Tail chop tidy up

[Nasher]

The M900 I picked up from Blah Blah has a nicely executed Tail chop carried out by a previous owner, but only from the outside.

I wasn't happy with the arrangement of the seat release mechanism.
As has to be done the lock part had been turned upside down in the frame so it pointed forward rather than backward.

This had issues in my mind.
The mechanism hangs down looking untidy, and all that needs to be done to get the seat off is to pull the cable, no key needed.
The cable went through several angles and didn't have a smooth route, so made the whole thing stiff, and the clamp for the cable was - well judge for yourself.

This is how it looked first thing this morning.
http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y481/Nashersimages/release1_zpsfc5f613a.jpg (http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/Nashersimages/media/release1_zpsfc5f613a.jpg.html)
http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y481/Nashersimages/release2_zps0838311c.jpg (http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/Nashersimages/media/release2_zps0838311c.jpg.html)

My solution was to turn the mechanism back up the right way, but modify it so the inner was fixed and the outer was pushed instead of the standard way.

The std lock part Before
http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y481/Nashersimages/release3_zps6c8521fb.jpg (http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/Nashersimages/media/release3_zps6c8521fb.jpg.html)

And with my newly fabricated arm to push the outer part of the cable.
http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y481/Nashersimages/release4_zpsa36e6507.jpg (http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/Nashersimages/media/release4_zpsa36e6507.jpg.html)

So now the mechanism is not moveable without a key from the underneath.
I'm going to make up a small cover for it so it looks better.
http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y481/Nashersimages/release5_zpsa71abc2a.jpg (http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/Nashersimages/media/release5_zpsa71abc2a.jpg.html)

And the cable has a better run all 'inside' and is adjustable with a little bracket I made.
http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y481/Nashersimages/release6_zps557fb5c3.jpg (http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/Nashersimages/media/release6_zps557fb5c3.jpg.html)

The seat can now be unlocked easily with the key.
I've also added a secret extra not shown in the images that allows me to get the seat off if the cable snaps.

Nasher.

[Flip]

Has it had the release levers removed?

The seat was never designed to be released by the turn of the key- it had a lever key side to depress which released the catch once the key was placed in the lock.

[Nasher]

Flip

The only parts the bike came with are what you see in the pictures, I didn’t realise it wasn’t complete.

Does anyone have any images or parts explosions of what it should look like?

Thanks

Nasher.

[Dirty]

Mine releases with the key but may have had stuff removed?

[lewis]

Mine releases with the key but may have had stuff removed?

Mine too :scratch:

[Flip]

Ah then it seems that removing the release lever is par for the course with a tail chop.

My '97 bike is still 'Tail Intacta' with its' lever, like so:

http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag329/fluke900/IMG_2280_zpseaf1b480.jpg (http://s1372.photobucket.com/user/fluke900/media/IMG_2280_zpseaf1b480.jpg.html)

[DrD]

My '93 similar to Flip's
Mine might look like a tail chop but is actually a tail bend!
Number plate attached to the tea tray metal mount that is bent down with some gubbins to hold the LED light and indicatoirs

[Flip]

I simply got rid of all the extra plastics and replaced the Tea Tray with a carbon one and made brackets to relocate the indicators and mount the number plate and its' light like so:

http://i1372.photobucket.com/albums/ag329/fluke900/Reflector_zpsd1ee5935.jpg (http://s1372.photobucket.com/user/fluke900/media/Reflector_zpsd1ee5935.jpg.html)

[Nasher]

Thanks Guys.

I'm going to make a small mod this weekend and make a new lever which extends down below the lock so you can pull it with your hand once the key is in place rather than use the key to turn the lock.

From Flips description above I'd imagine that's exactly what the standard lever is like, and I'm sure my current set up is in danger of twisting the key.

Nasher.

[Nasher]

Finally got around to making up a new lever for this mod.

I've added a lever like the original part so that once the key is in the lock all the turning effort is added through the lever underneath.

So no more twisted keys:thumbsup:

http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y481/Nashersimages/Release7_zps84ab0b5b.jpg (http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/Nashersimages/media/Release7_zps84ab0b5b.jpg.html)

[lewis]

Nice job :thumbsup:

[Nasher]

I was never really happy with the result of my tidy up of a previous owners tail chop on my M900, so have started from scratch to get a better result.

It looked a mess.
I didn’t like the huge lump of aluminium that had been added.
And I knew I could design a simpler, cleaner looking mechanism to release the seat.

I decided that the best looking thing to replace the thick sheet of ali was a standard plastic moulding, so sourced one from Moto Rapido.
It was only £13, which makes you ask why there are so many used ones with split lugs etc on ebay for between £25 and £35.
I did make a new number plate bracket from a sheet of Stainless steel that I folded the edges over on for strength.

The main reason for the whole mess was the use of the original cable to transfer the action of the lever to the latch, which involved swapping sides of the bike.
My answer was to fabricate a new bracket from stainless which turned the latch around so it could be pulled from the other side.

A very short cable can then be used with a different design of lever and a vertical pulley to pull the latch open.

I think the pics are self explanatory, I’m happy now that it all looks more tidy and actually works better with a smoother action.

Note I’ve not cut the cable to length yet in case it all goes wrong and I have to put it back to how it was.
Also the cable tie attached to the latch that I can fold back and fish out with a bent bit of wire to pull the latch if the cable breaks.

Nasher

http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y481/Nashersimages/Top%20Under_zps020ysp2h.jpg (http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/Nashersimages/media/Top%20Under_zps020ysp2h.jpg.html)

http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y481/Nashersimages/Top%203_zpsvyratg9i.jpg (http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/Nashersimages/media/Top%203_zpsvyratg9i.jpg.html)

http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y481/Nashersimages/Top%201_zpseyvuxu9h.jpg (http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/Nashersimages/media/Top%201_zpseyvuxu9h.jpg.html)

http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y481/Nashersimages/Top%202_zps1yetupnm.jpg (http://s1277.photobucket.com/user/Nashersimages/media/Top%202_zps1yetupnm.jpg.html)

[998]

Very nicely done. :thumbsup:

Makes you wonder why Ducati didn't do it that way in the first place.