CB450 seat and bars

[Flying_Flannel_89]

As a few of you know, I'm slowly customizing my mostly stock '73 CB450. I love the cafe look, but I'm not sure I want to go with clubmans or clip-ons and rear-set pegs. I'd like to maintain an upright riding position, but the stock bars and seat are a little too, well, stock. It came with a set of drag bars, but I don't like how they look against the lines of the bike. Im thinking of ordering some ebay special Emgo "GP touring" bars, like these:

Anyone have any experience with these? I know most guys run clubmans, but again, I'd like to steer away from the leaned-forward riding position but still have lower bars. Mostly for asthetic reasons. As far as the seat goes, I'd like to find a useable stock seat pan and build one like loco leon did in this topic - http://dotheton.com/index.php?topic=2717.0
The other option i'm considering is a custom seat cover and foam set from an ebay stoer based in vietnam. A tad pricey, but if the quality is good I think it would fit the look of the bike pretty well.

Any thoughts??

 

[Schwebel]

I run the "SuperBike" version of those bars, bought them off fleabay and I really like them. I can ride all day with very minimal wrist pain. And they give the bike a sharp look. While I love the look of clubmans, unless I'm just going around the block they kill my wrists. I have been wondering about those seats as well.

 

[degenerate]

has anyone ever bought from the ebay store in vietnam?

i've wanted to get a fully built cafe seat, with the cowl painted gold just like my 72 cb350, but i'm worried that they are tricky or shady. Plus 60 shipping? that seems steep.

 

[Flying_Flannel_89]

I think the superbike bars look better, but they only have a 4" straight section in the middle and my risers are just shy of 5" end-to-end. The "GP touring" and "european" bars are 4.8", so I'm thinking either of those would work.

 

[p71sohc]

I bought a seat from them and the quality was fine......just the seat itself was to big for my taste. Price was also a little high. If your 700 pounds then maybe it will work for you, lol. It looked huge on my frame so I took it to a local shop and had them shrink it all the way around a seat pan that I made. I understand when people want a simple bolt on installation so if it's size doesn't offend you then get one.

 

[p71sohc]

Oh, I wanted to mention that in those two photos the seat is loose and not attached to the pan so that's why there are some wrinkles. The two other photos are after it was modified and had it recovered in suede.

 

[saucer]

i had a friend by one of those seats from vietnam, it was huge he had to get it reduced, price wise he could've bought a gulliarri seat for the same cost,
any ways it looked gigantic on the bike,

 

[Nario]

I am also working on a seat for a 73 cb450. I plan on building my seat using this design. I don't have a welder but I have a friend who has one. Only 2 pieces here and I think this would be easy to cut and weld from 16g sheet metal from Lowes and you wont have to have sharp corners. I plan on buying large scraps of leather from a local crafts store and stitching the upholstery by hand . I am looking for that large stitch look usually found on old wallets. I also got a thick pad of foam from the dump ( ripped it out of a lazy boy chair) Sounds ambitious, but I am going to try it
You can save yourself alot of time, blood, sweat and irritation but not money if your buy that seat from ebay, but if you make one yourself you can be sure that no one on in the world has a seat like yours.

 

[Flying_Flannel_89]

Well that's all I needed to see of the seat to decide against it. I think I'm just gonna try shaving the stock foam and having it re-covered by an upholstery shop. Shouldn't cost a whole lot more than the $160 I'd have to drop on the fleabay seat. What do you guys think about a Wrench Monkees style seat - straight and flat, maybe with a small kick-up at the back. Something like this:

I've been thinking about bobbing or removing the rear fender. The grab rail would also get nixed, and the stock taillight would either get mounted to the underside of the stock seat pan, or removed and replaced with an LED cats-eye setup. Here's a rough MS paint 'chop to give an idea.

 

[Flying_Flannel_89]

Another option I've been toying with as far as bars go is a set of Renthal or Renthal-style MX bars. I've seen a few guys running them on their street bikes, anyone on here have any experience? Not sure what style to look for, Renthal offers a shit ton of different bends, heights, pullbacks, etc.

The only downside IMO is they aren't offered in a chrome finish, which is what I really would like to use.

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

The lack of chrome is exactly why I did not get the Renthal bars, even though I could have gotten a new set from a Buddy for only $10. Check out cycle X, thats where I got my broomstix for the GL and has the best price / selection I have found.

If you like the looks of the Brat style seat go for it! I think they are awesome. Maybe this will give you more ideas. It's one of the inspiration pics that helpped me in my seat build. Kind of a hybrid between Brat / Cafe

 

[Flying_Flannel_89]

That seat is killer, hoosier. At this point I'm looking for a cheap stock seat pan that I can butcher and try different padding/cover options on, and leave my stock seat intact so I can switch back and forth if I want to. Still looking for good cheap bars, love the renthal look but I really want chrome. Of course, I could always have a set blasted and chromed, but I don't think my budget will allow all that.

 

[akwon]

I would also be very interested in seeing alternative options to the cafe racer bars found on ebay. Anyone have pics to post of other options they went with (the ebay brand of course)

 

[Flying_Flannel_89]

I would also be very interested in seeing alternative options to the cafe racer bars found on ebay. Anyone have pics to post of other options they went with (the ebay brand of course)

Off topic, but is that Bruce Campbell in your avatar pic?