Harley-Davidson fitted their 883 and 1200 Sportster models with a wide variety of seats over the years, ranging from sleek solo saddles to heavily padded touring seats. While there is little reason to disturb the seat from a Sportster under normal circumstances, some maintenance and repair situations will require the entire removal of the seat. The task is relatively pain free, as the seats used by either Sportster model are held in place by a single bolt. To speed the process the next time you need to remove the seat, replace the seat bolt with a thumbscrew during reinstallation, making the job a completely toolless affair.
Instructions
1. Unscrew the seat screw from the seat's rear mounting tab, using a Phillips screwdriver.
2. Grasp the rear of the seat and lift it off the rear fender and the frame's seat rails.
3. Pull the entire seat away from the fuel tank until the hooks under the front of the seat separate from the slots in the motorcycle's frame. Set the seat aside.
4. Slide the seat hooks into the frame slots to reinstall the seat.
5. Lower the seat onto the frame rails and the rear fender.
6. Screw the seat screw into the seat's rear mounting strap and the rear fender, using a Phillips screwdriver. Alternatively, screw a 1/4-20 by 1/2-inch thumbscrew into the rear-mounting strap and the rear fender by hand, in place of the stock seat screw, to quicken future seat removals.
Tags: rear fender, seat screw, frame seat, Phillips screwdriver, rear mounting, seat rear
