I made good progress today- I got the air box on, the bike was running, etc so I decided to clean up a bit and organize some parts and tools.  I put the seat on and in the process of moving it, it latched into place.  The key to the seat doesn't do a damn thing and it is properly stuck on.  I can't seem to wedge anything in there to unlatch it.  Any ideas?  Such is my luck...fml.

Has the key for the seat worked in the past?  If so, it may just be jammed.  Try turning the key while pounding down on the seat with your fist where the latch is.

-Jessie

Not to my knowledge.  I really don't want to break the key.  I think I'm gonna have a go at it this weekend with a coat hanger and rig up the cable to work without the key somehow.

I'm not familiar with the GS assembly, but on my GR you can remove the rear fender and pull REALLY hard on the cable to release the latch.

Best to have somebody hold the bike up while you tug on it though.

push down on the seat and jiggle/turn the key. It'll pop. One of mine does that too.

The fist pound is the only way my stock seat comes off.  My key doesn't twist much until I do that.  Hopefully you've got the right key and it's just stubborn.

Um... how did you get the seat off in the first place? Try that again 

Michael

Yeah try thumping it  like Adfalchius and Kidsixteen said above...

If that doesn't work...

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=10614.msg87911#msg87911

Or if you can physically get a hold of the cable behind the seat release cylinder-grab the cable with needle nose pliers and pull down.

Quote from: mister on December 08, 2011, 12:59:00 AM
Um... how did you get the seat off in the first place? Try that again 

Michael

This is exactly what I was woundering?

it was never latched on in the first place.

I can't comment for sure for a GS500 in street trim, since I strip a bunch of stuff off my race bikes. If I were you, I'd check to see if it's possible to peel up the edge of the seat to remove the screw holding the fairing in place. With that off, you may have better access to the seat lock, permitting you to pull on the cable and remove the seat. You may also check to see if you can remove the undertail. Again, on my race bike it's held on by 3 screws, but I recall in stock trim that more hold it on. Seat lock pulls to the left side of the bike, so if you can get a tool under the seat you can probably open it up.

Remove the undertail - 5 screws I recall. Then you can reach the latch.

Probably you have a warped seat or something under it causing it to be really tight.

Find a 400 pound person to sit on the seat and compress it - then it should unlatch really easy. Or wrap a strap around the bike and pull down the back of the seat to relieve the pressure on the latch.

Quote from: adidasguy on December 08, 2011, 11:48:26 PM
Remove the undertail - 5 screws I recall. Then you can reach the latch.

Probably you have a warped seat or something under it causing it to be really tight.

Find a 400 pound person to sit on the seat and compress it - then it should unlatch really easy. Or wrap a strap around the bike and pull down the back of the seat to relieve the pressure on the latch.

I got the undertail off last night but couldn't get to the latch.  The cable isn't hooked up (of course) so I'm going to have to engineer something unless I decide to use the cutting wheel and cut it off and buy a new seat.

I have to say that this is almost the final straw with this damn bike.  I got it running from sitting for 5 years but little stuff like this and changing light bulbs has really been a pain.  I'm going to hold off on working on it until I am off for the holidays.

You can use a hooked thingy to pull the catch. Someone can post a picture of the heat latch with the seat off and you'll see what to pull. Don't cut the seat off.

OR do an ebay search for GS500 SEAT LATCH and you'll see pictures like this one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2005-SUZUKI-GS500F-SEAT-LATCH-W-CABLE-/330604711439?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item4cf9938e0f

Bummer that the cable wasn't even connected.

Link in my post ^^^^ there has the pics and description of how to do it.

I decided to give working on the bike a rest to clear my mind and come back at it while on vacation.

Anyhow:



It sure was a lesson in patience.  I had to wedge up the seat with a hammer and remove the rear tail section and the shroud below it.  Some of those bolts took about 5-10 minutes a piece.  I popped the latch with a screwdriver once the coast was clear.  I rerouted the cable and hooked it up to a keyring so it will never get stuck again.

I had the same problem the other day - I found out that if you're willing to possibly scrape a little skin to reach up under the seat and pull the cable.