Original Ironhead seat Mounted

To install the seat pin you need two 1/4 E-clips

 Installed the Vintage Ironhead seat

 Here is the pin installed on the front frame bracket. The E-clips go in the small grooves at either end of the pin. They clip in easily with a set of needle nosed pliers.

 Some modification was needed to get the seat bracket (Seen here under the seat) If you look close at the left end of the bracket you can see the shiny 3/8 aluminum shim. This was needed to raise the seat bracket enough so the front of the seat would clear the gas tank and clip onto the seat pin. Without doing this the seat bracket kept wanting to go over the pin. Before using the shim I tried many times to get the front to latch on the pin, but it wasn't happening.

 See how close the seat is to the Gas tank here; if using the original Peanut tank there would have been no trouble with clearance. As it is with the 1983 FXR tank though, the seat wants to rise up off the frame 3/8" causing the sear clip to ride over the seat pin. While I was looking at different ideas to get the seat to latch on, my wife comes out, crouches down to look on one side, then she comes around to see the other side. She sets the seat on the frame, eyeballs it some more while I have a smoke. She asks a few questions, looks some more. A couple of minutes later she says "Why don't you just shim the bracket? You can cut one from aluminum you have lying around. You might need longer bolts though; would that be a problem?" 

 So, even though I had an idea on making a bracket adapter to make this work it required some welding, bending and cussing plus time. Instead I went with her simple idea and used the seat bracket for a template, cut out the piece, drilled the four holes that are different two different sizes (No idea why the holes are different, they use the same 1/4 - 20 bolts) rummaged up some new 1/4-20 X 1" bolts and with her help, viola! the seat fits. Next was getting the rear bolt in from underneath. The hole is already in the fender but needed to be enlarged slightly. My wife produces the dremel, grinds out the hole where I marked it. Next I take the rear bolts out of the fender, lower the saddle bags and raise the fender but my arm just won't quite get in there enough to keep turning the bolt in all the way. Here is the wife again, takes the bolt while I hold up on the fender, slides her hand and arm underneath and gets it all nice and tight. She pulls here arm out all covered in dirty black, sandy, grimy road filth. The seat is attached.

 Another view of how the seat looks mounted with the FXR tank. Ever notice how almost all older H-D tanks and seat seem off center where they meet?

I think it looks pretty factory. The seat and tank go well together. Having a wife who isn't afraid to get dirty and knows how to use tools can be a good asset, as long as there is a willingness between both sexes to not be worried about the pride thing. Personally I don't care if it's a man or woman helping me out as long as they know what they are doing, makes no difference to me.