Topic: Anyone use the ebay cafe seat foam/covers?

[BlindSight]

So was thinking about doing my own fiberglass setup but after allot of research I figured id check out some other options. Anyone ever tried these, any good... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1971-1974-Honda-CB500F-cafe-racer-seat-cover-and-foam-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem5d2cea6c84QQitemZ400185519236QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_1146wt_732

[Terry in Australia]

I thought about buying the 750 cafe seatcover and foam but they wanted the same (very expensive) price for shipping (from Vietnam) as for a complete seat, (which I didn't want because the base looked like it had been made by an 8 year old) and I thought their reply reeked of bullschidt, so I didn't buy it. Cheers, Terry.

[RickRR]

I was wondering the same thing today ,you beat me to the question .
So anyone tried them ??  they say you use your seat base so it should be a good start.

[AshimotoK0]

I got a double cut K0 unchromed front fender from him for my '69 750K0. I have worked closely with him to get it right and well pleased with the outcome. He does sell them chromed but I pursuaded him to sell unchromed and undrilled, so I can get show quality pre-prep and chroming . The company is run by 'Eric' and I think he is a great guy and workaholic but he was listed as a 'Bad Seller' here, which I tried to resolve for him. Put it this way; double cut K0 750 from Yamiya 1,343 USD.plus shipping import duty etc (yes one thousand three hundred and forty three US dollars!!)  My Unchromed  (but polished to chrome like finish for chroming) fender from Eric 190USD inc shipping plus around 50 USD for me to have it chromed (cheap because all the prep and polishing has been done already). We need to work with guys like this and nurture them.

I got excellent comms from him and shipping was spot on and very quick.

just my 2 penneth (cents)

cheers

AshD (UK)

He specialises in seats so I would imagine the seats would be good quqlity

[r6100mph]

Not sure about the "cafe" type seats or covers but if you are going for the stock seat cover, I suggest using these guys GUMTWO:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CB450-Replacement-seat-cover-Honda-CB450-1968-74-/160356107040?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2555f80320

I have ordered 3 or 4 seat covers from them, and they look great.  Great quality, seams hold when you are stretching the cover, better quality than stock.  Even the patterns are sewn into the seat.  A bit more expensive than others, but the quality is definitely worth it.

[Really?]

Kit, aka Kitsune, has purchased one of the Vietnamese setups and seemed to be happy with it.

[cb650PK]

I think for the same money your local car upholstery guy can do something for you, and your money stays in the US if he can.

[The_Crippler]

Yeah - car upholstery or even regular upholstery is where I'd start.

[Kanticoy]

Yeah - car upholstery or even regular upholstery is where I'd start.

+1.  I've seen one or two of these "cafe racer seat redux" units in person.  One thing I noticed is that if it is a ribbed seat cover, the ribs are actually hot pressed rather than stitched.  Other than that, I think they're alright, but as far as longevity goes, I'm not 100% convinced.  If you get your upholstry guy to do it, it really isn't too expensive to do have done.  I had a few done, and paid in the neighborhood of $150 to have a fully seamed custom cover.  I did all of the foam work out of a nice open cell automotive grade seat foam, that gave me the peace of mind that I wasn't sitting on 30+ year old shaved down foam!

[Willy D]

Just last week i got my new cover in. i ordered it on ebay, it looks similar to the one you posted. It is all sewn together, not heat pressed, came with all new foam. I decided to take it to a local upholstery shop to have it installed because i was unsure how to install it-because the original seat pan is steel, there was no way to staple it. He ended up using a u shaped welting to hold it to the pan. i think it turned out okay, my only issue is that the material seems really thin, which allows some of the imperfections in the foam underneath to show through. I did set it out in the sun last weekend and that seemed to help smooth it out some. Here are some pictures of mine.

[BlindSight]

thanks for the responses..doesn't looke too bad, I ended up having to chop an inch or so off my seat pan anyways to fit the 500t tank on the bike so going to have to go custom anyways...might try to sew one myself ising the original as a guide and taking off a bit in the front but we shall see. Think most upholsterers would charge in the $150-$200 range to do something like that? not sure if I want to go all out cafe on this but might change my mind.

[Willy D]

I've thought about getting a 500t tank because i like the look of them. i'm guessing that it is a little longer than the original tank? how much trouble was it to mount? i read some posts that required moving the bung hole, any other modifications?

[BlindSight]

Think it looks tonnnnns better than the stock tank but it was kind of a pain. Easy part was cutting about a 1/4inch off the front mount posts and about an inch of the seat. Moving the bung was the problem, ended up ordering a weld in bung that uses the standard harley petcock threads(harley petcocks are $15 and come in different colors and arrangements) from ebay, was about $10 but then had to pay a welder $50 to cut and plug the old hole and weld the new one in. If you do it be sure you get someone who knows how to MIG weld reallllly well because to get the bung in the right spot to miss the carbs it has to go up and over pretty close to the edge. make sure they have a pressure tester and can make sure it doesn't leak...brought the tank home and it looked good but started seeping gas when I mounted it up. Would certainly do it again but would wait to find a cheaper deal on a 500t tank...paid way too much in the first palce on top of all the mods. tank looks great but I am still working on bondo-ing/painting it.

[Terry in Australia]

I've thought about getting a 500t tank because i like the look of them. i'm guessing that it is a little longer than the original tank? how much trouble was it to mount? i read some posts that required moving the bung hole, any other modifications?

He he he, you said, "Bung Hole"..................