Solo seat Ambo/Eldo

[arveno]

Hi All ,
I am looking to purchase a solo seat ( when funds will allow ) , I see that Cycle garden , Hapermoto guzzi and MG cycle sell it .
Besides the price's difference , made in Italy or USA they all sell them as "replica " but obviously they look different .....
..which on is the real " replica " ?

If anyone has one one these , would you share your impression/feedback ?

thanks
Marco

http://www.harpermoto.com/solo-seat-v700-ambassador-eldorado.html

http://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=74&products_id=274

http://www.transportergarden.com/EldoSeat.jpg

[mtiberio]

best saddle I have ever had for a loop is a harley saddle:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Harley-Police-type-Solo-Seat-Knuckle-head-Pan-Head-Shovel-head-dark-brown-/371246426915

[Cam3512]

Is your bike a Police or Civilian model.  Solo seats work best with police handlebars and floorboards.  Civilian bars, pegs, and dual seat go nicely together.

Solo seats come in the two types.  One is frame mounted, the other is spring mounted.  I've had both.  I prefer the feel of the frame mounted solo and the looks of the springer.

[arveno]

Is your bike a Police or Civilian model.  Solo seats work best with police handlebars and floorboards.  Civilian bars, pegs, and dual seat go nicely together.

Solo seats come in the two types.  One is frame mounted, the other is spring mounted.  I've had both.  I prefer the feel of the frame mounted solo and the looks of the springer.

which one is frame mounted ?
cycle g. and mg cycle seems spring mounted... i cannot tell Harper .

thanks

[Curtis Harper]

The Harper's seat is solid mounted to the frame. Made locally by local tradesmen.

[Greg Field]

IME, metal pans are gooderer than fiberglass pans. Try to find an original sprung or unsprung solo seat and get it powdercoated and re-foamed.

[Turin]

My first choice wound be an original with a metal pan frame mounted saddle. I went with the Harpers saddle. Nice unit and the price is great.

[Hahnda]

I have a spring seat like the one from MG Cycle on my '71 Ambo and a frame mount seat that I think came from Harpers on my 70 Ambo. They each have their own look. I find the frame mount a bit more comfortable. Its larger and keeps me planted in the seat better. The combination of the spring seat and the off the line torque of the Ambo.....  I find myself sliding off the back of the seat and constantly trying to move forward.

[Lannis]

best saddle I have ever had for a loop is a harley saddle:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Harley-Police-type-Solo-Seat-Knuckle-head-Pan-Head-Shovel-head-dark-brown-/371246426915

I had this exact saddle on my '54 Panhead, sitting on a sprung post like Harley does.   Reasonably comfortable.

I installed it on my Eldo for a bit, solid mounted.   For me, a torture rack.   50 miles and out.

Seats are very personal things.   What one person deems impossible to use may be someone else's lovely featherbed!

Lannis

[moto510]

I bought the Harpers seat to save a few bucks over the Cycle Garden one and that was a mistake  :(
The front of the seat sticks way further up in the air than it looks in the pics on their website.
This is what it looked like when I first put it on my Eldo. I've since remade the front bracket to lower the front of the seat.

I also had to replace the foam that was used in the seat since it had no support  and I could feel the seat pan if I was riding for more than 15 minutes.
When I took the foam to the local foam supplier he said "that's light packing foam and cheap batting, not what you use for motorcycle seats"

[arveno]

Thank you all for your feed back , now its time to save up...  ;D

[maquette]

I have Harper's on my '72 Eldorado and like it a lot. Haven't tried any of the others mentioned.

[Mike Harper]

I bought the Harpers seat to save a few bucks over the Cycle Garden one and that was a mistake  :(
The front of the seat sticks way further up in the air than it looks in the pics on their website.
This is what it looked like when I first put it on my Eldo. I've since remade the front bracket to lower the front of the seat.

I also had to replace the foam that was used in the seat since it had no support  and I could feel the seat pan if I was riding for more than 15 minutes.
When I took the foam to the local foam supplier he said "that's light packing foam and cheap batting, not what you use for motorcycle seats"

I am calling BS on this.

  The other  loop seats shown here that are mounted with springs put the rider up too high and the springs allow the seat to move around side to side and are not a stable riding platform.  Look at the MG cycle picture and you will see how high up the seat is.. That seat is for a Nuovo Falcone anyway and not a loop frame.

As far as the foam, our seat has a base foam of 2 inch hi density base foam with another  1 inch of  slightly softer foam over that, then the cover itself has 1/2 inch of foam in the cover.  The height of the seat is made so it can be adjusted up or down to suit the individual.  Then our seats are personally tested and approved by a 300 lb Gorilla ( that would be me ) that designs everything we make.  Our seat maker uses the same foam setup on all the seats he builds.  Harley's, Gold wings, cafe racers, and even atv's so there is no problem with the foam.

We have sold hundreds of our loop frame solo seats all over the world without issues. 

Check ebay for loop frames for sale and you will find that the bikes with solo seats, most of them have the Harper's seat on them.

[arveno]

Mike Harper , thanks for clarify....
I really like yours and i will go for it.... as soon as i get the next  pay check lol

[moto510]

I am calling BS on this.

  The other  loop seats shown here that are mounted with springs put the rider up too high and the springs allow the seat to move around side to side and are not a stable riding platform.  Look at the MG cycle picture and you will see how high up the seat is.. That seat is for a Nuovo Falcone anyway and not a loop frame.

As far as the foam, our seat has a base foam of 2 inch hi density base foam with another  1 inch of  slightly softer foam over that, then the cover itself has 1/2 inch of foam in the cover.  The height of the seat is made so it can be adjusted up or down to suit the individual.  Then our seats are personally tested and approved by a 300 lb Gorilla ( that would be me ) that designs everything we make.  Our seat maker uses the same foam setup on all the seats he builds.  Harley's, Gold wings, cafe racers, and even atv's so there is no problem with the foam.

We have sold hundreds of our loop frame solo seats all over the world without issues. 

Check ebay for loop frames for sale and you will find that the bikes with solo seats, most of them have the Harper's seat on them.

Mike,  I bought the seat from your website and it said that it was for a loop frame bike, You may remember that I was sent the wrong header pipes and crash bars and the first seat that you sent me had a pan that was warped and would not fit on my bike and my credit card was double charged for the order, I'd let you know the order # but it looks like my orders have been erased and replaced with someones orders from Australia named Peter Cusack.
There are no springs under my seat in the pics. I sent you pics of the seat mounted and you said that is was supposed to be that way.
This is the bottom of the first seat that I received with the crooked mounts, they did replace the seat without a problem.


As far as the foam on the replacement seat that I received, it definitely only had one layer of light density foam and 1" layer polyester batting on top. 
Maybe I caught you on a bad day when I called about the replacement seat but you really didn't seem to care about it and offer no remedy for it.

[arveno]

 :pop

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

Paging crc lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cam3512]

Unlike the MG Cycle REPRO springer seats that mount directly to the frame tabs, the original police sprung seats mounted to steel cups that were bolted to the outside of the frame, thus lowering the overall seat height.  Good luck finding a stock original seat. Springs were much heavier, and wound in opposite directions.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=161505354602

[Travman]

Unlike the MG Cycle REPRO springer seats that mount directly to the frame tabs, the original police sprung seats mounted to steel cups that were bolted to the outside of the frame, thus lowering the overall seat height.  Good luck finding a stock original seat. Springs were much heavier, and wound in opposite directions.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=161505354602

Thanks for sharing that Cam. I did notice the aftermarket spring-mounted seats didn't quite do it for me. You are right. They all sit higher compared to pictures of orginal police bikes.

I've never seen a true original police seat listed for sale. There was an "original" solo police seat advertised on eBay recently, but it was probably just a scruffy, used MGCycle style seat. Have you ever seen a true original?  What do you have on your Eldorado?  I have a Cycle Garden seat on mine.

[Mike Harper]

Mike,  I bought the seat from your website and it said that it was for a loop frame bike, You may remember that I was sent the wrong header pipes and crash bars and the first seat that you sent me had a pan that was warped and would not fit on my bike and my credit card was double charged for the order, I'd let you know the order # but it looks like my orders have been erased and replaced with someones orders from Australia named Peter Cusack.
There are no springs under my seat in the pics. I sent you pics of the seat mounted and you said that is was supposed to be that way.
This is the bottom of the first seat that I received with the crooked mounts, they did replace the seat without a problem.


As far as the foam on the replacement seat that I received, it definitely only had one layer of light density foam and 1" layer polyester batting on top. 
Maybe I caught you on a bad day when I called about the replacement seat but you really didn't seem to care about it and offer no remedy for it.

I do remember the seat with the crooked front bracket and that seat was indeed replaced. That issue was addressed with the seat pan maker and corrected. Sorry that one got through but we did what needed to be done to take care of that issue.

There are four people here that you may have spoken with so if you will pm me your name and/or an order number I will see who took the order and dealt with you.  

As far as the seat height compared to the fuel tank, all of the seats have the same front bracket and they do all sit in the position in your picture  because that angle gives the nicest and most comfortable riding position. Whomever you spoke with would have tried to explain that to you and if you wanted to you could lower the bracket by grinding the slot for the mounting bolt a little deeper.

  I still don't buy your assertion about the seat foam because they have been all made the same from the beginning.  If you are still unhappy about the seat and want to discuss it privately we can do so or if not then I guess you will find happiness by continuing to hide in the chat room bushes and shoot poison darts.

I will be waiting for your PM should you care to talk.

Mike



  

[Mike Harper]

Thanks for sharing that Cam. I did notice the aftermarket spring-mounted seats didn't quite do it for me. You are right. They all sit higher compared to pictures of orginal police bikes.

I've never seen a true original police seat listed for sale. There was an "original" solo police seat advertised on eBay recently, but it was probably just a scruffy, used MGCycle style seat. Have you ever seen a true original?  What do you have on your Eldorado?  I have a Cycle Garden seat on mine.

To my recollection there really is no such thing as a true Guzzi original police saddle.  Berliner started using HD solo seats at the request of the various police depts that were using Guzzi's.  Somewhere along the line either Berliners, Blackie's or Bob Schantz started offering solo seats.  Not really sure who actually made them or had them made but I believe they were an American made aftermarket seat  I dont think any of the seats of this type design came from Italy back then. 

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Thanks for sharing that Cam. I did notice the aftermarket spring-mounted seats didn't quite do it for me. You are right. They all sit higher compared to pictures of orginal police bikes.

I've never seen a true original police seat listed for sale. There was an "original" solo police seat advertised on eBay recently, but it was probably just a scruffy, used MGCycle style seat. Have you ever seen a true original?  What do you have on your Eldorado?  I have a Cycle Garden seat on mine.

I just received an original solo seat metal pan (only - no foam or cover) from a friend in NJ. Unfortunately, it was on a bike that was crashed very hard, so it's a bit "tweaked". But, a little torch and hammer work will bend it back into shape.

[moto510]

I do remember the seat with the crooked front bracket and that seat was indeed replaced. That issue was addressed with the seat pan maker and corrected. Sorry that one got through but we did what needed to be done to take care of that issue.

There are four people here that you may have spoken with so if you will pm me your name and/or an order number I will see who took the order and dealt with you.  

As far as the seat height compared to the fuel tank, all of the seats have the same front bracket and they do all sit in the position in your picture  because that angle gives the nicest and most comfortable riding position. Whomever you spoke with would have tried to explain that to you and if you wanted to you could lower the bracket by grinding the slot for the mounting bolt a little deeper.

  I still don't buy your assertion about the seat foam because they have been all made the same from the beginning.  If you are still unhappy about the seat and want to discuss it privately we can do so or if not then I guess you will find happiness by continuing to hide in the chat room bushes and shoot poison darts.

I will be waiting for your PM should you care to talk.

Mike



  

PM has been sent

I still stand behind what I said about the foam on the seat that I received, I don't know much about foam but Bob's foam factory in Fremont does and it's the place that told me the type of foam that was on the seat when I brought it to them.

[Cam3512]

Thanks for sharing that Cam. I did notice the aftermarket spring-mounted seats didn't quite do it for me. You are right. They all sit higher compared to pictures of orginal police bikes.

I've never seen a true original police seat listed for sale. There was an "original" solo police seat advertised on eBay recently, but it was probably just a scruffy, used MGCycle style seat. Have you ever seen a true original?  What do you have on your Eldorado?  I have a Cycle Garden seat on mine.

I have seen a couple originals with springs.  Years ago, my neighbor come home with a very original, low mileage, Police Ambo that had an original sprung seat (with cups), and "Moto Guzzi" stenciled on the back. Looked like this one.

http://images.cyclegarden.com/ImageFolio4_files/gallery/Photos/Moto_Guzzi_Eldorado/aaaeldo4030.jpg

The originals I've seen had a very flat profile with minimal seams.  It was my understanding that Guzzi developed the springer seat for the LAPD bikes at their request. Perhaps it was up to the respective police department that took delivery of the bikes?  Who knows for sure.

[arveno]

I found these links with original Italian police bikes .

Scroll down to see an example of 1965 police bike.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moto_Guzzi

http://www.poliziadistato.it/articolo/1428-moto_guzzi_v7/

http://www.fiammeblu.it/displayimage.php?pid=66775

these pics were taken at the guzzi museum, proof that original seats did exist, of course its not easy to find one today....
Anyway my bike is not museum quality but a bike to be ridden as much as possible , so a repop seat is good enough for me.

[Mike Harper]

None of those seats came from the factory on bikes that were used and designated as US loop frame ambassador and eldo model police bikes. The T3 and G5 bikes did come with the seat shown. The other seats on the V700 and the nuovo Falcones are actually the same and were used on Military and other government Guzzis in Italy. All of the U.S. police bikes were the design of Joe and Mike Berliner. Also the names Ambassador and Eldorado were
Only US models. The bikes were known as the V7 Special and the 850 G T in Italy

[cwiseman]

I've owned two Eldo's both with solo seats. The first had a Harpers and I found it very comfy but the old bike had shit suspension so the overall ride could get rough. My recently purchased Eldo has a aftermarket sprung saddle and does feel to sit up in the rear a bit more than I prefeer. The bike has much better suspension and with the springs it gives a nice ride over rough roads. I have not been able to really log some miles on it over the highway so it's true comfort hasn't been tested. But with my big ass I bet the Harpers would be a better seat for all day riding for someone my size. I also feel the Harpers looks better on the loop.

[Mike Harper]

Moto510 ---- Please check your your messages

[Yeahoo Whoyah]

I have an unrestored 1971 LAPD Ambassador with solo saddle with springs.  The front pivots on the rear through bolt of the fuel tank with rubber bushings and the hardware in the parts diagram on the MG cycle page for the solo seat.  Unless all those parts are used and in good condition the seat pogo's to much (or not at all if over tightened) On the bike it fits like the link Cam3512 posted above. 
Written in white paint with what looks like a thin paintbrush are the words "Venice PD" which I take to mean the Venice Division of LAPD. I find it to be very comfortable.

[gfritzmeier]

I saw these post and I had to reply. A year ago I bought a Harpers California Hard Side Low Seat for my Aluminum. Was surprised that I liked the stock seat better. I was always feeling the pan below my tush over any small bump. I brought it to fellow to help me with it. When he started to disassemble it we were both shocked to see that it had only light foam from cover to pan. Could even see air pockets where connected to pan. He put dense foam on the pan and then reassembled it. This wasn't done that day but the seat is usable now. Put 550 miles on it the next 2 days and lived through it with a sore arse. I can live with this for the time being but what gets me was that I liked the price of the Harper but know it's cost me the equivalent of a Corbin. 
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Re: Solo seat Ambo/Eldo
« Reply #22 on: March 26, 2015, 07:56:11 PM »
Quote
Quote from: Mike Harper on March 26, 2015, 06:11:44 PM

I do remember the seat with the crooked front bracket and that seat was indeed replaced. That issue was addressed with the seat pan maker and corrected. Sorry that one got through but we did what needed to be done to take care of that issue.

There are four people here that you may have spoken with so if you will pm me your name and/or an order number I will see who took the order and dealt with you.   

As far as the seat height compared to the fuel tank, all of the seats have the same front bracket and they do all sit in the position in your picture  because that angle gives the nicest and most comfortable riding position. Whomever you spoke with would have tried to explain that to you and if you wanted to you could lower the bracket by grinding the slot for the mounting bolt a little deeper.

  I still don't buy your assertion about the seat foam because they have been all made the same from the beginning.  If you are still unhappy about the seat and want to discuss it privately we can do so or if not then I guess you will find happiness by continuing to hide in the chat room bushes and shoot poison darts.

I will be waiting for your PM should you care to talk.

Mike



 






PM has been sent

I still stand behind what I said about the foam on the seat that I received, I don't know much about foam but Bob's foam factory in Fremont does and it's the place that told me the type of foam that was on the seat when I brought it to them.
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