ride much more comfortable.

[LCS249]

Hey Jerry,

Very helpful list of stuff.

Thank you for the detail. I have a shop manual and have mostly been perfectly comfortable with the way the handlebars are as of now:

http://www.bikepics.com/members/luckygpass/82xj1100/

That's the PO's series of shots - not my speedo, something he recently posted.

But that's largely the bike as it is.

I added saddlebags, highway pegs to the crash bars and a National Plexifairing 3 - which so far is too tall ... hoping the seat alteration with fix that.

Someday hope to be back in Albuquerque - maybe we could meet up in the middle?

best, Leon

P.S. There was a famous ad agency headhunter in NYC named Jerry Fields.

[Jerry]

Nice looking XJ...far better looking than mine!

Couple other upgrades you may want to condsider over time. One, go with Progressive front fork springs. The OEM units are probably sagging a bit by now, and the Progressives will give you better handling in addition to a better ride. The fork brace you have is also a 'good thing'.

Second, upgrading to stainless-steel (ss) brake lines will help overcome the less-than-modern braking characteristics of the OEM system. SS lines will give a better 'feel' (more positive) than the originals. In addition, a common problem is that the inside of the lines start to deteriorate, causing a build up of residue in the pressure relief ports of the master cylinders. These ports are known as spooge holes, and getting one plugged is a fairly common event. With SS lines you get better braking and better reliability.

Finally, when it comes time to replace the battery, consider one of the sealed AGM types. Not cheap, but in the 6 years I have had mine, no fluid checking needed whatsoever. Very nice to have this peace of mind when you are several hundred miles from home and don't feel like pulling the battery to add water.

The XJ, like the XS, can be made into a comfortable long-haul bike. The seat is the major step, the rest you can do a piece at a time if you are so inclined.

Been to Albuquerque many times over the years, not been there since 2002 though. When I was a sales rep, Sandia Labs was one of my customers. Also attended the Balloon Festival a few times, did some sight-seeing in the area. Some good Mexican restaraunts in town!

[LCS249]

It supposedly had 16,000 miles on it last October/November when I bought it.

It's fairly clean, but had been in some kind of tip-over. The P.O. replaced the maroon tank, painted the side covers to match, put on the fork stabilizer, SS brake lines and did many, many hours of clean up and restoration.

My mechanic - who I had check it out thoroughly, do an all-fluids change and put on new tires - said it actually was quite likely that it did have only 16,000 miles.

However, the P.O. replaced 2nd gear, which my mechanic said was only needed after lots of miles or very hard driving ...

Hard to know. It rides very smoothly, although there's always a low background rattle kind of noise - which I have assumed is the engine.

It handles beautifully and responds instantly. Same age as my older son.

I've been a through a few bikes and I'm planning on sticking with this one.

Leon