Topic: '78 CB550 Seat Help Needed

[macisaguy]

So now that winter's over, taxes have been paid, and brakes have been fixed on the truck, it's time to start putting some more cash towards the bike.  I'm looking to upgrade the goofy after-market seat that came with my '78 CB550.  Here's what it looks like now (the before and after is referring to the shorter front forks I put on):

Looking for a low/flat Brat style seat that will still fit two riders.  Something like this:

This is my first bike, and I'm learning as I go.  I'm not even sure what I need to know for a seat replacement.  I have no idea if my bike frame will support a brat seat like this, or what measurements are needed.  The seat I have now is on a hinge, and I don't know if I can swap it out, or if I'll have to change the frame in some way.

Can someone help me get started on what I need to look for/what I need to know/what I need to avoid?  I really am flying solo on working on this bike, and am learning as I go.

[Bankerdanny]

Seats like that aren't difficult to fabricate. It's basically just a piece of steel or aluminum with a pad on it. If you want to retain the hinge and lock mechanism that is a somewhat more complicated bit of work, but still doable.

I would do an eBay search in the MC seat section for 'brat honda CB550. I suspect you will find several options.

I also think that several of the usual suspects for semi-custom parts (Dime City Cycles for example) sell this kind of seat.

[dave500]

your doing the right thing,man what is that seat?who thought what when that got made?

[750K]

Wtf is with the rear end on that bike you used for an example, haha. The tire looks like its touching the seat pan without a rider on it...

[dave500]

thats an example of what not to do!im guessing those firestones have plenty of "armourall"on the tread for the gloss?

[LesterPiglet]

To put a flat seat like that on you are going to need to remove the frame hump and rear fender.

[b5rider]

you would be surprised how flat you can make the seat by just cutting the foam down and reupholstering it. I did it to my wife's CB400 and the seat is perfectly flat without any modifications to the seat pan. It might take some creative shaving of the foam, but you can get a flat profile with just foam trimming.
BTW, it won't be iron-butt-day-long-ride soft, but it's very tolerable around town.

[b5rider]

I figured this would be the next question, so here is a picture of the bike. Like I said, no modifications to the stock seat pan

[750K]

Good looking seat on the 400, I did something similar to a spare stock seat pan on my 750. I need to redo it with a bit more foam so I've got the stock seat back on it, my ass started to get sore by the end of any all day rides last season. Around town was fine, I'm going to play around with the profile of it a bit. It's pretty thin at the back end as I wanted it fairly flat but I don't do any two up riding.

[Bootlegger56]

+++1 on the sore ass!  My K1 has a cut down stock seat pan and I am glad I only ride it around town.  That's bad enough!  Don't chop the stock frame.  Cut a spare seat pan down like 750K.  A future owner or you can return it to stock if you decide you don't like the brat look.  However if you must; Motovocation and Dime City Cycles and many others have the cafe hoop's and finished seats either flat or up swept.

[macisaguy]

Thanks everyone for the responses! 

[macisaguy]

Still thinking about shaving down, and reupholstering the seat....but may not be able to shave down much, as the seat pan is the real problem...as it's molded incredibly high in the back. 

Have a lead on a reasonably priced '73 CB500 seat.  Any idea if that would fit on my '78 CB550?  Parts Fische has two different part numbers for the CB500 and the CB550 seats...but does it make a huge difference? 

Any input is a huge, huge help.  Thank you.

[750K]

Rip your seat down to the bare pan, strip the vinyl and foam off. Get some good high density foam and hot glue it down build it up to the profile you want, shaping it with an exacto knife or orbital sander. Then add a final layer of softer density foam and recover it or take it to a good upholstery shop and have them recover it. There you have your brat style seat, pretty simple. Especially if you already hate the seat that's on it, you have nothing to loose.

[brewsky]

+1 on the upholstery shop.

I would just take the seat along with a pic of what you want it to look like, and get it done right.

Should be less than $100 even with new foam.

[750K]

I built mine from a bare pan from scratch, the only mistake I made was not adding enough foam. I still got 2 years out of it before it was to packed out for all day rides, my total cost was under $100 and that's including buying a second seat pan.

[macisaguy]

Okay...looking into solid upholstery shops in town.  Thanks for the straight forward advice.

[Duanob]

I went the upholstery shop route I was happy I did. I bought the seat pan and a seat cover in the they did the rest. It looks great still does.