[vman]

I brought this subject up in a different post and Cosmosdan suggested that I start a new topic on it, so here it is. This was my reply to how much his daughter loves their Z6 and what I have done previously and what I am thinking about doing to make my Z6 a 3 seater to accommodate my wife and daughter.


I fully understand about the daughter, I bought mine almost 3 years ago to the day right after my daughter had turned 4, my wife and I wanted her to ride with us so I had a roll cage built over the cargo box and put a small vinyl roof on the top of it that was held on with velcro, then I insulated the bottom of the box, cut out the square plate on the factory cage so she had an unobstructed view forward, and lastly I secured a child's car seat in the box. I can't tell you the countless hours she spent in that chair riding on trails or small dirt roads in the mountains, the chair wrapped around her head on either side keeping it from being flung back and forth, I also can't tell you how many hours she spent sleeping in that chair as we jostled down those back roads, across streams and river bottoms, the motion, and noise lulled her to sleep. She out grew it a year ago and I have thought about mounting a small UTV seat sideways in the box but I wonder if the motion would be uncomfortable sitting that way, but learning about bump seats a week ago on this forum I am now thinking of using the bump seat concept but slightly modified, I would mount the seat in the box with only her legs inside the cab between me and my wife, when she outgrows that I will be in trouble because then she'll be wanting my seat....now I need to think about where else I can mount the prefilter I have on order, or maybe I just mount the seat higher than I was thinking above the prefilter, which would solve the prefilter rain issue for me.

[Cosmosdan]

I was thinking about this. The RZR type might be the way to go. We have a parking brake lever right there so a custom made is in order. Maybe a U shape seat bottom to clear the lever. There is square framework just under the lever plastic. Might be able to attach the bottom part there and the back to the rollcage.

[chuddly]

First I will say I dont know of any "ready to buy" option for the CF Moto that is built specifically for it.  So anything you are going to do will likely be an adapted solution or a full custom solution.  As its not seen as safe putting a kid on the roof or the hood (LOL) that only leaves us 2 options of where to put them.  Option 1 is in the bed which I like slightly better because it allows them space to grow into it and not cramp the cabin space any more than it is.  This option will also last the longest with a child because they wont out grow it NEAR as fast as the next option.  Option 2 is a "jump seat" between the driver and passenger seats at an elevated height.  I personally DO NOT like this option for a few reasons.  It makes getting to the engine much harder, It makes a cramped cabin space that much more cramped, It will likely only work for 1 or maybe 2 years, the possiblity of the kid accidentally kicking controls is much greater.  If you go with option 1 (in the bed) I strongly suggest some kind of roll cage over the bed because if you have one they should have one also.  I did a set up like that on a Yamaha Rhino I had when my kids were smaller.  I got a rear seat out of a jeep cj5 and bolted it in and made a roll cage.  It worked great for many years until I sold the rhino and my kids were then of the size when I got my CF Moto that they were not riding along with me unless they were in the normal seat. Due to the small bed size of the CF Moto just a single seat out of anything would work fine and then a roll cage that mounts to the rear bumper (allowing for head room) would be ideal.

[vman]

I am a big guy and I would find having a 4 or 5 year old next to me in the cabin very uncomfortable and at this time my daughter is 7. I agree the roll cage in the back would be nice but not necessary, I have one over me because that is the way it was built and I like the shade that the roof provides, when I have my daughter with me even in the passenger seat we are probably doing our off road exploring at 10 to 15 MPH tops, on dirt roads or asphalt we are at 35 to 40, my Z6 maxes out at 50 and I don't like pushing any motor at max revs for too long, kids have their own child-sized ATV's and dirt bikes and even a pedal bike going down a slight hill can easily get to 20 to 25MPH and we see kids on the back of dad's motor cycles and quad all of the time, which is a whole subject on its own, all of that being said I built a h..l of a cage around my daughter on my Z6, I will post a picture of it in a few days when I get it out of the shop.

[vman]

I am going to construct a bolt on bracket with a small child seat mounted to it, this is what I have in mind so far, the add-on bracket would be bolted to the cage for easy removal 4 bolts and gone, it also helps keep the additional weight forward as opposed to a seat being mounted at the rear of the box and it keeps the weight out of the box, the height could be set lower so that the top of the seat cushion is slightly above the point on the box and the legs would be under the bar, the bar would act like a safety bar on a ride in an amusement park, or the bracket could be installed higher so the top of the seat just clears the bar allowing the legs to pass over the bar, if you have a prefilter or want the box clear to store things in mount the seat higher, if the intended passenger is a bit taller mount the seat lower. The pictures show one bracket higher than the other.