Seat fixing

[jhg1958]

My seat needs a bit of welding to restore the captured nuts.  I will probably get a new cover at the same time.

But all is not as it seems. Although my bike is a 1961 A10 GF it looks like a pre 1959 seat with a dip in the middle and white piping. No problem I think I prefer this type.

The front bracket looks like a custom job. See photo. This was probably to cope with the loss of one of the captured nuts on the seat.  This is fine but should there not be a lump of rubber part number 42-9057 here?  If I use this bracket there will be no room without making the seat too high.  Does anyone put a lump of rubber under the front bracket?

It would great to have the dimensions from a real bracket specifically from the slot to the the top where it bolts onto the seat. Mine is 1” from the top of the slot to the top of the bracket (underside of the seat pan).

The rear bracket is a bit of mess too.  There is a newish one that sits on top of the mudguard as per 1954-59 models but this is a little low.  I could make some new ones that bolt onto the side of the mudguard that has fixing holes anyway or else use some rubber to raise the seat 1/2 inch.  Are both fixing systems equally good?  If I make new brackets am tempted to use the suspension mountings as I need to weld the seat pan anyway.  Does anyone know why they bolt onto the mudguard rather than the suspension?

Finally if I do get it welded, I was going to get studs welded rather than captured nut.  Getting a nut welded square is more difficult than getting a stud plumb.  I cannot see why BSA did not use studs anyway, what am I missing?

John

[Swarfcut]

Captive nuts are just that. Assemble everything on the seat pan, then just tack weld the nuts in place. Everything will fit as you have fixed the nuts in their final all tightened up position.

 Car exhaust mountings, the sort with two threaded studs bonded to a rubber block ("cotton reels") make a handy and compliant rear seat mount, and a custom mount from the frame will be a better way to support the seat pan, avoiding extra load on the relatively weak rear mudguard.  The original design, as always, is a compromise between the designer, production engineers and cost accountants......

 Swarfy.

[lawnmowerman]

But all is not as it seems. Although my bike is a 1961 A10 GF it looks like a pre 1959 seat with a dip in the middle and white piping. No problem I think I prefer this type.
John

Although the seats did have a dip in the middle, on some it is really pronounced. This is usually due to the rubber buffers fitted to the frame being wrongly adjusted (or missing). If the rider is of generous proportions (like me) the seat pan then bends in the middle. Sometimes done on purpose for those with short legs.
Occasionally the rubber buffers fall off - I superglued mine to the bolt heads.

I made some posts a while ago with comparisons of the various seats and if your bike is a 61 it should have a wider seat according to Leightons. This is what I have on my 59 and it feels more comfortable than the earlier type which I think you have. I ended up making the rear bracket to get it closer to the mudguard having tried the standard and RGS brackets.

Jim

[RichardL]

Well, this took about 15 seconds to find.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/bsa-seat-bracket/324212295674?hash=item4b7c8f07fa:g:6F0AAOSwhQhednAm

Richard

[Bsareg]

For an extra £1.80 delivered, they're available from CPC Eng in stainless fit and forget.

[Petergj]

Apologies for opening this thread up again but can anyone please describe (or share a photo) showing where the two Rubber Pads 42-9057 should be fitted on the underside of a 1958 A10 Golden Flash dual seat?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Regards,

[chaterlea25]

Hi Peter,
Depending on the seat either there is a rectangular "box" at either side directly above the frame rails, rubber blocks fit in the boxes
Or
There are two  lugs with vertical tapped holes in the corners where the cross tube meets the frame rails, 5/16 x26 set bolts screw in to these , a large diameter washer is locked to the bolt head and another nut acts as a locknut. Rubber dome shaped pieces are glued to the bolt head/ washer and the assembly can be adjusted up against the seat base to support it, then tighten the locknut
I have used rubber door stops on the bolt heads when making up my own supports, cut out a relief for the bolt head

John

[CheeserBeezer]

Ebay item number 354316821040 shows the two rectangular boxes under the seat.

[BagONails]

My bike is in pieces currently so all is laid bare...

I think this is the stock front mounting method, seat slides forward over the horizontal pins on the frame.

Previous owner put in these rubber bungs glued on top of adjustable screw mounts off the frame rails, which I think is a reasonable solution.
He chose not to use the boxes provided in the seat pan but there may have been a reason for that as I'm sure this is an aftermarket bit of tinware.

As you can see I have recently carried out some remedial reinforcement works to the aft section, aft' that is Mrs Nails complained of going down in the world during a trial pillion run. Not meant in any way to disparage Mrs Nails silth like form as she's still at her fighting weight 

PO also made the raised platform I believe and came up with the extended hex screws which work well as you can easily twiddle by hand and nip up with a ring spanner. Why did he go to the mudguard tho? may be the existing holes were too much temptation but personally I would go to the suspension mounts and I may end up doing just that sometime soon.  The guard is reinforced underneath with a double thickness section to be fair. The height also seems a bit excessive and I've never liked the gap above the gaurd when the seat is in place.  I've got a new foam and cover coming from Leightons so once that is fitted I think I shall reappraise and adjust accordingly.

As you can see after the back of the seat gave way I added two more bump stops on the top of guard to cope with the occasional passenger. These are non-standard M8 bolts nutted top and bottom with a pair of door stop rubbers hollowed out and glued on. You can see the witness marks on the freshly painted reinforcement.

So mine now has no fewer than 8 supports, which I hope is now sufficient. We are really not huge people either!

[limeyrob]

The rubber blocks are important and do set the rider part of the seat at the right height. Get some old conveyor belt or 1/4 rubber and 3 bits glued together makes a decent block.  Those rubber buffers look much too high, the set only sits about 1/4" above the guard, I think you may have to trim the centre of the cross angle reinforcement.  Where is 42-9206?

[trevinoz]

The extended nuts are as from the factory. Slightly different in form but correct.

[BagONails]

The rubber blocks are important and do set the rider part of the seat at the right height. Get some old conveyor belt or 1/4 rubber and 3 bits glued together makes a decent block.  Those rubber buffers look much too high, the set only sits about 1/4" above the guard, I think you may have to trim the centre of the cross angle reinforcement.  Where is 42-9206?

Thanks Rob, Leightons are sending me a couple of rubber blocks with the foam and cover so I will see how it all pans out haha! I don't mind modifying what I've got as none of it is standard anyway. 42-9206? I've no idea, can't find it in my parts book. If you mean the dual seat rear support bracket, I've got that down as 42-9196 but I don't have one of those either. The M8 screws, nuts and washers were a quick ghetto fix as we had a rally weekend in the offing. I can easily make something along the lines of the original bracket and may have to if the seat has to be lowered significantly!

[Petergj]

Thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge on the A10 seat mounting.

One last question - the Rubber Pads 42-9057 have a slight taper to them. Does the thicker end of the pad go at the front or rear end of the seat?

Thanks again.

Peter

[limeyrob]

Good question, they do have a slight taper and I cut my home made ones to be like that too. I think the thicker part goes to the front.