MikesXS / XS650 Direct replacement seats...thoughts?

[MaxPete]

Hi All:

I went out to get Lucille and go for a ride and found two rips in her seat - both right under my butt, down on the sides just above the chrome trim strip. Of course, I missed that very nice looking 1975 seat that was for sale last week (dammit) and so now I am in the market for a replacement seat for a 1976 Standard....

Sooo....I went to my friendly neighbourhood Upholstery Guy and he said that he would be happy to make a new seat cover - for fairly big bucks - but it won't have the stock pattern on it and worst of all, it would be slipperier than the stock seat. My Honda ST1300 has a totally plain seat (no embossing or "grain" to it - and that darn thing is as slippery as anything so every time I drop anchor hard - my boys get a good knock against the tank.

Anyhow - I note that MikesXS and their Canadian affilate XS650 Direct offer a replacement seat that looks very much like the stock seat - for less than Upholstery Guy wants to fix mine and so - I wondered if anyone has bought one of these and do you like it?

Thoughts / comments / other Standard seats for sale in good condition..... - all most welcome.

Pete

 

[Paul Sutton]

In the UK Ebay has good links to people who will make a very good quality copy of your old seat cover, even with YAMAHA stamped on it. Must be similar setups in Canada/USA?

 

[robinc]

Hey Pete, how bout' this seat cover.........

http://www.diablocycle.com/Yamaha-TX650A-and-XS650B-C-Seat-Cover-Gold-YAMAHA-logo.html


Diablo Cycle is the online store for Reproduction Decals, a London, ON based company. Good people and they told me I could order direct and pick up at their London location.

 

[Mailman]

My seat feels really hard and I can see the beginning of small splits on the surface, I figure it's a matter of time before it lets loose. I've had the same questions. In the past I've gone a couple of different ways. For a BMW I had, I took it to an upholsterer and had them replicate the shape of the seat, and you're right they can't make it look like the embossed factory pattern , but I had them sew pleats across the seat and it looked pretty good, was comfortible and was a lot less than a new seat.
For an old Triumph I owned, I went with a factory reproduction seat cover, it's obviously more work to do and while mine came out nice, I've seen some pretty fugly jobs out there. I've even wondered what a shop would charge you just to professionally install a seat cover? I think that would still be cheaper.
If money is no object and time is your most valuable commodity.....just buy a new seat and be done with it.

 

[DanielBlack]

Dammit, Pete. I had one of those repop covers in my old garage but left it in the move. I would have sent it to you at no cost.

I will say that although new, it was pretty bad quality vinyl and the embossed pattern looked cheap.

 

[Mailman]

Btw, I'm pretty taken with Daniels custom made seat!

 

[MrBultaco]

I saw a guy with a Saddleman seat cover on his '75/76 he built. Looked great. If your foam is good and you have some' skills'...Perhaps

Saddlemen Saddle Skins Seat Cover

 

[TimeMachine]

Hang in there Pete, don't make a decision yet.. I'm just sayin... I might just end up with an extra... also its very easy to put on a new cover. -RT

 

[MaxPete]

Btw, I'm pretty taken with Daniels custom made seat!

Yup - it really is a beautiful job on Stella. Something like that here would cost about $350 I'm told. Hmmmm.

 

[MaxPete]

Hang in there Pete, don't make a decision yet.. I'm just sayin... I might just end up with an extra... also its very easy to put on a new cover. -RT

Ok - thanks TM - keep me in mind. My foam does appear to be good. In fact, the whole seat is good except for these two symmetrical tears on the sides. It's not the end of the world, but I am trying pretty her up....

Robin - that looks a lot like the repop that XSDirect sells under their part number 68-6941 - don't you think?

Holy cow - I got that danged picture EXACTLY where I wanted it! Yippee!

Pete

 

[jetmechmarty]

I have a repop seat from Mike's XS. It is for the late Special. Initially, it would not latch. The base parts were too long. I fixed it with a hammer. The contour of the bottom edge does not follow the side cover and grab rail as nicely as the original. Hey! It was only $200! I haven't put a lot of miles on it, but seven years has done it no harm.

My XS1100 Special got a Sargent seat in 2003. After 80,000 miles or so, it's still like new. Not original, just good quality. It cost more than the Mike's XS replacement seat.

 

[robinc]

Ya Pete, it does look like it might be the same one. I asked them if they got their parts from the same suppliers as XS650Direct. They said some of them but some come from different suppliers so don't know what's what.

I am trying to track down a fellow who re-upholstered a seat for me 25+ years ago. Don't know if he's still around or still doing it but he did a great job, not exactly stock obviously but he did cross stitch the seat, and I couldn't believe how reasonable his price was. I guess he has the seat jigs in his basement, used to work for a local bike shop, and was now doing this as a sideline business. He was doing a lot of seats, custom Harley jobs etc. shipped to him from the States. Will try to track him down tomorrow and will let you know.

BTW, good job on the pic......lol

 

[mrtwowheel]

http://www.banggood.com/64cm-Hump-C...SR400-SR500-XS650-p-1105946.html?rmmds=search

These would take some work.

 

[MrBultaco]

Sorry Pete, I should have shown the website for Saddleman covers. The pic they use is a stepped one, but they show a cover for a 1976.

Saddlemen Saddle Skins ...
$72.00
Moto Part Hub
Free shipping

 

[fredintoon]

Hi Pete,
I'm with MrBultaco, go for a Saddlemen seat cover.
If you tell them the EXACT model XS650 it's for they'll send you a proper match.
BTW, that $72 cost is in US dollars. The exchange rate won't make you happy.
The Saddlemen cover I put on my Heritage after it's original cover finally died cost me Cnd$105.
As for "going on easily", that's easily for two strong men pulling on the damn thing.
Looks "just like a bought one" if it's done right.

 

[MaxPete]

Thanks MrBultaco & Fred - that doesn't look like a great alternative!

I also like that BangGood cafe seat for the '81 build. Very nice too.

Cheers,

Pete

 

[wrenchjohns]

I got this seat http://www.motorcycleseatsdirect.com/yamaha-xs1-complete-reproduction-seat/ it looks (excepting the pan and the nonexistant stainless trim) and fits rather nice. If I remember correctly it comes from Viet Nam via a very slow Yak train.

My update on this import seat, after 500 or so miles the seat pan is cracked. CAVEAT EMPTOR!

 

[MaxPete]

Dang - that's too bad WJ.

 

[weekendrider]

.I went to my friendly neighbourhood Upholstery Guy and he said that he would be happy to make a new seat cover - for fairly big bucks - but it won't have the stock pattern on it and worst of all, it would be slipperier than the stock seat.

A> I would get other opinions and prices.
B> Use marine grade vinyl.
If going to the expense of a higher end product ( I've used a local for recovers installed in the $60-75 range) I would also look to replace the foam.

 

[MaxPete]

On the Lucille saddle front....I dropped off my saddle at a shop in London ON (about 200 km east of Windsor) where a chap is going to fix her up for a small charge. His name is Mike Patrick and he is reputed to do superb work and was introduced to me by our own RobinC (also of London).

Mike will sew an entirely new side panel onto my saddle all the way round. That way the undamaged and still pliable saddle top surface with the stock embossed pattern will be retained, while the sides which flex a lot more under my delicate butt - will be made of nice new durable material. He can even retain the piping between the top and sides of the saddle.

I will try to replicate the word YAMAHA in some sort of gold paint on the back of the seat if possible. Any suggestions on how to do that would be most welcome.

Once Mike is done with Lucille's seat, he's going to do some modifications to Sylvia's front saddle. Sylvia is my silver 2007 Honda ST1300 - and her seat is a bit of a b@ll-buster, I must admit. The biggest issue is that I slide forward on Sylvia's seat because it has NO grain or stitching at all (very odd in my experience - it looks like big-H simply forgot to do it). Nearly all ST owners complain about this problem - but Honda in their usual "WE KNOW BEST" manner never fixed this issue on an expensive top-end bike that had a production run from 2003-2014 with the ST1300 and was sold all over the world.

Anyhow, after Mike does Sylvia's seat - I am going to ask him to take a crack at the CAFE bike seat. Thanks very much Robin - I'm really grateful for this introduction!

Pete