OK .... one last seat question

[GSinNC]

Now I am a bit confused .... does the '99-'04 seat fit the 2005 LT? I had originally read that while it fit there was a pretty big gap left and it did not look good. I have just recently read where the pre 2005 seats fit the 2005 in BOTH the rider and passenger seats. Can anyone shed some light and if possible post pictures. I really want to have the seat on my '05 redone and just got a 2nd 2005 rider seat to do just that .... but at 6'3" tall I really liiked the seat on the 2003 LT.

[DavidTaylor]

The pre-05 seats do fit the 05 LT; rider and passenger. There is more of a gap visible under the seat, but unless you're standing next to the bike and bent over slightly you can't see it. You can't see it at all when you're riding. :) The height ajustment bar on the 05 seat is at least 1 inch shorter than pre-05 and that makes a HUGE difference between the two. Also, these bars are not interchangeable so you have to use a ore-05 seat if you want the taller ride height that comes with it. I took my Rick Mayer seats of my 02 LT (they were built on the stock 02 seat pan) and put them on my 05 with no problems; everything bolts right up like it should.

One other things about the gap. Some folks worry about more moisture or dirt getting under the seat. So far I haven't noticed anything more in the way of moisture getting in from rain; probably a combination of bike design (water just isn't channeled to that area) and the rider deflecting a great deal of the water as well as protecting the area when in the saddle. It may be a little dirtier under there, but honestly I can't tell a difference in that from my 05 to my 02 or my 99 LTs.

[petepeterson]

Ed, take the pre-05 seat and notch it in front on both sides.. Just a little will do it. Touch it up with black paint aand it fits like store bought.........Regards Pete

[GSinNC]

Ed, take the pre-05 seat and notch it in front on both sides.. Just a little will do it. Touch it up with black paint aand it fits like store bought.........Regards Pete

OK ... now I am on the hunt for a pre '05 seat

[DavidTaylor]

Ed, take the pre-05 seat and notch it in front on both sides.. Just a little will do it. Touch it up with black paint aand it fits like store bought.........Regards Pete

Can you explain what you mean by notch it, and why you need to do this? Mine went on with no mods other than it being rebuilt by Rick Mayer a few years back, and it has more padding and is wider than the stock pre-05 seat. Just curious, this is the first time I've heard heard anyone recommend mods to mount a pre-05 seat on an 05 LT. Thanks.

[petepeterson]

David, when you bolt hte seat on the front and close the seat it is a little tight to get the latch to lock..... SO you trim a little off the side of the plastic seat pan where it makes contact with the frame rails...Thats what I did to get it to close easy........Regards Pete

[DavidTaylor]

David, when you bolt hte seat on the front and close the seat it is a little tight to get the latch to lock..... SO you trim a little off the side of the plastic seat pan where it makes contact with the frame rails...Thats what I did to get it to close easy........Regards Pete

Interesting, I haven't run into that with mine.

[pozo_izquierdo]

Hi David,

Pete is right. If you want a perfect fit, the pre-05 seat needs to be trimmed slightly. As I had a chance to try out Tom Russell's Kontour seat, my first impression was that it was hitting the gas tank. Luckily that was not the case. The older seat base touches the side panels (or was it the frame) just a little bit but a little dremeling will cure that.

Now I also have a set of older seats that I bought from Hans Ruys, had them redone at Russell Seats and now I'm gonna dremel the seat base all open in the process of fitting my power seat adjustment mechanism in. Go figure...

Regards

[charlieg]

I also put an 03' seat on my 05'. While the older seat will bolt onto the 05' it does come into contact with both the frame and the side fairing. This is what causes the gap at the sides. As mentioned by others this can be cured easily by trimming, ie. cutting out a groove in the bottom of the seat pan with a dremell tool. Just take a little out at a time and check the fit, You can then nearly eliminate the gap at the side. I also adjusted the height of the seat latch bar to fit better with the latch. I had Ron Miller at Kontour recover this modified 03' seat, he did a great job and a very quick turnaround. After several 1000+ days I can say this setup works great for me.

[RonKMiller]

Hey David:

With that same ol' little Dremel and a cutting disc you can cut a small slot in either seat to make the quarter sized "locating disc" on the adjustment bar fit. To make it look good (like anyone is going to be looking at the bottom of your seat - LOL!) just drill two quarter inch holes about an inch apart and cut out a thin strip between them.

Come to think of it, I HAVE had some customers comment on the cosmetics of the bottom of the seat! ;)

[rlv]

Why is it that one would want to change an 05 seat for a pre 05 seat.
What's going on here? Am i missing out on anything?

[GSinNC]

Why is it that one would want to change an 05 seat for a pre 05 seat.
What's going on here? Am i missing out on anything?

Pretty simple but well stated by Ron Miller. Basically the '05 seat was modified to better accomodate shorter inseam riders. The '05 seat if fine for those about 6' or less although some tall riders have no issues with the '05 seat. It is narrower and pushes the driver farther forward.

Here is Ron's excellent description of the 2 seats:

BMW changed the seat in 05 due to complaints from dealers that they were losing too many customers in the showroom to Honda Goldwings, especially from "vertically challenged" riders. Anyone with an inseam of 29" or less was struggling to get their feet down and securely planted - it made the bike feel very unwieldy - enough to turn off a lot of guys right from the start without even taking it for a test ride! Inexperienced riders especially felt that the bike was just too big/heavy/awkward for them. The taper of the seat was made more severe toward the front so that you could keep your legs closer together and have more stability. They also made the lumbar support thicker to push you further forward, also increasing confidence for short legged riders. The pan was made differently and sits lower in the frame, and the difference between high and low height settings lessened by 1/2". Even with all of this they still were able to make the foam a little thicker in the 05 seat in the center by making it less dense - to TRY to make it more comfortable - although this rarely works.

[jcnovak]

Are you happy with the Mayer seat? I recently traded up from a 00 to a 05 and I hate this seat.