Broke Rear Seat Bolt - VT1100C2

[Blueribbon]

I just sheared off the 6 mm bolt which is captive in the rear fender and sticks up, that the rear seat bracket slips down over to hold the seat down.

Looked in both the service manual and parts micro-fiche, and the bolt is NOT shown as a part. My guess is that it comes already welded in the fender.

I'm grasping for straws what I can do to replace it. I have a Corbin seat and that is the ONLY bolt that holds the seat on. The Corbin seat does not use the side bolts that the OEM seat uses.

I am wondering if there is something I could do without removing the rear wheel? I could try counter-drilling it, and tapping it for a #10 machine screw. There is very little or no force at all on this bolt. But the OEM stud may be hard metal and hard to tap.

Let's see what other forum members say, before I make a mess of things.

Help!!
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[Xmigo]

I doubt its thick enough to tap in to, but if it is thats what I'd do. Otherwise I would try drilling out a hole and slipping a bolt through the bottom. Then use JB weld and/or a very thin nut on top to hold it in place. Not a perfect fix but you said you don't want to remove the wheel and I don't blame you since its the beginning of riding season.

'97 Spirit 1100

[h13man]

Your only recourse is carefully drill down the center of the old bolt with a center drill to locate starting point for a 5/32" drill bit. Drill the 5/32" & then step out to a 5mm tap drill. There might be enough leftover OE fastener welded head underneath to allow a M6 tap to wake a couple threads. Go to Ace hardware and purchase a metric SS bolt the appropriate length. At this point I would turn or grind the head down to a lower profile for under the fender use. Install with some loctite and add a standard M6 nut after you passed the bolt thru the fender then snug bolt gently with pliers or small vise grips and then remove M6 nut using it as thread corrector when removing. This procedure can be eliminated if have access to a M6 die. Another way is buy the bolt longer, tighten on the very end and cut off the marred bolt with a Dremel or hacksaw. Use your drill carefully and don't over RPM the drilling process and you should be good to go. I would use a red or green Loctite & allow it to cure 24 hrs. If you can find some self sticking tube patch, make yourself a rubber shim that will stick in between the bracket and the fender.

[Schattenreiter]

Same thing happened to me on my 95 vt1100c. I used a dremel tool with a cutoff wheel and went in from the bottom of the fender. I very carefully ground the head of the stud off till it was flush with the underside of the fender. If you take your time you won't over heat the paint and damage it. Once the head is gone it is a simple matter to take a small punch and drive the stud out. Get a bolt of the proper size and push it thru the hole from under the bottom. Mine was tight enuff to hold itself in place to reinstall the seat. Problem solved.

[h13man]

^^^^^
That would be a good fix also.

[Kathy M]

Originally Posted by h13man

^^^^^
That would be a good fix also.

This ^^^^^^^^

[mtne87]

On my 02 VT1100 Spirit the bolt just comes out it had a "special" washer at one point that held it in but when someone decided to "help out" by putting the seat back on and jammed the bolt it fell out.
You might wanna take a closer look at it just to be safe.
But then again i've been wrong before so yours could be welded on and mine could have been a fix buy the P.O.

[Blueribbon]

Didn't want to pull rear wheel. Would have been a relitively easy fix with wheel off.

I went out and bought brand new quality small bits, and was able to counter drill the bolt (fairly close to dead center) and then I tapped it with a 10-24 thread. From the feel of the tap, I got 6 or 7 good threads, considerably more than a single nut. Am now using a R/H SS machine screw. If this continues to hold, I'll leave it until next tire change, then put in proper bolt from inside-out. I just don't cherrish removing the rear wheel.

Thanks for the comments from contributing forum membgers. Appreciate it.

[jpr1968]

You could have just unbolted the fender without taking wheel off.

[Blueribbon]

Thanks - didn't even think of taking the fender off. I want to re-wire some lights, so may do that at the same time.

I just completely overlooked that. The #10 machine screw is fairly light, to say it is the ONLY bolt that holds on my seat (though it is really under no load, except a little sheer). Sometime when I have a little time, I'll take your advice, and just try to get the fender off. I can then put on a little heavier bolt, and weld in place with JB Weld, which I would be lost in life without it!!

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