Wiggly seat

[Turkina]

I must be doing something wrong...
The front part of my seat wiggles on my '96.  The plastic tab seems to fit nicely between the edge of the tank and the rear tank bracket, but there seems to be > 1/2" gap between the seat and the side panels.  Shouldn't it fit flush, which means I should put the plastic seat tab beneath the rear tank bracket?  When I try and get comfortable, or when pushing my bike around for parking, the seat slides from side to side.  I am missing the rubber block that sits on the battery, so i went and ordered it today.  Any thoughts?

[pizzleboy]

i think you need the rubber pads to provide the correct spacer between seet and locking mechanism

[scratch]

Look at the bottom of your seat, at the seat pan (plastic). If it doesn't actually already have the black rubber bumpers, you may see where they used to be mounted, as evidenced by a little glue or some other residue, and wear marks in spots on your frame. That's where the bumpers used to be.

[Kerry]

If you knew about the missing rubber block for the battery, you probably already know about the other OEM parts that should be on the seat/bike.

But just in case, check out  BikeBandit's '96 SEAT diagram and parts list.

I never pay attention to exactly where I put the plastic tab on the front of the seat.  I just jam it below the tank somewhere.  Have you had a chance to try putting it below the tank bracket?  If so, how'd it go?

[KevinC]

The plastic tab definitely goes below the tank mount bracket, in fact I'd be surprised if you could put it anywhere else. There is a channel bent into the bracket to accept the seat tab.

It will wiggle around without all the rubber pieces.

[Turkina]

You know...  My battery sits nicely in the battery box, but it looks aftermarket.  Maybe the battery that was put in by the previous owner was too tall.  That would explain why the rubber block that rests on top of the battery is gone, and the seat sits high.  Now all I need is a pair of X-ray specs so I can verify!    
Perhaps it is time to hit up Wal-mart.

[Kerry]

A too-tall battery would definitely cause problems.  If you don't have any luck at Wal-Mart, perhaps some scanned catalog pages would help.  (Warning: Large images!)

Otherwise, do some searches on this board for "battery", etc.  One obliquely-related thread is 2 random questions.

If it will help, I can measure my battery tomorrow - I have plans to do some wrenching....

[Turkina]

My battery is 6 7/8" high... too tall for the space.  I took out the battery and everything seats nicely.  The rubber pads that sit on the side rails were floating about a half an inch high and the seat was resting on the top of the battery.  I guess I'll go look for a proper one today!
Oh, and the front tab on the seat does go beneath the tank bracket now

[Turkina]

So... I got the Walmart battery, charged it up and put it in.  I'm going to have to make an extension for the positive battery cable.  It's a little too short for comfort.  The terminal lug won't seat properly on the battery terminal, and there is a lot of tension in that wire now.  The negative cable worked really well.  Instead of putting the negative cable through the hole in the bottom right hand side, it just slides in along with the battery (very convenient for removal, just have to add a little wire chafing protection)  I was wondering... I read Srinath's install directions on Pablo's site, but that makes it sound as if the battery was smaller than it is... I did get an ES12BS.  Hmm... I do need about a quarter to a half inch on that positive cable for me to be comfortable though  

Perhaps I will put on a long enough extension so I can take battery out, sit it on top of the battery box, and then worry about disconnecting terminals

[The Buddha]

The cables are sometimes shorter on some bikes...but I made sure the cable is routed right and the best way for the new position...Mine seems to just have 1/2 inch of extra length...You may have gotten just a bit unlucky...but make sure you route it right...if you cant get it to where you think it should be...do not add extensions...Positive cable carries a lot of load and should not have exposed metal...very dangerous...if it ever touches the metal on the body...you have fireworks...get a whole new cable if you want to with the right length...wreckers have electrical mystery boxes where the cable you want is awaiting rescue...and usually its free...my friend got it free for his nitehawk and we sorted out that quite well. Walmart also sells some cables for cars...you may be able to get it to work with a little modding.
Cool.
Srinath.

[Turkina]

Well, I got some extra length by rotating the positive cable at the starter (?) connection 180 degrees, bent the connector there to give me more clearance from the negative wire.  It works, but not terribly comfortable with it long term.  Pushed the insulator boots down too.  Later on I'll get a cable made at a specialty store, since nobody seems to have battery terminal crimpers here!

In other news, I took a look at my carbs and the brass plugs are out.  But the previous owner didn't say if the bike was jetted.  Maybe the guy before him did it (but he sold the bike at 800 miles!) I'm confused