[squidbilly]

this might sound stupid but can anyone tell me how to remove the seat cowl on the 15 r1

 

[squidbilly]

This is a serious question. the stock seat has a key hole in the front part that is clearly visible. Once the cowl went on at the dealer the key hole is no longer visible and I almost tore the cushion off trying to find it.

 

[squidbilly]

So the Yamaha seat cowl is a effing joke. Its design is rediculous. They took keyless entry to a bit of an extreme. It requires 2 10mm bolts to mount, these same 10mm bolts need to be removed to get in to the rear section. No other way to get it off but to cary around a 10mm socket and driver to be able to access whatever is back there.

Just out of curiosity of what kind of room i had back there, I tried to get into it and tore the cushion looking for the key hole. I then took my front seat off looking for some sort of convenient latch. Then, finally I took to the bolts located on either side forward of the seat cowl. Whalaah!! It came right off. I have been spending the last 15 minutes trying to align the holes while not trying to tear the cushion again to put it back on. I have yet to mount it back to the pillion. I figured I would come inside and cool off a minute. So here I am explaining why its not a good idea to store anything back there, and also to warn not to take it off once it has ben mounted. Pointless frustration.

Great job Yamaha

 

[JM00R1]

Do these 15s not come with a manual then? Only joking mate, sounds like a nightmare. P.S. Have you ever had to remove the rear footrests on an 08-15 Fireblade?

 

[squidbilly]

Yea I hear they are a pain on the hondas. My bike did not come with the manual I will be up there today asking about it.

 

[bev]

Can you post a pic of the cowl? I got my bike yesterday and was considering this but maybe not anymore.

 

[Redgecko]

Why would you want to keep taking it on and off, there's no room back there to even store a tool kit.

 

[superfly999]

how do you like the bike? No issues riding around?? No one is talking about their bikes??

 

[squidbilly]

I agree about the storage space. I was curious to see what was in there the first day I brought it home. I had the dealership install the seat cowl. Its not designed to come on and off a lot so once i installed the fender eliminator I'll be leaving it alone.

As for riding it. I LOVE IT. A lot of people aren't talking about it probably because they are too busy riding. lol. Its a little sporty and uncomfortable on long rides. But if you want a comfy bike go buy a Harley Davidson.

As for pics. I will probably post some soon. I don't want to take it off again just to snap some photos. I can probably find some in the manual tho, I will look later tonight.

 

[nbit69]

I just purchase my r1 last weekend. I went ahead and ordered the solo seat cowl not realizing that it was not removable after installation. The reason I would want to remove the seat is because I would like to have a place two store my registration and insurance cards and I also installed a toggle switch under the rear seat to turn on and off the USB charger that I installed up front for my cell phone and/or GPS system. If you leave that USB charger hot all the time it will drain the battery in 3 to 4 days. Having these things hidden under the seat in a locked and safe storage would be really nice. I also keep my set of night lenses for my sunglasses back there in case I get stuck in the dark. This is my 10th bike, 8th Yamaha, and 5th R1. All of my previous motorcycles have had storage available underneath the seat. This bike doesn't even have room for the its own tools. I did find that the right side trim around the right side of the forks has a storage box underneath of it but it requires allen key tools to take it off. Again, not very easily accessible. I was certain that when Yamaha decided to go back to the side mounted exhaust that the bike would regain some under seat storage. I was wrong. I paid around $250 for this seat cowl and it's going to be a total pain in the butt to remove every time my wife or my daughter wants to go for a ride. It has also now required that I wear a backpack to take anything I need along with me like tools or extra eyewear or my registration / insurance card. Just a very poor design if you ask me. It would have not taken much in the way of engineering to have made this removable via the key like every other R1 has ever been able to do.
As for right ability? This bike is great! I absolutely love it and have no other complaints besides the seat issue. Actually I do... The section of the right and left side tail spoilers down where the front seat ends at the back of the bike is very thin and mine was already cracked when I picked the bike up. I can see this being a weak point in the trim and that several people will have trouble with that part cracking very easily. Beyond that I have had this bike torn down completely to install all of my new wiring, frame sliders, exhaust, etc and it is put together very very well!