750 cafe thing - opinions welcome

[sonnygs1100]

well i tore into seat pan , im thinking ill have to build whole new seat pan , never realized how bad the oem seat pans actually fit the bike

 

[sonnygs1100]

heres how mine came out, got the bike for 350, stock with a few mods last winter off craigslist, spent another 300 on ebay parts and paint, and heres the final. Not bad for a total cost of 650.

how did you make the seat ?

 

[lostsoul74]

didnt make it, it's just a 189.00$ cafe seat off ebay, comes already apholstered, you just have to paint. For mounting, i just layed it on a sheet of plywood, traced it and cut it smaller, filled the ass with blow foam (just to give added support since it's just a fiberglass shell) then siliconed hte botton and slapped hte plywood in and let dry. After i chopped hte rear frame (sawsaw, where the frame met hte curve of hte ass) i just predrilled 4 3/16 small holes and drilled some screws up from the frame into hte plywood. That way i can still have easy removal of unit the once every few years i've got to change the battery, everything else i can get from the sides ya know.


ps, make sure you double check the measurements against your frame, the standard size they usually ahve listed on there in this style is just a tad tight for my 78, but seller had larger ones he didnt list, so he hooked me up for hte same price, he has them, just doenst list them on ebay. though on my 81, the seat frame curves in more so i think the standard size would of fit this one. just type Cafe Seat in ebay and you'll see lots of styles, though keep in mind, though rough seat pans are cheap, aphostry can be costly, so even though i spent 200 on this seat (i still cant believe i spent that much, i can find almost anything for 20 bucks give enough time.... lol), it was complete and easy and just needed to paint.

 

[Shaughn]

Looking at that...


Looking at my pile of parts....



Jesus I overpaid....

Good work!

 

[lostsoul74]

thanks, thats what i do, i find beaters for cheap, and give them an updated stylish look for flip. so far i'm doin allright for someone that didnt know crap about bikes. Really wanted to put clubman bars and fork boots on to complete, but sold it before i finished that one. I'll post pics in my alblum after I get my xs1100 chop finished, paint came in today, tomarrow is paint day. Once the xs is done, i've got an 81 gs750 i'll be going with next, not sure what style yet, cafe, streetfighter, bobber, chopper, it needs a tank, i guess it will go which ever way i get hte cheapest tank off ebay for and go with the lines from there.

 

[Shaughn]

thanks, thats what i do, i find beaters for cheap, and give them an updated stylish look for flip. so far i'm doin allright for someone that didnt know crap about bikes. I'll post pics in my alblum after I get my xs1100 chop finished, paint came in today, tomarrow is paint day.

Wow, just what you've got so far on the xs11 is pretty sweet from the pic in your profile. Can't wait to see the finish.

Who does your mechanical work then? Or are these appearance mods only?

 

[lostsoul74]

I do strictly exterior for the most part. I can do simple things like clutches and stators and such, but for hte most part, i buy em cheap, old, and ugly, but mechaniclly sound, other then cleaning carbs from sitting ya know. I pull up a chair, look at hte frame lines and then check ebay and see what i can get deals on to decide what style i'm going to go with next. then research to see what cross fits and ALOT of help from forums, and good to go. This is hte 7th bike now i've completed, the xs will be 8, thats a keeper. I actually just started ridin last year, but thats how i am, when i get into something, i get into it hard, but then fade out and move on to new hobbies, but i think i found my niche, i enjoy this.

 

[TheCafeKid]

I do strictly exterior for the most part. I can do simple things like clutches and stators and such, but for hte most part, i buy em cheap, old, and ugly, but mechaniclly sound, other then cleaning carbs from sitting ya know. I pull up a chair, look at hte frame lines and then check ebay and see what i can get deals on to decide what style i'm going to go with next. then research to see what cross fits and ALOT of help from forums, and good to go. This is hte 7th bike now i've completed, the xs will be 8, thats a keeper. I actually just started ridin last year, but thats how i am, when i get into something, i get into it hard, but then fade out and move on to new hobbies, but i think i found my niche, i enjoy this.

Thats kinda how I started with Cafe bikes. Lots of cosmetic stuff. My first two street bikes were that way, both honda CBs (one a 550 and one a 750) and they were cafenated with bolt on stuff. I got to the point where i wanted to build MY cafe tho, and make it look exactly how i wanted it. Ended up with this so far:

I have a different tank to go on it, i need to take it to the radiator shop to get it cleaned out and etched, and finish up the body work, then get it shot. but i wanted to get this thing on the road so i could tune the carbs, so i put this one on it for now. Not quite done, have a different pipe to go on it as well, (Thanks 80GS750 for that Kerker BTW!!) but getting close.

 

[lostsoul74]

yea thats really gona turn out sharp once it gets shot. I see alot of seatpans on ebay for hte cafe style, your standard 80-100 ya know, hows that seat your on without padding and apholstery?? I'd sure like to go a route like that expecially if i'm just gona flip it, save a hundred ya know, but still attain that look, buyer would always have the option of having it done themselves later, but at least for riding at first. But who knows, i really didnt want to get rid of that cafe, maybe this next one will better and i decide to make that the keeper, or a secondary..

 

[TheCafeKid]

yea thats really gona turn out sharp once it gets shot. I see alot of seatpans on ebay for hte cafe style, your standard 80-100 ya know, hows that seat your on without padding and apholstery?? I'd sure like to go a route like that expecially if i'm just gona flip it, save a hundred ya know, but still attain that look, buyer would always have the option of having it done themselves later, but at least for riding at first. But who knows, i really didnt want to get rid of that cafe, maybe this next one will better and i decide to make that the keeper, or a secondary..

I made that seat. First fibreglass work I ever tried. Easy peasy really. Stinks like hell tho, i dont advise using it in the house...lol. I have padding and upholstery for the seat as well, just havent gotten around to doing it. And actually, Its not that uncomfortable. I wouldnt want to do 200 miles on it mind you, but thats not what THIS GS is for. I have my 1100 for comfy muscle...lol The problem i found with ALOT of the seat pans on fleabay is that most of them are really designed for the Hondas. That seems to be the bike de rigur to cafe. Why i dont know, other than they remained remarkably unchanged for about 10 years. The GSs are a bit wider thru the frame rails than the CBs (which is part of the reason they handle better) so its hard to find seat pans that fit RIGHT. This one i made based on the GS frame, so it fits perfectly. I plan on doing a bit of GS cafe parts in fiberglass in the future, for sale to those who want them. THis is one of the tanks im considering to put on this. I have a couple that ive hand beat, some more intensely than others, this is kind of in between.

 

[lostsoul74]

yea, i like that tank better, is that an 1100 tank with the knee indents? Whats the radiator shop charge to do a tank?? or should i just stick with 24 dollar red-kote (i've heard bad things about kreem).

 

[sonnygs1100]

yea, i like that tank better, is that an 1100 tank with the knee indents? Whats the radiator shop charge to do a tank?? or should i just stick with 24 dollar red-kote (i've heard bad things about kreem).

you can buy meratic acid at ace for 3.99 per gallon , its what radiator shops use . it will clean the toughest rust out of a tank . use gloves and do it out side

 

[TheCafeKid]

yea, i like that tank better, is that an 1100 tank with the knee indents? Whats the radiator shop charge to do a tank?? or should i just stick with 24 dollar red-kote (i've heard bad things about kreem).

nope, thats a stock 77-79 750 tank that i beat the knee indents into. This one, as i said, is kinda middle of the road as far as how dramatic the indents are.. One of my other ones is much more drastic.

 

[Zerofreeze]

How did you beat the indents in?? Wanted to do the indents to my bike but wasnt sure how to go about it??

 

[lostsoul74]

you can buy meratic acid at ace for 3.99 per gallon , its what radiator shops use . it will clean the toughest rust out of a tank . use gloves and do it out side

thanks sonny, didnt know that. got plenty of that already cause i use it to clean tile work.

 

[lostsoul74]

nice work cafekid, i'm impressed.

 

[TheCafeKid]

thanks guys. Zerofreeze, its relatively simple. decide the pattern you want, looks, functionality of where they would fall acording to your knees when on the bike. Make a paper pattern based on this so you can match the sides up (DO NOT use the tank badge mounts as a reference, they are NOT in the same location side to side, despite how they may look, ask how i know) Mark the pattern on the tank with a sharpie or whatever, and use a ball peen or a deadblow hammer, working about a half inch inside your line along the pattern. You dont want to get TOO much deeper in one spot than any other, or you'll start to develop a crease, which is a pain to get flat again. Work along the top line moving back to front, then the bottom line, back to front. Then come across the middle. Carefull here, as even slight blows will push it in quickly. You'll get a feel for how much pressure is needed to get the result you want, and once you have your basis lines set, it will pretty much do what you ask it to. I would suggest using a spare old crappy tank as a practice medium, but I didnt and got lucky on my first one. After you have it pretty uniform on both sides, and the depth and degree you want the indents, you'll need to go over it with some body filler to smooth things out. This is the tricky part, as getting the bondo to work in the compound curves is tough (for me at least, i had no experience with bondo prior) keep working light coats of bondo till you achieve the desired look. Mind you, it will take alot of work and patience to get them PERFECTLY smooth. I still havent gotten to that point yet.

 

[lostsoul74]

go to YouTube.com and type in hammering tank indents, you can leaern ANYTHING on youtube, i just learned custom concrete countertops last month and made some for home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou-1adqRyVU

 

[Craiger]

go to YouTube.com and type in hammering tank indents, you can leaern ANYTHING on youtube, i just learned custom concrete countertops last month and made some for home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou-1adqRyVU

Sweet! I think the only thing really required for this project is the nerve to do it. I believe I'm going to add this to my list of things to do with my 850G. Thanks for the link!

 

[supergrafx]

go to YouTube.com and type in hammering tank indents, you can leaern ANYTHING on youtube, i just learned custom concrete countertops last month and made some for home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou-1adqRyVU

Thanks for the link!