Cant reinstall passenger seat

This is a really odd one.
When i got my C800 i rode home and removed the seats for some mods i wanted to do. Its been off for about 3 weeks now. Ive done everything i want so i just went to put the rear seat back on and i cant.
There is a little catch under the seat which the metal bracket slides into.
Problem is the sissy bar is in the way so i cant slide the seat far back enough in order for it to go in.
Weird thing is the sissy bar isnt a mod i made, so i somehow removed the rear seat without touching the sissy bar, i just cant get it back on.
I can slide it in at an angle but then the metal part on the back is obstructed by the luggage rack.



This is how much further it would need to go back to fit in without removing the sissy bar.



I wish i could remember how i took it off to begin with, but i was dosed up on meds for chicken pox so i cant really remember, i just know i didnt touch the sissy bar. I'm pretty sure the rack is stock as it has Suzuki on it on the back, so it is a major design flaw if that is the case

I've had same problem.
Had seat off several times sometimes goes back easily and sometimes it has me scratching my head.
Theres obviously a knack to it but I cant tell you what it is ( sorry )
I seem to remember pulling the seat back hard against the sissy bar ( with a slight tilt ) to engage the front bracket...good luck.

Was the rack in the way when you took it off?

simbo wrote:

Was the rack in the way when you took it off?

I remember it being a bit in the way but i still managed to wiggle the seat out and off. Ive not moved it since. I tried for 20 minutes trying to get the seat back on. The only way i found was to loosely fit the bracket on, then hook the seat in, then tighten the bracket down and slide the seat further forward and do the rear bolt.
Maybe thats how i got it off to begin with but as i said i was pretty out of it with illness

Mine was like that when I had the sissy bar and rack on it, my rack came off after removing 4 allen bolts though, so I just removed that before removing the seat, not sure if that's an option with yours?

simbo wrote:

Mine was like that when I had the sissy bar and rack on it, my rack came off after removing 4 allen bolts though, so I just removed that before removing the seat, not sure if that's an option with yours?

It is like that yea. Was yours OEM? I think mine must be OEM but maybe for the VL800 not the C800, it has the Suzuki branding on it but they wouldnt make it like that surely.

when I'm stuck like that I normally leave it smoke a ciggy maybe have a cuppa then go back to it

On my C800 LO 2010 model I fitted a sissy bar/rack etc with no real problems. When removing the rear seat I undo the single bolt, push the seat forward & up & then twist it to one side as the seat bolt plate comes very close to the rack etc assembly.
Putting it back is a simple reverse of the process. Note that my seats have been made thicker & wider than original but I still have little problem removing the rear seat.
Seeing as the parts on yours are marked Suzuki I do not see how you are having the obvious problems you are having I'm sorry to say?
What year is your bike anyway can I/we ask???
My rack etc is by Highway Hawk by the way.