Cafe Seat for my 75 cb750f BUILD

[locOleoN]

Just used a copped back end of a cb550k tank and stock cb750f seat pan...
Basically the same principle as from this thread:
http://dotheton.com/index.php?topic=7.0

Ugly huh?... notice the spot welds?

After a few hours of sanding w. paper, dremel & other tools w/ some old primer laying around.

a trip to Crappy Tire and a rattle can later:

Slapped on the bike for now, until I'm ready to put the leather and foam together.

The rear turn signals are going to the garbage... I got a taillight from an old zx6r, wired to have integrated tail/stop and turn signals all in one that will fit perfect into the rear gap of the cowl. ;D

What a difference from this:

 

[valvesprung]

Re: Cafe Seat for my 75 cb750f.

Can't wait to see it finished

 

[Kuyarico]

Re: Cafe Seat for my 75 cb750f.

Looking sweet there!

 

[locOleoN]

Re: Cafe Seat for my 75 cb750f.

Just started to fill the hole in the hump and trimming the seating foam...

I used the hard interlock hi-density floor foam that you can buy at any Home Depot.
I just traced the hole onto cardboard, trimmed the cardboard pattern till it fit nicely

Then I traced the pattern onto the foam, which I cut then stuffed into the hole.

Then I traced and cut another piece about 4mm bigger then glued them together using "goop"
This second piece will sit outside/on top of the first piece and act as a "lid", which will be kept in place when its leathered.
(I'll post a pic as soon as the 2 pieces dry up)..

That will be the lid of the hole which I can remove easily since the leather cover will be velcored in place overtop of the foam.

 

[locOleoN]

Here's that "Lid" I was talking about:
2 pieces of heavy foam glued together, the outside one just a bit bigger:

So the bigger piece acts like "stopper" against the metal cut out, while the other piece fits inside the hole:

See what I mean?

Just adding strips of foam to fill in the "unevenness of the OEM pan"

Glued more high density foam to smoothen out the seating area:

Glued the last piece of foam to act as a top foam:

NOw its ready to be leathered... Stay Tuned...

BTW... Here is the tail light that I will be using on that seat: A rear light from a Ninja zx6R.
Its been rewired to act as an integrated turn signal/brake light as well so I dont need to have Turn signals.
It will perfectly fill in the "hole" in the back of the hump. I just have to build a bracket.

 

[kzromey]

nice job Noel! looks good. i was thinkin about the blue camping mat from can tire too, but the stuff you have is beefier, me likes!

speakin of padding, does anyone know about that thick, dense, gel like pad you can also use? i remember seing them at the new years show, you just cut out a square chunk out of your stock seat and replace it with the stuff, feels amazing i hear.

 

[locOleoN]

no, I have no idea.. I've never been able to actually find that stuff... I'd use that gel stuff if I could get my hands on it

 

[kzromey]

. . . i'll let ya know if/when i find them!

 

[Tim]

Princess Auto sells a very nice thick squishy pad for kneeling on in the garage - about $10 I think and plenty enough to cover the seating area of a cafe seat. Not gel, but a good solid inch thick and soft. I'd have tossed a layer of that on my 550 seat if I'd had it at the time.

 

[locOleoN]

intersting.. thanks for the heads up.
I"ll check it out over the weekend..

 

[FIsh]

Looking great! Good thinking on the hd foam too.

_ Chad

 

[Tim]

I'm probably going to Princess Auto today. Maybe I'll pick up one of those cushions.

 

[rphilli550]

this thread gives me hope as i am about to attempt to make a seat from a cb550 tank as well. great idea for the tailight...im going to try to find something that takes the curve of the hole in the back a little better since im no good with fabricating.

big thumbs up to you, sir ;D

 

[locOleoN]

Hey Ryan,

I would recommend a tank from an old Suzuki T500.
They don have that "concave" hole in the back!

Good luck and post some pics!!

Cheers
NOel

 

[kzromey]

I'm probably going to Princess Auto today. Maybe I'll pick up one of those cushions.

oh yeah, i remember you sayin they might have the gel cushions? did you grab em? how much?

 

[kzromey]

holy gel seat haven batman!! just found this:

http://seniorshops.com/seatcushions.html

pricey tho.

. . . but, i just found out that you can't cut through them, didn't know there was actually a thick gel like substance that leaks out, thought it was some crazy foam/rubber material that's squishy.... ths product ( http://www.seniorshops.com/gseat.html ) is two pieces, one half is about the width of a bike seat . . . hmmmm

 

[locOleoN]

Here are more pics of the Pre-Leather fit:

 

[kzromey]

that's crazy noel, i was just thinking of doin the same with my patch! lol! (or maybe getting the kawasaki "K" stitched on the back...) been workin on my seat too, got pics, but wanna finish it first before i post ...

that looks like vinyl, and you used a sewing machine? i found some heavy duty vinyl at fabric land, 17 bucks/meter, but it's kinda glossy cheesy lookin. still wanna hand stitch my own tho, maybe with leather....

oh yeah, you usin an adhesive to lay the vinyl on the foam with or you just drappin it over and hookin underneath?

 

[locOleoN]

that's crazy noel, i was just thinking of doin the same with my patch! lol! (or maybe getting the kawasaki "K" stitched on the back...) been workin on my seat too, got pics, but wanna finish it first before i post ...

that looks like vinyl, and you used a sewing machine? i found some heavy duty vinyl at fabric land, 17 bucks/meter, but it's kinda glossy cheesy lookin. still wanna hand stitch my own tho, maybe with leather....

oh yeah, you usin an adhesive to lay the vinyl on the foam with or you just drappin it over and hookin underneath?

Hey Jerome,
Dude.. you must have missed a post. I mentioned that I had extra vinyl for ya, more than enought to make another seat!
Anyhow, Im not sticking/glueing the foam to the leather. Its just gonna drap over the foam and stick to the underneath of the seat pan with velcor that sticks to the pan & its connecting piece sewed to the cover.

Cheers
N

 

[kzromey]

yeah, no worries, i remember the extra vinyl you have, and i might just take you up on that! i was just gonna hit up the tandy leather factory and see what they have in smaller strips. i don't know why i'm being stubborn, i really wanna handstitch it myself, but i know the vinyl will need a proper sewing machine. and is it just me or are all the seats out there black?! i've seen some with white, but i might go with red all around and the seat part black... hmmm....

i like the idea with the velcro, i have the hooks too underneath, but can't trust it holding up in the long run, might tear up the material. but i do have my foam velcroed on to the pan, making it removable, incase i make another seat with a different shape (might make another with a squarer hump in the back), so all i'd have to do is unvelcro the seat foam, slap on a different one with different upholstery and voila, a different seat . . . to match whatever shoes i'm wearing that day! lol!