Anyone put a single seat tail on a dual seat frame?

TonyA said:
Maybe try sitting on it for a while , this may help the fit .
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I’m catchin’ yer drift ‘Big T’!

Anyone put a single seat tail on a dual seat frame?
 
Confirmed today that I cannot get the seat to sit correctly when secured by the standard mounting bolts. Crap design indeed. Going to look at incorporating a seat latch as outlined in the below thread - for anyone that might be struggling with this issue.

Jon

Thread '961 Seat Latch Mod'

The 961 two-bolt seat fastening is hopeless. I have a 2018 model where the plastic seat base was moulded to accept U Clips/Speed Clips for bolt fasteners but the plastic cannot endure the stress, is fragile and incredibly fiddly to attach. I understand that early seat bases had metal wedges rivetted to the plastic base - this might be more useable, but I doubt it.
So, for those of us wanting a better solution I have devised a DIY Seat Latch Mod. Some practical skill is required and the materials cost is about £20 and a little patience noodling fleabay for the latch.

With the materials to...
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Until it’s sorted I’d intended to ride with the seat wedged in place which is pretty secure - no bolts. Only concern really is if I drop the bike the seat may seperate - wouldn’t look too great for any insurance claim.

Step forward the hiumble cable tie - inserted through the dodgy seat mounts. Fitted seat with tie straps pulled through the frame (seat bolt holes).

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Using a second (seperated) cable tie head and washer - secure the seat pad.

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Leave 1-2 mm short of fully tightened to get the side cutters in to remove the cable tie when necessary. Snip off the strap/tail.

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Suprisingly secure - the seat pad ain't going anywhere. A useful interim measure.
 
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Almost completed the single seat conversion on a dual seat 961. Last significant components are the frame extensions.

There’s a few threads covering how best to blank off the pillion peg mounting points, from engineered inserts to the use of ‘N’ fridge magnets. They look ok however, I think still draw the eye to that redundant section of the dual seat frame extentions. Cutting the section out isn’t really viable - especially if you want the option to convert back to dual seat.

Just fitted the single seat frame extensions which, along with the seat unit itself tidies up the rear end nicely. These are still occasionally available - I got mine from Stu.

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For anybody doing this - a few things to note:

- The hand built nature of the frame extentions mean they may differ slightly in spec; I had to flex mine (2-3mm) in order to align mounting holes. They are braced by the footpeg backing plates.

- The single seat extension mounting bosses are 5 mm longer. These few slight differences mean you may have to reposition the silencers slightly. Re-shaping exhaust mounting brackets may also be needed if you want to get silencer position spot on (equal both sides).

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- The chain side lower mounting boss has a 5mm reduced diameter internal face. I made a spacer as a temporary measure.

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- Stu informs me this reduced dia is to receive a lower chain guard - yep, never heard of one of those either! A Donny 961 improvement, post Mk1 I think, incorporated to single seat bikes as well. Retained on the Solihull bikes? Good idea to order one of these before starting the conversion, if you have a Mk1.

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All in all a simple enough task, worth completing for those seeking the single seat look - especially if the bike is a keeper.

Last items to be fitted are these from Thiele.

Anyone put a single seat tail on a dual seat frame?

If you’re doing something to your 961, however simple, why not post it - with pics. It all adds to the ‘brains trust’.
 
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