Topic: Anyone Have/Running/Seen a solo seat on a stock CB frame ?? ?? ??

[Steve F]

I'm using the stock seat pan, with a lowered single seat.  I kept the length of the seatpan stock so I can keep the tail light in the original position.  Obviously, you have several options with what you can do here, but this worked for me.

[Geeto67]

Pro-teal,

what is wrong with konging the frame? Get a round oil tank/ battery box like a lot of "ol skool" choppers have (check cycle ex for one already set up for a honda chop), mount it low, and then cut and reweld the seat rails at an angle. When you have the drop you want, install a solo seat with springs to bring it back up slightly. It will give that old hardtail seat position but with suspension. I know it sounds like a lot of work but it isn't that bad and will pay off in the end.

[dusterdude]

geeto,yea konging is something im thinking about too

[brewbrother]

Fellow CB'ers ,

I was thinking the other day about what kind / style / brand seat I wanna go with.
As most of you know, I have the butt-ugliest   seat currently on my CB, that is much in need of replacement.

I was planning on going with a "cafe" style seatpan, but my bike is turning more and more into a Bobber, and that
seat doesn't go with the feel of the bike. With the HD front end, and the other "bobber" touches, a cafe seat just isnt
gonna flow with the bike....

I was thinking of running a solo-type seat on the bike, such as one off a HD Sportster or the like. Anyone running
something similar on their stock framed CB ? I know I would have to fab-up a cover for the battery , but that doesnt
seem too hard. Figure I could jsut make something work with the stock hindges, and bolt the seat to the plate 

As usuall , all help/pictures/advice/etc is appreciated...........

I've been running a large solo on my 550 for 5 years and it works quite well. Alot more comfortable than the stock seat and I can actually put both feet on the ground when I'm stopped at a light. I will post some pictures next week. My wife has the digital on a business conference in Belgium.  Or if you have questions, I will attempt to clearly answer them.

[cbjunkie]

some pix will be great! worth a thousand words...

um. what's konging?

[Geeto67]

some pix will be great! worth a thousand words...

um. what's konging?

konging is lowering the seat rails on a stock cb750 frame to accept a lower aftermarket seat. Some guys do it to fit harley style drop seats, others for solos, while others do it so they can put both feat on the ground if they are vertically challenged. It is called konging on the hondachopper board because the person who first posted a how to on it was named kong, the technique has been around since the 70's, presumably with out a name. konging a frame usually requires you to repackage the electrics and the oil tank  so as to get the dropped seat height. There is a lot of waisted space in a cb750 frame and if you switch to a round tub style oil tank that encloses the battery (like a harley oil tank),  put the electrics in a bates box (chrome box so you can mount it anywhere on the frame), and ditch the side covers you can really lower your seat height and get a more old style seat setup.

this is a mildly konged frame with a chopper two seat pad:


a little more radical as the bike has been raked and extended and the rear shocks moved as well (not really konging but you get the idea):


radical kong:


http://www.hondachopper.com/choppers23.html

[cd811]

konging...I call it chopping...cut and fabricate...make the frame YOUR vision in combination with Honda's vision ...I like to call my frame old scholl/new school...71 honda/me now

[Geeto67]

konging...I call it chopping...cut and fabricate...make the frame YOUR vision in combination with Honda's vision ...I like to call my frame old scholl/new school...71 honda/me now

it's all chopping, konging is just a name for a specific thing in the world of honda choppers. BTW cd811, I really like your frame, did you start with a stock frame?

[cd811]

thank you...
yes...It's a 1971 cb750 frame

[ProTeal55]

Sorry I haven't been aroud - crazy weekend 

I thought about "KONGING" the frame, but I don't think I want to go that far as of yet. I am getting a few pics
here and their if people running solo seats on these bikes with the stock frame setup , and all really arent what I am
looking for.

My latest idea that popped in my head was , to replace the stock inner fender with a metal unit, similar to an
hardtail bike, so the rear fender is also the inner fender. I think this would look good , along with the solo seat. Along
time ago their was a old Yahama chopper on ebay that had this done , and looked pretty sweet. Wish I kept that link...

CHIPPYFIVE50-------->
If you want to sell that solo seat you have , send me an email and some pics......

[Geeto67]

My latest idea that popped in my head was , to replace the stock inner fender with a metal unit, similar to an
hardtail bike, so the rear fender is also the inner fender. I think this would look good , along with the solo seat. Along
time ago their was a old Yahama chopper on ebay that had this done , and looked pretty sweet. Wish I kept that link...

Like this:


I think you'll find that one of the first things a guy building a custom honda does is ditch the inner fender (second is usually to cut that cross brace that holds it on so they can get a different fender to fit in there).

[ProTeal55]

GEETO67---->
Something along those lines. Have anymore pics of that bike ? I would want to attached the rear fender to the swingarm, so I could get a "rigid" looking fit to the rear tire. I think the rear-fender setup with a solo-seat is more than half the battle in the overall look.

Got the pic below from a user over at Hondachopper.com. He did the same idea, with mounting the seat to a "TRAP-DOOR"
over the stock battery location.... I think this would look decent , if maybe using a longer seat to cover more of the plate...

[ProTeal55]

Here is another example of a solo-seat on a CB.
Not exactly my taste , but I do like how he used a front fender for the rear...
The "extra" part of the frame is gone, which I think looks pretty slick.
Maybe if the seat was actually on the frame it would look alittle cleaner.... ?

[cbjunkie]

what i can't see is exactly what i want to see which is...how close did he nibble the "extra" bits of the frame off in relation to the top shock mount?...

we're getting closer - and i had a dream about it last night so now i have a new idea i want to try out... 

[ProTeal55]

i had a dream about it last night so now i have a new idea i want to try out...

Funny you said that. I couldn't go to sleep last night becasue I was working out this damn seat issue in my head 

If you want CBJ , I can email you a bigger sized pic of that bike , so you can see where he chopped the frame. I believe
he hacked it off right before the upper shockmounts. That would make sense to me. I have this question cooking over at the
HondChopper board as wel , to get more info/pics/etc...

Once chopped , the "open" tubes would be a slick place to mount some L.E.D lights. All tucked in and flush..
nice.....

[cbjunkie]

i agree with you that that solo seat doesn't look all that great - there is a desire to integrate something a little bit nicer than that...

good idea about the blinkers, i likes it! 

?Question?
why is the distance between the tire and the fender so great? even bottoming out the OEM shocks on a standard 19" wheel won't close that distance significantly, will it?

I have the 16" rear wheel, so i feel like i have a lot of room to play with - i put on that new set of Boge shocks this weekend and it only dropped the tail, oh, i'd say...3/8" or 1/2" or so... so i still have lots of room to lower my rear fender...

i'll try sketching something up later on and post it...

junkie out.

[ProTeal55]

CBJ--->

My current plan is to get a fender blank, or maybe even a cheap trailer fender and mount it as both the new
inner fender, as well as the rear fender.. Maybe I will find something on ebay to work with..With a final look of hopefully something like the bike in my Avitar. Wanna show as much as the rear wheel/tire as possibile without slinging crap all over my back...

I am allready running "short" 11'' shocks, but if this all works out I will prob. add a set of lowering blocks to
the mix as well...With the new fender being bolted to the swingarm, their will be no more tire-to-fender bottom out issues...

- PT55

[bill440cars]

  I'll have to agree with ProTeal about the seat. If it was mounted down on the frame, it would probably look better. I'm also thinking that the seat could stand to be a little larger too. I know they make them in different sizes. Don't get me wrong , I don't mean a large seat. I just mean I, for one, would need more seat than that and I feel that it would blend in better. Also, I like the light idea too. Gotta go for now,   Bill

[ProTeal55]

Just an F.Y.I-----> The light in the ends of the frame
 idea is a registerd trademark of the "PT55" company...

[Geeto67]

Just an F.Y.I-----> The light in the ends of the frame
 idea is a registerd trademark of the "PT55" company...

too bad I have already done it on several bikes. Remember there are no new ideas under the sun.

as for more pics of the bike i posted, I got it from page 74 of the honda chop gallery:

http://www.hondachopper.com/choppers74.html

[bill440cars]

Forgot to mention, for whatever it's worth, I'm checking out an SL350 rear fender to install   
      w/ a smaller (maybe a solo w/a pad behind it) custom seat. The only thing is the inner part is
      plastic. I like the way the fender flares out, the fact that the main part of the fender is aluminum
     though. I'm looking at ways to modifying it for a nice bobber effect.  Gone again. Bill

[cbjunkie]

Just an F.Y.I-----> The light in the ends of the frame
 idea is a registerd trademark of the "PT55" company...

uh...okay, and  you have my  permission to put a 16" wheel on your ride...   

[ProTeal55]

 
Just alittle joke people......

CBJ--> Whats your latest idea to make this work ?
BILL440---> Keep us posted to your progress...

-PT55

[cbjunkie]

Just alittle joke people......

CBJ--> Whats your latest idea to make this work ?
BILL440---> Keep us posted to your progress...

 

PT - leave the inner fender and lateral brace - (my goal is to not customize this bike so far that it will be impossible to return it to stock if i want to) - fit a new fiberglass seat which is integrated as a rear fender tail that lets the OEM taillight tuck in beneath the brace. kind of an over/under setup with the taillight in the center...

like i said, i'll try to sketch something later...

i want to retain that taillight and customize the winkers - i have my own idea for that as well - i'm thinking of going with the LED bar end winkers on the handlebars...i thought of this independantly and in my search for applicable products found out that several manufacturers have produced this very thing...including BMW, but i haven't found a pre-manufactured version for less than 60 bux apiece!


HEY SCOTT!
sorry i missed your call the other day, man - s'okay i ended up not working over at the shop all that much anyways...we'll get together soon, though...

[ProTeal55]

CBJ ---->
Check out the pic below. It is of user TITANIUMRICK's CB550 project. He severly lowered the rear of his bike. I PM'ed
him to see if I could get some better pics of the bike, like a sideshot. With the rear wheel being almost 4'' higher in the frame than
the stock location, this would get rid of your "gap" you spoke about eariler. I think I am going to look into moving the lower shock mount further out on the swingarm, rather than use lowering blocks...

-PT55