Hi Chaps,
I've long wanted to fit a sprung seat to my Bobber as I love this classic look. I have been mulling over the concept all winter and gone back and forth on various ideas of how I can accomplish this in a way that would give me the 'look' I want. I've taken a different and unique direction with this project and wanted to share it with you all. Now I know it's not going to be to everyones taste, especially all you 'floating seat' fan boys but that's not the point. So what follows is a modest write up on how I have accomplished this. I have not 'lived' with this as yet so maybe an update after a little more riding time but I just finished fitting it and didn't want to wait to share it.
First off the seat. This was an inexpensive purchase off of ebay and is a reproduction of the classic 'Lycette' style of seat found on vintage British bikes. It's well made and I thought the style would be an interesting option for that classic British look. This is the large version of the seat. There is a smaller version (think BSA Bantam) that if one were thinking of a vintage bobber look, I think would work really well but for my project I chose the larger seat.
The front pivot bracket was made to my design by a local custom bike guy, then powder coated along with the springs. It's the first iteration of this, so may make changes down the road.
The rear spring mounts along with the springs were ebay purchases.
Due to the size of the seat I had to mount the springs on the rear sub-frame/swinging arm. Not my first choice or perhaps ideal but I was limited to location due to the size of the seat. However this has worked out rather well and looks pretty clean. I did have to remove the chain guard but didn't like it in the first place so no big loss. To date I have had no issues with the seat impacting the rear fending. Long term I may have mountings welded to the swing arm to help line up the springs more correctly and give an overall cleaner look but for now this will help me try the concept out.
I'm loving the overall 'unique' and vintage look of this set up. I love looking to the past for inspiration and this mod fits in well with my overall vision. From a comfort perspective; a spring constructed seat (as apposed to foam/gel), an under sprung seat and my new Wilbers shock which should be here soon, I'm hoping the ride will be pretty comfortable but will of course update you all a little further down the road.
So just to clarify; this project has just been finished and I wanted to share it straight away. I will have to get a few rides in to see how it really works and will update in a few days with more details. At the moment it's a proof of concept, so I'm expecting some 'tweaking' here and there.
The test ride went well and it seems to work really well. I gave it a ride over some deep bumps and the seat soaked up those really well. Can't wait now for the Wilbers, I think the combination will be superb.
Cheerio,
Roy
I've long wanted to fit a sprung seat to my Bobber as I love this classic look. I have been mulling over the concept all winter and gone back and forth on various ideas of how I can accomplish this in a way that would give me the 'look' I want. I've taken a different and unique direction with this project and wanted to share it with you all. Now I know it's not going to be to everyones taste, especially all you 'floating seat' fan boys but that's not the point. So what follows is a modest write up on how I have accomplished this. I have not 'lived' with this as yet so maybe an update after a little more riding time but I just finished fitting it and didn't want to wait to share it.
First off the seat. This was an inexpensive purchase off of ebay and is a reproduction of the classic 'Lycette' style of seat found on vintage British bikes. It's well made and I thought the style would be an interesting option for that classic British look. This is the large version of the seat. There is a smaller version (think BSA Bantam) that if one were thinking of a vintage bobber look, I think would work really well but for my project I chose the larger seat.
The front pivot bracket was made to my design by a local custom bike guy, then powder coated along with the springs. It's the first iteration of this, so may make changes down the road.
The rear spring mounts along with the springs were ebay purchases.
Due to the size of the seat I had to mount the springs on the rear sub-frame/swinging arm. Not my first choice or perhaps ideal but I was limited to location due to the size of the seat. However this has worked out rather well and looks pretty clean. I did have to remove the chain guard but didn't like it in the first place so no big loss. To date I have had no issues with the seat impacting the rear fending. Long term I may have mountings welded to the swing arm to help line up the springs more correctly and give an overall cleaner look but for now this will help me try the concept out.
I'm loving the overall 'unique' and vintage look of this set up. I love looking to the past for inspiration and this mod fits in well with my overall vision. From a comfort perspective; a spring constructed seat (as apposed to foam/gel), an under sprung seat and my new Wilbers shock which should be here soon, I'm hoping the ride will be pretty comfortable but will of course update you all a little further down the road.
So just to clarify; this project has just been finished and I wanted to share it straight away. I will have to get a few rides in to see how it really works and will update in a few days with more details. At the moment it's a proof of concept, so I'm expecting some 'tweaking' here and there.
The test ride went well and it seems to work really well. I gave it a ride over some deep bumps and the seat soaked up those really well. Can't wait now for the Wilbers, I think the combination will be superb.
Cheerio,
Roy