Cafe seat build...

[80GS750]

wow this is a pretty sweet project you got going, im definately subscribing

[beergood]

Your seat is coming along quite nicely. For what it's worth, I would hollow that seat out and throw a set of gloves, tools and a rag. If you are more ambitious, figure out a way to move the electricals under there. That is what I am going to do, then lose the side panels. Imagine how clean that will make your bike.

You could leave the foam in to add strength, but think about this, when are you going to need that? Glass is pretty strong stuff as it is, so the only reason I could see you needing it is if: a. you are standing on your tail section, b. your bike is standing on it's tail section. And either way I think you are probably screwed.

One thing I learned from looking at your pictures that will make building my next tailsection easier: Have another dude there. An extra brain and two extra hands would have been worth gold.

[TheCafeKid]

Your seat is coming along quite nicely. For what it's worth, I would hollow that seat out and throw a set of gloves, tools and a rag. If you are more ambitious, figure out a way to move the electricals under there. That is what I am going to do, then lose the side panels. Imagine how clean that will make your bike.

You could leave the foam in to add strength, but think about this, when are you going to need that? Glass is pretty strong stuff as it is, so the only reason I could see you needing it is if: a. you are standing on your tail section, b. your bike is standing on it's tail section. And either way I think you are probably screwed.

One thing I learned from looking at your pictures that will make building my next tailsection easier: Have another dude there. An extra brain and two extra hands would have been worth gold.

I thought about moving the battery, but my frame is cut real short. Right behind the shocks, so there's not enough frame there to support a pan to mount the battery on. So that shot that out. I'd like to get rid of the side covers, but they dont look too bad, and i just dont see another way around it. Yeah n1elkyfan was a huge help. I wouldnt have done it without his guidance i dont think, just cause i can be gutless like that at times. I had never worked with the stuff, didnt really know how to go about doing it, and he more or less talked me into it being easy. It really wasnt that hard. Just messy.

[dardoonk]

Cafe, how will this be secured to the bike? Maybe you can fab a sturdy base out of 1/4" ABS to fit under the pan and sit on top of the frame rails. That would offer enough support to mount a bracket and allow the battery to relocated too.

[TheCafeKid]

Im not sure if even that would be sturdy enough. Plus, im not entirely sure how safe it would be back there with vibration. Mayhaps id need a sealed battery. Anyone ever done this before?? I know a few of the guys on the DoTheTon site have, and they had to super secure it back there.

See what im sayin??



Kurt, have any ideas??

[GSmadness]

Do you have a welder TCK? if so just weld a plate to the frame where you need it, then hit it with that same paint. If not i think you are going to need to get kinda creative with some wood and fiberglass. Either way it soundn't be too hard to get your battery in your seat pan. Good luck keep us all informed.
~Scott

[TheCafeKid]

I dunno what i'd do with all the other whatnots mounted on the batt box either..

[Ironriot]

I'd go with the sealed battery and maybe a little strip of metal tacked in that way you can just lay the battery down inside the seat pan.... The electronics would be a different story though....

[dardoonk]

+1 on the sealed battery. Maybe the ABS wouldn't be strong enough since I forgot there wouldn't be any frame rail support. Maybe some aluminum, or glass in the ABS for a firmer mount point?

You could move your regulator anywhere, maybe even get it in a location to keep it cooler. If you haven't already done it, you might get a single R/R instead of using the two individual parts.

You could move the signal relay to the tail piece as well, but the only location for the starter relay might be fabbing a small bracket and putting it up closer to the underside of the seat.

[TheCafeKid]

ohhh i didnt think of that at all!! Mount that stuff under the seat pan itself. already purchased one of Duaneages RRs so thats killt. Is it a bad idea to lay a sealed battery over?

[dardoonk]

Like this. Sealed AGM battery can be mounted in any position except upside down.

http://ebatteriestogo.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=EBTG&Product_Code=D5766

Don't forget longer battery cables.:-D

[Zooks]

If you cut small pieces out of soda cans you can impregnate them (strategically) into the glass (as you are making the item) in the spots where you plan to drill holes. This gives the 'spot' a lot of rigidity and stops bolts from tearing out of the glass. It works like an 'inbuilt' washer. You can also use insect mesh (metal or glass), shadecloth or bird wire / fencing wire to give extra strength to the end product.

[SDBuckeye]

seat attachment

Hi,
How is this going to be bolted on? I have a plastic seat pan to make a seat out of. I am not finding info--especially pix--on how to attach it to the frame.

Cheers,
Lyle

[beergood]

The plan for my bike is to get a perforated sheet of metal and mount all my electrical components and a sealed battery under the tail. If you do some searching, there are other people on the board that have done the same type of thing.

[TheCafeKid]

Most simply run two bolts through the frame rails. That's probably what i end up doing. I may actually use 4 bolts however. I had thought maybe to use some with wingnuts on them to make it pretty quick to get the pan off should i need to get to the battery or what not.