Mccarleyholmes 76 Kz400

[mccarleyholmes]

After much research i decided to attempt to form my own seat. I followed deacons post http://dotheton.com/index.php?topic=3374.0 and with no experience with fiberglass this is what i came up with.
PS i am very thankful for bondo.

 

[Ease]

Re: Mccarleyholmes 76 Kz400 glass seat

Looks good!

 

[rockcitycafe]

Re: Mccarleyholmes 76 Kz400 glass seat

here's a couple good tips for this stage on, when you're pretty happy with how smooth your seat is, paint a good grey primer on there pretty thick, wait for that to dry, then paint on a quick coat of black primer, just enough to cover the grey. now get some wet sanding paper, start with 220, or 400, place it on a foam block, something that has some give to it, but is pretty flat overall, now wetsand until all the seat is grey, or you have black spots that you can't sand away with the block (don't sand with the loose paper in your hand). the black spots are low spots, so dry off the seat, and wait a day, or hairdryer it, and fill the low spots with filler, sand that in, and reprime with grey, then black. keep following these steps until you can block sand and get rid of all the black spots, when you paint that seat, it will look perfect

 

[mccarleyholmes]

Re: Mccarleyholmes 76 Kz400 glass seat

Thanks for you advice rock, it definitely took some work and a shit ton of filler but i've gotten it smooth. and i usually dust a light coat of primer between sand just make shure i'm sanding and filling all the small pinholes. But i tried to use as little rattle can lacquer as possible on prep cuz im getting a shop to epoxy base paint it. its probably not a big deal but sometimes mixing different types of primers with paints can cause a mess later on. I usually just sand it to 400, then hand it off, then after they prime it they will do some superior super man fine grit sand job on it.

 

[mccarleyholmes]

Re: Mccarleyholmes 76 Kz400 glass seat

Seat will go to get upholstered soon, i think the black seat will tie the hole project together.

I sacrificed a more streamlined seat cowl to utilize the stock seat pan in the design, so it now uses the same hinges and i can easily swap the standard passenger friendly stock seat.

I will be soon starting to reorganize all the components under the seat i have already purchased a small marine gel battery and some sheet metal. so i will be eventually able to run it with out side covers.

 

[HerrDeacon]

Re: Mccarleyholmes 76 Kz400 glass seat

That turned out awesome mccarleyholmes, great job. I agree, black seat will tie is all together. Post a pic when you get it covered.

 

[mccarleyholmes]

Re: Mccarleyholmes 76 Kz400 glass seat

started making a new box that will house the new gel battery. it will sit inside a pan that is connected to my frame under my seat. by laying the battery on its side I will simplify my bike and be able to run it with out side covers.

Cardboard pan template

battery inside new casing (will be dropped inside the pan)

Supplies

still have a load of work to do to try to get it right, its my first time working with sheet metal and i don"t have the proper tools to get clean bends, but i figure if i smash it enough with a hammer it will obey. then tack weld it into place and powder-coat.

I will reposition most of my gizmo's and do-hickeys around the out side of the box, still wondering what to do with the rectifier, but I am sure it will work out when I get to that point.
thanks for looking.

McC

 

[ultimatefiend138]

Re: Mccarleyholmes 76 Kz400 glass seat

when I switched my stock air filter out with pods, the airbox had some nice holes that were already tapped so I used the existing screw and bolted it to one of them so it was secure and out of the way... just some food for thought

 

[kneedragger]

Re: Mccarleyholmes 76 Kz400 glass seat

The more I see of these KZ400s, the more I like them. One of these days, I'll find a keeper...

No matter where you decide to finally mount it, remember to keep the rectifier cool and dry, and you shouldn't have any problems... Unless you want to relocate it to the tail, the length of the stock harness can help you to decide on the best location. Otherwise, you're going to have to do some splicing and soldering, but you already know that...

Good luck; keep the photos flying, so we can follow along...

 

[valvesprung]

Re: Mccarleyholmes 76 Kz400 glass seat

Seat looks great man. KZs look great because the frames are so much cleaner and better looking then the Hondas IMO. Is that seat something you can replicate fairly easily? I really like it. I think narrowing the rear (tapering) might look really nice, but all in all it looks great and I can't wait to see it upholstered!

 

[mccarleyholmes]

Re: Mccarleyholmes 76 Kz400 glass seat

finally I am done with my seat, it took a couple months, but well worth the wait. i was originally shooting for more of a traditional cafe seat with a steeper step and a flatter seat, but the fellow who appolstered the seat went his own way with it, and I'm glad he did, i think it turned out bitchen.

last night we set up the new battery and relocated all the shit under the seat. still have to wrap and move around some cords but the new battery works great, i was worried that droping to a smaller ohms battery might not work, but since it's kick only its ok.

I've been pretty cautious with hacking up the frame and cutting wires, ive set this bike up so i can run it with or with out the side covers and stock seat. probably would look way cleaner with out all the tabs on the frame, but since its recently been powder-coated im just gonna run it how it is. i don't know if im completely sold on the void under the seat, i am going to paint the new battery box and wrap the wires, and ride it a little then figure it out.

I've been riding every day and have put 700 miles on the newly built motor. the total project has taken almost a year since started and I couldn't be happier with the close to final product.

 

[BigBSBusa]

Re: Mccarleyholmes 76 Kz400 glass seat

That looks good! Seat is thick, but probably feels good on the bum after a long ride.

 

[valvesprung]

Re: Mccarleyholmes 76 Kz400 glass seat

That looks stunning! really nice work and the upholstry really sets it apart from some of the backroom stich jobs in this joint ;D

Do you have the first f/g seat still? I'd be interested in finishing the project you started if it's still around. Let me know!

 

[BigBSBusa]

Re: Mccarleyholmes 76 Kz400 glass seat

Seat will go to get upholstered soon, i think the black seat will tie the hole project together.

I sacrificed a more streamlined seat cowl to utilize the stock seat pan in the design, so it now uses the same hinges and i can easily swap the standard passenger friendly stock seat.

I will be soon starting to reorganize all the components under the seat i have already purchased a small marine gel battery and some sheet metal. so i will be eventually able to run it with out side covers.

MH, how did you attach the seat pan to the cowl?

 

[mccarleyholmes]

Re: Mccarleyholmes 76 Kz400 glass seat

i only made one fiberglass seat, and it is the one mounted now.
since the seat pan was used to form the fiberglass, it fits snug. so the cowl is attached to the pan with the vinyl seat itself wrapping around it and attaching, in those pics their is nothing holding the cowl to the pan, its just super snug.
my cost break down.

30 bucks for stock seat (i kept my original stock seat since its in greet shape)
30 bucks for fiberglass n foam
10 bucks for bondo
50 bucks for paint (outsourced)
100 bucks for appolstry (outsourced)
total= 220
i know people who buy motorcycles for that price, but i think it was worth it to get the look i wanted. i was originally thinking about springing 350 + shipping for a corbin seat, but i saved 150 bucks and am happier with the final seat, and i hand made the form itself which i think is fucking awesome.

 

[904cafe]

Re: Mccarleyholmes 76 Kz400 glass seat

super clean! whoever did that upholstery does great work! very clean battery setup as well. I plan on attempting something similar with by cb200, as I would like the option of switching between my stock seat and something like this.