[tooseevee]

         I had to take a break so I thought I'd write a prequel. It's 84 down there and I've been at it 3 hours because (of course) I got caught up in extra details.

         I almost dropped the old girl again the other day just maneuvering around because of my short legs made worse by the height of the Lycette seat, just plain loss of muscle mass and joint pain. I just can't trust being up on tippy toes any longer;

          I ordered a small, inexpensive chopper-type seat because it's what I'm used to + seat prices are outrageous and what if didn't work at all? The AVL frame mount gives you no alternatives; it's just an upside down "U" with a hole in the top welded to the frame tube. There are also two frame tubes welded to the center tube so you can't use a circular frame clamp with a seat bracket tube welded onto it. The only way to modify it is cut it off, create a new one and do some really tricky welding. Then grinding. Then prep and paint. I only have hand tools and spray cans now 

        I can make the bracket (which is very hvy dty btw) work although the front will be higher than I wished for. It, too, would require cutting and welding to make it right. Oh, well. 

         The seat will have no springs, but I'm used to that. Even with 2" springs it's too high + the spring mount points on the seat come nowhere near the Lycette seat mounting bracket holes (those brackets, too, are just barely "OK"). Again, custom mounting brackets would have to be fabbed if you wanted springs with this seat.

         I'll be back in a few hours with photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one 

[heloego]

"I'll be back in a few hours "with photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one"  "

   Arlo, sorry to hear you have to go to so much trouble just to get it to work for you. Looking forward to the illustrated novel this will require. 

[tooseevee]

       I got side-tracked and here it is tomorrow already.

        Here's a couple pictures. No springs. Even with 2" springs it's too high. Plus the brackets that worked for the Lycette do not work so I removed them.

         The seat sits on the fender with a piece of closed cell foam (sprayed black) cemented to the seat. The paint will still probably be rubbed off the fender. Oh, well.

[tooseevee]

   Just a couple more. I was hoping to get the front an inch lower, but I need more tools and machines than I have access to now + welding.

    Haven't ridden it yet, but I'm totally flat-footed now.

[elysianforest]

2CV, I must say you've a very nice looking ride. Makes me think I should put a bit more time in to keeping my own a bit cleaner...   

It may not be terribly applicable to me, but I am quite curious to hear about the resulting comfort of your efforts. Please keep us updated!

It's a bit difficult to tell from the angle of the photos so this suggestion could be a silly one, but might you be able to bend the tabs of the seat bracket a bit to fit around the mount and then drill through that - removing the hinge bracket completely? It would put your position back slightly, but perhaps no welding would be required?

[ace.cafe]

Here's how I installed my Sportster saddle.



I didn't use the u-mount on the front of the saddle itself. I bolted an aluminum tongue to the front underside of the saddle,  and slid it under the u-mount of the frame.
Then I made 2 steel rear mounting brackets, and bolted the rear stud mounts on to them with acorn nuts.this allowed the lowest possible mounting for the front of the seat, and the tongue was made wide enough to just slide into the frame u-mount so that it didn't have any lateral movement. The rear stud mounting brackets held it all from sliding forward off the tongue, and kept the rear from moving side to side.

[tooseevee]

2CV, I must say you've a very nice looking ride. Makes me think I should put a bit more time in to keeping my own a bit cleaner...   

It may not be terribly applicable to me, but I am quite curious to hear about the resulting comfort of your efforts. Please keep us updated!

It's a bit difficult to tell from the angle of the photos so this suggestion could be a silly one, but might you be able to bend the tabs of the seat bracket a bit to fit around the mount and then drill through that - removing the hinge bracket completely? It would put your position back slightly, but perhaps no welding would be required?

            Yes, I fiddled and fussed with all those different scenarios that you've been visualizing and there was no way I could do it with the tools I have. The seat bracket and the angle bar the tube is welded to are very heavy duty angle bar and even if I could cut just the tube flat off the angle it would still have to have a hole drilled and be mounted to the top of the "U" with a bolt and nut. You gain very little in height reduction.

         Here's what I ideally would want to do. I would find a good welder and a piece of proper size steel tube and have just the tube welded to the front edge of the "U" (leaving the other tube and angle piece alone). That will get me another full inch and a 1/4" drop in front and an inch back as you can visualize from the picture. And I'll still have the upside down "U" with the hole in the middle if it's ever wanted later.

           And, of course, we need to not burn the wires or the tank or all the bits and pieces underneath. Lots of Refrasil. Is it all worth it Idaknow It feels OK the way it is. It's just aesthetics that make me want it lower.

            No, I won't miss the springs. I'm used to hardtails. My comfort is having both feet flat on the ground, one on each side with the bike in the middle - upright      

               

[elysianforest]

Ah, I see. Yes even bending metal or drilling holes can be impossible without the right tools for the job. I think your ideal solution is a good one.

Then again...

There's always duct tape!