Questions about installing a solo seat

BakedOregonian

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I have a 1983 Yamaha Maxim Xs400 dohc and I was wondering if there is a bobber solo seat out there that will work for my bike without needing to do any welding? Thanks guys
 
From the looks of the seat on your bike, its almost as if you could just chop the back of the seat off and have it reupholstered.
 
But the section under the passenger seat is uneven and if i remember correctly wires to the tail run there....
 
I'm in the same boat. I plan on trying my hand at making a seat from fiberglass and a piece of sheet metal. At this rate I probably won't get to it for a couple months.

A while ago I made a simple base from sheet metal that just slipped on and it worked pretty well (except I made it too snug and it chips off the paint). I will try to find it and take a picture to show it's look. I also tried to upholster it myself (HAHAHAHAHA) and failed.

Like Jeff said, the OEM seat is uneven and has wires running under there. Plus it is secured to the bike using two wingnuts inside the box on the back of the bike, so you would have to reroute wires, chop the seat, reupholster it, then figure out a new way to secure it to the bike. Not impossible, but it will take some work.

As far as aftermarket seats there aren't any that I've found that will just bolt on without some sort of modification(s).
 
Check out my saddle:

http://www.xs400.com/media/albums/billdays-dohc-xs400.1014/

The PO did it without modifying the frame. The rear fender was cut down to make the short piece you see. He took the upholstery off the seat pan, cut a section out of the middle, and pieced the pan back together with a few screws and nuts. Then he reupholstered it himself. Everything is fastened together using pre-existing mounting points. If anyone is interested I can post some pics to show how it looks underneath.
 
Check out my saddle:

http://www.xs400.com/media/albums/billdays-dohc-xs400.1014/

The PO did it without modifying the frame. The rear fender was cut down to make the short piece you see. He took the upholstery off the seat pan, cut a section out of the middle, and pieced the pan back together with a few screws and nuts. Then he reupholstered it himself. Everything is fastened together using pre-existing mounting points. If anyone is interested I can post some pics to show how it looks underneath.
I would love to see some photos of that!
 
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