I've acquired a used Kawasaki solo saddle for my 800, complete with its mounting kit and trim-panel. It is a two-tone brown & black with a Vulcan logo stitched into it.
Iv'e never seen another one like it. Can anybody throw any light on its origins please?
Never seen one like that. Looks like a special edition... or maybe a custom made one...
I've never seen that either. Looks good though. I would also say it is a custom seat.
It does have the same logo as my floor boards which are Fire & Steel......wondering if they made a aftermarket seat, or someone just was good at making a seat.
F&S made aftermarket seats... basically, Corbin built the seat on Kaw pans. I do recall someone customizing a stock solo seat like this. This is, as far as I know, NOT a commercial seat.
BTW... seats we know about (not custom) - http://www.vulcandrifterriders.com/drifterseats.html
Very cool seat and I've never seen another.
Thank you all gentlemen. With the clues that I've picked up from the VDOG and VDR fora, I've come to the following conclusion: The seat is not a custom or re-cover. It is almost certainly a Fire & Steel after-market special sold by Kawasaki. It is built on a Kawasaki pan (I've just checked) but I can't read the part numbers until I've taken it off the bike. Going by the pictures in the seat section of the VDR forum, it is a variant of the standard solo saddle as it has the same studs and spacing and appears to have the same embossing on the skirt. For this reason I suspect it was made by Kawasaki and is not one of the Corbins built on Kawa seat pans. It must be a rarity, because nobody on either forum has reported seeing one before.
All this generally gels with the story that I got from the chap that I acquired it from.
It's also a very comfy seat.
Have you seen a seat like this? A member is looking for the origin of this seat.
Never seen it.
Maybe, it could be a custom made.
Kaw uses different part numbers for different color/style seats. Using the same P/N as the plain black seat would make it impossible to order the seat in question. For example: (1500) 53001-016 is for black, 53001-018 is tan. 53001 is not the only prefix used for accessories, there are several others. The P/N isn't for the pan it is for the whole "assembly" ie seat. F&S seats were covered by Corbin on Kaw pans with unique P/N's. The skirt is from an OEM saddle, not a F&S.
Being on a pallet from a dealer is good evidence, but not absolute. It could have been something done by the dealer, could have been a pull off a trade-in bike etc. But it could have also been something done by Kaw for a local sales promotion. If it had a unique part number we'd know absolutely. As it is, I still can't confirm it was made by Kaw in that configuration.
AND! Pete is in the UK. We all know Kaw did some different stuff in Europe.
I think this was a custom recover job of the oem saddle. Well done at that. Looks like good material and regardless of the source it is unique.
More Pics
I would have to agree this looks like a custom job - either at the dealer or wherever. I would think if Kaw had sold these, someone else would have seen one sometime or other. Also, the Vulcan symbol is "similar" but not exactly like the Kawasaki F&S symbol. Actual F&S symbol has more of a curve to the side bars. I would think if Kaw had done this, they would have gone to the trouble to make the stitching match the logo.
I think it's a great looking seat, though, and would be proud to have it.
Quote from: greenbarn on September 06, 2017, 21:25:52 PM
I would have to agree this looks like a custom job - either at the dealer or wherever
I think it's a great looking seat, though, and would be proud to have it.
Yeah, and it couldn't ever have been sold via the aftermarket since it doesn't have a unique part number. I think it is definitely a custom recover using the OEM skirt and pan... not a F&S skirt or pan. The p/n on this one was for the oem black solo saddle.