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

[cbjunkie]

I PM'ed
him to see if I could get some better pics of the bike, like a sideshot.

  you and me both!

 -btw, Tric - thanks for the link - i would think about a little webpage redesign, however - it is a little frustrating having that gigantic header at the top of your gallery page - would prefer to be able to see the whole photo at once without having to scroll around on it...just my 2 cents...

yeah, PT, it's a nice mod, and goes a long way towards the look i think you and i are both after. like i said before, i'm not gonna chop up my frame that much, but it is inspiring to see one in the process of being done.

i passed on a couple of sets of lowering blocks last week on Ebay - one of'em was smooth looking - i should have bought 'em    ...there'll be more...

[TitaniumRic]

Here are my plans for the 550 Project... .....this pics on the link I posted earlier do no show the rear fender (stock minus the rear taillight all holes to be filled) ...I cut the rear frame rail off behind the shock mounts and filled placed the rear fender higher up in the frame with out the inner fender in place..will be making a custom metal inner fender to fill the gap....no for the seatI plan on building a custon frame cover to go over the frame wher the sprung solo will go the frame rail cover will also house the spring mounts and will be hinged on the front behind the solo front mount  this way I can have access to the electrics and battery(Similar to a Softail Harley).........now that I 've said all this I best clear out the shop of customer bikes and get to maikin this happen ASAP!

Cheers
Tric

[cbjunkie]

keep us dreamers posted, man!

[TitaniumRic]

I PM'ed
him to see if I could get some better pics of the bike, like a sideshot.

  you and me both!

 -btw, Tric - thanks for the link - i would think about a little webpage redesign, however - it is a little frustrating having that gigantic header at the top of your gallery page - would prefer to be able to see the whole photo at once without having to scroll around on it...just my 2 cents...

yeah, PT, it's a nice mod, and goes a long way towards the look i think you and i are both after. like i said before, i'm not gonna chop up my frame that much, but it is inspiring to see one in the process of being done.

i passed on a couple of sets of lowering blocks last week on Ebay - one of'em was smooth looking - i should have bought 'em    ...there'll be more...

We are reworking the gallery a bit to be more  user friendly....

[TitaniumRic]

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

I'l have to g oout an make sure I take a good pic ot the lower shock/axle mounts..... wonder if anyone will be able to guess what the original purpose of the bits I used to make thes mounts 

[ProTeal55]

As CBJ said , make sure you keep us all posted with pics of your progress...

[ohiocaferacer]

Heres a guy a talked to awhile back.....made a nice CB750 bobber with a solo seat....using a stock frame. You can read more about it at:
http://www.homemadehonda.com/pages/bobber.html

Here are a few pics






Later,
Greg
www.OHIOCAFERACERS.com

[ProTeal55]

Maybe that frame WAS stock at one point.
Looks to be "semi-konged" to get that angle.
Sweet bike none the less...

[DCopp]

that was a stock frame...look at the link please...and is exactly what I'm gonna do to mine.

[ProTeal55]

look at the link please...

DCOPP---->
I did look at the site, and I am aware that it WAS a stock frame to begin with. This whole point of this
topic is to try and find a creative way to run a solo seat on a stock frame, not something that started
off stock...Good luck with your project 

[cbjunkie]

PT - here's your 16"wheel man...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-CB750-16-Rear-Wheel-Setup-CB-750-550-Chopper_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35601QQitemZ4606260427QQrdZ1

[beachpeople]

I looked at the solo seat idea, and I was pondering just getting a universal mounting and adapting the dang thing as needed...but then I ran across that Brat Bike site, and I discovered "THE SEAT"! Now I need to figure out how they do those flat and thin padded seats! (Of course a Jappanese butt works better on those than my American Issue Fatass, but what can I say...) Don

[bill440cars]

You know, before all this talk and photos of the 16" H-D rim on a Honda hub, I was mainly
     thinking about a nice 18" (maybe aluminum) rim with a nice size tire (nice size but, not fat) and I'm   
     starting to rethink the idea. It'll be a while before I do though. I've got a lot of other thinks to take 
     care of first. Rest assured that, when I start checking things out on ebay, I always have that 
     member cross reference list handy so that I hopefully won't be biding against any of the SOHC
     members. I'm wanting kind of a Custom/Cafe look, if that explains anything. When I can get things 
     kinda lined out, I'll start a thread on it and try to get some pictures posted on it. Later on,  Bill

[cbjunkie]

well, bill, i can certainly understand your position - you have a nice-looking, fairly stock bike and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. i'm a great admirer of these pristine, or at least mainly stock bikes. the more i look at the really nice ones the more i appreciate all that goes into restoring them and the good sense of the Japanese designers to start out with.

that said, i am really just having fun being creative with ideas for my bike...and not having started out with anything near stock gives me that freedom.

i wonder what relation the age of the owner has to do with the resto concept? seems like mostly young guys are getting into the cafe thing while many of our older gentlemen are taking their time, money and experience the other direction - that is unless they are serious racers, and racer builders. but that's a different mode altogether...

  this is why it's so easy to collect. i see a long path ahead, and a stable full of horses!

junkie out.

[ProTeal55]

BEACHPEOPLE---------->
Any clue where that seat on that "Brat Bike" came from ? I might be intrested in something like that
for my CB..........

PT - here's your 16"wheel man...

CBJ-------> Thanks for the link , but I got one comming allready 

If I may put my 2cents in on this matter...I do agree with CBJ that the people who do the cafe/bobber thing to their bikes, USUALLY start off with not so perfect bikes. Take my CB750 for example. When I first bought it, the velocity stacks were allready on it, a set of nasty handlebars, the seat was not stock, it had the wrong year tank on it, etc..My decison to make a Cafe/Bobber bike out of what I had was not a hard one at all..Plus comming from a American V-Twin / Hotrod background didn't help either  Plus, it is allot cheaper to make a stripped down "bobber" bike than a era correct "resto" bike. Money is a big factory in my CB project, the less the better. My cars are #1 on my spend money list...

Now, If I had purchased a super clean, all original, perfect bike , I would not chop it up , I would rather try and keep it all original, and resto it the best I could.

Allot of factors go into what specific owners do to their own bikes, just like the world of classic cars. To each their own, yadda yadda yadda...Thats why these bikes have been so popular for so long, because no matter if they are a cafe / bobber / chopper / or a resto , they still have the same overall appeal....

LONG LIVE THE MIGHTY CB !

[KB02]

Okay, here is a pick of what I am doing with my bike's seat. Basically, I took a stock seat off of ebay and stripped it down to the pan. From there I made a basic "Frame" for what I want the back of the seat to look like out of hardware cloth and then laid fiberglass over it.

In retrospect, I should have made it a little bit smaller, and the seat foam is just the stock seat foam cut to fit for length (not yet height). I thought it looked pretty cool without the foam at all, but it would be damned uncomfortable.    This unitizes all stock components and I haven't cut the frame at all. I thought about cutting the two sides of the frame that stick out in the back, but then I thought I would just throw the blinkers on there in stead (once again, leaving the frame stock if someone ever wants to restore the bike).

I'm just going to use the stock tail light and stick in under the back part of the seat (I'll have to fab a bracket for that, but it shouldn't be too hard) and the plan is the set the licence plate right underneath it as well. We'll see how clearances are once I get the tail light in place for the plate. I may have to relocate it, but that's a bridge I'll burn when I come to it. 

[KB02]

I'd love to faba seat like what ProTeal has in his avatar, but that's just a little bit beyond my fabrication skills (And the tools that I own) at this current point in time. I have a great plan for a Kawasaki that a buddy of mine might give me, though....   

[ProTeal55]

KB02---->
Intresting idea, I like it..
Similar to the ever-popular "cafe" style seat, but yet different.
Keep us updated to your progress...

CBJUNKIE---->
Where's the pics of this "new" seat you made

[cbjunkie]

sorry - got overloaded at work - busier'n a cat covering up #$%*...

i don't have the seat made. i did however mock up the tank/seat/fender look that i want to go for... KB02 has got, i think, a similar idea to the one i had which is to tuck the taillight under the lateral brace/bridge at the back of the frame (is that an accurate reading of your thoughts, KB?)...so anyway i finally got it mocked up good enough that if you squint and dream you can see it...

i'm at the point right now where anybody else looking at it will go, "wha tha f*^%?", but it's starting to come together in concept and approach in my head...

i'll do my best to choose a few pix for you tomorrow.

junkie out.

[KB02]

i don't have the seat made. i did however mock up the tank/seat/fender look that i want to go for... KB02 has got, i think, a similar idea to the one i had which is to tuck the taillight under the lateral brace/bridge at the back of the frame (is that an accurate reading of your thoughts, KB?)

Yeah, basically. Except the actual seat pan goes a little further out than that. That cross bar right about at the middle of where the passenger's butt would be, so my seat will be a little bit longer than what (I think) your plan is.... I could be wrong, too...

I'm dying to see your Mock-up pics.   

[ProTeal55]

We need to keep this thread alive, lots of good info ....

CBJ---->
Still waiting for those pics 

[cbjunkie]

okay...here they are - remember to keep your eyes squinted and the left side of your brain engaged    ...otherwise you might think I'M CRAZY!!!

 

[cbjunkie]

the first shot is what it looked like after i got it scraped down, right before i sealed it - Tom (thanks, EC) sold me this one - pretty nice, he could not have known about the tiny pinholes which were covered by the paint and only revealed when i dumped The Must for Rust in to clean it up... there were only 3 or 4 of them and i JB welded them before sealing - I used the POR-15 product to seal which is VERY NICE...thanks, B.Wessner...

the second is post-sealing, post-bashing - i achieved better symmetry this time around and went deeper, too - you'll see next why - i'm using bondo to restore the leading edge of the indent to a crisp line (idea: paulages) that i can sculpt (next wkend)...

also the side shot shows how i'm starting to mock up the look i'm going for - not using that seat, it's one my buddy has lying around and it's really small so i've been using it as a low-profile/squint/mockup seat just to get an idea of the general line of the bike...i want it to start high at the clocks and then "drop off" down to the rear tire... i have fitted the rear fender down inside the frame just to see what a short, stubby rear fender might look like...

the taillight will tuck up under the rear brace, i'm using the K1 OEM taillight because it's one of the unique things about this bike design that i really think is cool...they changed it in 72 to the larger, flatter lens...the seat will be fiberglass and will lip over the top of the frame back to the brace, which it will "cowl" over also hiding the taillight mount bracket. the seat shown actually sticks up about an inch or two more than my new fabbed seat will - it will be tight down on that bracket.

I should still have 3-4" between the bottom of the taillight  and the top of the tire - this can be adjusted if i find the tire will smash the light by moving the light up another inch and using the seat to cover it...

then the fender, which i plan to fab. out of the fiberglass also, will sort of stick its tounge out at the tailgaters - about 6"... prob go with a lateral side mount for the tag...or frame it on the back of my jacket.

still looking for a blinker solution - thinking of going with bar-end leds...

[cbjunkie]

this isn't really bondo - it's strawberry icing that i'm using to "mock up" the bondo...

[KB02]

this isn't really bondo - it's strawberry icing that i'm using to "mock up" the bondo...

Looks good so far. I think I can see the seat. Like you said, keep your eye's squinted and left brain engaged.     Seriously, I used the same squinting process with my bike.