The Beginnings of a Little Cafe Racer ..... GS250 Twin ...Cafenated

[bhppy101]

this thing is pretty badass. i like where its going. how are you gonna mount the seat pan? velcro?

After the pan hardens, I drill holes to bolt it to the seat. I usually use three 1/4" bolts....one on the back rest (or you might call it @ss rest...lol) one in the middle....and one in the front of the seat. I put the bolts in and glass the heads directly to the pan once they are pushed through so that you get 3 studs sticking out of the bottom of the pan ....than you thighten them up directly under the seat with washers and nuts.

I'll post some pics to better explain the process.

[txironhead]

Have you ever considered "T-nuts"? I've used them a lot when fabricating sissy bar backrests. There are some with teeth for driving into wood, and smooth ones for setting into fiberglass or welding on metal. Seems like it would give it a more finished look instead of studs sticking out.

Of course, your bikes have a more finished look than most new factory bikes, so who am I to talk......:?

[bhppy101]

Have you ever considered "T-nuts"? I've used them a lot when fabricating sissy bar backrests. There are some with teeth for driving into wood, and smooth ones for setting into fiberglass or welding on metal. Seems like it would give it a more finished look instead of studs sticking out.

Of course, your bikes have a more finished look than most new factory bikes, so who am I to talk......:?

Like this: :-D



Yep....I've got a billion of these in my parts bin and I've tried using the the smooth blind nuts as well.....but I found that the studs make it easier to locate the seat placement when putting the seat on.

[bhppy101]

Ok...pulled off the seat pan.....as you can see...I used more than 2 layers of tape. This makes it easier to pull the pan off the seat.

I removed the tape (blue painters tape makes it easier to take the tape off). I trimmed the seat pan just past the lines that where naturally made by the edges of the seat.

[bhppy101]

After trimming the pan about an 1/8" inside of the seat.... I marked and drilled the mounting holes.

After drilling I put some strips of tape on the cowl so that when I fiberglass my bolts in...any seepage wont stick to the actual seat.

[bhppy101]

I pushed some 1/4" bolts through the pan and the seat. I took some fiberglass matting and cut it to shreds so that it's like strands of hair....the reason I do that is so the fiberglass can mould itself and contour around and on top of the bolt head....

I brushed on some resin and added about 4 layers of fiberglass cloth (cut into squares) on top of each bolt head. I'll wait about 45 minutes for it to cure than I'll add my seat foam and shape it to the pan.

[txironhead]

Have you ever considered using neoprene (wetsuit material, specifically) for your seat fabric? Wonderful stuff, waterproof and much more comfortable than vinyl or leather.

[bhppy101]

Have you ever considered using neoprene (wetsuit material, specifically) for your seat fabric? Wonderful stuff, waterproof and much more comfortable than vinyl or leather.

Thats a great idea!!....I need to find out where I can get a hold of some black.

Funny thing is.....I use Neoprene just about every day out in the water....lol

[AOD]

Surfing...motorcylce customization....man, I'm in the wrong engineering work because I don't have that much time!

Great stuff so far, fun to see how you put it all together. I'm picking up my CB500 this weekend, so I'm antsy to work on it too!

You ever try painting a chrome fender? A paint-matched fender would look pretty neat on that bike.

~Adam

[Mike_H]

Surfing...motorcylce customization....man, I'm in the wrong engineering work because I don't have that much time!

Great stuff so far, fun to see how you put it all together. I'm picking up my CB500 this weekend, so I'm antsy to work on it too!

You ever try painting a chrome fender? A paint-matched fender would look pretty neat on that bike.

~Adam

You and me both brother...Ol' bhppy101 here has turned out about 3 bikes in the time that I haven't even finished one... He must be a consultant!

[AOD]

Of course, we're sitting here on our computer and bhppy101 is probably out in his garage working away.

(I did spend about 2 hours in my garage this evening though...)

~Adam

[bhppy101]

You guys are cracking me up!! =D>

I think when you do as many bikes as I've gone through....you guys would probably be faster than I am!!....lol

Heres a pic of the studs sticking out from the bottom of the pan




and heres some a pic earlier today!




LOL......I had to add that one!

[bhppy101]

ok... I cut some seat foam and shaped it down with a disc sander. I use 3m contact spray adhesive to stick the foam to the pan. I will also use it to stretch the vinyl and adhere it to the foam as well.

[bhppy101]

You ever try painting a chrome fender? A paint-matched fender would look pretty neat on that bike.

~Adam

I paint match most of my fenders... This one will be painted soon.... People ask me how I do it and make it stick.....the answer is to sand it down using 80 grit and a power disc sander.... and use a good quality primer! such as evercoat or ppg. Believe it or not....I have actually used Industrial strength Rustoleum spray on fenders with good results.

Another cheap paint trick when painting your frames.... I always use RUSTOLEUM OIL based brush on paint. It comes by the quart or the gallon...you can get it at Home Depot.....and Walmart even sells it. Just use a foam brush and paint away!... This stuff is self leveling and is the toughest paint I've ever used! almost looks like powdercoating. The only drawback is that it takes forever to dry! a couple of days!

[bhppy101]