This goes out to any 800 riders that have installed a springer seat -
what brand did you use? Singh? Other?
any mods required to install?
how comfortable is the seat for longer rides?
I am slowly Indianizing my 800 and have started looking at different style springer seats....would like something that is functional, looks good and comfortable for extended rides...
thanks in advance....
hi there..i got my seat from Singh..like it..was very rough on my butt..but you get used to it..helps with the springs..no mod needed..plug and play
(https://scontent.fsvg1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/14612428_10154616880531758_8913190468328697332_o.jpg)
when you say "rough on my butt", is that do to limited amount of padding on the seat? the current issue with my stock seat (besides the actual look of the seat) is that I get the classic butt-ache after about 20-30 minutes of steady riding....I am not really a fan of the massive looking Corbin seats, either....I am looking for classic old-style looks but with some comfort for day tripping.....
thanks,
Well Mr. Seedman sir, I have the 2 up seat on my 800, I could not justify the cost of a new seat and all the hassles involved that I had read about on the forum. I found a local seat guy and went to him, and for $275.00 I have the original pan redone with the seat made to fit me and my idea of a proper seat, 3/4" memory foam, a section cut for jell foam, then covered with 3/4" memory foam. 8 hours in the saddle and it is awesome I should have had a backrest built into the seat for the driver, but on a road trip I use my sissy bar pack as a back rest, only issue I have is my lower back will get sore, but numb butt not since I did the seat. So perhaps look for a local seat person and have one made for yourself.
I have looked into having mine OEM seat redone....just not all that fond of the look...I like the look of the springer style seat, but most likely it wouldn't be any more comfortable....KnoPlace will redo my seat with a gel insert, memory foam and smoothing foam for $170...I just have to pay to ship it to them and they have a 3 day turnaround and ship back for free....
I most likely will go that route this winter and look at a different style seat cover later....
Quote from: OR_Seedman on October 09, 2016, 08:23:05 AM
when you say "rough on my butt", is that do to limited amount of padding on the seat? the current issue with my stock seat (besides the actual look of the seat) is that I get the classic butt-ache after about 20-30 minutes of steady riding....I am not really a fan of the massive looking Corbin seats, either....I am looking for classic old-style looks but with some comfort for day tripping.....
thanks,
it takes some time to get used to..a bit stiff..but i have been on some longer trips..and no worries mate..the butt is fine
Well...I broke down and got a very large brown leather pan seat (ebay..$64.95 and free shipping) along with a basic 3" spring kit. Fabricated a mount for the frame from 1/8" steel channel. Took a little trial and error, but the result is not too bad. I now need to take the steel off and have it powder coated. I used the holes in the seat brace cross-member (runs across the frame under the seat) to mount the steel channel and drilled holes for spring mounts to match the seat mounts. I am going to tack-weld the spring bolts to the steel mount before painting so I don't have to hold them if I need to work on the seat. The whole setup comes off with just 3 bolts. I was surprised how comfortable it is since the seat only has about 1/2" of high density foam for padding....I like the spring movement and I have it in a very comfortable seating position.....
Looks great, nice job!
Very good looking just need to cover things under the seat.
thanks for the compliments...I am going to get a dark brown tool bag to hang from the underside of the seat pan once I have everything else done...that should pretty much fill up the big gap that is now exposed.....
That's exactly the same job I've just done to ma-deuce!
But my seat now needs to be covered with black leather. And there's a handrail comin' soon...
Look at pics, please.
looks good...let us see more pics when you get the rail on...
I ordered a set of 2" springs in black to see how the seat height changes....my current 3" spring set up raised my seating position about 1".....I will take more pics when done...
I've changed the oem raisers with new ones from Cobra.
They are 1" higher and have a 1" of pullback. (Look here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/KAWASAKI-COBRA-HANDLEBAR-RISER-KIT-05-0640-/172350426628?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=mfm3oiLzEZZ%252B%252BYeJpzVDh%252F5aINc%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc ).
While mountin' them, I've rotated down a few degrees the oem handlebar, so now it's really comfortable together with the spring seat!
:o you going to hang a bag under the seat, will it hit the fender, or get jammed in the space?
regarding the seat bag....I have been looking at bicycle seat bags....smaller diameter and about 7" wide.....once I have the 2" springs in place I will take some measurements....the seat actually doesn't reach back as far as the factory because of the narrow lip at the back, so hitting the fender should not be an issue....
I also dyed the seat black last night so it matches my luggage.....turned out really nice and only cost $3.50 for the leather dye.....the dark brown color really didn't go with the rest of the accessories.....
pics with the shorter springs will be coming as soon as I get them on....
ok can we ask you to show a few close ups of the front mount and the rest of the mounts because you have done a good job and we just want to see more.
Thanks.....
definitely....I will take multiple pictures and post as soon as I get the springs and start putting it back together....
Thank you
ok...here we go...
2" barrel springs came today, so now I am putting the freshly dyed seat back on.....
First I mounted the springs to the seat....I have a handy little retractable grabbing tool from a computer repair kit....makes putting the bolt down through the barrel spring much easier then just trying to drop it in the holes through the washers.
Once those are done, I mount the seat to the steel channel for mounting to the frame (now painted black, too)
I then took a box end wrench for my frame mounting bolts and put some metal duct tape over one side of the opening to hold the bolt in place while I fed it through the small notch I cut in the plastic tray that holds all the electronics. Otherwise, you have to pull them all out to go in from the front side...a real pain...
snug up the bolts to the frame, bolt down the front to the gas tank mount and you are ready to ride....the seat position is now almost identical to factory height...
here are some more pics of the finished position...
:o I really like that and so how do you attach the seat in the front?
yup more questions to follow.....lol.......
Ehy Seedman, looks like we've had the same ideas on doin' that job!
I've had to open a small spot on that plastic tray, too...
and I used a similar grabbing tool, just to let each bolt pass through the holes of the oem steel base. And yes, what a real pain has been tryin' just to insert my fingers in that spots!
BTW: actually my spring seat is getting a black leather cover, by a local shop and I'm workin' hard on the grab rail, tryin' to adapt it to the seat...
Pics will follow asap.
great minds.....ha ha...it was an easy thing to just dye mine since it was already dark brown..
Ratman...I will post a pic of the front mount when I get home and can access my photo album....it's really just a simple t-mount that sells on ebay with springs for around $15...attaches to the front slot mount on the seat, although some seats have 2 threaded posts to mount to instead....
8) ok seems this might be a winter project if the swap is easily made.
hard part is not having a fancy tool shop in my living room and so will have to see the best way to fabricate some sort of cover for the area I want covered.
I may have to draw on your generous nature to lead me in the right direction as to ordering the parts, if they first off ship to Canada, and secondly if the shipping fees do not exceed the cost of the parts.
it actually was fairly easy once I got the seat position set up...at first I was attempting to put it too far back and I couldn't get the front mount attached...had to take the whole thing back off and reset the front mount to a better position....this was BEFORE I cut out the plastic tray to make mounting to the cross member easier....anyway, here is a picture of the front mount on the seat in the correct position....
and here are some links to the parts
seat: http://www.ebay.com/itm/172227828914?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
mounting unit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/291907184885?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
shorter barrel springs (which I like better in the black color): http://www.ebay.com/itm/171948130104?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
you can get the t-bar mount without springs for less than the $15.99 that I paid...
the hardware I cobbled together from stuff in my shop...the seat posts are fine-thread, but the rest of the stuff I used is coarse thread....all SAE not metric. As far as the channel steel I used to mount to the cross-member...I had some laying around and just cut it to length (12 inches). and flat steel would work, but i would not use anything less than 1/8" thick
I discovered that without the factory seat mounts, my saddlebag mounts were too close to the upper swingarm bumper bolts. so...spacers it is...around 1/2 inch thick worked just fine....
added leather fringe to the seat and went back to the 3" springs....every time I accelerated hard with the 2" springs on the seat, I felt like I was going to slide right off onto the rear fender....almost happened the first time...so I went back to the 3" springs and moved the seat back a little with a spacer mount and now it's just about perfect for me....
now with seat rail...also posted in another topic
That looks sweet!
As someone asked before, here I go updating ya with the following pics of the spring seat together with the handrail.
Now, I wonder what to do: leave that rail chromed or just paint it black?
Any suggestion would be appreciated.
I would powder coat it gloss black for the looks and colour of said bike, I would also get some plugs for the old bracket mounting holes.
I agree, as most of the bike is not chrome....but it looks good either way...
regarding the old seat bracket holes...I just put in the old bolts when I don't have my saddlebags on and put factory rubber caps (I ordered 4 from Partzilla) on to cover them...cleans up the look...
by the way ...have you got your saddlebag brackets made yet?
Actually my first thought is the rail should be black, but there is enough chrome right next to in the exhaust, that I think it looks better bright....just another opinion.
I like the rail chrome, but that's just me.
Thanx guys, for your kind suggestions.
I must agree with Kw-retrorider.
And maybe the chromed rail would break away with the seat and all the rest of the blacked parts.
Regarding the holes on the frame, I was thinkin' about puttin' back the old bolts but I'd like to get them black. So, I think I'm gonna buy those rubber caps that Seedman was talkin' about. BTW, do you have the part number?
And finally, just to answer to Seedman: the brackets are still on the way, because I've had a hard time tryin' to take their exact measurements for the local bender...
I will update soon.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!
here is a link to the cap part #
http://www.partzilla.com/parts/detail/kawasaki/KP-11065-1195.html
let me know if you need any other info on the brackets to help you get them made over there.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year all!
Well I am sure that you will decide on which way you like it the best and not really worry about what anyone else likes. It is all in your own mind what you like.
I have a couple of people I ask my questions to, and I do listen and I mull over the ideas presented, but then again it is my bike, I am riding it, we all have a vision of what we want our bikes to look like, and we will tend to go with those ideas.
mittico68 you could do a red, black, chrome, heck even a tri colour rail in Red, White, and Green like the flag, it is up to you....
Mittico: if you're still thinking of black, but not quite sure - you can spray it with plasti-dip to try it. It will come off if you don't like it.
Now, Ratman, you can see exactly what this mod would look like on your bike... If you can't get anyone to ship the parts directly to you, I know a guy that will prob'ly help you out... ;)
At the present time I am only missing the bracket. Of course the link OR_Seedman post the person does not ship to Canada. I tried a different supplier and they have till the 30th for it to arrive. Failing this I might need to impose on a kindly person on the US side of the line to be the receiver of the product and then forward it to me here.........but I have a few days for it to show up.....
Ratman, Sir, you're absolutely right: the final choice it's up to me and to me only.
But I do like to ear as much opinions as I can, especially if they come from a great Forum of Drifter's owners & nice people...
Greenbarn, you gave me a good advice... I think I'm gonna take the chance.
Thanx a lot!