Seat question

[madmax-im]

The stock seat on my '82 maxim never bothered me in the past...however these days ZI notice a big difference because of my '81Special and my ST1100.So the stock seat on my Maxim has me sliding too far forward.Question...are there any XS seats that would fit?I know the way the XS and XJ seats latch to the bike differ so maybe its not possible?

[Pain]

You might be able to get away with cutting down the foam to re-shape the seat, instead of buying a new one.

[madmax-im]

You might be able to get away with cutting down the foam to re-shape the seat, instead of buying a new one.

Actually theres not enough foam in the right places.The seat pan is high in the back but then slopes down towards the center and then back up again towards the tank.So I would need to add foam and make the seat a bit taller too.
What I wanted to know is how to adapt a seat from an XS11 to my XJ11? If this is at all possible?Has anyone done this?

[mitch]

Hmmm!

Ben you have both why dont you try yours and see if you can ?
Doug

[trbig]

In a word... NO. It's like trying to get apples to taste like oranges. They are two different critters. Sure you can do it with enough modifications... but why not do as mentioned and start with an old orange first. Get an old XJ seat and modify it. You can cut the back section foam way down and add some foam to the front to even things out more. At least get rid of that bucket seat that holds you in one place.

[Cobia]

That bucket seat effect is what I like least of my XJ. I think it could even be dangerous because, as opposed to my XS, you cannot shift your weight fore and aft to adjust for emergency situations.
i.e. - If you know you have to break hard and expect the rear to lock up you cannot shift your weight rearward to add more traction and prevent this. Besides, I'm starting to feel more like Madmax where the front is kind of collapsing under the pressure and causing me to slide forward more than I want to.
I don't really want to start tearing the seat apart either. It may be for sale pretty soon.

[LCS249]

Hey madmax-im

I ordered a replacement for my XJ11 from Diamond Seats, as recommended by several people here.

My problem was lack of leg room - my knees were up around the tank because the seat pushed me too far forward.

The replacement had to be raised in order to allow me to move further back, so it's more like an XS, but not quite as straight.

It also raised me up a couple of inches, so I can't fully flat-foot any more - which used to be very easy with the very low XJ seat.

I chose the velour top to minimize slippage, which it truly does.

You can see the seat here, and you can click on any photo to enlarge (twice).

http://www.bikepics.com/members/LCS249/82xj1100maxim/

The cost was around $550 shipped.

By the way, Cobia, it handles better this way, too, since I'm way better balanced.

best,

LCS

[Cobia]

Nice bike LCS! That new seat looks comfortable but does change the lines on it. How does the velour hold up in the rain? Not that you get a lot of in NM!!

[LCS249]

I was not thrilled about the changing the lines, but it was worth it to be able to move back three inches and be better balanced, more in control.

Mark at Diamond Seats included a rain cover, normally $25, because it took him longer than he'd anticipated.

He normally makes a new seat pan mold, but the XJ is so unusual that I ended up buying a beat up old seat on eBay ($30) and having it shipped directly to him. That made it easier for him.

So two things happened, the passenger hump was moved back and the forward section was raised up and extended.

Mark uses very good, very solid foam.

best,

Leon

[madmax-im]

LCS Thanks for the info.Its good that someone can work on these seats...I might go that route...but I'm not a fan of velour...although your seat does look pretty good.As for changing the lines ...its different but the ends justify the means(pun intended)

[LCS249]

They normally make the seats smooth. I asked for velour to minimize slippage - it totally eliminates it.

Here's their site:

http://www.diamondseats.com/index.html

You might also try Sargent.

best,

Leon

P.S. Very appropriate puns.

[madmax-im]

They normally make the seats smooth. I asked for velour to minimize slippage - it totally eliminates it.

Here's their site:

http://www.diamondseats.com/index.html

You might also try Sargent.

best,

Leon

P.S. Very appropriate puns.

Leon...Thanks for the link...I'll look into Sargent too...sounds like some bucks either way

[Jerry]

I'vwe been running a Diamond seat since early 2001. The velour does fade in the sun; I am going to get mine recovered one of these years. The foam is variable density; they produce the seat based on your weight and inseam length. You can get different foam densities for the passenger portion if you have a regular passenger. At the time I bought mine Dimond had XJ pans on hand, in fiberglass. Seat price included the new pan, but not the 'fingers' used to hold the seat to the bike.

Due to many factors it is not practical to convert or adapt an XS11 seat to the XJ. Trbig is right on that. A few hours in a boneyard convinced me that using a different seat from another brand was not an option either. I tried pads and covers before I went to a full custom seat. The Diamond seat was (is) worth the price if you are going to put on a lot of miles. At the time only Dimond had an XJ seat; Corbin and Sergeant did not have, although I was told later that Sergeant had started taking old pans and recovering them. This was not offered when I was shopping, so Diamond was the only game in town.

[madmax-im]

I'vwe been running a Diamond seat since early 2001. The velour does fade in the sun; I am going to get mine recovered one of these years. The foam is variable density; they produce the seat based on your weight and inseam length. You can get different foam densities for the passenger portion if you have a regular passenger. At the time I bought mine Dimond had XJ pans on hand, in fiberglass. Seat price included the new pan, but not the 'fingers' used to hold the seat to the bike.

Due to many factors it is not practical to convert or adapt an XS11 seat to the XJ. Trbig is right on that. A few hours in a boneyard convinced me that using a different seat from another brand was not an option either. I tried pads and covers before I went to a full custom seat. The Diamond seat was (is) worth the price if you are going to put on a lot of miles. At the time only Dimond had an XJ seat; Corbin and Sergeant did not have, although I was told later that Sergeant had started taking old pans and recovering them. This was not offered when I was shopping, so Diamond was the only game in town.

Thanks for your input Jerry.It would seem there are more options now than when you had yours done.I remember MAXIMAN's 'Zilla had a Sargent with Grey piping...looked real good too.

[madmax-im]

Apples to Oranges

As per what Tod said...I didnt think it was possible to change the seat pans out since the XJs' latch system is completely different than the XS's of previous years But with all the crazy things ppl have done to modify their bikes ...I thought I'd ask anyways...