Cafe Seat
I just can't get into how the "custom" seat on my XS400 looks...I really like the look of 1950s road race bikes. My wife thinks I'm crazy for going on and on about replacing the stock seat...I think, for her, listening to my opinions on the subtleties of motorcycle seat aesthetics is like listening to the microscopic details of haircut styles is for me.
Anyway, I finally bit the bullet and ordered a sweet road race tail from and cafe tail light from Hotwing Glass. I still need to cut it down to fit and make a mount for it, but I put it on just to see how it would look.
Before:
After:
(I've been riding a fair amount -- hence the generally filthy state of the bike)
I was a little worried about my order because I just sent a paypal payment to some guy in Florida who happened to have a site that showed some cool pictures of motorcycle parts for the most reasonable prices I've come across...but he shipped the parts quickly and they're great!
I'm a little hesitant to cut the seat to length just yet...because, well, I've been thinking about getting a bigger bike. My XS400 handles great with the bronze swing arm bushings, tapered roller steering head bearings, and fork oil changed to Bel Ray 5wt...but I think it's just too light to feel really stable in a cross-wind at speeds above 60 MPH. It has no problem getting to that speed, but it's pretty easy to get blown around.
I've been focusing on counter-steering and relaxing in major crosswinds at speed and that has helped a lot...but I think a substantially heavier bike might help too. My XS400 is great for zipping around the city, but I'd also like a bike that would be easy to do cross country trips on.
So, I'm thinking about getting a 1978 Suzuki GS750 with a GSX750 16 valve engine that I found on Craigslist that needs a lot of love...and the cafe seat would look awesome on that (although I admit I'd have to make a pretty substantial pad to make the cafe seat comfortable enough for a day-long ride). We'll see if it works out.
Either way...I think my XS400 is great. We'll see if I end up keeping the xs400 and continuing to modify it, or if I'll start a GS750 blog instead :-)
Anyway, I finally bit the bullet and ordered a sweet road race tail from and cafe tail light from Hotwing Glass. I still need to cut it down to fit and make a mount for it, but I put it on just to see how it would look.
Before:
After:
(I've been riding a fair amount -- hence the generally filthy state of the bike)
I was a little worried about my order because I just sent a paypal payment to some guy in Florida who happened to have a site that showed some cool pictures of motorcycle parts for the most reasonable prices I've come across...but he shipped the parts quickly and they're great!
I'm a little hesitant to cut the seat to length just yet...because, well, I've been thinking about getting a bigger bike. My XS400 handles great with the bronze swing arm bushings, tapered roller steering head bearings, and fork oil changed to Bel Ray 5wt...but I think it's just too light to feel really stable in a cross-wind at speeds above 60 MPH. It has no problem getting to that speed, but it's pretty easy to get blown around.
I've been focusing on counter-steering and relaxing in major crosswinds at speed and that has helped a lot...but I think a substantially heavier bike might help too. My XS400 is great for zipping around the city, but I'd also like a bike that would be easy to do cross country trips on.
So, I'm thinking about getting a 1978 Suzuki GS750 with a GSX750 16 valve engine that I found on Craigslist that needs a lot of love...and the cafe seat would look awesome on that (although I admit I'd have to make a pretty substantial pad to make the cafe seat comfortable enough for a day-long ride). We'll see if it works out.
Either way...I think my XS400 is great. We'll see if I end up keeping the xs400 and continuing to modify it, or if I'll start a GS750 blog instead :-)
posted by veloandy at 8:44 PM
16 Comments:
wow, this looks like it's gonna be awesome. I have the exact same bike as well. I have been thinking about doing a cafe style seat for mine too. I'm glad that there's somebody else out there who is already giving it a try.
The first thing I did to my xs400 was put clubman drop cafe bars on it. I think I got them for about 35 on ebay but they made a huge difference in changing the look and feel of the bike to a more cafe-esque style. I noticed you have replaced those stock bars (that were so uncomfortable and goofy) with some low risers. I'll try and take a photo of my bike with the clubmans. I think maybe they could add to the cafe look you've got going.
Anyway, thanks for blogging about this bike. It's fun to see what you've been up to.
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Hey Ol' Dust,
Thanks for the nice comment!
I plan on posting more pics as I get my seat mounted. My plan is to mount it without cutting the frame or doing anything irreversible.
I made a sweet tail light bracket and ordered all the stuff to make a replacement seat pan out of 1/4" diamond plate. I plan on taking some pics and putting up a post about the progress next week.
Hotwing Glass had the cheapest cafe seats I could find, but the one I got is really good quality.
I'd like to check out your blog if you have some pictures of your bike on it, but I see it's open to invited readers only. I added a "contact me" form to the bottom/Left pane of http://xs400.blogspot.com. If you send me an email from this form, I'll email you back and you can invite me...if you want.
Thanks!
-Andy
my blog is completely unrelated to my xs400 but seeing how yours is looking got me motivated enough to make some more changes to mine. I opted for the easy route and ordered the sport/cafe seat from mikesxs.com. It's technically for the 74-79 xs650 but i am hoping I can make some alterations to make it work on my 1980 xs400 special.
I also wanna get rid of the rear fender so I might have to get creative with that once the seat finally arrives. I plan to replce the HUGE square taillight as well but once again, I'll have to see what that involves once I actually have toe new seat in hand.
In addition, i'm planning to replace my mirrors with some clamp on bar end mirrors as well.
I've also gotta change my fork seals soon so I'm considering chopping the front fork tubes by about 3 inches or so. i think it will do a lot to level out the bike.
Anyway, I will take some pics of the process and figure out how to get them to you. Maybe I'll make a post dedicated to it on my non bike blog and send you an invite.
Keep keeping on.
Hey Ol' Dust,
I've also wondered what it would take to mount an xs650 seat on an xs400...let me know how it works out!
Before you chop the forks, you might want to try sliding them up in the triple clamps...it's an easy, reversible, and free way to play with the looks and handling. Be aware that lowering the front will increase the head tube angle and decrease trail -- I'd think 3 inches would make the bike a LOT more responsive/twitchy.
Once you get some pics, invite me to the "Dusty Blog", and email me through the email submission form on xs400.blogspot.com.
Good luck!
-Andy
veloandy,
well I got the seat yesterday. I haven't got it mounted up yet but i did strip off tons of the old stuff including the old seat, locking mechanism, rear fender, taillight, license plate, chain guard and some other hardware. The new seat is actually longer than the stock seat but i think it is gonna look great after getting rid of all the excess stuff. I also mounted some bar end mirrors and I can't say how nice it is. My xs400 vibrates quite a bit and the stock mirrors are nothing but a blur most of the time. The bar end ones are nice and low and out of the way of my arms and they don't vibrate at all.
Oh, good call on the fork tubes. You are right, I can move them up about 1.5 inches in the clamps and that should do a lot to change the handling and look. I'm also considering buying some longer shocks for the rear to try to level out the top of the bike. Any ideas of which ones might work the best?
Anyway, I've been taking pictures and as soon as I get the seat all mounted up I'll show a before/after transformation.
How's your cafe seat project coming along?
Is your seat for sale?
I'm looking for that particular one and would love to give it a good home for my xs400 that I am restoring. Nice blog!
-John
the.other.j.young@gmail.com
hey VeloAndy,
I got the seat all done and I took some pics. I tried using the email submission form on your blog but it just kept giving me an error. Anyway, send me an email to my spam email address:
dwickham1980@yahoo.com
From there I can send you the pics I took of my process. I think it looks pretty good and it has made the bike even more fun to ride!
best.
Dusty Wickham
Hey Andy,
I'm in the process of trying to get my XS400 running. It was free from a friend, but it sat for about two years with fuel. I'd like to replace my pilot jets as they were clogged. What year is your bike? Does it have Mikuni BS34 carbs? And do you remember what size jets were in it. I'd like to order new ones but I won't have a change to tear the carb apart till next week. Are the jets even marked with the size?
Reading your blog with inspiration. I posted a video of mine running on one cyclinder here: http://lucashurt.blogspot.com/
Cheers for now,
Luke
By the way, if you haven't seen this, wander over to http://www.650motorcycles.com/ for some inspiration.
I'm a big fan of this look: http://www.650motorcycles.com/GarethMatthews.html
Hey Luke,
My I'm pretty sure that my xs400 is a 1982. The pilot jets are marked. Mine were a Size 42.5 Type BS30/96, and I ordered them from here.
I really like the 650 motorcycles site...definitely good for inspiration. That GarethMatthews bike looks sweet, but I'm not sure what I think about the tiny headlight :-) When I *finally* get my seat swap done, I'll have to wash the bike and take some decent pics for a change.
Best Regards,
-Andy
Thanks for the tip on the jets, Andy. I didn't even notice the headlight. Maybe he was going for a motocross look.
Can't wait to see pics of the cafe seat mod. Working on the same thing myself 82' xs400 special.
Ol' dust ... I'd love to see pics of that xs650 seat and how you mounted it.
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Hey all, I posted a step by step of what I've done to my xs400 since i got it. It's on my otherwise non-xs400 related blog but you all are welcome to check out the pics at:
http://dustinwickham.blogspot.com
in addition, I uploaded a video of my xs400 near Jackson Hole, Wyoming from a ride some friends and i did recently.
Check it out at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWt-noz0KlE
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