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SWB repro seat?

S

sneakers563

Guest
So, I decided to treat myself to a new seat for my '71 /5 and called Bob's BMW about the reproduction seats pictured in their catalog, only to find that they no longer carry them.

I'm not real crazy about spending $500 on a factory seat.

Does anyone know of anyplace else that sells repro seats for SWB /5's? I suppose my other options are either to wait until a seat shows up in the flea market, or see if a local upholstery shop can make something resembling the stock seat out of the Corbin "king and queen" seat that's on there now.
 
I wrestled with this for several years because I wanted to keep the stock look (rules out Corbin), but couldn't afford the price for a stock rebuild from the custom seat shops.

Finally, my seat was beyond worn out, and I settled on a reproduction from Siebenrock

http://www.siebenrock.com/

A quick look at their on line catalog shows your seat is Euro 219 (about $315). I don't know what the added cost of shipping is, because I was able to pick mine up.

Overall, Siebenrock was great. Good service, answered my questions via email.

With regards to the seat, it is a compromise from my perspective. While it comes complete with the rail, the foam and cover aren't close to what you would get in a custom seat. So, for me, it was the best I could afford at the time and it has been ok. Down the road, I'm hoping to get a stock look Rick Mayer leather seat; but, too spendy for me now.

Hope that helps. From my experience, you have a lot more options if you don't want to keep the stock look. If you search this forum, you will find a couple of threads from some really skilled people who were able to "build" their own seats, buying only a new cover. Maybe that is an option for you as well.

Barron
 
I put a Corbin,gunfighter and lady seat on my R50/5,I had the white piping put on it and I thought it looked very similiar to the stock /5 seat.
 
I went with an aftermarket solo seat and trimmed all of the excess tabs and lock parts off an extra rear subframe.
 

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I once popped in on these guys in Frankfurt, Germany ... got some really nice reproduction and orginal parts for my /6, they seem to specialize in keeping vintage bikes going... when I was in the shop I noticed full seats were quite reasonable, as well they stated they ship around the world.

http://www.ulismotorradladen.de/englisch/englisch.htm

might be a good source....
 
Thanks all for the help. I found a really, really cheap one (105 british pounds) at moto-bins, too.

Raceydog, was that seat difficult to mount? It looks fantastic.
 
Thanks all for the help. I found a really, really cheap one (105 british pounds) at moto-bins, too.

Raceydog, was that seat difficult to mount? It looks fantastic.

The front mounts and springs are real easy to procure and puzzle out...pretty universal, I'll refer you to J&P Cycles...mostly Harley stuff, but they sell metric stuff too...reference the Harley side of things, go into the solo seat area...
 
I'm kind of in love with that brown Ultima seat. I guess my next question is whether it is possible to find a passenger pillion rack/cushion for the /5 like you see sometimes on solo seat /2's. It would be nice to have something for the rare times my wife joins me on the bike.
 
I made the front part of the mount out of a section of the saddlebag mount that came on the bike when I got it. It was rusted and missing a few pieces, so I cut it up and used it. I used some threaded inserts I had and drilled two holes on the top of the frame. I made a bracket for the back part of the seat to accomodate two hard rubber feet that rest on the rear subframe crossbar. I didn't want springs since I have shocks. I was afraid it would be too bouncy. I will post a link to some pics of the project tomorrow.
 
I'm kind of in love with that brown Ultima seat. I guess my next question is whether it is possible to find a passenger pillion rack/cushion for the /5 like you see sometimes on solo seat /2's. It would be nice to have something for the rare times my wife joins me on the bike.

I would suggest using some thick flat bar and making one that could attach to the flat sides of the subframe. Or you could weld them directly to the subframe and powder coat it for a "factory" look. You could mount two identical seats for a neat look.
 
I've come to the opinion that the seat is probably one of the most, and when it comes to making your female riding partner happty, THE MOST important parts of the bike...therefore, the issue of cost takes a long second to the issue of being the correct piece...I waited almost five years to get the right seat for my Harley, because it was DERN expensive, but now we are both happy...

So, my point is to NOT concern yourself about getting the cheapest seat out there...if you're gonna treat yourself to a new seat, get the one that will work best for you...if you can't afford that one right now, simply use the one ya got until you can...
 
Brown Leather Seat

I would love to see how RaceyDog mounted this to the rear subframe, I would like to install this onto my R75, I would even invest in a used rear subframe to hack if necessary.
 
I would love to see how RaceyDog mounted this to the rear subframe, I would like to install this onto my R75, I would even invest in a used rear subframe to hack if necessary.

Although a picture is worth a thousand words, I think that all you'd have to do is weld in a length of channel across the sub-frame as a mounting point for the seat springs...
 
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