Seat differences? 2003 vs...?

[Grim]

Hi folks,

So I bought a v11 seat off eBay, lovely condition, looked fine.  Aaaand I've just spent an hour swearing whilst jumping up and down on it.

My bike is an 03

I don't know the year of the new seat, I swapped the metal work across just in case and still no luck.

The only visual differences are:

My seat has rubber grommets where it sits on the frame, new seat does not.

My seat is flat over the battery/ECU, new seat has a weird bulge with a sharp cutout around the ECU

My seat has brassy metalwork, the new seat has silver.

Apart from that things look the same, and I cannot see what it might be hitting, the latch pin at the back seems nowhere near the latch on the bike.

 

Have I got myself a shorty frame seat?

 

 

 

[Lucky Phil]

29 minutes ago, Grim said:

Hi folks,

So I bought a v11 seat off eBay, lovely condition, looked fine.  Aaaand I've just spent an hour swearing whilst jumping up and down on it.

My bike is an 03

I don't know the year of the new seat, I swapped the metal work across just in case and still no luck.

The only visual differences are:

My seat has rubber grommets where it sits on the frame, new seat does not.

My seat is flat over the battery/ECU, new seat has a weird bulge with a sharp cutout around the ECU

My seat has brassy metalwork, the new seat has silver.

Apart from that things look the same, and I cannot see what it might be hitting, the latch pin at the back seems nowhere near the latch on the bike.

 

Have I got myself a shorty frame seat?

 

 

 

Yes. However your post got me thinking. I have a spare seat I bought years ago and your post rang a bell, so I checked my spare seat and its different to my original Greenie seat. Your new seat is the earlier style of a short frame V11 (Greenie) etc. I tried the later seat on my bike and if anything it fits better than the original. Because I raised the rear of my tank when I fitted the Daytona engine I trimmed about 8mm off the front edge of the seat base so it fitted better and re stapled the cover. Surprisingly the later seat fits better without this base trimming. I think you'll find the new seat you have(earlier type with the cutout bulge) will be fowling on the battery strap. Remove the battery strap and see how it fits. All the mounts etc line up and it latches in place ok on my earlier subframe. I think the new one you have off the earlier bikes are just a little too tight around the battery and ecu.

Ciao

   

[Grim]

6 minutes ago, Lucky Phil said:

. All the mounts etc line up and it latches in place ok on my earlier subframe. I think the new one you have off the earlier bikes are just a little too tight around the battery and ecu.

Ciao

   

Thanks Phil, I felt it was something to do with the battery, I don't get why they would put a bulge there in the seat pan!? Where the batteries lower in the short frame bikes?

I'll try without the strap and see, I do have an upholstery stapler, so I could swap the covers over if I have to.

[Lucky Phil]

12 minutes ago, Grim said:

Thanks Phil, I felt it was something to do with the battery, I don't get why they would put a bulge there in the seat pan!? Where the batteries lower in the short frame bikes?

I'll try without the strap and see, I do have an upholstery stapler, so I could swap the covers over if I have to.

I think it's just an evolution of the design. You know they design it all tight and close fitting then realise the tolerances are too tight and modify later seats. Don't know, it's Italian could be anything behind it and logic would probably be a long way down the list.

Anyway both versions fit my 2000 year model bike. I actually made a metal strap extension for my battery strap because the amount of tension on a brand new rubber battery stray is insane. I made it from the front battery tray mount so that the rubber strap with its tab now sat flat adjacent to the front edge of the battery. Look really neat and had just the right amount of tension, except the seat wouldn't fit now. The earlier seat base is a VERY tight fit around the battery and ECU.

Ciao 

[footgoose]

'00 on the left '02 right

[img]https://static.imgzeit.com/reduced/773af1304c89895f/IMG-1622.JPG[/img]  ( the BBcode for forums still not working)

[footgoose]

it should be noted there are subtle differences in the indents for the fuses and relays. It is very important to be sure nothing even come close to fouling these areas as the bases and connections are already of questionable reliability.