Seat Lock and the seat hinges!

[suecanada]

Learn from my latest boo boo. I inadvertently did NOT get the front seat hinge on its pin. I looked and looked but still blew it! The rear one I did get on its pin. So the whole shebang was then 'kitty-wampas" and jammed the seat closed!!! Solidly!! Yikes!  After much fussing and   words, I rechecked those hinges to be sure that I did get the two hinges on their pins. Takes a bit of doing that, especially the front one...anyway, saw and felt that the front one not on and the hinge was sorta jammed onto the inside edge of the pin. I levered it off with a long screwdriver and the whole shebang freed up and the seat button went in and out as it should, unlocking the mechanism. Before the seat locking button moved in and out with no resistance and moved Nothing!
So before you decide to take everything in the rear end off to get at those horrible phillips head screws in the BACK of the seat lock, check AGAIN whether one of the hinges was missed and is jammed somehow against its pin!
I used a long screwdriver to lever the hinge back and away from the pin. Voila!
I had asked Derek to help before my solution....he threw up his hands....strains things to say the least!

Almost had a heart attack though. Too much stress! The battery had been removed for winterizing and I was simply closing things up. Simple...yeah right!

[Bob_Roller]

Then there's getting the stamped sheet metal safety clips in place !!!

[suecanada]

As an addendum, I gotta say that the hinged seat on the R65 is one of its super features BUT like all super features...when they go wrong they can really cause grief. Learn from the old but skilless mechanic! My mistakes are your mana from heaven!

[suecanada]

Hey Bob, I don't use the safety circlips any more (kept flinging off) and the front one was never on the pin from the time I got the bike. I think you have a good point despite the hassle...if those clips have to go on, one will notice a hinge NOT on its pin!!! Lesson...use the circlips!

Those proper safety circlips for the hinges have a wee flange that allows you to remove it with the help of a screw driver. Even when I ordered the proper ones they came off!!

[Bob_Roller]

I have pretty good luck using 90 degree needle nose pliers to install and remove the clips .

[montmil]

I hate those freakin' hinge retainer clips! They refuse to stay put. I have actually had better luck using circlips sourced from Ace Hardware & BMW Supply. That said, neither seem to stay in place for extended periods.

Monte

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

As difficult as it is to remove the seat when you want to, I seriously doubt there is much chance of it coming loose and falling off while underway, esp. with the latch in place.  I wouldn't worry about having the clips in place.  Lock the seat latch, if you must.

[suecanada]

I agree with Rob....if the seat flies off while underway then so do I! The seat has never shifted when latched unlocked without circlips installed. That seat pin that goes into the latch is one thick heavy duty sucker!
Also, without the circlips, the seat can be quickly and easily shuffled towards the rear of the bike. By moving it thus it then lifts and rotates further up to allow me to more easily remove the gas tank or, once a year, remove the battery. The seat, in its normal up position, will interfere with removal of both.
BUT, take note...the point here is to make sure the frame pins are IN their respective hinge holes before latching the seat!!!

[Darwin_R65]

When I bought my bike, it had no hinges, or lock on the seat.
Its all held down by the one pin and locking button.

However it makes it too easy for smart arse friends who think its funny to steal my seat and hide it.

I have not had an issue while riding the bike though.

John

[Lucky_Lou]

Ive done this a couple of times and released the seat by holding the button in and levering the seat up on the lock side with a screwdriver, i have toyed with the idea if drilling and tapping a thread into the main frame about 6mm then putting a short Allen bolt to trap the hinge in place as the retaining clip is useless.
Lou

[nhmaf]

Odd,  I haven't had problems with my E-clips falling off.  I readily admit that they are not easy to get in place - thank goodness for long nose pliers!

[Barry]

I agree, they are certainly tricky to get back on.  I still have the originals though and they have never fallen off in use.

Ordinary E clips would work as replacements and if correctly sized would not fall off easily.  Plenty of E clip suppliers have online resources that would enable the correct size to be determined.

The E clip to worry about is the one on the clutch arm pivot. I lost mine when it launched itself into the ether on removal as they do.  Found it 6 months later after having bought several spares at the local engineering supplier.

[msbuck]

Ummmm...you can take the seat off???  

Can't say I've ever had the need.  

[Darwin_R65]

I was about to reply that the seat needs to come off to get under the seat but i just realised, I don't have hinges, so thats why mine comes off, most people just lift it up on the hinges.
I remove my seat whenever i'm refuelling because the bottle of upper cylinder lubricant is in my tool box. I guess most don't have to.

[Sergeant_Joe]

Drill a small hole in the rear hinge locating post then when you put the seat on you just use a small split pin and a washer.
Holds my seat on no probs and is a sinch to take off & on.
I ride a lot of dirt roads here, so a loose seat is a noisy thing when I stand up on the pegs.