F2 seat

[heliwilly]

Hi
Where is the best place to buy replacement F2 seat foam and is  there anywher that repairs existing seat covers?
How easy is it to remove the alloy seat edge finishing strip without damaging it.
Thanks
Bill W.

[Trigger]

Rebuilt a few F2 seats in my time but, the foam was always OK. Bob is selling Sliver repro seats so, Bob must be also doing the foam. The strip is easy to get off. Its the rivets that run in the rail that are bent over and when you try to straighten them up, they sometimes snap.
Not many correct seat covers about. Some only have 16 pleats 

[heliwilly]

Hi Trigger,
Thanks for the quick reply.
This is the seat I bought. Seems OK apart from a couple of dents in one of the alloy seat trims, and a small split in the seat pan. Should the split be welded or brazed? That's why I wanted to remove the trims. How easy is it to persuade the trims to come off and leave the rivets in place?
Cheers
Bill W.

[Trigger]

Nice find 

You have to straighten the pins out without snapping then and take the clips off. Here are some pictures of a set of rails off. The rails are not alloy, look more like steel that has been chrome plated.


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[heliwilly]

Thanks Trigger,
That helps immensely. Are the pins mild steel as well?
Bill W.

[Trigger]

Thanks Trigger,
That helps immensely. Are the pins mild steel as well?
Bill W.

The pins are alloy Bill. If you heat them, then there is less chance that they will snap 

[heliwilly]

Thanks Trigger,
I'll warm them up with my soldering iron.
Bill W.

[Trigger]

Try to save that nice original 18 pleat seat cover 

[deltarider]

Congrats on that find. It even has that handy little document compartment that all imitation seats seem to miss.

[heliwilly]

Managed to get the side rails off, all 8 pins and clips intact. One rail has a few dents in it. I might try and tap them out.
I have also taken one of the buckles and the cross strap off. The other JIS headed bolt has been chewed up by someone using a non JIS screwdriver. I left it soaking in penetrating oil.
One thing of concern for me is how tight the cross strap is. The first picture shows how tight it is.
Also, as the strap loops through the buckle, it is fastened, rather crudely, by an over long bolt and nut, plus washers. This, combined with the tight cross strap, has resulted in this long bolt making an indentation in the cover.
Is this original?
For the sake of the seat cover I will replace them with the David Silver aftermarket seat buckle set an hang on to the existing ones, if original.
The reason I want to strip the seat is because the seat pan has a small split that needs welding/brazing.
Onwards and upwards. Bill W.

[Trigger]

The strap is tight on these seats and by your pictures it, looks original.
Strip the pan down, get it welded and then painted. The weak point of any seat pan is the edge 

I may have some original seat rails somewhere 

[heliwilly]

The right hand rail, as seen in the picture is fine. It's the left hand one that has the dents and a scrape on it.
If you have a good set Trigger, all the better. If you can find them, PM me how much you want for them.
Cheers Bill W.

[heliwilly]

Well, That's the seat stripped down.
Cover, original, but a couple of splits.
Foam OK, but a couple of rough bits. Can the rough bits be cut out and replaced? What adhesive is best?
The seat pan itself is rusty in places, with a few splits at the edge. All the splits start at the same point where the integral cover spikes are located. Design fault?
After getting the pan welded and painted, I think I will use some pop riveted on cover spike sets sold by PandK Classic Bikes.
As a matter of interest, how many models share the same seat pan as the CB550?

Bill W

[Trigger]

Do not use those seat spikes on a 550F seat, first they are only upholstery strips and cost penny's to buy and the cut through the cover in the end, with movement of the cover.
The seat cover is very secure with the original fixings and the chrome strips. This seat was only fitted to the 500 F1 and F2 

[heliwilly]

Thanks Trigger,

I'll stay with the original.
Bill.