New Seat

Gone in 60

Road warrior
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A short while back, flt996 was very generous to offer a spare OEM seat on the forum. It is in perfect shape, and just a tad nicer than the original seat on my '13. A perfect opportunity to take my seat and have it redone to add some style and comfort.

After checking out a few upholstery shops in the area, I saw a guy commenting on Yelp about a shop that was just across the street from my office. I walked my seat over to BJ's Trim Shop, and "Bugs" as he introduced himself, asked what I wanted to do with the seat. After I gave a vague description, he started sketching on the seat with a piece of chalk, and the design looked great. I left the seat with him, and got the call today that it was ready.

I really like the new look. It's hard to tell, but the top pleated panel has tiny perforations in the vinyl. He matched the down-angle piece on the side to line up with the original, which mimics the frame tube just under the seat. And, he put some added foam on top for a bit more comfort. If I ever want to switch back, I've got a spare.

I rode the Bonneville to work today, so I won't be able to see what it looks like on the bike until tomorrow.
 
Looks good to me, Gone.
 
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No sir, it is not. It is the lush artificial landscape that adorns the creepy motel that sits between the upholstery shop and my office. I was just excited to take a picture as soon as I got the seat, and it seemed like a lovely backdrop.
 
Gone in 60_imp said:
No sir, it is not. It is the lush artificial landscape that adorns the creepy motel that sits between the upholstery shop and my office. I was just excited to take a picture as soon as I got the seat, and it seemed like a lovely backdrop.
It worked!

:cool:
 
Looks a great deal more comfortable than the original one, well done Gone.
Just check the clearance between the seat and the tank, possibly needs some protection on the tank like my one.
 
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Got to work this morning on the CB, and put the new seat on before I rolled her into the dark shop for the day. I think it adds some style to the bike, and the ten-foot ride into her parking spot in the shop proved to be very comfortable.

Max, good point to protect the tank where the seat rubs against it. Actually, I put some clear tape between the tank and seat right when I bought the bike.
 
That looks like a nice improvement, very professionally looking.
Just great when you have craftsmen who have the ability to turn out such a good job after much practice and skill.
If you wanted to add a honda logo to the back of the seat like the original have a look at this video;


If it was me i would have added a piece of masking tape and made sure it looked straight first and then align the stencil, once the paint is dry any faults in alignment stand out for a long time.
And and there are some stencils on ebay;
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3936275423...CwrI%3D|clp:2334524|tkp:Bk​9SR9bm2NeiXw

Actually more than one just in case but it's a start.
 
Thread starter
Thanks, Max. I was actually looking at stencils. But, the luggage rack and box sort of obscure the back of the seat, so it wouldn't be that visible unless you are looking at it from the angle that I took the picture. Still on the fence about doing it, but my goal was to try to have something that could look like it came OEM on the bike.

The guy is a craftsman. He was working on other projects, including an airplane interior. His only online presence is a Yelp review, and I asked if he wanted me to try to steer him some more business. He shrugged, and said he's got all he can handle from word-of-mouth. "I've been trying to retire but people keep finding me."
 
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Thanks, Kiowa. It did add a little height, as he put an additional layer of foam on top. Not a lot, but noticeable. The butt dyno will determine how much of an improvement it makes on the ride home tonight.
 
Thread starter
It’s very comfortable. This is funny, when I first got on the road tonight, I thought someone in the shop might have bumped my mirrors. It dawned on me that I was sitting a bit higher, so I had to adjust them slightly. The slight increase in height felt nice, and put my knees in a more natural position as well. I like it!
 
Gone in 60_imp said:
It’s very comfortable. This is funny, when I first got on the road tonight, I thought someone in the shop might have bumped my mirrors. It dawned on me that I was sitting a bit higher, so I had to adjust them slightly. The slight increase in height felt nice, and put my knees in a more natural position as well. I like it!
Hey ya. Kinda like sittin' on an ol' Bonnie?
 
When I had the '05 H-D Sportster Roadster I had a local shop add some extra padding into the seat, and it felt great. I'm thinking of doing the same to the CB seat since it feels like a plank after about an hour. At stop lights I stand up on the road and get some blood flow into my keister. The seat on my Suzi is very comfy and I wonder it it could be mimicked on the CB.
 
Beautiful job! I wish I had a spare seat(-pan) to try out something similar. I don't want to run the risk of potentially ending up with a uncomfortable seat with my only original seat.
 
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