Seat pan mod by Kenny Joe

I just bought a 2004 Silverwing last night and rode it home and know I need to make some changes to make it comfortable. Has anyone made of found some way to add a highway bar or forward mounted pegs/footboards to gain legroom? I bought a old seat off ebay today to experiment with.
 
Has anyone changed the handlebars to a wider, higher position one?

It has just turned 20k and I see in the owners manual it says it should be replaced a 16k but it was traded in at a car lot so I know no history on it unfortunately.  Thanks in advance!

Hey, KennyJoe, I haven't heard of a SWing getting replaced at 16K. Sounds you made a bad deal buying it at 20K. Shady deal, Ken ! On the other hand, she wore a glove ! But, seriously, I think you are talking about the belt: yes, you should replace the belt since you don't know the history; at the very least, check that it is still within specs. It is 15 yrs old !
But, you should check and replace as necessary the tires: age, cracks, etc, replace all fluids ( condition of engine oil? ), check brake pads, etc. I am sure I haven't covered everything, but it's a good start. As for replacing the beast, that's up to you. Nobody here has made any of the mods you want to make, except for the foot pegs.
Maybe you should hold off the changes till you have ridden the bike for a few weeks. You might find you don't really need them !

Welcome to the fold.

Jay.

Like cotetoi said, It's probably the belt that the manual was talking about.

I bought an 08 that had been sitting under a tarp for two years. I replaced the belt even tho it looked like new. This way I knew what was in it. Also the tires were a bit weather cracked so new ones went on. The battery was stone dead so a new one went in. I also changed the oil and filter so that I'd know when it was changed and what's in it.

And yes, ride it for a few weeks to see how you like it the way it is before making too many changes. Also there's lots of people I've met on rides who have well over 70-80 thousand miles on theirs.

How tall are you K.J.? m 5'9ish" and find it a long reach to the forward floor boards. Anyways, welcome to the site! I think a Corbin seat lets you sit a bit further back and any bars will work if you like the naked bar look. I agree with Dale, give it some time and miles to before messing with it to much.

6'2" but my inseam is 34" so legroom is a problem as it was on the Burgman 650 I had. Looking into a Russell Day long seat but dang they are proud of them!

Why not just remove the butt rest and see how that suits you.

I did but the hard plastic guides or whatever they are doesn't feel the best. When I get the other stock seat I bought off ebay I'm going take my multi tool and take the drivers seating plastic back about 3-4" then replace the hole with aluminum and have it re-covered and see how that works. Did that on my Burgman and it was awesome.

Ride it 5,000 miles or so before any changes----bars are already too high----feet forward already hard on spine, forward pegs would just add to problem---Seat as is, butt rest adjusted back, worked for me for over 90,000 miles with 2 new SilverWings. Want to make changes---Givi adjustable windshield is best way to go to be comfortable.

KennyJoe wrote:

I did but the hard plastic guides or whatever they are doesn't feel the best. When I get the other stock seat I bought off ebay I'm going take my multi tool and take the drivers seating plastic back about 3-4" then replace the hole with aluminum and have it re-covered and see how that works. Did that on my Burgman and it was awesome.

Please post some photos of the steps you take to modify the seat.

If you want to change so much stuff on it, why buy it? I am on my second Silverwing i have a givi Airflow screen and altered the seat "Butt" rest to a backrest. I would like the Silverwing to have a shaft drive so i don't have keep changing drive belts, like my old Deauville had. I would like it to return ninety miles to the gallon as my Cruisym 300 does. It is what it is accept it.

Part of owning a bike and living in the good old U.S.A. is part of the pleasure of making a bike to the owners personal preference and not like everyone's else's. I bought it because I wanted another large scooter and it was a good deal. Everyone seems so critical of me wanting to make changes that I know will make it more comfortable as I have done to other scooters. I was looking for suggestions of people who had done similar changes to their own bikes.

Nice saddle. Is any of the foam the original shape? I can see that you've resculpted the butt rest, but did you also push that area back? Somehow I recall that the seat pan in butt rest area was was humped --but maybe I'm not remembering correctly.

It's convenient to have access to an air stapler so that you can restaple the cover to the pan. A hand staple gun just won't penetrate the pan.

Tim

Most of the original foam base was kept but I added almost 2 in of memory foam on the top. But I cut the plastic seat back 4 inches so it made for a super comfortable riding position with plenty of legroom.

That is one snazzy looking seat mod! I tried a simple re-cover on a Helix without the diamond tuck and it looked so crappy. You got crazy skills!

About all I can say about that seat is WOW! Great Job!

KennyJoe wrote:

Most of the original foam base was kept but I added almost 2 in of memory foam on the top. But I cut the plastic seat back 4 inches so it made for a super comfortable riding position with plenty of legroom.

Hi Kenny,

Did you take some pics from the back side/ bottom? I would like to see how you’ve cut the plastic.

Grtz,
Alex

Me too. Cutting the seat pan can't be easy. Small air saw would work after drilling a starter hole. Is the front latch striker still here?

Very nice seat !!!

KennyJoe wrote:

Nicely done. Congrats!

Hmm, I have a 1500 Gold Wing base and foam now you have me wondering about modifying and fitting, hmm.