New Custom Seat on my VN 750

[burkbuilds]

I've been working on this a little at a time for almost six months and I finally got it in gear and finished. I just wasn't comfortable on the O.E. seat and wanted something I could ride all day without being in pain, but I also wanted it to look good. I've done custom seats on my other bikes and although they have been very comfortable I was never that happy with the look. This time I'm pleased with my results both visually and from the comfort aspect too.
I started with an OE seat pan, added some plywood to get the seat shape I wanted and then fiber-glassed the entire thing together. Then I added seat foam I bought from Sargent's in Florida and sculpted it to fit my fanny and give me the support I knew would keep me pain free on long rides. Finally I had a local shop, Brother's Upholstery, cover it in some top grade vinyl. Ron, at Brother's, is a fellow rider and he's covered several seats for me in the past and I've always been pleased with his work. So here area a few photos of the finished product.

[Water Warrior 2]

I like the new seat. Nice and wide so you don't feel like you are straddling a fence rail. Very nice appearance and sharp upholstery. :2tup:

[PimpS]

Waw! Burk i haven't noticed you have vn 750. I like that bike very much, but i think it's too fast for me. Nice seat too!

[burkbuilds]

Thanks guys. As to the 750 being fast, well, yeah it has more top end than the GZ250 but it will not go any faster than you give it throttle for, so you are still in control. I like the 750, but I haven't put that many miles on it yet mainly because of the OE seat. Now I'm ready to put a few more miles on it and see how it does between here and Atlanta this Summer, about a 250 mile round trip for me. We've been having unseasonably warm weather most of this Winter and the last few weeks it's been in the 70-80 degree range almost every day. You just can't get much better weather to ride in than we've been having recently.

[blaine]

Originally Posted by burkbuilds

Thanks guys. As to the 750 being fast, well, yeah it has more top end than the GZ250 but it will not go any faster than you give it throttle for, so you are still in control.

Much difference than the 500?? :cool: :??:

[PimpS]

As I know some specs about vn750, it's a small but capable cardan driven machine, and especially vn750 were known as a bikes that many bikers made fun of them, when they were parked beside the bar, but when the bikers were driving together and when you needed your scoot to take over or make it fast fast and keep it fast, vn750 made it's way to a next bar much faster. This is as i recall it from reading forums and specs of this bike. They had some issues with electricity, but the last years of making (i think the last year of making was 2006) did all the bugs. Bike haven't changed a lot since 1987 and it's known by the gadgets that many cruisers doesn't have even today (revmeter, fuel meter...etc).
I find it as great oldskool (with touch of modernism in 80's).
Burk, I agree absolutely that the man is in control of throttle, but i'm just saying that, cause momentarily, knowing myself, i'm glad mine gz doesn't go more than 110 km/h, i like it that way, when i'll be bored, let's say more experienced, i'll go for stronger

[PimpS]

Blaine, guy who bought the vn750 that i was interested in, later he was selling it and i talked to him why, he said that he's buying some vintage oldtimer american muscle car but the memory of vn750 will stay with him as i already stated; powerful and speedfreak of a bike, he told me that had a power of 1000ccm, actually i think it has about 65 hp. Which is quite good for cruizer. It has about 200 km/h top speed...

i'll post the pic of a bike i wanted to buy...

[blaine]

The reason I was asking if there was much difference between the VN750 & the EN500 is that burkbuilds has both and could make a good comparison between both.I have the fore runner of the 500 (Ninja & Vulcan).The 454 ltd (en450).It has a top speed of 200 km,10,000 rpm,and 55 hp.It is very capable for a bike of 450cc,and can beat bikes twice it's size off the line,and cruise at 70 to 80 all day.The Vulcan,although bored 50cc's larger had less hp,because of cam design & carb size.


:cool:

[burkbuilds]

Hey Blaine,
I really only have good things to say about any of the bikes I've owned, Gz250, Vulcan 500 and the VN 750 are all excellent bikes and they all have been a lot of fun to

ride and easy to maintain and reliable. :2tup:

Having said that, they are all very different in many ways. The GZ handles easily, gets wonderful gas mileage, and I really enjoyed riding it everywhere except I-75.

The Vulcan 500 is a really smooth running bike with an amazing top end for a relatively small engine, and still gets mid to upper 50's in gas mileage. I've ridden my 09

almost 44,000 miles in three years and it has been and continues to be a great bike. I've ridden from Chattanooga to Panama City Beach on it twice and back and

forth to Atlanta on I-75 almost every week for two years and I have no complaints. The VN750 has more vibration than the 500, but it also has a lot of low end

torque to get up and out of the gate super fast. I don't have any idea what it's top speed is but in a sprint it would blow the doors off the 500. The 750 has some

really nice features for a bike this size, self adjusting hydraulic valves, shaft drive, dual front brakes, factory speedometer and tachometer, and a nice deep rumble if

you are interested in the way it sounds. The 750 also handles more easily than either the 500 or the 250 and I love taking twisty mountain roads with it. I've also

noticed that I am more stable at low speed turning on the 750 than I am on the 500.

Somebody previously mentioned the 750's achilles heal is the electrical output. Historically the stator has a tendency to burn up and because of the way the motor fits

in the cradle, you have to remove the engine to get the stator out. Recommended upgrades are a maintenance free gel battery, moving the rectifier out from under

the battery box where it tends to overheat and putting it where airflow moves over it, and not adding electrical accessories to the bike. I've done all that and I'm

hopeful that I'll dodge the stator bullet because there does not seem to be an option to replace the OE one with anything better. I was in the Kawi dealers last month

and the owner has a 750 and he burned his up and was getting ready to remove the engine to replace it. Because of the potential electrical issues, I don't have all the

nice Winter stuff I have on my 500 installed on the 750, things like heated grips and accessory plugs for my heated jacket and gloves, so I probably won't ride it much

in the dead of Winter. I enjoy riding the 750 the most around town and for riding in the mountains and such, but the 500 is really a great highway bike and just purrs

along all day at 75-80 as smooth as silk. I hope that answers your questions.

[blaine]

Thanks burkbuilds.That's my only peeve with the 500 (454) needing to adjust the valves every 6000 to 7500 km. :cool: