Aftermarket seat options?

[ThrottleJunky]

I have a real nice seat, but it's not what I want. It's a custom double saddle made for touring, and I want a cruiser type seat. What are the options in terms of seats? Do I have to fabricate my own pan, then have a custom seat made? Or, maybe, buy an original seat pan and have it re-done? I don't see a lot of places making seats for this bike because of its age.

[natemoen]

There is a place in the UK that sells new reporo xs seats with fiberglass pans. About 200 bucks or so. I think James England was the one who first posted the ebay link, maybe he will chime in, otherwise there is a thread from a couple months ago called something like "seats" that has the link.

[ThrottleJunky]

There is a place in the UK that sells new reporo xs seats with fiberglass pans. About 200 bucks or so. I think James England was the one who first posted the ebay link, maybe he will chime in, otherwise there is a thread from a couple months ago called something like "seats" that has the link.

The shipping would likely be astronomical.

[natemoen]

I don't think it is as bad as you would think, and there was some super cheap shipping method mentioned in that same thread I think.

[crazy steve]

The shipping would likely be astronomical.

I contacted this seller, and total price to the US would have been about $260. Which isn't all that bad considering what good used seats are going for or what it would cost you to have a custom seat made. The fly in the ointment? He's only offering seats for the E/F models at this time.

One thing to remember is the seat pans are the same whether it's a 'touring' seat or not, so you can always strip your seat and redo it into whatever you want. Any decent upholstery shop can do this...

[ThrottleJunky]

I actually just found a thread where a guy put a Harley seat on his bike, and it looked sweet. I'm gonna pick up a used Harley seat and make it work on my bike.

[ThrottleJunky]

I contacted this seller, and total price to the US would have been about $260. Which isn't all that bad considering what good used seats are going for or what it would cost you to have a custom seat made. The fly in the ointment? He's only offering seats for the E/F models at this time.

One thing to remember is the seat pans are the same whether it's a 'touring' seat or not, so you can always strip your seat and redo it into whatever you want. Any decent upholstery shop can do this...

$260 shipping is less than I thought. But still, that's a bit much. I'm going to take a picture of the bottom of my seat pan, and ask you guys if it is, indeed, the original, or if Mayer seats used something different.

[crazy steve]

I actually just found a thread where a guy put a Harley seat on his bike, and it looked sweet. I'm gonna pick up a used Harley seat and make it work on my bike.

If your going to try a HD seat, I think a OEM take-off from a Dyna would probably be closest to fitting. The factory seat pans are plastic on most models, so some 'reshaping' is possible with some heat...

[ThrottleJunky]

If your going to try a HD seat, I think a OEM take-off from a Dyna would probably be closest to fitting. The factory seat pans are plastic on most models, so some 'reshaping' is possible with some heat...

Here's the thread and the seat. It's a Sportster seat, and the bike is a Special, but it might not look too bad on my Standard.

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26824

[SFSPECBIKER79]

harley seat

i purchased that type seat on ebay last summer, tried on my xs11 and if you notice it doesent fit correctly around the tank. and big gap between seat and frame at front. looks nice on pics, but no so nice live, i sold mine to a member here. he seemed to like very much. but i went back to stock. my 2 cent

[oldyam80sg]

I could be wrong but that Harley seat looks like something Corbin makes as I had a Corbin on my ZRX.It didn't look like that but they do make aftermarket seats.

[xs11lover]

You have to pull some of the staples out of the bottom of the pan and cut some of the pan off. I used a dremal. After that I made a tab to fit the seat mount on the frame. I drilled a hole in the fender to bolt the rear of the seat down. You can also bolt the pan to the frame, if you want to go that far with it.
The black special has a dyna seat on it.
This orange xs has a seat from an 883 sportster cut the same way. JUST MAKE SURE YOU GET ONE WITH A SQAURED OFF FRONT NOT A TRIANGLE. They won't ever fit the tank right, I know it's alot of work...but there just isn't anything much you can get.


I did see some cafe bench seats on Ebay from Koria.........they didn't look too bad but shipping was high.
This guy in LA was selling nice seat's on Craigs list. I saved a pic, but would have to hunt down his contact info.

[crazy steve]

Here's the thread and the seat. It's a Sportster seat, and the bike is a Special, but it might not look too bad on my Standard.

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26824

I suggested a Dyna seat because they hang down a bit more on the sides (fitting a bit tighter to your sidecovers) and are a bit wider too. Most of the aftermarket seats use metal pans (Mustang, LePera, Corbin do for sure) and would be harder to modify.

[ThrottleJunky]

You have to pull some of the staples out of the bottom of the pan and cut some of the pan off. I used a dremal. After that I made a tab to fit the seat mount on the frame. I drilled a hole in the fender to bolt the rear of the seat down. You can also bolt the pan to the frame, if you want to go that far with it.
The black special has a dyna seat on it.
This orange xs has a seat from an 883 sportster cut the same way. JUST MAKE SURE YOU GET ONE WITH A SQAURED OFF FRONT NOT A TRIANGLE. They won't ever fit the tank right, I know it's alot of work...but there just isn't anything much you can get.

Which seat is it on that red Midnight Special? I like the looks of that. The only problem is I have the Standard.

[ThrottleJunky]

Nevermind. I think your orange is my red.