Solo Seat w/ Rack - 82' XJ650 Maxim

Alright so I have been thinking about creating a solo seat with a rack for quite some time, time to actually do it!

Goal:
Create a second seat using the factory seat pan and latching mechanism
Maintain its easy on/off fitting so it can be switched out with 2-up seat
Add flat rack for strapping a bag down or any other eager typical for motocamping trips
Leave flexibility for future modifications to match typical packing needs

I found a seat on ebay for cheap so my current 2-up seat will stay intact. The cover on the new one is in good condition so I will just pull off as much as necessary, cut and refasten. Day 1 pics coming up, need to be finished by next Thursday!

 

Day 1 I took a look at the current seat to get an idea where I would like to trim off the "passenger" seation. My current seat is shown since it just happened to be on there at the time, but seat profiles are basically the same with this one and the seat to be modified.

(Sorry, I lost these pictures somewhere) I pulled the staples out from the cover and the seat pan using a screwdriver and pliers. I only pulled out as many samples as needed to get to the area I was removing. Fastening back to the seat pan is kind of a PITA from my last experience. Then marked the seat with a sharpie (the seam of the cover gave me a good reference indentation as well) before cutting it away with a utility knife to get the line going then I actually used a serrated bread knife to trim out the rest of the foam. Now the easy part is done, and I can look to see what "base" I am working with.

 

I'll definitely be following this one, I've had the same interest.

 

Day 2 Developed a plan to cut the upsweep of the back of the seat pan to be level-ish since that is what my rack will sit on and then be mounted through to the seat pan itself with bolts. The original plan was to create a single plane rack with a front portion to attach my saddleman bag to, and then a back portion over the rear fender and brake light which would provide some additional room. A problem occurs at the grab rail since it sticks up further than the seat pan. Solution! Break the plane into 2 portions, which will also create the option to really customize the back portion and give it a little more assurance that the seat can not slide off. But first, cut off seat pan upsweep.

 

Alright so I spent a bit of time modeling what is in my head. I didn't go into great details with modelling the grab rail perfect or spending any time with the seat since I don't need to be that precise but here is what I'm going to start making tonight. Material is 3/4"t MDO since I have some scraps laying around. Will probably keep this for a bit. Stain/Paint for a little added durability against the weather. Total overall length I will start with will be 24" from back of seat foam to end (may be a bit long, but it will be easier to cut after than before!) And this will be as wide as the grab rail which is about 10 1/2"

 

Almost finished with it, but haven't had time to really document the procedure. I have learned some things which shifted a few directions but I plan to have a detailed report with pictures of the camping trip sometime next week. It seems to be a real good start!

 

And...? How’d it turn out?

 

he was here a few weeks ago so still around. just a note for the seat staples I picked up a bostich air stapler works great 35$ at ace