I've always been bothered by the need to have tools to remove the rider seat.
21st century, we can do better than having to unscrew bolts.
I guess some people have tried, or worked out, some method for replacing the
6mm bolts with pins and safety clips, it didn't work for me, so I went measuring and hunting, and found these:
.250" shaft, .875" grip length,
McMaster-Carr
Lots o' measuring before I got here so here's what I found.
The clamping distance is from the top of the seat mount ferrule, to the bottom
of the Riv-nut that is pressed into the sub-frame rail. Last year I ordered a couple of these Riv-nuts to measure for just this reason.
The seat ferrule is .297" in length (.250" ID hole) and the purchased Riv-nut is .582" for a total length of
.879 - .004" more than the .875" grip length. BUT the installed Riv-nut is an
older design and a bit shorter, ~.500", so now the clamping distance is down to
.797". That leaves .079" (2mm) of vertical play, most of which could be made up
with a 6mm washer. The other part of the problem is, the extension of the tip past the grip length, which is .290".
Leap of Faith #1: Drill out the Riv-nut threads.
Using a .250" drill bit, I drilled out the threads of one Riv-nut, slipped the ferrule onto the release pin and inserted the pin into the drilled-out hole - Perfect! except the tip of the release pin bottomed on the frame rail before locking against the bottom of the Riv-nut.
Leap of Faith #2: drill through.
The part of the sub-frame that the seat mounts on is triangulated in a small area so I felt comfortable enough to drill through the frame so the pin would lock on to the Riv-nut. And it works. Seat can be off in seconds. And the pins won't fall out of the seat mount holes.
21st century, we can do better than having to unscrew bolts.
I guess some people have tried, or worked out, some method for replacing the
6mm bolts with pins and safety clips, it didn't work for me, so I went measuring and hunting, and found these:
.250" shaft, .875" grip length,
McMaster-Carr
Lots o' measuring before I got here so here's what I found.
The clamping distance is from the top of the seat mount ferrule, to the bottom
of the Riv-nut that is pressed into the sub-frame rail. Last year I ordered a couple of these Riv-nuts to measure for just this reason.
The seat ferrule is .297" in length (.250" ID hole) and the purchased Riv-nut is .582" for a total length of
.879 - .004" more than the .875" grip length. BUT the installed Riv-nut is an
older design and a bit shorter, ~.500", so now the clamping distance is down to
.797". That leaves .079" (2mm) of vertical play, most of which could be made up
with a 6mm washer. The other part of the problem is, the extension of the tip past the grip length, which is .290".
Leap of Faith #1: Drill out the Riv-nut threads.
Using a .250" drill bit, I drilled out the threads of one Riv-nut, slipped the ferrule onto the release pin and inserted the pin into the drilled-out hole - Perfect! except the tip of the release pin bottomed on the frame rail before locking against the bottom of the Riv-nut.
Leap of Faith #2: drill through.
The part of the sub-frame that the seat mounts on is triangulated in a small area so I felt comfortable enough to drill through the frame so the pin would lock on to the Riv-nut. And it works. Seat can be off in seconds. And the pins won't fall out of the seat mount holes.
