Topic: Cafe Seats

[SUELZER]

I'm in the process of doing a cafe to a 1976 cb550F Supersport.
The tail section, specifically the seat, is the most important part, i'm hoping someone out there can lead me in the correct direction. Yes i know i need to take width and length measurements from the frame where everything will fit. But with all the different sites that offer fiberglass composite molded peices, i assume one of them will be better to start from than another. I do not see anyone selling a seat specifically for a 550, which also confuses me a bit, only 750s...what's the deal there?

Old Bike Barn
http://www.oldbikebarn.com/Motorcycle_Parts/Cafe-Racer-Parts
AirTech
http://www.airtech-streamlining.com/hondaz/CB750SOHC1969-77.htm
Steve "Carpy" Carpenter
http://cb750cafe.com/parts.php

I would appreciate if someone would please set me straight.

1. what seat should/could i start with to customize for a 550F
2. do i also need to find a seat (upholstery) pan

I would like to do a bubble style seat, but have also considered the duck and dunstall also since i'd like to french in the rear light anyways

[tygrant]

i am going through the same thing with the 75 550f im cafe-ing right now. i think its alot of personal preference and making it fit your application. I am just taking thorough measurements and going from there. the seats is the only thing i lave left to buy and i cant make up my mind.

[Geeto67]

I'm in the process of doing a cafe to a 1976 cb550F Supersport.
The tail section, specifically the seat, is the most important part,

I would appreciate if someone would please set me straight.

If you think the stupid bubble back seat is the most important part of your bike (or making it a cafe racer) then there is no way we can set you straight other than a hammer to the forebrain.

That being said, Benjie makes one for your cb550F with all or most of the options you speak of and comes upolstered from him. You can order one of his seats without lights and do your own taiilight install. Plus it is a bolt on seat, no muss no fuss. It seems expensive ($380 for a fiberglass tail with light) but when you add up what it will cost you with another seat the cost is not far apart (Figure $150 for a fiberglass pan, $100 to have someone upolster the seat, and then another $20-$50 for a taillight all for something that fits generically).

http://www.benjiescaferacer.com/seatspics.html

[SUELZER]

hmmm, not quite the reaction i was looking for.

The seat is the most important (in my opinion) at this point, due to the rest of the moto being in good mechanical condition. It's an aesthetics thing i guess. Yeah, i've seen Benjie's stuff. It's cool.

I would rather have info on the varied frame/body types so i could do most of the work myself.
Simply wanted to know what route others have taken when changing seat options.

thanks for all the input,
christian

[Kev Nemo]

you can buy the one I made and didn't use!




not perfect, but not $100 either!

[Geeto67]

old bike barn sells airtech and Carpy stuff and does not make its own so you can eliminate them right away since it is the same as the other two companies you are looking at. Airtech stuff is ok, so is carpy, so if those are who you are limiting yourself to just pick the style you like and go from there.

Personally I like Glass from the Past:

http://caferacingparts.com/

Bret is an occasional poster here and someone who can work with you on the parts to help you find a good fit.

 or you can do like what kev did, build one out of an old seat pan and an old fuel tank.

oh and a seat and a set of bars do not make your bike a cafe racer. And there is a difference between the seat being the focus of your build and there for important to you and the seat being the MOST important thing period. just so you know.

[SUELZER]

thanks for the input kerry!
I like the look of the stuff on that Glass site. really digg that upholstery w/the buttons.

i see where you're coming from on the cafe racer stuff.
hope we can move on from the semantics.

thanks,
christian

[Chris Liston]

oh and a seat and a set of bars do not make your bike a cafe racer. And there is a difference between the seat being the focus of your build and there for important to you and the seat being the MOST important thing period. just so you know.

I would say this is someones opinion.  There is NO set rule of what makes a cafe racer a cafe racer.  If its seat and bars for him, than its HIS cafe racer.  If its a bump up in displacement and other bits for you that your cafe racer.  Enough said.

[tygrant]

[/quote]

I would say this is someones opinion.  There is NO set rule of what makes a cafe racer a cafe racer.  If its seat and bars for him, than its HIS cafe racer.  If its a bump up in displacement and other bits for you that your cafe racer.  Enough said.
[/quote]


agreed, let him build his bike you may not like it or think its not a " cafe" and he might think the same as yours.

[andy750]

Look at Nippons (search for forum member)  Guilari style 550 seats - very cool and great quality.

good luck
Andy

[Geeto67]

you guys missed the point...my point is that there was no one part that makes a bike anything more or less than a bike. I just felt like giving him a little #$%* for a poorly worded sentence - this board gets a little too touchy feely sometimes...he is entitled to his opinion as much as I am entitled to my opinion he is wrong about how he worded his sentence.

If you are going to spew garbage about how everybody is entitled to their opinion etc...try to at least contribute to the question asked as well. just a tip.

Christian,

The one area of measurement in cb750s that gets overlooked (and to me is somewhat important if you don't want to cut your frame) is the rear fender brace. Few places selling seats will actually have the bubble measurements by itself but you will need to know how high the bubble is and how far back it is from the end of the frame. Generally it is best to err on the side of buying a seat pan that is too long and then having to cut the seating portion out of it to fit than it is having to make glass mods to make the bubble clear or cutting the rear bracket of you don't want to.

Another thing you forgot to mention is whether you want the seat to function like the old seat (open and close) or to just bolt it on and go. If you want to retain the functionality of the seat, Classic city cycles on ebay (nippon on this board) sells bolt on hinges for their 750 seats that may work with the 550 hinges also.

Finally you want to think about bracing the underside of the seat, as the fiberglass pan by itself is not adiquate enough to support a persons weight.

[Johnny5]

I wonder if splattering the word "Cafe" all over a bike makes it a cafe racer? ala Carpy. Some of his bikes are nice. Some are just tacky.

Build the bike for you. If the seat is important, then it is. This thread reminds me of an oil discussion thread....

[Johnny5]

you guys missed the point...my point is that there was no one part that makes a bike anything more or less than a bike. I just felt like giving him a little #$%* for a poorly worded sentence - this board gets a little too touchy feely sometimes...he is entitled to his opinion as much as I am entitled to my opinion he is wrong about how he worded his sentence.

True, but it's difficult to read a person's tone in written word. It's like the new guy at work telling you something that sounds like a put down, but you cant tell if he's joking since you dont know him yet.   ...if that makes sense....

[MCRider]

oh and a seat and a set of bars do not make your bike a cafe racer. And there is a difference between the seat being the focus of your build and there for important to you and the seat being the MOST important thing period. just so you know.

I would say this is someones opinion.  There is NO set rule of what makes a cafe racer a cafe racer.  If its seat and bars for him, than its HIS cafe racer.  If its a bump up in displacement and other bits for you that your cafe racer.  Enough said.

At the risk of being flamed, I'd say that's not quite true. By definition, and words do have meaning, "Cafe Racer" has the emphasis on performance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caf%C3%A9_racer
The cafe racer style as a styling exercize only, is not a cafe racer. I notice many use the shortened term "cafe" dropping the racer part. Maybe that will come to mean a bike with cafe racer styling. However the distinction will be lost on many, to my dismay.

As a cafe racer, I would suggest Suelzer spend the $300 on suspension and brake upgrades first, then a seat. As a "cafe" (in quotes) I guess a seat would be nice. I like the stock seats that are converted to a solo with the rear bubble being a part of the upholstery. Any good upholstery shop can do that. But i don't know if the F seat lends itself to that treatment.

[Chris Liston]

you guys missed the point...my point is that there was no one part that makes a bike anything more or less than a bike. I just felt like giving him a little #$%* for a poorly worded sentence - this board gets a little too touchy feely sometimes...he is entitled to his opinion as much as I am entitled to my opinion he is wrong about how he worded his sentence.

If you are going to spew garbage about how everybody is entitled to their opinion etc...try to at least contribute to the question asked as well. just a tip.

Christian,

The one area of measurement in cb750s that gets overlooked (and to me is somewhat important if you don't want to cut your frame) is the rear fender brace. Few places selling seats will actually have the bubble measurements by itself but you will need to know how high the bubble is and how far back it is from the end of the frame. Generally it is best to err on the side of buying a seat pan that is too long and then having to cut the seating portion out of it to fit than it is having to make glass mods to make the bubble clear or cutting the rear bracket of you don't want to.

Another thing you forgot to mention is whether you want the seat to function like the old seat (open and close) or to just bolt it on and go. If you want to retain the functionality of the seat, Classic city cycles on ebay (nippon on this board) sells bolt on hinges for their 750 seats that may work with the 550 hinges also.

Finally you want to think about bracing the underside of the seat, as the fiberglass pan by itself is not adiquate enough to support a persons weight.

Agree on the hump thing.  I bought  a cafe seat on ebay and it fit like crap.  In order to use it I would have had to cut it down the middle and add an extra 2" to widen the seat.  I picked up a an extra 550F seat pan to one day build my own as I like to have the seat functionality and also the looks.

[moham]

I'm still trying to figure out where my forebrain is.

[goon 1492]

Moham, its simple it's before your brain
So you just have to smack the air in front of you
Man I was starting to have flashbacks to grammer class...... Come on man its a bike forum we are not rocket scientists, and I suspect there are many like me here that wasn't the greatest in that class because I was mastering woodshop, chemistry,math, oh yeah and mechanics school too..... So if it seems out of context give him a break, we can be more understanding and open minded that way. Just like what Johnny5 stated.

[SUELZER]

I'm in the process of doing a cafe to a 1976 cb550F Supersport.
The tail section, specifically the seat, is the most important part, i'm hoping someone out there can lead me in the correct direction.

I would appreciate if someone would please set me straight.

1. what seat should/could i start with to customize for a 550F
2. do i also need to find a seat (upholstery) pan

I would like to do a bubble style seat, but have also considered the duck and dunstall also since i'd like to french in the rear light anyways

Figured i'd go ahead and quote myself on this. Seems we've gotten off on one heckuva tangent.
I'm looking for information, yeah some people are somewhat touchy on this board.

I'd appreciate if you could work WITH me on this, I'm new to the forum and hope that it isn't this difficult to share information in the future.

1. is there a seat that would be best to start with for fit to a 550F frame or will i need to customize whatever i go with (yes, i would like to keep original functionality)
2. are there drastic differences between 550 & 750 frames of the same year. if so how do they differ?

thanks

[moham]

Don't worry, I'm just playin' and since I don't actually have anything specific to contribute, I'll bugger off.

But before I go, I would say that with the easily-had bad-ass-ness of the repro Guliari seats, I wouldn't bother (myself) making one.

[Chris Liston]

I'm in the process of doing a cafe to a 1976 cb550F Supersport.
The tail section, specifically the seat, is the most important part, i'm hoping someone out there can lead me in the correct direction.

I would appreciate if someone would please set me straight.

1. what seat should/could i start with to customize for a 550F
2. do i also need to find a seat (upholstery) pan

I would like to do a bubble style seat, but have also considered the duck and dunstall also since i'd like to french in the rear light anyways

Figured i'd go ahead and quote myself on this. Seems we've gotten off on one heckuva tangent.
I'm looking for information, yeah some people are somewhat touchy on this board.

I'd appreciate if you could work WITH me on this, I'm new to the forum and hope that it isn't this difficult to share information in the future.

1. is there a seat that would be best to start with for fit to a 550F frame or will i need to customize whatever i go with (yes, i would like to keep original functionality)
2. are there drastic differences between 550 & 750 frames of the same year. if so how do they differ?

thanks

The 550 / 750 pans are completely different.  That said you can make anything work if you want to but they will not bolt onto each other without work.

I think the difference between the 550 F and K seat is just the mounts, both mount with 2 hinges but the location is different; inch or too forward or back, can't remember.  I've stripped my extra pan of foam and cover and over the winter I'm going to mock something up.  If you can find an beater seat on ebay and have the time I'm sure you could make something nice.  

You could always bring your current seat to an upholstery shop and explain what your looking for, pics would help them and I'm sure they will be able to build up foam for a hump and recover.  

[SUELZER]

thanks Moham,
I'll check out the Guliari seats

appreciate it!
~christian

[goon 1492]

Oh yeah WELCOME!!! To the forum.

[mlinder]

Contact r550 and have him take pics of his seat for you.

A guy in Portland cut down and built up his stock 550 seat.

Not exactly in cafe style, but could easily have taken it further, to build the boat tail hump, and lower the seat more, if Ryan had wanted.

Cost him like 100 bucks, and still works like the stock seat, because, well, it pretty much is.

I also had a seat done by him for a bobber kz440, he does a really nice job. Maybe you can send it to him and have it done. Even with shipping, it'd be less than most other options.

Or maybe someone in your area can do it.

[Johnny5]

There's also the possibility of making your seat. Here's a link to what the process involves.

http://dotheton.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=aaafeea23b62a94a12739795f8948915&topic=3374.0


It's a lot of work, but you'll be able to mold and create a unique seat.

[MCRider]

Moham, its simple it's before your brain
So you just have to smack the air in front of you
Man I was starting to have flashbacks to grammer class...... Come on man its a bike forum we are not rocket scientists, and I suspect there are many like me here that wasn't the greatest in that class because I was mastering woodshop, chemistry,math, oh yeah and mechanics school too..... So if it seems out of context give him a break, we can be more understanding and open minded that way. Just like what Johnny5 stated.

Sigh... it's the march of time. Whenever something's been around long enough, it gets watered down and loses that special meaning it had when one was young. It will happen to you, it happens to all of us. Yes motorcycles are for fun, the board is for sharing.

Words have meaning, if we arbitrarily change them or treat them casually we fall into what George Orwell pointed out in "1984".

But whenever I run across the topic of a cafe racer, I'm concerned that it likely still has its original fork oil, shocks, or worse 5+ year old tires, I'll likely pipe up. Humor me and I'll go away.