So my bike ('88 EL 250 B2 Eliminator) and I are on different ends of the country till May, and I need some help on things that need done, and things I want to do come then. The first thing I need to do is replace the seat cover / padding. But for the life of me, other than ordering an OEM seat / cover, I can't find an after market kit that will keep the OEM look. After riding 7000 mi. this summer (20K on the bike), I noticed 2 little dots on the stitching when putting it in storage, so I touched them and the seam split between the 2 spots. I looked everywhere, all the online stores, even JC Whitney, and found Gel inserts, $400 seats that don't fit my bike, seat cover cloth sheets (pleather), and foam repair pieces. An OEM seat cover is around $70-$75 and the whole OEM seat is about $100 more. I'll spend 170 beans if I have to, but for that kind of money I'd like to get a bit better padding for me bum. Next is the bars, one of the previous owners dropped the bike tweaking the left bar end in just a bit, I would like to get something with about 2" less rise and 2-4" less pull back and I've found what I'm looking for, but will I have to change my control cable lengths? If you've read my posts before you'll know that I'm on my second replacement clutch cable this past season (junk after market South American parts) and will be getting the proper OEM part this spring. A stock OEM bar is around $90 and quite livable, just looking for something a little sportier. After that is the rear suspension, it's beat. Will any after market shock with the same end to end bolt distance fit, I'm looking for a wider range of adjustment and OEM's are $247 each. Sorry this is so long, so this will be my last question for a while. Engine longevity, I want to get another season out of this bike (12,000 mi or so), and plan on having the shop look at and adjust everything Kawasaki recommends for any service interval. Does anyone have first hand knowledge running these engines (250 Ninja/Eliminator) past 20,000 miles, and what gremlins should I expect? The first owner recorded the maintenance in the owners manual up to 5000 mi. And the guy I bought it from took good care of it also, as have I. Next winter I plan on having a fairly intensive tear down and rebuild, and some other things. And if you ask why I'm doing this for a 22 year old bike, let alone a 250? I'm putting up with 13 feet of snow so when I ride I don't see me coming the other way. When was the last time you saw one of these coming at you?
Thanks in advance, and again, sorry this is so long.

 

You might check with your local bike buddies for reputable upholstery shops. You can generally get better than OE marine vinyl and have them stitch you a cover. Locate the foam of your choice (gel, closed cell, etc.) and use an electric carving knife to shape. Assemble the seat using your stock plastic shell/frame, using the existing staple holes (with old staples removed, of course. Time consuming.) Or, go back to the upholstery shop to have them "power staple" the vinyl under the edges, like OE. Double check for any rough edges which might abrade the new vinyl.
Keep your old iron. It may not be the newest and fastest, but if YOU like it, that's all that matters! (Anybody can keep a NEW bike looking good.)

 

Thanks jeffzx9, before I left for CA I had talked to my shop about that, and they do know 1 or 2 guys that do custom seats, but they said these guys would charge around $100 for labor plus the cost of parts to recover the stock seat with new foam and material. But on closer inspection of the diagrams and description of the OEM part last night, I think the seat is kind of "two piece", in that the frame and the covered cushion (with some kind of board base) are two separate pieces, and the covered cushion pops over the frame. Take a look and tell me what you think. http://www.kawasakipartshouse.com/ka.../EWTW2I*ASKw== I'm going to send these guys an email and find out. I think my end goal is to take the bike Kawasaki built, and morph it into a bike they should build again. Wonder if a Vulcan / EX 500 motor will bolt right in...............

 

The skin is $65 as you listed. The entire seat is $165 with skin. That is how I am reading that. How was the shopping on ebay for a good seat? I like the idea about finding a cover at your local shop as well.

 

Back seat for a '91-'94 for $160. I'll order the skin and see what I get. Come spring when I'm back home I'll ride with the Gorilla Tape that I put on right after it happened in hopes that something won't get into it.