"Quick release" for large passenger seat pad?

[davidvia]

I'm anxiously awaiting delivery of my CT125 in a few weeks and starting to plan my accessory strategy.

I'd like to be able to somehow switch between a large passenger seat pad and the open rear rack.

Can anyone share how the passenger seat pads are fastened to the rack?

I'm wondering if I could come up with some kind of a tool free quick release to easily switch between the two.

Or is it still easy to strap something like a milk crate down on top of the large seat pad and secure it to the rack rails underneath without removing the seat pad?

THANKS in advance!!

 

[SneakyDingo]

Can anyone share how the passenger seat pads are fastened to the rack?

This depends on the model of the seat pad you buy. There's one that has a flange that sticks out at the front and two bolts. Most others are using a 2 bolt system with some L bracket that makes no sense to me if you're bolting right into the threaded holes, but absolutely makes sense if you're going through the larger gaps and then using those brackets to hold the seat in place (and also scratch up the paint).

Vintage Garage actually shows him installing the seat with the underside visible; looks like the screws go through the larger holes rather than threading through the 6mm threaded portions. For the crate, since I'd be leveraging the 4 threaded holes, I'd actually go with a power screwdriver and the regular bolts over going completely tool free (tool lite).

EDIT: It looks like the threaded portion goes into the seat, rather than extending down from the seat, so using wing nuts is out. However it does look like there's pretty decent clearance to get in there with a screwdriver, so flexible bit extension + power screwdriver might do the trick. Sorry, thought that would really work with the wingnuts.

HOWEVER...

is it still easy to strap something like a milk crate down on top of the large seat pad and secure it to the rack rails underneath without removing the seat pad?

This is the option I would choose if I was taking passengers most of the time and using the crate occasionally. I'd fabricate a quick stand off around the seat to provide a sturdy base with which to mount the crate on, bolt the crate to the standoff itself once I've lined everything up, and then secure it to the rack using QR straps.

I've got a 3D printer so I'd probably use that to make something because it'd be lighter and fit better than other options, but I'd be extremely surprised if you couldn't get fairly close with some 2x2's or something else. If you don't feel particularly bad about going through zip ties, use 500 lb zip ties through the bottom of the crate. I bought a bulk pack of 5x100 packs of them (500 x 500 lb ties, get it?) and cut the ties every time.

 

[m in sc]

velcro. or cam locks.

 

[dmonkey]

This might give you some more ideas, there's a sliding rear rack tray that lets you run the seat and a crate or top case at the same time, and then has a quick release setup for the seat so it can be removed and the top case returned to a more forward position. The sliding rack seems a bit over the top, but the quick release seat setup looks neat.

イトーKTスライドキャリア

オールカブスライドキャリアは通常は普通のリアキャリアと同じ長さですが一番伸ばすとタンデムシートを取り付けたり最大15kgの荷物の積載が可能。スーパーカブシリーズをはじめハンターカブやクロスカブなど全てのカブシリーズに取り付け可能です。

www.itokt.co.jp

You could run a fixed position rack extension to fit the larger seat and have room to mount a crate or top case on the back at the same time: https://japan.webike.net/products/24870516.html

I often run a lot of weight in my top case and wouldn't like the idea of it being that far back on the bike, so personally I like @SneakyDingo 's idea of building a stand off for the crate to mount over the seat without compressing the seat itself.

 

[m in sc]

like said, id velcro the seat on then strap the crate down after removing the seat. you can always put velcro on the back of the crate to stock the seat pad to when you are hauling stuff. or in the bottom. depends how much you are going to haul. .02

 

[davidvia]

Thanks for all the responses! That "All Cub Slide Carrier" is VERY cool. With the help of Google Translation I was able to track down the manufacturer https://itokt.co.jp/carrier/index.html

I may go in that direction eventually, but I think that in the short term I will probably opt for the cheapest and easiest solution (duh!) of just using some industrial strength Velcro fasteners.

Thanks for the great suggestions. I love simple solutions and since neither the bike nor the seat pad are here yet that wasn't as obvious as it probably should have been...

 

[scuba]

Any luck with your quick-release idea? After installing the seat (and uninstalling it when I needed the cargo space), I am very interested in doing the same. I'd love to order that slide mount from Japan if you were able to figure that out, or just rig up a quicker change-out (on my 1984 CT110).

Thanks for any ideas.

 

[Wasntme]

There’s a product out there that already does this. And I’d recommend it whole heartedly.
I have it on my bike. Has a quick release system that is tool less. The base of the seat is also specifically made to engage in the rack firmly. It has three plastic hooks that latch on when slipped at an angle I to the rear rack, a mid anchor point that actually slips into the middle hole of the rack and finally two pulley style hooks that allow you to reach under rack pull and twist them to engage in a spot on the rear of the seat onto the rack that also lock them in….

it goes nowhere and I love it. Can also be removed within a minute.

https://japan.webike.net/products/24275338.html

I’ve seen some in eBay too. Made by takegawa

 

[JPMcGraw]

Id like to add my 2c to the takegawa seat. I might have gotten a lemon so 50/50.

Its big and comfy but if you are going to be taking it off and putting it on multiple times a week the spring loaded anchors you twist on the bottom won't hold up. One of the anchor springs has come loose and i can hear it rattling around inside. It made it through the summer but broke around fall last year so i got a good 4 months out of it fully working. Now i can only use one of the anchors and the other one just kind of dangles. I have sat on the back with one anchor, tried to make it come loose with my butt, and its still solid.

So basically if you are going to put it on and only take it off occasionally you should be fine. If you are like me and constantly reconfiguring the rack i would find something a little less janky.

 

[Wasntme]

Of note btw. I don’t remove it regularly. So the comments about the hooks eventually giving out is interesting. Something to think about.
I don’t take it off often. But I find the seat to be so wide I don’t have to remove it because I use a crate and secure it on with strong bungies in top of the seat. It’s very secure and cover 90 percent of my daily needs.

also I’ve ridden on the seat without the final latching hooks fully attached and the base is constructed so we’ll that just the snug fitting of other posts sustaining it keep it firmly in place. I’d imagine it could come off were you to wreck or flip the bike but I think with standard passenger downward pressure and around turns I really don’t think it would detach. Guessing here

 

[scuba]

Alright, after a couple of weeks of unsuccessfully trying to reach the two Japanese sources for the convertible seat / rack, I came up with my own solution. It took most of a day to figure out, isn't pretty, but it appears to work and beats the heck out of aligning and trying to bolt/unbolt the stock mounting system for the seat onto the rack (while trying to avoid scratching the paint, and doing it all with close to zero clearance for tools).

Attaching pictures. Let me know any questions. The white zip tie is just to transport the seat when it is off of the rack (eg if you had a passenger, but really need firewood so make them walk back to camp). The two dowels slide in from the rear, and are secured with ring pins in the back. The loops I made with plumbers strap hangers and some re-shaping.