961 Seat Latch Mod

Jon

Jon

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Jan 25, 2022
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The 961 two-bolt seat fastening is hopeless. I have a 2018 model where the plastic seat base was moulded to accept U Clips/Speed Clips for bolt fasteners but the plastic cannot endure the stress, is fragile and incredibly fiddly to attach. I understand that early seat bases had metal wedges rivetted to the plastic base - this might be more useable, but I doubt it.
So, for those of us wanting a better solution I have devised a DIY Seat Latch Mod. Some practical skill is required and the materials cost is about £20 and a little patience noodling fleabay for the latch.

With the materials to hand I knocked this up in an hour to see if the idea would work, so it is a bit rough 'n ready.
However, it works really well and I haven't felt the need to make it 'look like a bought one'.

The attached walk thru works for me but I was there when I did it so if something is unclear, please let me know. Jon
 

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Jon said:
The 961 two-bolt seat fastening is hopeless. I have a 2018 model where the plastic seat base was moulded to accept U Clips/Speed Clips for bolt fasteners but the plastic cannot endure the stress, is fragile and incredibly fiddly to attach. I understand that early seat bases had metal wedges rivetted to the plastic base - this might be more useable, but I doubt it.
So, for those of us wanting a better solution I have devised a DIY Seat Latch Mod. Some practical skill is required and the materials cost is about £20 and a little patience noodling fleabay for the latch.

With the materials to hand I knocked this up in an hour to see if the idea would work, so it is a bit rough 'n ready.
However, it works really well and I haven't felt the need to make it 'look like a bought one'.

The attached walk thru works for me but I was there when I did it so if something is unclear, please let me know. Jon
Click to expand...
Many thanks for documenting this very worthwhile upgrade Jon. Although I don't have the issues as my bike has a steel plate holding the captive nuts, it's still a pain to remove and refit the seat, so I'll be be giving this a go as well. I have just ordered a latch for a Royal Enfield Himalayan which looks like it will do the job. Brand new, £10 including postage. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265410914981

Cheers,

cliffa.
 
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The latch is a very common part fitted to many Jap and European bikes so if it looks the same in a picture, it very likely is the same.
That Enfield listing looks Spot On!
I might get one too coz I initially tried an alternative method of mounting the latch, involving a little work each end with a round file. I realised I'd over thought the problem and made a U turn but the 'file work' remains. A new one would tidy that up.
 
Jon said:
The latch is a very common part fitted to many Jap and European bikes so if it looks the same in a picture, it very likely is the same.
That Enfield listing looks Spot On!
I might get one too coz I initially tried an alternative method of mounting the latch, involving a little work each end with a round file. I realised I'd over thought the problem and made a U turn but the 'file work' remains. A new one would tidy that up.
Click to expand...
I have a Himalayan, so can provide you the dimensions for the fixing screws if you like. I reckon it would fit between the two existing air filter bolts. I'll have a measure up tomorrow.
 
cliffa said:
I have a Himalayan, so can provide you the dimensions for the fixing screws if you like. I reckon it would fit between the two existing air filter bolts. I'll have a measure up tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Thats kinda what I tried - and the Enfield latch will have exactly the same dimensions & fixing centres.
Is a nice idea to fit the latch between the airbox bolts but it will still require the 2mm plate beneath due to the slight 'step' in the frame metalwork. Without the plate the spring / lever / cable will catch on the frame. Also consider that you need to be able to replace the air filter without too much hassle!
These things became apparent after getting my file out ...
 
Himalayan seat latch dimensions. Fixing screws 42.5mm c-to-c. Latch overall length 62.5mm

961 Seat Latch Mod


And just for info, this is the seat spike ( I didn't measure it but it looks about 10mm diameter).

961 Seat Latch Mod
 
jan nelder said:
how do you stop someone walking off with the seat?
Click to expand...
That's the next thing to be addressed, but hide the release lever somewhere I guess. However from what I understand there is nothing apart from the front tab holding these broken seats on anyway.
 
cliffa said:
That's the next thing to be addressed, but hide the release lever somewhere I guess. However from what I understand there is nothing apart from the front tab holding these broken seats on anyway.
Click to expand...
The weight of your arse . And it does tend to get pinched tight in between gas tank and rear cowl. Lets face it , if you fall hard the seat coming off is of small concern. :)
 
jan nelder said:
how do you stop someone walking off with the seat?
Click to expand...
That is a good point Jan, but they gotta know the bikes got the Mod and also where the cable is - as cliffa says, tuck it out of sight.
Is one reason I wrapped heatshrink around the cable ferule.
Really, the point of posting this was to help K110linde (and others) with broken plastic seat fastenings and anyone wanting a more practical fixing for the seat.
I reckon a lock can be fitted using a longer cable to the tail of the bike but so far I'm happy with how neat and simple mine has turned out.
However, there's always more than one way of doing things so maybe some better ideas will spin off from this. Sharing ideas and pix might evolve Seat Latch Perfection!
 
TonyA said:
The weight of your arse . And it does tend to get pinched tight in between gas tank and rear cowl. Lets face it , if you fall hard the seat coming off is of small concern. :)
Click to expand...
Strange ... I seem to have plenty of room available between the tank and cowl ...! :D
 
Oh what a strange beast we ride! I’ve never had a moments difficulty with my 2015 seat, it’s security or alignment! I’ll keep this one in the back of my mind if I do though; good work as ever guys. Surely, with all of this quality fettling, it’s only a matter of time before the 961 is made mechanically perfect in every way!!:oops:!!
 
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My Himalayan latch arrived today, and I reckon it will fit pretty well on the gusset at the front of the seat. ( Mine is a single seater).

961 Seat Latch Mod
 
cliffa said:
My Himalayan latch arrived today, and I reckon it will fit pretty well on the gusset at the front of the seat. ( Mine is a single seater).

View attachment 85073
Click to expand...
This is an obvious placement choice. I know I considered it but I think I rejected it for three reasons. For my first attempt I didn't want to make any holes or modifications to the bike so it could be reversed without trace. Second would be not restricting replacement of the air filter and third you notice the metal bracing plate is welded quite 'high' to the frame and a certain amount of clearance is needed between the latch and seat pin / pin plate / fasteners.
Considering that we now know it works and the bracing plate can be drilled and tapped for the fasteners, the clearance is perhaps the only issue. A ball of plasticine or similar placed on the plate whilst the seat is pressed into position should reveal what you have to 'play with'.
 
I recently broke off the thin plastic strip which holds the 6mm seat retaining spring clip in place, so I had to sort it out before the MOT. I believe a loose seat could well be an MOT failure.

I have to admit that the seat latch mod which Jon has posted was really good and addressed the rubbish original seat mounts. I was very tempted to go down this route, but didn't like not being able to lock my seat.

Therefore, I fabricated up some small stainless clips and riveted these to the seat allowing me to utilise the original seat mounting method.

I have fitted a small length of bicycle inner tube to the oil filler spigot to stop it chafing against the tank. Consequently, this has pushed the seat back slightly making the seat a tight fit. Therefore I added slots to my brackets and ground back the plastic on the seat to give a wider range of movement on the spring clip.

It took a bit of time to sort out, but it fits like a glove and the seat is solid.
 

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You could always buy the lockable Corbin latch & spike system - I did a while ago - not terribly expensive from what I can recall.
It was to convert an OEM classic Commando dual seat to use my existing Corbin spike.
Cheers
 
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