Cheap Pillion Seat

[RickS1K]

My black Gen 4 came with a painted cowl. I am looking for a cheap pillion seat for occasional use (so even ?200 for a used OEM is not worth it), wondering about others' experiences of fleabay products - fit, quality, appearance

The plan for travelling is to use Kriega bags mounted on a Hepco & Becker plate, which takes the place of the cowl/pillion seat when riding... but I'll need to remove that plate if I travel to a track and that's where the seat comes in - it's just easier to pack away than the painted cowl, which might break/scratch. Fleabay has options from ?30-?90.

Has anyone tried them/can recommend one?

Cheers

 

[MrSmooth]

Hi Colin,

Hope you're recover(ed) ing from your various ops to fix your limbs back in place after your accident? All good with me.

I did a 2000 mile tour through Spain and France with my son in June, put a 20L Kriega pack with a 10L Kriega pack strapped to the top on the pillion seat using the Kriega hook system straps under the pillion seat - really easy and versatile - loading and strapping down the luggage each day was just a 5 minute job. If my Gen 3 pillion seat fits your Gen 4, you're welcome to borrow it for your trip.

Used a load of this tape - just stick it liberally to the rear paintwork, it lasted the whole trip, is relatively cheap and stops any grit rubbing the paintwork. I also used a Bagster 20L tank bag with a universal tank strap and loads of that tape on the tank to protect that. Again the tape worked brilliantly as did the Bagster tank bag. No residue left behind by the tape - my son used to use this tape to protect the paintwork on race cars which they fixed and shipped all over the world.

Best Regards

Steve

 

[RickS1K]

Hey Steve, things have started to get a lot better thanks, which is why I am asking about this - off to Anglesey for Jamie Whit day next month. I have ordered a cheap rear seat, as the Gen 4 is a totally different size/shape. It should arrive tomorrow. I was at Cadwell last month and I saw a few people wrap the Kriega round the pillion seat and tape up the body work. I will evaluate that vs using the big plate - it would be a lot more convenient but need to assess how strong the seat is first (esp as this is a ?50 knock off, not even oem).
Did your seat have tabs for guiding the kriega bags or did you just connect them under seat and lock it down?

 

[MrSmooth]

Good to hear you're on the mend!

Under my pillion seat there are plastic guides facing either forwards or backwards at the front and back which protrude slightly which fit the Kriega nylon straps really well - the ones which come from Kriega with an aluminum clasp. You just hook the nylon straps that clip onto the Kriega bag around the aluminum clasp and tighten the same bag straps - whilst touring you can just disconnect the bags at the aluminum clasp and leave those dangling - nobody can steal them as they are locked under the pillion seat. However, at the track day you might want to unhook those too, to stop them rattling around back there and more importantly - to save weight

See the official YouTube Kriega fitting instructions here

Enjoy your Jamie Whitham Track Day, I did one at Croft 2 years ago, although I was probably the slowest in the slow group, just constantly frightened of dropping the bike - even though I had all the electronics turned up and was on new tyres too - and it was a damp track from the outset - it dried up around lunchtime. It's very casual, you have to be in the experienced coaches faces during your session - try and keep up with them - I did for about 1 1/2 corners and then they just fecked off - and then go and see them at the end of your session to quiz them. I got far more value from Level 1 Californian Superbike School, although it is probably twice as much as the JW Track Day.

 

[lightning_bob]

i bought mine on ebay for ?175