My quick release seat mod

[Sideoftheroad]

No pics needed, just a little imagination.

 

Go to dealer for 64k service. Through telepathy, tell tech to half a$$ put the seat bolts back on. Get on bike ready to leave and notice something "weird" with the seat. Pull up on it a couple times and it is on there. Figure they must have missed the little tab in the back and think it's no biggie, will fix when you get home. Get home only to be able to pull the seat completely off as there are no bolts holding the seat down. Also notice that a couple accessories aren't attached to the fuse block like the Stebel horn (2 for 2 w/ this service shop). Get mad, say a few cuss words, go inside, eat supper, play with kids, get them ready to bed, post about your new quick release seat mod and you are done.

[BuddyRich]

I haven't had the bolts on my seat for the last 3 years. Never had a case of the seat flyinoff of it... Must be something holding it down. :rotf:

[gunboat]

buddy rich is right, i have read where others don't have the seat bolted down either.

don c.

[1 - UP]

Have you checked on how much a seat cost for a 2nd gen. It's somewhere around $400. I think I would find some way to secure the seat. I had the passenger seat come off my bike. That's $300+ for the 2nd gen. (It was on a trailer coming back from the "Tail")

Just my in.

Ken

[Seaking]

Nice mod.. it's not a matter of the seat not really needing to be bolted down because of rider weight holding it down, it's more of a matter of shoddy workmanship and lack of professionalism at the dealership when they do work on the bike.. Ok, seat attachment hardware missing but not hooking everything up that they took apart? ouch.

 

I had something like that happen to me on a different bike, I wasn't as forgiving as you were when I went back to deal with the dumb ass mechanic who almost got me killed.. by the time I was done, he'd had lost his license and was fired.. Call me silly but I take my safety quite seriously..

 

Seat mods huh? I'd check see what mods they might have done to your brakes as well..

 

Cheers M8

[gunboat]

seaking you are right. you pay the dealership good money to have techs work on your bike. your are trusting them with your bike and and your life, once you leave the dealership. yes it may only been seat hold down nuts this time but what else could he/ they forgot to double check. case in point i have a friend who has a bmw m/c. he had taken the bike to the dealer to do a service check. the dealer is about 50 miles from where he lives, so when he picked up the bike got to do a little ride in to go home. he has to ride in mixed traffic on a interstate hwy. he gives me a call after he gets home and is fighting mad. the tech who had worked on his bike had NOT torqued the bolts on the front disk brake calpiers. one of the bolts was missing and the other bolt was almost complety backed out on one side. the other side they were loose. now what would have happened if the brake calpers had come apart at speed or in a panic stop 'cause of traffic. the moral of this story like yours,

 

 

WE TRUST THE TECH'S. sorry if i responed in my first post in a light hearted manner.

best reguards

don c.

[Seaking]

no worries M8..

 

A few years back I had my brakes serviced and as I pulled out of the dealership, I tested the brakes before going into traffic and they worked great (new pads and all ya know?) but when I leave the parking lot and try to stop before engaging traffic, I have NO brakes what so ever.. WTF! it's a sick feeling when no front or rear brake.. how can BOTH go out at the same time..

 

We make decisions every day and luckily for me I survived this one.. too close to the street to dump the bike or swerve into a wall (better to hit wall at 20 mph than get hit by a car at 50 mph).. I dropped the hammer hard and made it across 2 lanes of traffic by a narrow margin and crashed the bike in the field across the parking lot..

 

As I marched my way across the street (traffic had halted after that stunt) I could see someone running out the back of the shop and high tailing it over the fence.. that was odd in itself but what it turned out to be is that this was the mechanic who pooched my brakes..

 

I had enough brakes for the one pump and that was it. After that both brakes bled out and there was nothing left. the dumb nuts forgot to finish off the job. It wasn't just a oops mistake, it was gross negligence.. Apparently he had some issues he was working out but they still let him continue work on bikes.. how difficult could it be eh?

 

Needless to say the bike got repaired, the mech lost his license and karma caught up with him late one evening a few weeks later. I banged up my shoulder a bit which healed Ok but the bike was like new after they fixed it properly, 2 yrs of free maintenance and new riding gear..

 

Our past shapes our present and future.. anytime I get a bike (or car) out of the shop, I go over it with a fine tooth comb and question the mech as to what he had done.. it happens once in a while the mech will remember .. oh yeah, let me double check this or that and it's all good.. Some take it personal that I don't trust their workmanship, some appreciate my concern for MY safety..

 

Anyway.. the frost is off the ground now, time to go biking =)

[1BigDog]

Lets see:

Just about every bit of warranty work the dealer performed I had to go back over. Had the speedo/dash replaced. Got home and the windshield was loose. Took off the chrome strip and there was only 1 bolt holding the shield in place and it was overtightened to where it radial cracked the outer fairing. Took it back and the mechanic said that since I removed the chrome piece myself that I, as in me, must have done it. I raised hell but got nowhere. I then remembered those little breakable tabs on the ends of the fairing were also cracked, which was definetely a warranty issue....free fairing. Another time they left the fuel line off the petcock when they gave me back my "ready" bike. Again, no apologies. Another time they replaced a rear wheel bearing under warranty and left a caliper bolt off. Said they fired the mechanic and 2 months later he was still working there. The dealers dont want you to know anything about your bike. Remember, your an idiot.

[Seaking]

Lets see: The dealers dont want you to know anything about your bike. Remember, your an idiot.

 

Ouch! True in most cases.. but I was surprised at some of them.. the lads in State College PA did me a fantastic job when my fuel pump was dead.. the mech accidentally broke something on the radio and prolly could have gotten away with it somehow but he was man-up about it and the shop replaced it by robbing the part from a show floor bike. now THAT was service!! Because all of this was warranty work, it didn't cost me a thing but I made sure the standup mech got a little something extra.. he declined.. so I asked his boss to take him out to lunch or something. And I had that warm fuzzy feeling the boss guy would carry it out as requested.. Man, you gotta love PA people like that..

 

Before I left HFX to go to PA, that same fuel pump was switching off at random moments with no explanation etc.. When I took it to the one shop they told me "we can look at it in about 10 days from now.." All I needed was a 'what do you think it might be' so that I may decide to go on this trip to PA or not.. Dang.. I took it to another shop closer to home and the guy apologized he couldn't get it in before I left as they were so booked up.. but offered some things to look at, some of the same things mentioned here when I eventually did break down in PA a week later.. When I got back I went back to the first place and told them about what happened and that we figured out what the prob was.. "Oh great, let me know so I can log it for troubleshooting" is what he said before I walked out the door without saying anything to him.. However at the 2nd place, I explained to the manager what had happened, indications, tell tale signs etc etc.. At least HE made an attempt to help me at the time.. I dunno.. if you can't help me, say so, don't just do the "Where else would you go even if I treat you like dog poo?" attitude thing..

 

Moving right along..

[BuckShot]

Man--you guys need to find better dealers ! I called mine from on the road going to the international rally to find out the best way to get to the speedo cable as it had come loose from the instument cluster. The machanic talked with me and then gave me his personnel cell number in case I had any other issue's on the road. Next time I see him, I will be giving him a nice tip.

Thanks again to Herb and Squidley, they fixed my speedo and even let me help a little. Boy- do they like to wrench on 1st gens.

Had to keep my tools away from them as they said I had enough to completely rebuild the bike. Oh no--not what I want to do at the rally.

[Sideoftheroad]

Brakes are another thing. They said for $75 they could do the rear. I talked to the mechanic, he showed me the rear and no wear indicator left. They were pretty gone (he said metal to metal). I said no, I will do it. He gave me some pointers and said it is pretty straight forward.

 

I had to leave to go to another town closer to home. I visited the Yamaha shop there and bought brake pads from them as I get a better discount. Talked to the service manager there and he pretty much backed up what the 1st guy said. One thing he mentioned the 1st one didn't was to make sure to clean the pistons and either use screwdrivers or a crowbar to push them in.

 

I changed the brakes last night. It wasn't metal to metal, but there certainly wasn't very much pad left. I used some WD-40 and sprayed the pistons. Pretty easy job w/ the exception of pushing the pistons in. Those things are hard to push in.

 

Got it all back together, pushed the pedal a few times to push the calipers back out. Put the bike in neutral and went several feet back and forth a few times to make sure brakes were working and they are. I did hear some rubbing sound, guessing this is from the new brakes touching the rotor? I am going to have someone listen down by the brakes to see if that is where it is coming from.

 

Just guessing if I were to have opened the brake bleeder, it would have helped in pushing the pistons in? I didn't want to mess with getting air into the line, etc...so I didn't open up the bleeder.

 

If the weather is nice, will be riding to work tomorrow.