1971 Honda CB250 kustom... Seat update

Hey, I've introduced myself over in the appropriate board and thought I'd come over to the business end and show my little project.

I have a 1971 Honda CB250 (k3 I think). I've not done a great deal to it as far as major modifications but it's definitely got my own stamp to it. I've kinda gone for a mix up of road-warrior/salt-flats/street-sprinter kinda thing, but happy to be corrected if I've niched it wrong

Anyway, this is how it arrived to me:










A had a few things in mind anyway. First thing to do was to replace the (imho) ugly rear lamp and install something a bit less obtrusive. I opted for the tried and tested Model A Ford rear lamp and a smaller number plate. Also, I wanted some cooler mufflers on there and went for some upswept 'Tulip' type coupled with blonde exhaust wrap:








I de-cluttered the bike by removing all dials and indicator/blinker lights and popping on some chrome drag bars:








And most recently I fabbed up some 18" moon/salt discs and installed them on the rear wheel....which leaves it currently looking like this:









...SO, further plans include a small drop in suspension (maybe an inch or so) due to me being a short-arse, and maybe a re-upholster of the seat as it's a little weary. Also, I might bob the rear fender a few inches and shorten the front a bit too. Need to sort a tiny speedo at some point I guess as well.

Anyway, hope you like it, any advice/opinions greatly appreciated.

Johnny

Re: 1971 Honda CB250 kustom...

Nice.

If you are going to change the seat, I would recommend you to try and find a GB250 tank to drop on there. With the flat bars you have almost gone from CB to GB.

Re: 1971 Honda CB250 kustom...

ako said:

Nice.

If you are going to change the seat, I would recommend you to try and find a GB250 tank to drop on there. With the flat bars you have almost gone from CB to GB.

Click to expand...

That's a good idea, the tanks on the GBs are a cool shape...not overly common over here for some reason though.

Re: 1971 Honda CB250 kustom...

Yesterday, I had some free time so had a go at the front fender. Think I got it about right but might need to take a little more off the back side for balance. I took off about 5" off the front and 4" off the back. Also, lowered the brackets to get it tighter to the wheel...still need to get the grinder to the brackets and take off the excess but ran out of daylight.

Re: 1971 Honda CB250 kustom...

Be careful getting the front fender too close. When I did mine on the 360 I had to use the plasma cutter to remove the area formed around the forks. The brace bracket under the fender rubbed the tire just a bit. Unless the underside of yours is formed differently...in that case. Nevermind.

And the rear cover is pretty neat looking. I am assuming the spokes will remain visible on the left side?

Re: 1971 Honda CB250 kustom...

trek97 said:

Be careful getting the front fender too close. When I did mine on the 360 I had to use the plasma cutter to remove the area formed around the forks. The brace bracket under the fender rubbed the tire just a bit. Unless the underside of yours is formed differently...in that case. Nevermind.

And the rear cover is pretty neat looking. I am assuming the spokes will remain visible on the left side?

Click to expand...

No, theres a cover on both sides - with a small access for the valve.

As for the fender rubbing, I did notice the indentations might cause rubbing so it's a little higher than I wanted but practicality won in the end. There's literally about 2mm clearance either side, so it's tight!

Re: 1971 Honda CB250 kustom...

Instead of a mini speedometer, find one off of a 1960s 250 or 305 "sloper", it's built into the headlight shell. I own an older version of your bike, came stock with that headlight type. If you were stateside I'd straight trade you headlight buckets. Instead of cutting down the rear fender, swap it with a different model, XS 650 rear section is nice and short, will still accept your light/bracket/plate combination.

That was a really clean bike to start with, so any pieces you do not use or modify may help offset some of your build costs. Looking good so far.

Re: 1971 Honda CB250 kustom...

Scruffy said:

Instead of a mini speedometer, find one off of a 1960s 250 or 305 "sloper", it's built into the headlight shell. I own an older version of your bike, came stock with that headlight type. If you were stateside I'd straight trade you headlight buckets. Instead of cutting down the rear fender, swap it with a different model, XS 650 rear section is nice and short, will still accept your light/bracket/plate combination.

That was a really clean bike to start with, so any pieces you do not use or modify may help offset some of your build costs. Looking good so far.

Click to expand...

I think I know the bucket you're talking about, we call them CD175's and CD125's over here. Thats a good idea actually, I'll set up an eBay saved search before I forget.

Re: 1971 Honda CB250 kustom...

very clean, keep it like that. great bike

So, I decided to re-upholster the stock seat to see what it could look like before going down a long road of changing things majorley. The original was f*cked, no support left, saggy and stank, plus I wanted to try something I hadn't before. So, after a few hours cursing I ended up with this:

hi Mate... I dont know if its a K3.. my first bike was a cb 250 K3 1971... it had a different tank to yours,, im thinkin yours is a k2... nice lookin bike,, like the rear stop light... but I wouldnt have the disc thing there,, i like tae se the spokes... but al the same love its lines an curves... many miles ye have on it.. i have a cd 250 another wee cracker... teh hondas jist keep goin