Wobbly seat

[Order66]

It definitely doesn't take that much effort to get the back moving around, and also up and down. Once latched, I can definitely make it move down more, almost like the catch ring should be closer to the seat pan. When I'm sitting on the bike, 95% of the time I don't notice that much, but when I get the *clunk* I know the height tab just came out of its slot. About to take it out for about 100 miles this afternoon, so let's see what shakes down.

[skipperT]

Hope you had a nice afternoon ride.
 
I had another thought: are all the rubber grommets still in place on the reverse side of the seat?
 
-S

[bubba]

Wessie - lolz.  
Order- no worries. No accusations here, just trying to help out.
 
I grabbed my seat last night to check it, see if we can compare wobbles. 8-). Mine is VERY secure in the front, but the rear of the seat rocks gently if I put pressure with my palm on one side while lifting the opposite side. Hard to explain. But I would call this typical movement. In my mind, what I am feeling is the seat gently "rocking" left to r (or r to l, whichever) and I can visualize the "rocking" happening around both the plastic tab/slot where the rh rear of the seat fits into the subframe in the chosen (hi or low) position - and the metal "tab" in the center of the rear part of the seat which actually latches near where the rubber plug goes in.
 
Lengthy explanation but what I'm trying to say is that some rocking around those 2 rear tabs is probably typical.
 
Is that what you are experiencing , or is your seat moving all over the place?
-S
 

Mine is exactly as you described in that the front feels secure but the back wobbles.  If I use my hand and rock the back part of the seat up and down a few times then the plastic tab will eventually release from the slot.  Can't duplicate this when sitting on the seat.  Not a very good design in my opinion. 

[Cruizin]

Now that I'm 49 years old, I've noticed that my ass is getting kinda wobbly. Anyone got a fix for that?

[ULEWZ]

Now that I'm 49 years old, I've noticed that my ass is getting kinda wobbly. Anyone got a fix for that?

Sounds like you have a problem with ass-tro-physics.  

[skipperT]

Wessie - lolz.  
Order- no worries. No accusations here, just trying to help out.
 
I grabbed my seat last night to check it, see if we can compare wobbles. 8-). Mine is VERY secure in the front, but the rear of the seat rocks gently if I put pressure with my palm on one side while lifting the opposite side. Hard to explain. But I would call this typical movement. In my mind, what I am feeling is the seat gently "rocking" left to r (or r to l, whichever) and I can visualize the "rocking" happening around both the plastic tab/slot where the rh rear of the seat fits into the subframe in the chosen (hi or low) position - and the metal "tab" in the center of the rear part of the seat which actually latches near where the rubber plug goes in.
 
Lengthy explanation but what I'm trying to say is that some rocking around those 2 rear tabs is probably typical.
 
Is that what you are experiencing , or is your seat moving all over the place?
-S
 

Mine is exactly as you described in that the front feels secure but the back wobbles.  If I use my hand and rock the back part of the seat up and down a few times then the plastic tab will eventually release from the slot.  Can't duplicate this when sitting on the seat.  Not a very good design in my opinion. 

 
 
Bubba- who knows why they do what they do? But, yes I think that's just the way it is. Next re-design maybe...
 
-S
 

[Order66]

Hope you had a nice afternoon ride.  
I had another thought: are all the rubber grommets still in place on the reverse side of the seat?
 
-S

Thanks for the well wishes - it was a very good ride
All grommets are still there. Seat did the same thing on the ride... felt normal most of the time and a couple of 'clunks' from the back. No real rhyme or reason, didn't happen on bumps, just sometimes it was just 'clunk.'

[fjer]

Ari Henning is a motorcycle test rider for Motorcyclist magazine and did the long term FZ09 test for them. He also used to do "On two wheels" for Motor Trend magazine for a few years. He has a lot of experience with many different bikes. In his final long term report he too complained about his wobbly seat on the FZ. His solution was to buy some circular rubber pads from a hardware store and stack them on the rear corners of the seat for more support. You can see his report and solution here  He did like the FZ and gave it good reviews. Hope this helps with the FJ.  http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/how-to/yamaha-fz-09-doin-time-long-term-test-bike-review

[sixcharlie]

Wish I could contribute more and mine was doing the same thing. I can only say that after messing with it a bit, checking the manual (as you did) and ensuring the tabs were in the correct slot, and the rubber plug back in, the wobble is gone.
 
Now, I can wiggle it a little bit, but not to an extent that I would consider out of the ordinary.
 
It does approach more of a wobble than a wiggle with the rubber plug not installed.
 
I went through this when I first raised the seat to the high position, then I read the manual and saw the plastic bracket had to be adjusted. I went through it again this past weekend when I put the seat in the low position so a friend could ride it.
 
Big wobble when I put it back to the high position but after looking at it a bit and messing a bit I managed to get it installed "correctly" as in little wiggle, no wobble.
 
 

[dondon]

yea it's actually the upper left slot of the seat bracket the locking pin needs to go into, not the middle (lower) I had put the pin in initially.

[johan]

Trust me, if your seat has any movement at all you're doing something wrong, it should be rock solid, especially in the low position - check that you have slotted the rear tabs of the base in the holes with the grommets. Use the lower slot at the front and check the locking mechanism at the rear, there are two positions on the catch. If you have movement it is most like the latter that you messed up. No modifications needed.

[ULEWZ]

Trust me, if your seat has any movement at all you're doing something wrong, it should be rock solid, especially in the low position - check that you have slotted the rear tabs of the base in the holes with the grommets. Use the lower slot at the front and check the locking mechanism at the rear, there are two positions on the catch. If you have movement it is most like the latter that you messed up. No modifications needed.

Just messed around with my seat for 20 minutes trying every combination possible, and it still has a slight wobble. Verified it was under the front position, rear pins locked into the rubber grommets, and put the rear of the seat into the L postion. No dice. Not convinced it will be rock solid, at least on my seat. I can see adding some rubber pieces under the plastic adjuster that fits by the battery where the seat rubber bits lay to rest, but that is all.  

[skipperT]

yea it's actually the upper left slot of the seat bracket the locking pin needs to go into, not the middle (lower) I had put the pin in initially.

 
 
Glad you figured it out!
 
-S

[Order66]

Trust me, if your seat has any movement at all you're doing something wrong, it should be rock solid, especially in the low position - check that you have slotted the rear tabs of the base in the holes with the grommets. Use the lower slot at the front and check the locking mechanism at the rear, there are two positions on the catch. If you have movement it is most like the latter that you messed up. No modifications needed.

While I agree the lower position is somewhat more solid, I completely disagree with your "Trust me...you're doing something wrong." The seat moves, and isn't anchored solidly. And it moves more in the higher position. I've been owning and wrenching on bikes for 30+ years; I'm not doing anything wrong. Neither is my local dealership, who called Yamaha to verify they were doing it right. This isn't rocket science. The mounting/adjustability system of this seat, however  well-intentioned, is not executed as well as it should be. I have movement; I know the hi/low tab slips in and out of its slot and 'clunks' down sometimes.  
This isn't 'normal,' and it's something that needs to be addressed, IMO. But please don't assume that because your seat is tight, everyone else who has a loose seat must be doing something wrong.

[johan]

OK, so probably there is a manufacturing issue. I have not tried the high position. When I first put my seat in the low position I had exactly the same issue as described by others - the rear was wobbly. It was very disconcerting when I first accelerated hard. But after I carefully inspected it I realised that I had the rear tab in the high position. I adjusted it and this took care of the issue. The seat really now has no movement. Maybe Im lucky!