2012 Sportsman 500 Camo - Seat Gap Issue

[stacyandmel]

We just picked up our new 500, and shame on me for not noticing, but it appears as though there's an excessive gap at the front of the seat where it meets the fuel tank. You can easily stick your fingers down into the gap. I can see where there are two tabs off of the back of the fuel tank that appear as though they should slide into the two receiving holes in the plastic seat substrate. There's enough of a gap that I can look through the gap, and actually see that the tabs are not engaging the slots in the substrate. When I pull up on the front of the seat, it doesn't come loose, so I'm not really sure what's holding it down. All I know is that it doesn't look right. Any suggestions?

[antoniodef]

My seat did that when it was new. The tabs wouldn't go into the seat. I had to make sure the tabs were in the holes in the seat before working the back latch down. After awhile it got easier.

[Thomasj]

Im a mechanic at a Polaris dealer and this is a common issue with new machines. The tabs molded into the back of the fuel tank are supposed to go into the openings on the seat pan. The get installed wrong somewhere along the line and then the tabs get bent down and stay there preventing you from from being able to get them in the seat pan. Some are bent down enough that it is impossible to install the seat correctly. Take an adjustable wrench and tighten it over the tabs and bend them up and hold them a few minutes. Do this to both of them until they stay up enough for you to latch the seat onto them. They are flexible plastic and will want to return to there shape they have been in. Once you get them into the seat pan and leave the seat on a while they will hold there shape in the correct position. As long as nobody installs the seat on top of them ever again you should not have this problem in the future.

[1yooper]

Just re-try putting the seat on until the gap is gone.

My new 2012 500 did that too the 1st time I took the seat off last week. There was a gap that at first worried me, but I monkeyed until the seat went on correctly (and pinched my fingers doing so)

It is just new and stiff


edited to add:

or do as the above says...

now that I read that I will have to recheck mine

[stacyandmel]

Thanks all!
I took the wrench to the tabs, and now it fits.....snug, but it fits. Thanks to all for the advice.