Seat Lock

I've tried the complete set of Keys on the Seat Lock and the lock just won't budge. The key does not turn.

2009 | AE | With Corbin Seat fitted.

What now?

Rambler said:

I've tried the complete set of Keys on the Seat Lock and the lock just won't budge. The key does not turn...Corbin Seat...What now?

Click to expand...

Push down on the seat in the area of the seat latch or have someone sit on it then try to turn the key. Corbins are famous infamous for having a tight fit at the seat latch mechanism.

/\ /\ /\ What he said /\ /\ /\

say it again

This might be a stupid question, but did you install anything under the seat? The reason I ask is that I had the same problem, but then I realized I had caused the issue because I mounted something (I forgot now what it was cuz there's a lot of stuff ie: cables n stuff under there that I put there)...anyway, I strapped something to the metal thing between the seats (where the seat clips into). Because of the plastic tie I used, it constricted the articulation of the cable which unlatches the seat whilst the key is being turned.

Good thing I have small hands: I was able to spread the seats apart enough and get snippers in there and actually snip the plastic tie I put in there.

Embarrassing sort of story, but I worked through it.....;-)

Bike came with Corbin seat installed.

The seat sits pretty tight and there is no give to jiggle the seat around to try and 'release' the lock.

How long have you had the bike? Maybe contact the previous owner and see if there is a 'trick'.

Rambler said:

Bike came with Corbin seat installed. The seat sits pretty tight and there is no give to jiggle the seat around to try and 'release' the lock.

Click to expand...

So you pushed down on the seat in the area of the latch and the key wouldn't turn? Then you had someone sit on the seat and tried to turn the key and it still didn't turn? It doesn't matter if the seat doesn't wiggle or giggle, err, jiggle, it just needs some pressure pushing down.

Should I try a tickle to get a giggle !?

Sitting on it didn't much difference either.

Did you try a little WD40 in the key slot?

El Toro Joe said:

Did you try a little WD40 in the key slot?

Click to expand...

Yup.

No go on that either.

Had a Corbin for awhile on mine (on my old FJ too come to think about it). Had to really push down hard to turn the key, almost like kneeling on it push down. Good luck.

BigOgre said:

Had a Corbin for awhile on mine (on my old FJ too come to think about it). Had to really push down hard to turn the key, almost like kneeling on it push down. Good luck.

Click to expand...

This^^^^ I had a Corbin with this issue on my Gen1. The solution for me was to place my knee directly over the seat latch area and apply as much pressure as I could while my wife turned the key. BTW, I weigh 220lbs. Lubed the latch with a small dab of grease, lubed the lock. Also, the original key worked better than the copies. After that I could get the seat off by myself but was never easy. Always had to push down hard on the seat to get it to unlock.

Sold the seat, got a Laam, no mo' problems.

Trade it in.

No, seriously... They can be a bitch. My Corbin is now gone and a Russell resides in its place. However, I was experiencing a very sticky seat latch mechanism. First tried graphite, then WD-40 in the key lock, but that didn't help so I just disassembled the latch mechanism itself, found it was filthy (they get this way after 50K) cleaned and lubed and the system is now smooth as butta.

Maybe this should go without saying, but since nobody said it:

The seat latches the pillion seat. Laterally, it's beneath the center of the pillion about 1/3 of the way from the front of same. That's where you would push down if it's to do any good.

I had the same problem with my '03 and a Corbin, it took me 6 months and "A LOT" of sermons, and pushing on the seat. I tried a hair dryer to try and expand the components, this was in the winter, but no luck. Then one day my frustration level was high, I hit the seat very hard, and then just thought I'd try it and bingo it came loose. I checked the underside of the seat and the post area was bent a tiny bit. Fixed it and no problems since then. You may need a bit of adjustment on your seat if you keep it, once you get it off, or just get another seat. But yes Corbin's do fit a bit tight.

Don't the Corbins have some rubber feet on the underside that could be shaved a bit to loosen the fit?

Finally resolved.

Had to really slam the knee into the passenger seat - click and the lock turned. The knee is the trick.

If I had to do this routine on the road some time, a bystander may give me some weird looks!!

Thank you all!

For my Honda NT I ordered a Corbin. When I went to install it I could not get it to latch. I removed the portion of the latch from the seat and added two washers under it. No problems after that.