AxleHub
Elite Member
Greetings,
2 years ago - I was soon to be a new Massey GC1715 owner. And I posted on TBN about an idea I had to increase leg room with the seat positioning. Then a week or so later when my tractor arrived - I implemented that change without any issues. Total tools needed was one wrench or socket and about 5 minutes time.
1. Lets start with the Massey seat on the GC1715 - I can only comment on that one because its what I know best. They designed it a great deal of flexibility that is not in the manuals. There is a seat adjustment "stop". and in my original thread I indicated that the stop needs only to have 2 bolts removed and spin the "stop" by 180 degrees and re-input the bolts. It gave me and others who followed the idea another 3 inches of seat adjustment room with no negatives or modifications required.
It works great for operators that are taller, or heavy built or have long legs. But it also works exceptionally well if you where big shoes or big boots or have right ankle and knee limitations.
But now I've discovered that again without need for modifications - there is another effort that can be done which further adds an additional couple inches of room on top of the original idea - again without weakening or limiting the seat design in any way and without effecting the seat switch or adjustment flexibility for others.
2. Again - this alteration requires just a wrench and about 15 minutes of time. I found that the whole seat bracketry rides on 2 tracks that are the adjustment tracks. The entire seat and bracketry is held to the tracks by 4 bolts that face downward. Now I found it convenient to take the actual seat off at the hinge - just because the seat is a heavy duty item and taking it off gave me better space to work and no leverage issues on the bracketry.
The wrench fits underneath the tracking on the nut and you take the 4 nuts off. Pick up the bracketry and there are another set of holes further back on the bracket that perfectly match the one originally bolted into - except they are about 1.25 inches back. Set the bracketry in place as a whole and retighten the 4 nuts. the entire seat and bracketry is fastened fully and properly with no changes to wiring underneath or seat switch or support for the coil suspension and spring suspension on the seat.
By following #1 and #2 adjustments above - you end up with:
a. more leg room if you are tall - have long legs or have stiff leg, knee or ankle limitations - or wear large boots or shoes.
b. You'll also find if you are heavy set or wear bulky jackets that you have more room from the steering wheel - more room using the seat belt - and the seat front doesn't protrude in the path of getting on and off the tractor.
c. You also get a wider adjustment pattern so the seat can be moved back for more room or still moved forward for average sized room and needs. Also because adjustment back and forth is normal - an average or smaller person working on their GC1715 in shorts and sandals in summer heat - has some added space options for winter cold weather gear without being cramped.
Now this is all true for the GC1715 - because Massey/Iseki built in some reversible dual use parts in their manufacturing design - which made it easier for them - but it also makes it easier for us to easily adapt their reverse design parts for new benefits. - But again - you won't find this in any manuals.
Now the GC1705, GC1710, and GC1720 have some different seat situations than mine - but I'm guessing Massey/Iseki did some similar reverse part manufacture use in some ways and there may be some similar possibilities to consider on these other models as well. So operators might have easy ways to adapt their seats for better space use as I described.
Just an example: Back a year ago or so - someone messaged me that he had read the tread early on at the time I wrote it - but that he didn't think my idea applied to him because he was medium height and medium weight. But a few months after reading it initially the temperature changed and he was wearing heavier clothes - so he tried the idea and it considerably helped his use of the unit in colder weather or when wearing his hunting boots. It also helped his Dad all year long who has some knee issues and allowed his dad to use the tractor longer and with better foot control and comfort.
Sometimes TBN threads contain good ideas that don't always appear important or related to the reader - and then - time and ideas can change in value LOL
2 years ago - I was soon to be a new Massey GC1715 owner. And I posted on TBN about an idea I had to increase leg room with the seat positioning. Then a week or so later when my tractor arrived - I implemented that change without any issues. Total tools needed was one wrench or socket and about 5 minutes time.
1. Lets start with the Massey seat on the GC1715 - I can only comment on that one because its what I know best. They designed it a great deal of flexibility that is not in the manuals. There is a seat adjustment "stop". and in my original thread I indicated that the stop needs only to have 2 bolts removed and spin the "stop" by 180 degrees and re-input the bolts. It gave me and others who followed the idea another 3 inches of seat adjustment room with no negatives or modifications required.
It works great for operators that are taller, or heavy built or have long legs. But it also works exceptionally well if you where big shoes or big boots or have right ankle and knee limitations.
But now I've discovered that again without need for modifications - there is another effort that can be done which further adds an additional couple inches of room on top of the original idea - again without weakening or limiting the seat design in any way and without effecting the seat switch or adjustment flexibility for others.
2. Again - this alteration requires just a wrench and about 15 minutes of time. I found that the whole seat bracketry rides on 2 tracks that are the adjustment tracks. The entire seat and bracketry is held to the tracks by 4 bolts that face downward. Now I found it convenient to take the actual seat off at the hinge - just because the seat is a heavy duty item and taking it off gave me better space to work and no leverage issues on the bracketry.
The wrench fits underneath the tracking on the nut and you take the 4 nuts off. Pick up the bracketry and there are another set of holes further back on the bracket that perfectly match the one originally bolted into - except they are about 1.25 inches back. Set the bracketry in place as a whole and retighten the 4 nuts. the entire seat and bracketry is fastened fully and properly with no changes to wiring underneath or seat switch or support for the coil suspension and spring suspension on the seat.
By following #1 and #2 adjustments above - you end up with:
a. more leg room if you are tall - have long legs or have stiff leg, knee or ankle limitations - or wear large boots or shoes.
b. You'll also find if you are heavy set or wear bulky jackets that you have more room from the steering wheel - more room using the seat belt - and the seat front doesn't protrude in the path of getting on and off the tractor.
c. You also get a wider adjustment pattern so the seat can be moved back for more room or still moved forward for average sized room and needs. Also because adjustment back and forth is normal - an average or smaller person working on their GC1715 in shorts and sandals in summer heat - has some added space options for winter cold weather gear without being cramped.
Now this is all true for the GC1715 - because Massey/Iseki built in some reversible dual use parts in their manufacturing design - which made it easier for them - but it also makes it easier for us to easily adapt their reverse design parts for new benefits. - But again - you won't find this in any manuals.
Now the GC1705, GC1710, and GC1720 have some different seat situations than mine - but I'm guessing Massey/Iseki did some similar reverse part manufacture use in some ways and there may be some similar possibilities to consider on these other models as well. So operators might have easy ways to adapt their seats for better space use as I described.
Just an example: Back a year ago or so - someone messaged me that he had read the tread early on at the time I wrote it - but that he didn't think my idea applied to him because he was medium height and medium weight. But a few months after reading it initially the temperature changed and he was wearing heavier clothes - so he tried the idea and it considerably helped his use of the unit in colder weather or when wearing his hunting boots. It also helped his Dad all year long who has some knee issues and allowed his dad to use the tractor longer and with better foot control and comfort.
Sometimes TBN threads contain good ideas that don't always appear important or related to the reader - and then - time and ideas can change in value LOL