new seat found for the v11

[Paul Minnaert]

I found this in italy:

http://www.granucciseats.com/

 

[Admin Jaap]

From what I can understand from their website they only sell seat covers. Very nice ones btw.

[Guest Phil/TX]

I think this company makes top line bicycle seats for road bikes.

Phil/TX

[Guest scooterj]

man thats really cool

 

scooterj

[mikie]

I didn't see any pricing on the website. If it's just a cover, it shouldn't be too expensive.

[RichMaund]

The seams appear to be double stitched. But that red thread will fade in the sun. Also, they placed the seams right under your thighs. Expect to feel those seams in your thighs! Also, that will accelerate wear on the seams. Break a stitch and the seam will open.

If you plan to fit one yourself, use a good Pneumatic staple gun with a extended nozzle to get the staples down into where you need them. A regular hand actuated staple gun is very clumsy in this type of work. Craftsman makes a decent air staple gun. But good luck finding staples at the stores. They are always OOS in my area! You will need to drill the rivets from the hand strap and re-rivet it back on when done too.

 

Free seat advice!

 

And you folks thought I wasn't dropping in anymore!

 

If you think it looks cool and that is what is important to you, get it! But don't expect it to hold up in use for too long. Common problem for aftermarket seat cover kits.

[Admin Jaap]

Hi Rich,

I already expected you would reply to this thread... Thanks for the free seat advice. I'm glad to still see you on the forum!

[RichMaund]

Hi Jaap! I still drop by almost every day. But your Board has grown and become busy to a point that it is difficult for me to keep up with it! Congrats on your success!

 

I'm trying not to freeze here. We've been having our coldest weather lately in ten years! My new Ural is running great and I'm spending spare time coming up with new accessories for it. Here's a pic of it taken today.

 

Notice the antique KMZ steel leg guards, scratch built bolt on back seat & backpad/grab rails to fit atop the stock luggage rack, custom seat cover to match the pillion, centerstand modified for easier use and I made mounts to hold the tire pump in brackets next to the rear fender. Thick tan leather saddle bags will get started on in about a week. And I'm saving up for a wheel for the sidecar frame we're working on for it. Darn good Winter project! I'm told only three more of these bikes are in stock at the importers! I was the second customer to buy one, but the first to put one on the road. (First customer bought his bike three days before I paid for mine. He lives in Massachusets and immediately stored his new bike for Spring!)

 

Even my business is doing well. WAY better than last January when I had to consider getting a part time job! Yheck! I'm staying busy with customer work about 3-4 days a week and I'm free the rest of the time to pursue my own projects! My new welding equipment is just terrific too. So life is good! I hope you're doing well too!

 

I can still rebuild non-Ural seats folks! Just contact me if you have any projects you'd like to discuss! There are over a dozen of my rebuilt V11S/Lemans seats in use now! I wonder how many Corbin has sold!

[Admin Jaap]

Even my business is doing well.

That's really good to hear! You know, the offer for getting you more Guzzi customers is still open!

[RichMaund]

Thanks Jaap!

But only owners of new bikes, in general, spend money on seats. And since none of the 2002 and on Guzzi 1100 Cruiser seats are rebuildable, there's no reason for me to encourage people to call. It is just a waste of time. Few owners of older bikes want to spend money on custom seats. So it's a small market. Right now, only the V11S/Lemans series bikes have improvable seats. And there are only a handful around. Since the seat is pretty darn good to begin with, only a handful of owners will want work done. Those folks can always find my help here if they want it. After almost eight years in business, I know my customers buying habits!

Lately, I do a trickle of old Guzzi seats, but mostly I do the big Japanese made cruiser seats and some Victory (Polaris) seats and lots of sidecar stuff. That makes up the majority of my trade now. Some folks like my ability to chop their backpad bars and redesign them for better support and better pads. I'm doing one now for a Cali 1100 owner who got a seat from me last year. That's where my new welding equipment comes in! Metal work is a nice way to break up the sewing and sculpting work. I prefer to vary what I do. Seems better for my arthritis too!

Thanks again for your kind offer. But it seems I get better business is I stay just a little hard to find. Weeds out the riff-raff!

[Guest northend]

Love the bike Rich And your work looks a 100 times better than those.

I've got an 03 Le Mans and would love to have one of your seats but I'd like to keep my stock one alsoso that makes things kinda expensive When I can afford it I'll be calling you .........YOU DA MAN!!!

[Kiwi Dave]

And since none of the 2002 and on Guzzi 1100 Cruiser seats are rebuildable, there's no reason for me to encourage people to call.

 

Rich, no disrespect for your obvious ability with your craft, but I wonder why you say the latter model seat are not rebuildable?

 

I purchased a 03 EV California Touring, the one piece seat was pure hell after coming off a 1100i. But a local upholster here in New Zealand reshaped the seat for me, moving the ridge forward to give my wife more room on the rear, and lifted the front to stop me sliding forward on to the tank. I supplied him with some "Tempur" foam which provided much more support than the soft foam the seat came with. The result is 400% better (before the get off and stretch becomes a necessity).

 

I would supply a picture, but have nowhere to upload it to.

[al_roethlisberger]

 

I would supply a picture, but have nowhere to upload it to.

 

 

...upload it from your PC directly to your post on the Forum

 

al

[gthyni]

Back to the Granucci seat cover.

 

FYI, I got a price quote from the swedish distributer

of around 70 euro incl shipping within Sweden.

[RichMaund]

Here is why I do not rebuild any Guzzi cruiser seats made since 2002:

The foam is too soft. You can add firmer foam, but the rest of it is too damn soft to support anyone but a small woman. The whole thing needs replaced and hand carving foam to fit a pan is time consuming and expensive. Most Guzzi folks would be unwilling to want to pay extra to have new foam carved.

The pans are junk. They are like flimsy ice cube trays. 2002 was a problem. 2003 and on was a serious problem and the EV's are the worst. They don't fit the bikes! They rattle around even when fastened down. On the non-EV cruisers, the pans can sag under load and the pan will contact bodywork cutting the covers. The EVs are worse because they get jammed into bodywork even before you sit on them. That's a recipe for long term damage. The rear seats sag at the sides due to a flimsy pan and inadquate support and the staples in the seat cover will dig into your back fender's paint.

Since the pan is junk, I want no part in rebuilding them. Long term... folks come back to me mad at the damage as though I was responsible for designing the stupid thing. That hurts my reputation and business. They won't complain to Guzzi, they'll come to me since they paid me hundreds of dollars to rebuild it.

 

I can't knowingly get involved in a project that will eventually fail.

 

I hope yours lasts for you. If you are of a "healthier" weight than many American riders, it may be OK for you. But here in the land of 200-300 pound riders, they collapse under load and damage stuff. So I stay away!

 

I'm working on a custom golf cart seat this week for a customer! Talk about diversifying!