I thought about mounting solutions for my seat and side panels for a long time. I researched the internet. I asked my wife (who was kind enough to fain interest), and my father. In the end I took a mixture of many ideas.
The seat was bolted down to the frame in two spots near the rear, and has a custom metal bracket at the front that keeps it pressure fit in place. The bracket is actually pretty slick. It looks only okay but the shape is such that it hits the bike frame in both the width and length, preventing the front of the seat from sliding forward or to either side. I will probably eventually coat this metal bracket in rubber to reduce wear.
The side panels were far harder to mount. I didnt want any exposed screws on the outer surface. I also wanted them to fit much tighter into the frame than the old panels did. Lastly, the new panels had to leave the air filters exposed.
I ended up creating a pressure fit system where the rear of the panel, closer to the rear wheel, is held in place by a length of aluminum that wedges behind the bike frame. On the front of the panel, closer to the front wheel, I have aluminum extrrusions that allow an elastic band to connect the left and right panel together and pull them tight. We will see how these hold up to highways speeds but everything seems very sturdy right now.
Best of all, it is still extremely quick to take the side panels off. The seat is also relatively quick to remove since it only takes two screws. The problem is that the two screws are actually bolts, and the nuts on the underside are a bear to get to. Perhaps someday I will have someone weld nuts to the frame to make it easier.
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