Topic: Help with this seat - I'd sure like to use it!

[Tim.]

So, I picked up this seat a few days ago.  Apparantly for a CB500K, but I thought, well, it just might fit my '76 CB550F (wishful thinking).  It's close, but not quite.

I might be able to cut the seat pan at the front to shorten that part, and the holes for the hinge and latch look like they'll line up.  However, this will require some precision work, as I would want to preserve the current upholstery on the seat.  If I'm going to recover it, I might as well build a whole new seat.

Thoughts?  Anyone ever seen/used one of these before?  If I can't make it work easily, I'll be selling it.  So, if anyone's interested, let me know.  For some $ and a good condition CB550F seatpan (don't care about the foam or vinyl) I'd probably let it go now.

[chippyfive50]

That seat is cool,,,..... but not worthy of that NICE 550... what you need is a 500 to go with that seat, and chop chop!!

[mcpuffett]

hey tintin,that could be your new project  build a nice bike around that seat?   mick.

[Bobby]

Tintin, I think Chippy and Mr. Puffet are right on track...  I used sound and tested "Backwards Engineering" when I began 'Project X'.  I found a seat, then a Tracy body then...  Well, check the digital eqation posted below.  Good Luck!

[Tim.]

I can't afford that kind of math    Seriously, I'd love to have a 500 again, but I don't have the space for it.  I need to find a local 500 to see if this seat really does bolt onto it.

I think I'll just continue my quest for a decent 550 seat pan and build my own seat.  Maybe it's time to sell my nearly-NOS brown vinyl seat on eBay.  That should fund a custom seat and maybe even some paint on my spare tank and sidecovers (and maybe some clubman bars etc. etc. etc.).  The paint is 1975 anyhow, so keeping a 1976 seat around is kind of pointless.

[cub]

I suppose the shipping from Canada to Sweden would match up buying a new seat.. Otherwise I would be quite interested in that seat. Do you have any pics on the mounts on the other side of the seat?

[Chris Liston]

So, I picked up this seat a few days ago.  Apparantly for a CB500K, but I thought, well, it just might fit my '76 CB550F (wishful thinking).  It's close, but not quite.

I might be able to cut the seat pan at the front to shorten that part, and the holes for the hinge and latch look like they'll line up.  However, this will require some precision work, as I would want to preserve the current upholstery on the seat.  If I'm going to recover it, I might as well build a whole new seat.

Thoughts?  Anyone ever seen/used one of these before?  If I can't make it work easily, I'll be selling it.  So, if anyone's interested, let me know.  For some $ and a good condition CB550F seatpan (don't care about the foam or vinyl) I'd probably let it go now.

Tintin, that is an OLD Corbin seat.  I had a similar one for my 550 a few years ago but sold it on ebay after I found my current seat.  I had wished now that I kept it.  Actually I think Rob Lloyd may have bought it as he had the SAME seat on the black 550 roadster in his bikepics pictures.  Very comforable seat.  I actual aquired it in trade for a 550K seat, even swap.  I wish I still had the corbin seat though..

[Tim.]

Well, another attempt at mounting the seat failed on the 550F.  Just won't fit, and it would require serious mods to do it.

So, I'm selling it.  No way around it.  It says "Honda 500" on the bottom, on a red sticker and appears to be new, or very close to it.  Can't say for sure if it will fit a CB500K, but it might.

Sigh.  Now I need the seat pan for a 550F or late model 550K to modify.  Everytime I sit on my was-NOS brown vinyl seat I cringe at the thought of ruining it.

[Einyodeler]

Maybe the seat you`ve got there was made to replace the stock brown one on the CB500T.

[Chris Liston]

I've found that 550K and F seat pan mounting points are basically the same.  The issue comes with closing the seat as the K is too far forward and hits the tank.  You could try getting a K and cutting about 1" off the front of it.  I just got luck on an almost mint brown (small tear in back left corner) 77 550F seat on ebay last week for 36 bucks.  I'm going to have it recovered black and use that as my 2 up seat as the foam is in really nice shape.  I'm going to take my current seat which is also very very nice and make a solo seat out of it. 

Scan Ebay and you'll get lucky.  this is the 3rd 550F seat I've gotten for around 30 bucks.  Sometimes people just aren't looking or bidding