Seat Pan Mounting Post Repair

[cowboyup3371]

Although I'm going to look for a new seat pan, does anyone know if JB Weld will hold to put the mounting post back in place even as a temporary measure with that much visible rust?

550T Seatpan from rear by Scott Baker, on Flickr

550T seatpan by Scott Baker, on Flickr

[Nessism]

Can't remember how the seat fits but aren't those tabs part of the retention mechanism? If so the answer is no, you can not glue them. The bike won't be safe.

[cowboyup3371]

Yes, they keep the seat from lifting up.

[Redman]

Yes, they keep the seat from lifting up.

...and, from sliding sideways. THat was the problem I had when that ripped out of the front of my GK seat.

I pondered making a plate to mount the mechanism to, then mount the plate with rivits or screws over a larger area/pattern, but with the various contours in the area, that exceeded my fabrication skills.

(took quite a while, but did find a replacement seat.)

.

[bwringer]

Remove the vinyl and foam, grind and sand the rust and paint down to bare metal, weld in a bit of sheet steel on the back as a reinforcement, then weld the mounting tab back on. This is a fairly straightforward repair if you can scare up a wire feed welder and some bare minimum of skill. Heck, it doesn't even need to be pretty.

However, the main issue is that you're likely to find a lot more rust -- the other side certainly isn't far behind. The seat pan itself may or may not be salvageable.

One of the tabs on the frame of my GS850 has been missing for years. The seat can't come off (in fact it's a right royal pain to get the thing off) so I haven't worried about it. In this case, I think the chunk that came out of the seat pan might be weight-bearing, so it's a little more imperative to fix, or at least improvise something so the seat doesn't contact the battery or anything critical... I've ridden a bike or two with bungees holding the seat on. With a little applied creativity you should be able to come up with something safe.

I've also seen some folks here salvage a badly corroded seat pan by essentially using it as a form or core to construct a fiberglass version.

Of course, showing up at Brown County on your Bandit wouldn't exactly be a terrible hardship...

[cowboyup3371]

Thanks Brian, I’ll talk to my buddy to see if he thinks he can re-weld it after I return from Illinois

[cowboyup3371]

Oh someone is looking over my shoulder today. I don’t need to be at the hospital for work until 1 today so I started checking out eBay for a seat. Found one at a salvage yard in Georgia for $175 plus 35 shipping. I just made him an offer for 140 so fingers are crossed. If not I’ll buy it at the $175 today anyway

[cowboyup3371]

They countered with $170 and I am not passing up the chance to get my GS back on the road so I accepted it. The seat cover has some tears on the sides but the pan is in perfect condition from the pictures so it’s on the way

[Redman]

Real good, especially for a one year part.
I had to look for long long time, many months, a year, before I found a decent black one for a GK (which would be 2 year).

Good, help to keep the GSs from being a minor minority at the GS rally.

.

[bwringer]

Excellent.

Sometimes it's well worth a few bucks to skip hours of farting around with something.

Shouldn't be too hard to transplant your seat foam and/or cover if it's in better shape.

[Nessism]

POR-15 paint is a good product to use on rusted seat pans. It protects the metal from further degradation from rust that is so common on those parts.

[aclaytonb]

I use KBS Rust Seal. Either one is awesome for warding off the rot.