Hello everyone. I want to put a solo seat on my '91 FXSTS but to do so I have to drill holes through the frame for the bolt-on bungs. Does anyone have advice?
This frame does not have your typical tube at the rear of the seat, instead, it has a flat piece of metal where the holes would go, plus, I'm not too sure what to do about the front part of the seat.
Forgive me, I don't know all of the right words to use. I don't know what all of the parts are called either. I've worked on cars - not bikes and so I hope you will be patient with me as I try to describe what I'm seeing after I've taken off the seat.
Okay, so the seat is off. Right where those holes should be drilled is a completely sealed black, rubber box for something electrical (there are wires coming out of it) and on the left side of that, there is an electrical connection covered by a rubber housing that I can move aside.
I thought I'd be able to put the bolts right through the existing holes for that sealed unit but the holes are too small and besides that, they are not positioned correctly. This means that I have to drill additional holes into this flat plate, at approximately the same area as the existing, smaller holes. My fear is that I will degrade the integrity of the frame. I don't want to be riding down a bumpy road and have this metal plate break. Although I think the frame would still hold together, I don't want to have to do this job twice.
So that's my question with the rear of the seat - can I safely drill these holes into that flat metal plate and expect my seat & frame to be just fine?
Question two. Again, I ask your patience because I don't know the names of these parts.
The seat has a hinge bracket as its supposed to. On the frame there is a small upside down U-shaped piece of metal where I'm assuming the bracket rests, with a bolt running through both the hinge and this U-shaped piece of metal, so that the seat is able to move up and down as I ride over bumps. To aid in visualization, imagine a small, upside down U with a much larger U on top of it, such that there is a large space between the legs of the U's - allowing the larger"U" to slide back and forth (sideways) on top of the smaller U. Can you understand what I mean? Shouldn't the hinge bracket be more snug against the part on the frame? It doesn't seem logical that the front of my seat should be allowed to slide sideways, back and forth an inch or so.
How do I stop it from sliding back and forth (sideways) once the seat is on the bike?:confused
This frame does not have your typical tube at the rear of the seat, instead, it has a flat piece of metal where the holes would go, plus, I'm not too sure what to do about the front part of the seat.
Forgive me, I don't know all of the right words to use. I don't know what all of the parts are called either. I've worked on cars - not bikes and so I hope you will be patient with me as I try to describe what I'm seeing after I've taken off the seat.
Okay, so the seat is off. Right where those holes should be drilled is a completely sealed black, rubber box for something electrical (there are wires coming out of it) and on the left side of that, there is an electrical connection covered by a rubber housing that I can move aside.
I thought I'd be able to put the bolts right through the existing holes for that sealed unit but the holes are too small and besides that, they are not positioned correctly. This means that I have to drill additional holes into this flat plate, at approximately the same area as the existing, smaller holes. My fear is that I will degrade the integrity of the frame. I don't want to be riding down a bumpy road and have this metal plate break. Although I think the frame would still hold together, I don't want to have to do this job twice.
So that's my question with the rear of the seat - can I safely drill these holes into that flat metal plate and expect my seat & frame to be just fine?
Question two. Again, I ask your patience because I don't know the names of these parts.
The seat has a hinge bracket as its supposed to. On the frame there is a small upside down U-shaped piece of metal where I'm assuming the bracket rests, with a bolt running through both the hinge and this U-shaped piece of metal, so that the seat is able to move up and down as I ride over bumps. To aid in visualization, imagine a small, upside down U with a much larger U on top of it, such that there is a large space between the legs of the U's - allowing the larger"U" to slide back and forth (sideways) on top of the smaller U. Can you understand what I mean? Shouldn't the hinge bracket be more snug against the part on the frame? It doesn't seem logical that the front of my seat should be allowed to slide sideways, back and forth an inch or so.
How do I stop it from sliding back and forth (sideways) once the seat is on the bike?:confused