@ 3banger --
yeah it does all seem very sturdy and of good quality , nothing shabby here !
@ SpudRider & thillskier --
In the side panel on the left hand side there is a key lock which operates a latch to release the pillion seat . you probably know this already.
you can see the cable operated latch just to the left of the 2 large allen bolts in the picture.
The pillion seat slides up and out. you can then see a bracket. This bracket is secured to 2 of 3 bolt holes that i mentioned in my earlier post that are next to the air filter box by 8mm bolts . There is like a plastic tongue on the front of the pillion seat that slides under this bracket keeping it in position.
The riders seat is removed by un screwing these 2 bracket bolts . The bolts also go through the back seat fixing .
The seat lifts up ,sliding the front plastic tongue from under a slot under the tank and away ! so all pretty easy.
spud
you have caught me out on your other questions
i wasnt paying enough attention when i took the seats off .
it looked like to actually change or clean the air filter element the whole air box might have to come out as you can see in the picture there is a centre seem running vertically which might be the only way to get to the element.
regarding the side covers i agree they are not orange on the inside . however the orange covering looks very good.
I will have to get back to you on these 2 questions with hopefully better answers
To access the battery was behind a black plastic strip held by 3 screws. the strip is solid black in colour and quite flexible , unlikley to crack i think . this strip should be able to be removed with the seats on.
The orange side panels are less flexible so would probably crack at the fixings if they got a beating !