What other Honda CB stock seats are interchangeable with my '76 CB550?

[RichPugh]

Hello everyone. This is my first post here. Great site! I'm fairly new to the "cafe" culture but not new to bikes... previously owned/ridden are a 94 GSX-R 750 and a 2000 MotoGuzzi V11 Sport. My newest bike is a 1976 CB550 which I plan to mildly mod and ride until winter then tear down and build up a new setup.

Thanks in advance for any help.

First of all, I'm not terribly familiar with CB's so the amount of internet research I am trying to do is overwhelming. I'm a bit confused on what years are which model "K" and I know I do not have a "Super Sport" but some have explained if the bike had a seperate tach and speedo, it was a super sport... so I dunno... feel free to school me LOL

For my actual question...

I'm having a hard time finding a standard "flat" seat for my 76 CB550 (other than $300 new reproductions on eBay which are looking rather tempting). I have a horrid King/Queen seat and I have searched a ton and from what I have gathered, the seat pans are basically all the same but the padding and covers are different.... but what I dont know are the years of CB550's and/or any other Honda CB's (i.e., 500, 750's, etc.) that might also fit on my bike with my tank, etc.. SO, am I stuck looking for only 74-76' CB500 or 550 seats or will older ones or newer ones or other models fit? I'd like to do a nice cafe tail/seat but I'm gonna wait til winter to do that. Thanks in advance for your help.

-Rich


Here's my old Guzzi for pics sake...

And here's the new project...

p.s., ignore the bars. I just stuck em on there upside down to move the bike around.

 

[RichPugh]

Well I went to see Dean at Baltimore Cycle Salvage and got what I had hoped to be a "tide me over" seat but alas, it didnt fit properly. It looks to be a very similar pan and the hinge bolted on fine but the latch was distinctly different... so unless I want to drill and screw my old hinge onto my "new" seat, I'm still looking for a seat. It could work fairly easily but maybe not the best solution. What do you guys thing... just drill a few pilot holes and shoot some coarse thread 10mm screws to hold my spring latch?

Mine:

New One:

 

[Mach-5(50)]

First of all, congrats on the new (old) bike. It looks almost like mine, the day I brought it home. I have a '76 K. I had the same green/brown tank, but mine had a sweet brake fluid stain. Air craft stripper works wonders. Mine didn't have the king/queen seat, but it did have the 4-4 exhaust. That's how I was able to identify mine as a K. You should be able to identify it by VIN. If you aren't on SOHC4.net yet, you should hang out there too. There is a wealth of honda specific knowledge. If I were to roll the dice, I'd say yours is a K also. There are other subtle differences, I think with the tach and speedo, or the indicator lights, or something. I could be all wrong too.
As far as your seat is concerned, have you thought about stripping it down and using your existing seat pan to build the style you want? That way the seat fits, without modifying any hardware, and you get the style you want. The beauty of this forum is there is an entire section dedicated to seats and tanks. Check out some of the stuff people have fabbed up, it is pretty inspiring. If you were thinking about selling that beast or something, that's cool. But, whats a seat like that worth, really? foam and vinyl are pretty cheap. If I ever get mine done, I'll post up some picks

Later,

Ryan

 

[RichPugh]

Thanks fellahs. Yeah, I'm quickly learning. I may take the K/Q seat and reshape the foam and get it covered in vinyl... but thats a winter project In the meantime, I'll cruise around on this almost correct seat which almost latches (I'll just relocate my original latch to this pan for now) and we'll see what the off season produces. Thanks guys.

-Rich