[Uncle Bill]

Has anyone tried to put a Bonneville seat on their Thunderbird? There seems to be many more options for the T100 seats out there but without having the two side by side I can't tell if it would work or not. I've seen pictures of the seat bottom and it has the same mounting style as my '02 TB so I guess it would just be a matter of mounting locations. Any thoughts on this?

 

[gregp]

You know, with the proper tools and materials, there is nothing that can not be done. I have been looking for a solution to my Adventurer's seat problem for a while now, and I have found only one person on the internet that had adapted a Harley seat (FXR?)to his TC3. I was not able to contact him and ask questions, but it did get me thinking about it. I have not found any budget fixes, and I just can't see paying $350 for a seat.
So, let us know what you find out if you are intrepid enough to try it. Myself, I may just snatch up a HD seat if one falls in my lap.... the shape certainly looks to be close enough....

 

[roadpoet]

I had my Legend seat reprofiled and repadded to look like a late 60's Bonnie. Easy, effective and cheap if you can find an upholsterer who works with bike seats.

 

[MickMaguire]

I very much doubt that this will work - the Bonnie is a smaller bike.

There were a few variants of T3 classic seats around they can all be made to fit with relatively minor tweaks - with one exception, the adventurer has a totally different rear subframe so is out on its own.

I have made an early Tbird seat fit a late Tbird / Legend and also a TBS seat fit a legend. I have also swapped a TBS rear frame onto a Tbird- Which actually can be easier than messing with modfying the seat if you dont mind swapping the exhaust.

The other easy route to go is custom on a stock pan.

 

[Sned]

What is it that you are trying to do? Are you just looking for a custom seat and are thinking that there a lot of options available for the Bonnevilles? In any case, I have both bikes and I can tell you that they are completely different. The Bonneville doesn't have a seat latch. It is fastened by two bolts that slide through tabs welded onto the frame.

In any case, Corbin http://www.corbin.com/triumph/tbird.shtml builds custom seats for all the Tbirds. They are quite good quality (I have one on my 95 Tbird) but they are spendy! Sargent will build a custom seat onto your stock seat pan. I haven't had any direct experience with them, but I have a riding buddy that swears by them. http://sargentcycle.com/triumph.htm

 

[MickMaguire]

The Bonneville doesn't have a seat latch. It is fastened by two bolts that slide through tabs welded onto the frame.

As does his '02 Tbird, but yes the seats are totally different aside from fixings etc

 

[Uncle Bill]

Yes, Mick is right, the later 'birds have the same type of mounting as the T100's, I just needed to know if they were in the same locations. I'm looking to lessen the "dip" in the front portion of the seat (no wise cracks!) as I ride solo and I'm all over the seat depending whether I'm up on the tank in the twisties or stretched out with my feet on the highway pegs. Also, I'm really tired of getting "numb butt" after less than an hour of riding, as this really puts a crimp on my kind of riding beause for me a quick spin is 40 to 60 miles and a decent Saturday or Sunday ride is 150 plus. I guess I'll have to find an upholsterer to build up my seat with a higher grade foam and/or gel. I like the look of the stock seat so I was hoping I could use a T100 gel seat and there's one on Ebay right now for $249! Anyone know of a good upholsterer?

 

[MickMaguire]

As I implied before - even though the mounting is the same its almost certain the seats will not interchange the bikes are totally different in size / shape in that area.

 

[Uncle Bill]

Well Mick, I guess the only way I'll know for sure is to take my seat off and schlep down to Gengras and see how close they are. On a side note, is there any snow left up there so I can can get one last ride on my 'Cat before I switch over to two wheel mode? I'm really jonesin' here! Too cold and windy at 36 degrees with 30 MPH gusts for the street for me. Not like when I was younger and rode year round.

 

[MickMaguire]

not really anything that you can ride a snow machine on round here now - mainly mud - maybe better at the far north of the state

 

[Tbirdnz]

If you want a seat that you can ride for hours on day after day without any fatigue then the Triumph King & Queen seat is the best one. I toured with a pillion 4,500 miles last year in under 3 weeks and we were both comfortable all the time.

In my opinion it's also the best looking one.

--------------
Ride on !

 

[patrol21]

I was able to put an Adventurer seat on my 95 TBIRD with just a bit of tweaking. Picked it up on EBAY for 20 bucks....I have the locking seat so it was a fairly easy switch pulling that off my stock seat and mounting it on the Adventurer seat. I also removed some of the rubber bushings off the stock seat and mounted them on the Adventuer seat as there was a couple of gaps and I didn't want the back part of the seat riding simply on the locking latch. Working out good so far and the seat seems rock solid as it rides on the rails every few inches with the new bushings.

 

[choosetheblues]

Try Sargent Cycle.com

1-800-749-7328 and visit their web site, Custom Seat Services. All they need is the correct seat pan for the bike and they can build you a custom seat pretty much to the specs you want. You send seat pan, sketches and some duct tape type dimensions on the existing seat down to them. 2 to 3 weeks later they send you back your custom seat. Quite reasonably priced too - certainly less than a Corbin and it's custom made for your butt! I am getting a solo one done for my new (96) Tbird shortly

 

[cafetbird]

Yep, Sargent does a fine job. Depending on what you are looking for, other good options are Rick Mayer or Bill Mayer. But they are more pricey.

Bill- what are you looking for?

 

[BRG-BIRD]

I had Sargent redo my stock seat this winter and they did a great job, communicated well, answered all my questions, and had a fast turn around time.

The quality of the job was A+ and I highly recommend them!

 

[JPI54]

Seats

Hey Guys ,
Try Ramp Motorcycles in Port Jeff NY. Call them they had a couple of seats. One was a bonnie and not sure of the others.
I was there Sat. and I am sure that if they have what you want you will get it cheap. Good Luck

John

 

[JPI54]

TBIRD seat on Ebay

There was a seat on Ebay for $100. Don't think it has sold. I think there is 30 mins left. Saw it when I searched triumph under motorcycle parts. Can check it out ever. just search triumph in completed section.

Good luck