Hi Grimly,
if you can't find an FRP seat pan it ain't hard to make one.
See my post #21 in this thread.
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which model seats fit the xs650?
- Thread starter peanut
- Start date
Hi Grimly,
if you can't find an FRP seat pan it ain't hard to make one.
See my post #21 in this thread.
Thanks, Fred. I think I've solved the problem by stumbling across a Kawasaki ZRX400 seat in a local bike yard. If I remove the rear third or so, I believe it will fit nicely and give me a comfy, sculpted perch. As a bonus (and this was a factor in the choice), the front of the seat will match the rear slope of the XS400 tank I plan on using.
Of course, when it comes to matching the two up, the fond imaginings I have of it might be dashed into nightmare, but I have hopes...
Of course, when it comes to matching the two up, the fond imaginings I have of it might be dashed into nightmare, but I have hopes...
In this case he is because for 30 years he has owned one of the Leading UK Yamaha Dealers with over a £million worth of stock . I know whose opinion I would trust .
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Sent a message to the ebay seller of your, genuine original, one of a kind OEM products, asking if the seat had a side hinged pan or clip on.
Answer was. It fits an xs650 and ring me on this no if you want more info.
Sent another message. I just need to know if the seat has hinges as there is no pic shoeing the underside.
Answer. SORRY yes it has.
According to you he THINKS his technician bought the seat a long time ago. He states in the ebay add the original box is lost.
If you can prove these seats were a fitted seat, sold with the bike from the Yamaha factory, and it is not an option to change it from a shop floor bike then i will listen to what you have to say and believe you.
No proof what so ever. There were King/Queen seats and touring bucket seats for the XS as well but again they were and option or after market option.
Believe what you will and unless you have definitive proof then i wont be changing my mind from the 2nd paragraph up.
I'm afraid your dealer friend may have forgotten more about Yamaha models than you know.
Any one who says they think, is not sure, so it leaves room for error. Do i know for sure, no, but i'm more sure because of the extensive research i have done from all over the world and XS650 sites, and have never come across a bike with a seat like yours that has come off the shop floor.
There is another one for sale on ebay .
You missed out on the Standard seat in VG condition that sold for $25.00, freight and your taxes would have bumped it up but even if you had sold it in the UK there was a hell of a lot of profit. Course i wasn't going to let you know.
You keep on about this so i have replied with grace and an explanation as to why my conclusion is my thinking. Not a fixed point of view, just have to be shown proof
Answer was. It fits an xs650 and ring me on this no if you want more info.
Sent another message. I just need to know if the seat has hinges as there is no pic shoeing the underside.
Answer. SORRY yes it has.
According to you he THINKS his technician bought the seat a long time ago. He states in the ebay add the original box is lost.
If you can prove these seats were a fitted seat, sold with the bike from the Yamaha factory, and it is not an option to change it from a shop floor bike then i will listen to what you have to say and believe you.
No proof what so ever. There were King/Queen seats and touring bucket seats for the XS as well but again they were and option or after market option.
Believe what you will and unless you have definitive proof then i wont be changing my mind from the 2nd paragraph up.
I'm afraid your dealer friend may have forgotten more about Yamaha models than you know.
Any one who says they think, is not sure, so it leaves room for error. Do i know for sure, no, but i'm more sure because of the extensive research i have done from all over the world and XS650 sites, and have never come across a bike with a seat like yours that has come off the shop floor.
There is another one for sale on ebay .
You missed out on the Standard seat in VG condition that sold for $25.00, freight and your taxes would have bumped it up but even if you had sold it in the UK there was a hell of a lot of profit. Course i wasn't going to let you know.
You keep on about this so i have replied with grace and an explanation as to why my conclusion is my thinking. Not a fixed point of view, just have to be shown proof
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you know skull you are a complete and utter $%@$*&%!
The guy you emailed and pestered.... just to prove your point..... is 75 years of age
Its a &%$#@*& miracle that the guy can use a computer at all.!
He doesn't even know how to upload a picture to the net and at 75 years of age I expect his memory is probably not what it used to be so no he probably didn't give you the answer you wanted to hear.
I could list his name (which is famous in Worldwide biking circles )so you can look up his 40+ year history and association with Yamaha Japan as one of their top European dealers but you'd probably find a way to ridicule that wouldn't you
The guy you emailed and pestered.... just to prove your point..... is 75 years of age
Its a &%$#@*& miracle that the guy can use a computer at all.!
He doesn't even know how to upload a picture to the net and at 75 years of age I expect his memory is probably not what it used to be so no he probably didn't give you the answer you wanted to hear.
I could list his name (which is famous in Worldwide biking circles )so you can look up his 40+ year history and association with Yamaha Japan as one of their top European dealers but you'd probably find a way to ridicule that wouldn't you
Hi peanut,
being 77 myself let me say, on behalf of all us OAPs, thank you for your support of the elderly.
I'd say more but the drool keeps dripping on the keyboard.
Yea your right, i should have told you about the seat for sale
I was eliminating a possibility, and by doing so any future information, may actually reinforce your opinion.
If a guy posts on ebay im sure they don't mind questions
.
FYI it was an answer that eliminated a possibility
Of course i knew he was a gerryhatrick so thought.........hell yea lets confuse him with a question and upset poor old peanut
Why not...........or are you both snuggling down for the evening
77 Fred ! no way ! no way
I thought you were a mere slip of a youth at 60 something like myself 
good on ya mate I hope I'm still riding when I hit 70
The guy was a really nice chap ..you know ... I talked with him for well over an hour and a half on the telephone. He had some amazing stories to tell about Yamaha's History through the 60's 70's and 80's. Yamaha paid for him to go over to Japan to the Factory 9x times over the years apparently !
Most of the names and events he told me went straight over my head as I wasn't into bikes much back then . He knew Tony Hall (Halco)very well apparently. All those memories will be lost forever one day and really should be collected for living History.
Hope the sun is shining in your part of the World today
tonyc
XS650 Guru
In the words of that famous or infamous philosopher Rodney King,"Why can't we just get along."
View attachment 50435
I think the mystery might be solved. I saw a seat similar to this on an XS1100 last weekend. The owner told be he bought it NOS. He said it was distributed by a company called Yamaha Specialties. They're stuff was in the accessories catalog through 1981. These parts all came with genuine Yamaha part numbers. They were printed on parts tags just like all the other Yamaha parts. So, in a way, it's an OEM seat. It wouldn't have come on the bike in the crate, but the dealer could have swapped it. This seat looks like one of those. Maybe this clears it up. I'm trying to get more info, but I don't have any....yet.
I think the mystery might be solved. I saw a seat similar to this on an XS1100 last weekend. The owner told be he bought it NOS. He said it was distributed by a company called Yamaha Specialties. They're stuff was in the accessories catalog through 1981. These parts all came with genuine Yamaha part numbers. They were printed on parts tags just like all the other Yamaha parts. So, in a way, it's an OEM seat. It wouldn't have come on the bike in the crate, but the dealer could have swapped it. This seat looks like one of those. Maybe this clears it up. I'm trying to get more info, but I don't have any....yet.
thats really interesting Jetmechmarty. Great bit of detective work.
That makes perfect sense as Yamaha dealers Worldwide swopped things and added extras for customers according to a 70's/80's dealer I spoke with.
Anyway its coming off and going into storage. I can't stand looking at it any longer. I have a standard seat and low profile Handlebars to fit but I'll probably leave everything as is until its MOT tested
Looks better with the standard seat don't ya think ? Looks like I'll have to get some longer hinges though
That makes perfect sense as Yamaha dealers Worldwide swopped things and added extras for customers according to a 70's/80's dealer I spoke with.
Anyway its coming off and going into storage. I can't stand looking at it any longer. I have a standard seat and low profile Handlebars to fit but I'll probably leave everything as is until its MOT tested
Looks better with the standard seat don't ya think ? Looks like I'll have to get some longer hinges though
Attachments
Yes, I prefer the standard seat. It was interesting to learn about Yamaha Specialties and their parts catalog.
This appears to be it.
From the Accessories and Parts Book. 1979.
The seat is classed as an accessory. Just the same as the saddle bags, flairing and the custom touring seat. The seat in the brochure is slightly different due to the extra rise at the rear.
The customer would have had an option to buy these parts at an extra cost on top of the cost of the bike. They can be classed as original Yamaha parts just not the standard parts that come on a Japanese production line bike. Some dealers probably had the odd bike made up for show purposes and the cost would reflect that.
Good old Vernon, certainly a loss to this site.
The seat is classed as an accessory. Just the same as the saddle bags, flairing and the custom touring seat. The seat in the brochure is slightly different due to the extra rise at the rear.
The customer would have had an option to buy these parts at an extra cost on top of the cost of the bike. They can be classed as original Yamaha parts just not the standard parts that come on a Japanese production line bike. Some dealers probably had the odd bike made up for show purposes and the cost would reflect that.
Good old Vernon, certainly a loss to this site.
Go back to post #64, read though and you will find my statements haven't changed. In fact the information i found at https://thexscafedotcom.wordpress.com/category/xs-pics/, brochure that jetmarty has posted from the link, confirms my statement. These parts accessories were not made available until Jan 79
Interesting information but again as i have always stated ...................
Interesting information but again as i have always stated ...................
hogfest50
XS650 Enthusiast
hi peanut can see this is a well old post but maybe you can help i have a 1980 us import xs650 special want to change the original seat for something lower been looking at the roadster looks like it may fit nothing looks like itll line up, so apart from that will need to come up with fixing ideas .
i can see you had problems and wanted any heads up on the right track ? regards hogfest50
Hi Hogfest
welcome to the forum mate.
The short answer to your question is yes...you can get a standard seat to fit your special but it will require a little fettling .
I'm not the best person to ask as my knowledge of the XS650 is very limited I'm afraid. 650Skull or gggGary and others would be the best people to ask .
The special seat on my 1978/9 Special ll is hinged from the side and I managed to buy a standard XS650 flat seat with side fixing hinge brackets that will fit . I haven't done the job yet but I can see that I might need to adjust the position of the hinge brackets on the standard seat so that they line up exactly with those on the bike frame. I've placed it loosley in position and it looks great .
You could buy a seat that doesn't have the side hinges and fit your own hinges from your special seat but that sounds like a lot of hassle to me so best look out for a seat from a standard 78/79 roadster model.
welcome to the forum mate.
The short answer to your question is yes...you can get a standard seat to fit your special but it will require a little fettling .
I'm not the best person to ask as my knowledge of the XS650 is very limited I'm afraid. 650Skull or gggGary and others would be the best people to ask .
The special seat on my 1978/9 Special ll is hinged from the side and I managed to buy a standard XS650 flat seat with side fixing hinge brackets that will fit . I haven't done the job yet but I can see that I might need to adjust the position of the hinge brackets on the standard seat so that they line up exactly with those on the bike frame. I've placed it loosley in position and it looks great .
You could buy a seat that doesn't have the side hinges and fit your own hinges from your special seat but that sounds like a lot of hassle to me so best look out for a seat from a standard 78/79 roadster model.
hogfest50
XS650 Enthusiast
hi peanut just bought a couple of seats, one supposedly a direct fit it was hopeless. looking at all the models the roadster with the same slanty side panels match the shape of the base line lip of the seat on my special in my avatar .I found one on ebay today in poor condition, no problem for me i upholster and recover seats so not a prob .
but the under side might be, thought of velcro as a form of fixing and the odd bracket ? without going to extreme frame cutting yet !
but the under side might be, thought of velcro as a form of fixing and the odd bracket ? without going to extreme frame cutting yet !
