| Author | Message | ||
     Ulykan |
My 06 seat arrived today but it won't latch. Has anyone else put an 06 seat on their 08 and did it have to be modified in any way in order to make it fit right?  | ||
| Gotj |
You just have to really lean on it. It WILL latch. During fabrication, they pull the vinyl VERY taut to the point that it bows the base. Once you latch it the first time, set it out in the sun and the vinyl will stretch some and it will install like your stock seat. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
You might have to shim the latch. . | ||
| Nevrenuf |
let us know if it works for ya. i guess the 06 seats are pretty nice. | ||
| Crusty |
When I first put the '06 Low seat on my '06 Uly, I had a hell of a time getting it to latch. I had to pound it to get it to latch. After it was on the bike for a few weeks, it fit perfectly, and would latch easily without any problem. Today, I put it on my '08, and it fits and latches without any problem. | ||
| Xbimmer |
When I fitted my '07 seats to my '06 I had the same problem. I loosened the latch bolts a bit and then once the seats latched I tightened them down again. The latch is in a position now so all the seats latch with no problem. The seats do settle and take a set after a few heat cycles, that's why they rub the ECM occasionally. If you have the little plastic block at the ECM's forward mounting bolt it will push up enough on the seat pan to make a new seat difficult to latch. My seats have been rubbing pretty drastically on the black ECM connector lately so I put a second block on the rear ECM bolt yesterday. Couldn't latch the seat until I shaped the block down about 1/4". | ||
| Gotj |
You DON'T need a shim. | ||
| Ulykan |
I tried removing the heat blanket over the ECM but that didn't help. Also tried sitting on the back of the seat and that didn't work either. Even tried pounding on the seat but it still wouldn't latch. Tomorrow I'll look and see if there is a plastic block preventing the new seat from going down far enough to latch. Thanks for the feedback. I'll post the results tomorrow. | ||
| Redwing |
Crusty, Is the 06 low seat you put on your 08 XT lower than the 08 stock seat? In what other ways does the 06 low differ from the 08 stock? Redwing | ||
| Etennuly |
When I got my '06 low seat I beat it with my fist for a day and could not make it latch. I left it sit on the bike over night and smacked it with my hand the next day and it latched. It has gone on easy ever since. | ||
| Froggy |
Redwing: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/show .cgi?142838/386432 | ||
| Ulykan |
Etennuly, lol I'll try that tomorrow too as the seat is on the bike now. One more thing for those who might be contemplating a 06 seat. The "new" 06 seat is covered with the same material as the newer style seats unlike the original material which I had hoped for. If I can just get it to latch I can overlook the "new" material. I'm surprised how much higher it sits than my stock 08 seat does. For a 6' rider with 34" inseam that's a good thing I think. | ||
| Gotj |
Ulykan You may want to try a ratchet tiedown. Mine was so tight that I took it back as defective until they put it on a Uly at the shop ( with t bunch of pushing). It's just bowed by the tight vinyl. Just BEAT IT! | ||
| Froggy |
Sit on it  | ||
| Ulykan |
?Ratchet tiedown? Not only did I sit on it, I rode on it and it still wouldn't latch. Believe me, I did beat on it with my fist and I sat down on it HARD. So hard that I was afraid I would break the stand if I sat on it any harder. I discovered that the problem is the front part of the heat barrier and if I remove that I can latch the seat. I tried moving it around and then putting the seat back on but no luck. Right now I'm thinking of removing the front heat barrier and riding on the new seat for awhile then trying again, hoping that the seat will bed in a bit so that I can put the heat barrier back on. If that doesn't work then I'll have to tolerate more heat which defeats the purpose of buying the heat barrier. Give me a few days of riding and then I'll report my result. | ||
| Froggy |
Ah didn't realize you had a heat blanket. Yes remove it, get the seat to fit and after a day or 2 it should be fine, especially if it is hot. | ||
| Ulykan |
Froggy, Thanks for the info and recommendation. I'll mount the seat and leave it for a few days. Yes, it's still hot in Kansas so the seat should conform just fine. Bob | ||
| Ulykan |
I did it!! It's on WITH the heat barrier too.  Without the blanket on I found out that I had been pressing/pounding in the wrong place, the seat, not the latch area itself. When I grabbed the frame and pressed on the latch area with my thumbs I could hear the latch trying to catch so I slammed my fist at the very back of the seat and low and behold it latched. Now I realized that the heat barrier wasn't actually the problem but that the seat was curved upward slightly preventing the hook from engaging. After re-installing the barrier I repeated said process and after pounding the seat like before it latched. I'll leave it alone for awhile before removing it again. Thanks everyone for all of the encouragement and suggestions. This was a terrific effort from everyone.  Bob |
