| Author | Message | ||
     Marcodesade |
This is a repost because of a glitch in the original message: Let me begin by admitting that I hesitated in buying the Seat Retention Kit from American Sport Bike because $20 seemed a little high for what looks like 2 bolts. But I got tired of going through all the hassle of removing the stock bolts every time I do anything to the bike. And there was always that nagging suspicion that some day I was going to crossthread the things and be really sorry. So I broke down and, as one of you so succinctly put it, "paid the man." The kit showed up in 3 days as promised; is obviously high quality and more complex than it looks in the American Sport Bike website picture; and contains detailed, easy to follow instructions. I immediately changed my mind about whether the product is worth the money. All of which is NOT why I'm writing. As it turns out, I hesitated too long. Without even realizing it, I had already damaged one of the mounting rivnuts on the rear subframe.  Although the original bolt does not appear to be crossthreaded (and continues to work fine), either seat retention pin works fine on the right side of the bike, but both stick about 1/2 way down on the left side. My first instinct was just to torque the pin down, but over the years I have come to realize that my first idea is ALWAYS wrong. I'll be (gently) tapping it out this weekend. Al at American Sport Bike was very helpful in discussing the issues of rivnut repair vs. replacement (possible but a pain in the @ss). The bottom line is that the kit is very well made of high-quality stainless steel and is well worth the price. If you're even considering this purchase, take it from me --- it's worth it to buy the thing right this minute. I wish I had. Bah. | ||
| Kttemplar |
I originally did not want to buy the seat retaining kit because of price as well, but once I got the kit, it became evident that it was well worth the $$. It is worth way more than $20 (a little less than $30 including shipping to NY) to get rid of the pain in the a$$ of having to remove the bolts from the seat each time. I also have the touring firebolt seat, which is even more of a pain to remove the bolts. Just like the previous post, I echo that if you are even considering buying this product "Just Do It". You will be more than satisfied! American Sport Bike is the best! Mike | ||
| Fresnobuell |
I had a hard time getting the bolts from from the kit to seat properly, however I took the original stock bolts and gently screwed them all the way down to the frame. It did a pretty decent tap job and cleaned up the threads enough so the posts could screw down properly. | ||
| Zac4mac |
With the OEM screws - two things will make them last. 1)Never-Seize™ the threads 2)ALWAYS start the screws by hand, no driver. Learned that by stripping an insert on my Firebolt. Enjoy Al's brainchild - excellent mod BTW. You should patent it, Al. Z | ||
| Marcodesade |
Thanks for the tip, Fresno. That is the way I ended up going and it worked just fine. Essentially I just used the OEM bolt the same way you would use a tap. It was long enough to clear the threads JUST enough to get the seat retention pin in far enough. The kit works perfectly. Disregard everything I said in some other thread about the price. They are absolutely worth it. |
