Help. Bought an XS650 Special seat for my XS650B on accident..

[lien]

I'm new to motorcycles in general but I recently purchased a 1975 XS650B. It needed and gas tank and a seat to be complete. I searched high and low for a decent, well priced seat to no avail. Eventually I stumbled upon an ad on craigslist offering a nice seat for $50. The catch was it was 3 hours away. So I decided to go for it. Got the seat and it's in great condition. I tried to attach it to my bike and realized something didn't click right. Turns out it's meant for the XS650 Special.
So I'm here asking you all for any assistance or advice you have. Is there a part or anything that I can get to make this XS650 Special seat fit on my XS650B or did I just waste $50 and 6 hours of driving for nothing?

Thanks

 

[gggGary]

Short answer is yup you screwed the pooch.

There are like 3 or 4 different special seats. 78-79 that hinge to the side and 81-83 with 2 hooks on a rod in the back are the most common. The early ones just kind of fit a standard but they need a spacer added between the latch and the seat before they fit a standard frame. The bigger problem is the sides of the special seats drop further down in the middle and won't work with standard side covers.

75 standard

78-79 special

81-83 special

 

[650Skull]

There are 2 types of Special seats. Hinged from the side 78/79/80G SII, and a Clip on seat for 80SG to 84SL.

The Special side hinged seats have a different profile to the Standard 74-78 seats. and they can be made to suit a Standard frame easily

Pics of your seat and we will identify it. As a newby you may have been tricked into a completely different seat all together that's why we need pics.

Check out the models in this link for a reference. or go to my albums and look for the id album
http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30569

 

[650Skull]

HERE is a 75 seat being sold through the classifieds on here. No idea about the seat or any connection with the seller. just thought you may like to know.

 

[lien]

Snagged some (crude) pics.

Side latch with keyhole


Little ring slots on the other side


The new seat pretending to fit


Underneath of new seat

 

[gggGary]

Yeah that's a late 81-84 special seat, sorry it doesn't have much to do with your frame. check out the One skull pointed out in the classies, that's not a bad price if it ain't rusty and has a good cover (2 big if's) unless you are doing something custom.

 

[lien]

Well this sucks. lol Alright thank you everyone for the help!

 

[650Skull]

That Special seat is clip on from an 80SG.

This was a one year one model seat because of the profile and seat cover. It is a more comfortable Special clip on seat than the later 81-84 seats.

A bit rough but may clean up ok and if the rust is only surface you should get your money back. May have to do some work though.

 

[fredintoon]

- - - Is there a part or anything that I can get to make this XS650 Special seat fit on my XS650B or did I just waste $50 and 6 hours of driving for nothing? - - -

Hi lien and welcome,
well, the photo shows an XS650 clip-on seat that could possibly be made to fit your bike but it'd be way more hassle than it's worth to do so.
But an XS650SG seat in reasonable shape is definitely worth $50 or more so the drive wasn't quite for nothing as you got a sellable seat out of it.
You could put a want ad in the list's classifieds?