Solo seat mod XJ750 police special

After rebuilding my motor i was nearly worn out myself, i sent my forks off to the fork gods and finalized my rear end. The tank is going well considering the dings i had to pull out of it.



Sitting on the bike feels nice, an ex West Australian police bike with original solo seat, but for registration the cover can't have any tears in the fabric which meant i needed to recover it.



Underside was a mess, my local roadworthy guy would knock it back as being unsafe in my best interest.



As i stripped the hardware off- i pulled on the catch and the rust let go. Not all that unsafe, but i hate how the last owner was to lazy to do a proper job on the metal, aghhhh fibermetalglassrust- not worth recovering.
What to do- and how to do it?

I considered making a nice old tractor seat fit, hinged at the front and 2 chrome springs at the rear of the seat on a custom bracket.

But, the XJ tank being so wide would look weird and i don't want a peanut tank look.

Very lucky for me i weld alloy bullbars at this time so i got stuck into it at work, took 1 week doing an average of 30 mins a day.

First was the base plate, after working it out in cardboard i transferred it to my alloy sheet.



Bent the plate to flow with the frame and covered the cutout and braced the center.

The outer ring was added in two parts and shaped down.



Many hours of thinking later i got the hardware mounted and the hinges repositioned on the frame and the catch worked out so that as you lower the seat- the rubbers touch the frame, then you give it a little push down and the catch locks in with a nice 'click' , very secure.



I thought it a waste to get rid of the seat/helmet lock which i may regret later if it shags out, but i am very happy about the fitting of the seat to the frame and the way it's opening.


So it still needs some more weld at the front to meet the tank nicely and more of a tap down at the rear for my buttocks but it reminds me of a tractor seat only wider at the front.





I just finished welding it up today after work and raced home to deburr and polish it, whew, doing the seat as quick as i can in case i get fired and don't ever work with alloy again, but it turns out i got the pay rise i wanted today, yes i am a happy man....

Most of my work m8's say i must have a hard arse, but i do plan to get some high density matting and glue it under a removable wool cover for those long trips.

I can tell you it feels pretty good and i could not wait to show this mod off, hope ya's like it.

 

That looks really good. I am impresed with your work.

 

that's pretty hardcore to ride on a metal seat. excellent work though!

 

you have skills dude

 

Very Nice, I like it a lot.

What's the story on those wheels? I have never seen those before, yet look familiar...

 

Hot stuff Rocker
She's not my bike anymore thats for sure!
You might need rubber pants !

 

XJ650 Turbo rims, and front brake calipers on the XJ750P's

Thanks guys, i shall make an extra seat with padding and properly covered next year.

 

Did the XJ650 Turbo wheels bolt on in place of the XJ750 wheels or was there more to it?

 

I'm not sure Zap, i think they thought the Turbo calipers had more stopping power but why they changed the rims as well?
Anyone know if the disk brake setup is different from the 650 to the 750?

Looking at Johnnos bike from NZ they still kept the 750 rims on the police specials but all the Australian police bikes are like mine, weird..

 

Nice work there and your right.... Aussies are weird! lol

 

hi mate love the work do you have an email i can contact you on see your from toowoomba and so am i and iam also doing up a xj750 and would love to see if you could build me a seat cheers brendan

 

PM sent, thanks Brendan.

Have a mate in Twba too, goes by "Bones" 82XJ650

We should all go for a ride once our issues are ironed out :roll:

I am getting closer...

 

Lookin good Rocker. I plan to go solo eventually. I like the AL pan with hinges. The stock seat for my XJ looks like a boat! One rider is enough the way I drive. Ha!

 

Thanks Seaguy,
I wanted a low profile seat, the pan idea is good, just omit the alloy top and replace with less foam padding than original and cover it.
Maybe the surround strip should be smaller around the seat or at least the foam a fair bit higher than the alloy to stop any pinching on the backside.
Too much padding and it won't be low profile.
I should get onto making another soon, i made a set of windchimes for both mothers for xmas, and like this project, have got orders already.

Other than a spare set of hands, i really need more energy..

 

That is turnin out to be one sweet bike! You know, i'm not a fan of hard cases, but those look pretty neat on your bike. I like how chromed your baby is! Very cool indeed
-Chris

 

That seat is AMAZING!!!!

 

Very impressive. I sat up and noted your comment about the WA Police bikes no fitting true XJ model specs. I cant work out what my front forks and brakes really were meant for. Particulary important coz I need to know how much oil to put in the forks.

 

Just treat the forks and brakes as XJ650 turbo 1983 spec, and you will be fine.
My WA Police bike was that spec, and they all seemed the same as delivered.

 

where is it?