I put my solo seat on today for the 1st time since I've owned the bike and have a couple of questions
1. how much gap is normal between the front of the seat and the gas tank? the seat seems to be sitting OK bit there's enough space between the seat and the tank to easily put my finger into the space, about an inch gap, is this normal?
2. I have the chrome seat bar for the back and can't figure out how to attach it, it seems far to wide to fit and doesn't really seem to align with any holes very well... what am I missing?
thanks!
Terry
Sounds to me like you have not got the front of the seat on the stem quite right. It should be up to the tank with virtually no space. The rail attaches to the top of the shocks and the seat support.
Dan
dwclocks@aol.com
Thanks!
The fit to the tank is what I expected and my tandem seat fit close to the tank.
Terry, On my 800 the stock solo seat is right on the tank, so much so that it rubbed the paint in a u shape. I mounted a spring seat and it stands off about an inch. I need to touch up tank paint now because it is so visible. Anyone else see that on their tank?
Ummm... if its not right in the front the rear mounting holes won't line up. Did you install it completely?
Quote from: chief on March 13, 2011, 20:30:46 PM
Ummm... if its not right in the front the rear mounting holes won't line up. Did you install it completely?
Chief
in the current position the back tab align perfectly, when I move the seat closer to the tank the rear tabs cannot be secured (they're to far forward).
looking down the gap between the tank and the seat it looks like it's sitting on the "peg" correctly. my tandem seat fit closer with no issues. what I'm not sure of is if my solo seat in a factory or after market, I also have no clue or picture from the previous owner that the seat was ever used on this bike. I can post a couple of pictures if it would help
Yeah take 3-4 good pics of top and bottom... maybe 1-2 of it on the bike too. We'll see if we can figure this out.
Sorry for the delay in posting, I've been slammed at work.
Here's how the site is sitting now, if I move it more toward the tank and rear screws won't go in....
thoughts
T
Looks like it's not sitting down on the big washer all the way. Supposed to sit all the way into the slot so the seat nose is down tight on the tank
Yeah what troll said...
Take the seat off (take a pic of the bottom while its off)... sit it on the frame back to the rear of the front mount. Press down on the front - may need to raise the rear a bit, and slide it forward as far as you can. You may need to move it around to find the right spot. It should slide onto the front mount and sit flush.
If that doesn't work for you... take a picture of the bottom of the seat and the seat area of the frame, especially the front mount area.
Pics of the bottom of the seat & mount point by tank.
I messed with it a bit more after taking the pictures - when I slide it down so it sits what appears to be correct to me (small gap at the tank but not rubbing on the tank) the two rear mount points are to high when I push the back of the seat down to try and align of course the front comes up some and the rear mounts a 1/4 inch to far forward. holding the front of the seat while gently pushing the back of the seat down/around trying to align doesn't resolve this issue.
Thanks!
Hi Terry- I went out and took the seat off my bike so you can see how the rail attaches. I also took pics of how the seat is supposed to sit on the bike. Hope these will help.
If you are not installing saddlebag brackets with the seat rail, you will need to add a spacer to make up for the gap between the frame and the rail. I have a set of them around here somewhere if you need them.
Sorry about the picture quality, crappy camera :P
I really can not see the rear of the seat, so i will just put this out there. Are you sure the solo seat is fron a Drifter?
http://www.vulcandrifterriders.com/nomadseat.html (http://www.vulcandrifterriders.com/nomadseat.html)
More pics of the frame (seat area) without the seat...
Make sure there is nothing in the way of the seat sitting properly. Don't try to space the front... put the seat ALL the way onto the washer mount - push it rearward until it won't go anymore. That should hold the front in place... you say the rear is now high and forward... push seat down and to the rear... the front shouldn't be able to move and the seat should flex enough to allow installation.
If that still doesn't work... I strongly suggest you get a seat you know belongs on a drifter and try to install that... even though the one you have appears to be a drifter seat, it may have warped or been cursed by gremlins.
As far as I know, all drifter seats have a skirt in the rear, of some nature. If yours doesn't it may have been modified which might be the problem.
That was my thought too. It just doesn't look quite the same as the one on my bike. Although I am sure there are different styles out there, The shape of the one Terry has, just has me wondering.
I agree The shape was the first thing to catch my eye and then the opening on the front of the seat. It doesn't look big enough for the spacer to fit into. I swap between my two-up and solo seat all the time. The OEM seat just falls into place and I just bolt it down. The 2- up fits tighter at the tank, but still drops into place. I agree try fitting a seat off another drifter.
All,
I appreciate the help! I am not sure that the seat is a drifter seat, I was told when I purchased it that it was but never saw a picture of it installed from the previous owner. I'll take some more pics today of the frame and back of the back of the seat today and try to install it again. Annie thanks for the pics of the solo seat rail, very helpful for the install.
I'm leaning towards it's not a Drifter seat as it shouldn't be this complex. So anyone have a solo seat forsale? ;)
The "1942" on the underside tells me its a drifter seat - 53001-1942 came off a 2001/2002 Drifter. Later 1500 Drifters carried seats 53001-1991 2003 and later.
But with the fit problem... who knows... which is why refitting with a different drifter solo was suggested.
Glad the pics helped! ;D Hope you can remedy the seat issue too!
Here's the additional pics.
One more pic
Well darn it, I went out and pulled my seat again. I have the same seat as yours, same model number too. At least we know it is a drifter seat. Just doesn't make any sense as to why it won't sit properly. I thought I had it figured out and took another pic, but I don't know what year your bike is. If chief says the seat is for an 01-02 model, maybe that is what is making the difference. My bike is an 01, the tank style is different, so I don't know if that is where the problem is. Compare my tank to yours. I can't tell if the mounting points are a little different or not.
by the looks of AnneOakley's pictures and yours. The tanks are surely different. Yours has a flange close to the washer. I think the seat even though it belongs to a Drifter. I don't think it was meant for yours. The seat is Identical to the one on my 02 1500 What is the year of yoour Drifter?
REmove all the saddle bag brackets etc from the rear and try it again.
Quote from: annieoakley on March 28, 2011, 17:49:13 PM
Well darn it, I went out and pulled my seat again. I have the same seat as yours, same model number too. At least we know it is a drifter seat. Just doesn't make any sense as to why it won't sit properly. I thought I had it figured out and took another pic, but I don't know what year your bike is. If chief says the seat is for an 01-02 model, maybe that is what is making the difference. My bike is an 01, the tank style is different, so I don't know if that is where the problem is. Compare my tank to yours. I can't tell if the mounting points are a little different or not.
my bike is a 2000, the tanks do look different
Are you having any luck getting the seat to sit properly? Maybe someone in the membership, who has the same year bike as yours, could take their solo seat off and take some pics for comparison. That would be a big help to you I think, cause I just ran out of ideas :'(
Quote from: annieoakley on March 30, 2011, 09:57:58 AM
Are you having any luck getting the seat to sit properly? Maybe someone in the membership, who has the same year bike as yours, could take their solo seat off and take some pics for comparison. That would be a big help to you I think, cause I just ran out of ideas :'(
Haven't had time to do anything more since Monday - should have some time tomorrow night to mess with it some more
I worked on the seat this weekend and I have it on. It was a bit of work but seems to be fitting correctly now.
at this point I think it was a warping issue, god only know how long and where it was stored by the previous owner but with some effort it did finally fit.
Many thanks to all who help!
T
Yep, that plastic base can warp... looks like there could have been some modification to the seat as well.
I have the same seat on my 99 and it fits perfectly.
I was wondering if maybe something was in the washer slot on the underside of your seat keeping it from seating all the way down but I read that you finaly got it.
Maybe it was warped, I forget which bike is yours lol, but I was wondering if the tank difference was an 800 to 1500 difference or not?
Anyway my thought was something in that space that you might not easliy notice and might be just enough to keep it from sitting all the way on the washer properly.
Lump