When you talk about lines and stuff you totally lose me, I'm a function over form kinda rider :| and for me either of those saddles would force me too far forward on the bike, which would make it less functional. Motorcycles that have a seat/tail like that would also have a longer fuel tank.
or you are way tiny then me and ride weird.
this will have a 3/4 fairing on the front. 2 light style. but based on Trailrider's comments and these pics, I may go with the longer version of this seat. TBD, but thanks for the input.
Don't do it because I said so, do what makes sense for you to ride it
Your saddle should probably start about 24 inches back from the steering head bolt and extend to about 36 inches back from the steering head bolt to where your bum hits a back stop. How close is your saddle to that now?
from steering head bolt to the back edge of gas tank is 25". from there to where my "bum" sits is 35". that's if I keep the seat flush to the tank. my though is to move the seat back 1" and leave a gap which I could fill by extending the seat padding 1" beyond the end of the seat pan. as the seat padding will be custom, I think they can do that. I've seen examples of this where it looks pretty good.
Some day you are going to bump up against that hump hard and your ass is going to thank me for the extra inch lol and that sounds totally perverted but I'm too lazy to reword it.
with the rear suspension fully bottomed out ,i think the seat then should be moved back to have an inch clearance to the tire
this would be at the radius curve as seat platform curves upward
then you can put a nice firm but ample layer of cushion on it
Still delayed in getting in for the frame work, so thought i'd work on the electronics box under the seat. First take was a bit of a miss. But at least it provided me with a template for a better template. Take 2 involved much more measurements and thought processing.
There will be a 3rd take before etching it onto metal and cutting it out. i'm trying to make it with as few seams as possible, since part of it will be hanging down. Question for the experts; aluminum or steel. i'm thinking aluminum for ease of working with and weight. but never having created one of these, maybe steal for better grounding?
I ain’t no expert, but either way is fine. Personally I would make it out of aluminum, but doesn’t really matter. They use aluminum for wiring , so grounding isn’t an issue. You can get some festering between copper and aluminum connections, so if you go that route, get a tube of this goo at your local hardware store.
Ps... making templates to make templates to make patterns is normal. You can use a hot glue gun to hold pieces of patterns together, then once sorted, you can use it to make a proper pattern. My daughter in-law thinks I’m into arts and crafts....
Still delayed in getting in for the frame work, so thought i'd work on the electronics box under the seat. First take was a bit of a miss. But at least it provided me with a template for a better template. Take 2 involved much more measurements and thought processing.
There will be a 3rd take before etching it onto metal and cutting it out. i'm trying to make it with as few seams as possible, since part of it will be hanging down. Question for the experts; aluminum or steel. i'm thinking aluminum for ease of working with and weight. but never having created one of these, maybe steal for better grounding?
are you having it made or are u making it yourself?
sounds like you are having it made because if you were going to build and weld yourself, you would already know what you are capable of.
steel is easier to weld, can be welded to frame to simplify mounting, more reliable ground (?).
but steel requires coating/painting/anodizing to prevent rust.
planning to make it myself. leaning towards aluminum. I have aluminum welding rods which don't require specialized welding skills (which I don't have) to create a decent bead. going to see if I can heat the metal and bend it first, then weld what few seams I have left. Also, thought it would be a good learning experience for me without; a) a lot of costs; and b) impacting the overall project (i.e. have professionally done what needs to be professionally done).
No worries about aluminum it is a dandy conductor of electricity.
You know those big power lines over head!
ACSR Aluminum alloy conductor wrapped around a steel reinforcing cable, the aluminum carries the power and the steel is in there so it don't break.
... cold form your aluminum, heating it won't work so good.
Aluminum welding rod isn't all that difficult to work if you have good power adjustment. Don't burn your retinas out! The blinding light emitted is intense beyond your imagination.
planning to make it myself. leaning towards aluminum. I have aluminum welding rods which don't require specialized welding skills (which I don't have) to create a decent bead. going to see if I can heat the metal and bend it first, then weld what few seams I have left. Also, thought it would be a good learning experience for me without; a) a lot of costs; and b) impacting the overall project (i.e. have professionally done what needs to be professionally done).
You don’t need to heat the aluminum sheet to bend it. Depending on which grade you are using, you may need to anneal it. It will help prevent cracking and make it much easier to form. If you do want to anneal it (and I would recommend doing that), draw on the panel with a sharpie and then heat it until the ink just burns off. There are more accurate ways to gauge the proper annealing temperature, but you are just building a box. Just let the aluminum cool to room temperature and then start bending. Maybe do a test piece first to get the hang of it. It makes it way easier to bend. Lots of types will work. I have been using 3003 and it works well. One way is... you can sandwich the sheet between wood blocks (cut to the shape of your box base) and use that to form the sides. Lots of different ways to do it.
There is a place in Ambatolampy Madagascar that could cast you up almost anything imaginable out of scrap aluminum, if you ever get the chance, go there.
I never looked at aluminum the same after seeing those guys work with it.
most all aluminum used in fabrication is heat treated tyo a certain value relating to the end bit like T6 IN 6061 T6
anyway there are engineered standards for the minimum radius of forming die that can be used
most of it needs to be formed around a large radius conmpared to mild steels
when i was a kid we used a lot of 50 series that my dad would bring home
you know scrap drops off the shear
any it is a lot more of a radius than one would imagine to avoid damaging the metals integrirty
this page has the standards
for example 1/8'' thick 6061t6 needs a radius 2-1/2 times its thickness so that = sa 5/8'' round bar to bend/form it over
5052 is plenty strong but can deal with about half that radius in t6
and see his note that these values can almost be halved "if necessary" lol Sheat metal bend radii tables
Preferred recommended 90 degree bend radii for various sheet metals.
ALUMINUM
Where necessary 5052-H32 may be bent to 1T and 6061-T6 to 1-1/2T
well, i'm back. Reinforcing frame mods and a fairing mount were added to this project. It's been at the shop and since i turn my attentions to snowmobiles this time of year, i've not focused on this project. Also, i did a pre-build of the bike to make sure i've got a plan for once I get the engine painted and the newly modified frame powder coated.
speaking of engine painting, soda blasted the parts i plan to paint.
Long time no see all,
Some of you may remember me from about two years ago, I built the silver CX500 cafe and was working on a 1970 CL100 race/cafe thing. Needless to say I had to put it on hold for a while because of the Army.
Long story short, I returned back to Texas from Afghanistan in...
[Not So Low] Budget Parts-Bin Bultaco
Since someone asked, "Building a bike from scratch, worth it?" elsewhere on this forum (http://www.caferacer.net/forum/general/16705-building-bike-scratch-worth.html), I thought I would start a build log on my own budget scratch build. Okay, so at this...
Hi, I haven't posted for quite a while but I've finally retired, last week, so I thought I'd try again. I have cooled off on building crazy, modified, café bikes? and am now more interested in doing something a little more practical? I hope. I've still been buying up old Honda parts and stuff...
So I bought this clean one owner out of Orange county California for the foundation of my build, smelled like cat pee and was full of fur and bugs.
Stuck it my fiends 85 Audi 5000 Turbo Diesel Automatic Station wagon and drove my prize home.
And now the fun begins.
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So I recently purchased an 81 CM400T. I know there's alot of people who advise against getting a CM to build a Cafe, but I decided to give it a shot. So the question I have right now is regarding the seat. I've done my research and seen several CM's with the seat I'm going for but I can't seem...
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