The Weigh-in

Before ordering the new generation KMX light weight seat, I need to be absolutely sure how much the thing weighs. I've sent an email out to Utah Trikes hoping to get a response later today or at least by tomorrow. I'll rip out the seat frame this evening and weigh it so I have a solid number to compare the new one to.

I'm getting conflicting information.
1. One KMX Viper owner tells me it weights 6.95 lbs.
2. Another says their old steel Venom seat weighs 9 lbs.
3. Utah Trikes claims the new Venom seat weighs 6lbs less. That would mean the new seat weighs 1lb. Highly doubtful.
4. I contacted the owner of BROL to see if he can help weigh the seat since he's reviewed one and has one in possession.
5. I've also contacted another BROL member for numbers. He has the 2011 Venom.
6. There was one more Venom owner (probably the older one) that I emailed just today.

Hopefully these guys can get back to me on the actual weight. I wish KMX was more cooperative and didn't have a dealer take care of all their calls. KMX themselves should have specs of their parts, shouldn't they? Looks like KMX is slowly giving up on their customer and their own brand, looking to dealers to support them rather than the other way around. I don't see good things for the future of KMX. Hopefully I'm completely wrong.

UPDATE: 5/25/11

I removed the seat this afternoon for the final weigh-in to see what the stock seat weighed. While I was at it, I took the opportunity to replace the idlers and clean up the frame. The midsection of the crucifix was pretty dirty.





So how much does the stock seat weigh? Drum roll please...

With the pump, alarm and both water bottle cages, the total weight was 9.2lbs. I should have weighed the frame + wheels but forgot.


UPDATE: 5/26/11
I did it! I did it! I gave in. I ordered the aluminum seat and was able to negotiate for free shipping. I used the fact that I'm using this for the ALC and that some shops offer a 10-15% discount for riders participating in this event as leverage. No tax, but the total still hurts. $200 for the aluminum seat and an extra $50 for the hardware. I'm hoping that the old horizontal bracket under the seat that physically mounts to the frame can be swapped to the new seat. If this works, I won't need the hardware and Matt (Utah Trikes) said that I can return it for a full refund if it's not damaged. I've never been so excited to return something. Hopefully this is the case.

If not, I'll have to grind down the frame to make the new hardware fit. Crossing my fingers hoping this thing goes through. If it does, it'll be pretty darn amazing. The price still seems high though b/c I just remembered that carbon fiber seats are about $350. That's way out of my price range for a stupid seat. Plus I'd have to figure out some way to fabricate brackets to mount from the seat to the frame - all in 9 days (and that's assuming there's zero ship time and the seat can magically appear in my garage). Not going to happen.

I'm really relying on the seat bracket being interchangeable btw seats. I'm desperate enough to figure something out if it doesn't. We'll just have to wait and see.

UPDATE: 5/27/11
I got some exclusive pics taken by Utah Trikes! These aren't published anywhere else. These are spy shots of the aluminum seats! Hush hush.

Looks similar. I hope it's "exactly the same." The intention is to use all the parts except for the cross bracket in the middle of the photo.



If I can omit the furthest piece on the right and replace it with my current one, it'll work. *Deep breath*. I am a bit concerned though b/c it doesn't look exactly the same from what I remember.



UPDATE: 6/1/11
The seat's still not here! Ugh. I've been waiting at home when I could be out triking. I'm giving Utah Trikes a call tomorrow to get a tracking number.

UPDATE: 6/2/11
A bit frustrated that the package didn't arrive Tuesday as Utah Trikes said it would and it's now Thursday, I called them back up for a tracking number and apparently it's supposed to arrive today. If I had the tracking number earlier, I wouldn't have waited around to receive the package and could have taken the time to train some more on the trike.

It's 2:26pm and the package still isn't here yet. I'm expecting it before 6pm, but that's a few hours from now.

The scary thing though is that the UPS site says that the package weighs 10 lbs. I really hope that's not true. I'm waiting for a 4lb 1oz item with maybe a pound of packaging material. We'll soon see. The seat should hopefully be installed by this evening.