Seat cover compromise

[UK Pete]

I am looking around trying procure a decent seat cover for my 69 diecast, it seems that the only one to have mastered a near replica of the original is yamiya, however the price is outrageous with shipping and inmport tax i am looking at over £250 of my hard earned money just for the cover, no way am i going to pay that, as i progress with my restoration i have been fleeced for so much money already just to get hard to find parts, there are so many things with a hefty price tag, some you just have to buy, some you make a compromise, for me i am going to make a compromise on the seat cover, trouble is which is the next best down from yamiya, DS, Z1, and most of the ebay sellers all seem to sell the smooth puffy rounded vinyl that looks so cheap and un-original,
There must be an inbetween,  something that is somewhere near , after all my bike will be a mix of  its original parts, NOS parts correct for the year, reproduction parts, and replacment aftermarket parts, but as like all of us i want to keep a sensible budget and have a good credible Honest bike ,
I understand on a £20,000- £30,000 sandcast the need for everything to be the best money can buy, but with an early diecast the open wallet ready to spend top dollar on everthing is not an option i can afford,
Is there any recomendations?  i can't be alone on this one
Pete

[kettle738]

Hi Pete, I know exactly how you feel about the wallet emptying potential of these bikes and bikes in general.  My K0 is nice now, but a certain Norton Commando is slowly bleeding me dry.

I have used Pit replica covers for a CB450 Bomber, a Suzuki GT750J, a Suzuki RE5 and latterly the Commando.  The reason I use Pit Replicas now is they are actually tailored to fit....that is to say the side skirts of the seat have a tailored hem made to line up with and attach to the original hooks on the seat base.  Every other type I have ever used rely on leaving the side skirt over long, glueing it to the seat base and then trimming back, which unless you are very careful and methodical is a recipe for a mess.

Secondly, Pit Replica seem to use vinyl that is reasonably black; modern vinyls seem to be dark grey compared to the Honda original and they also seem to lack the shine and very fine grain of the original material.  I went down the Yamiya route, but it was eye wateringly expensive...the seat is brilliant, absolutely bang on but I couldn't afford to do it again.  I haven't seen a Pit replica CB750 cover in the flesh and the ones I have used were not perfect...the bomber seat logo was not correct...but then nor were most of the others available.  Looking at their ebay listing the Honda logo is in white; the guy who answers the e mails there is very agreeable and would probably print it in light grey if you asked, particularly if you tell him that is how they should be.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HONDA-CB750-CB750K0-SEAT-COVER-HCVE-/170737372494?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27c0bd8d4e&vxp=mtr

Lastly, as it happens I have a spare unused K0 cover that I'm never going to use, I can't recall where it came from and I dont know if I have the strap, but it's yours if you want it.....send me a pm with your e mail and I will send some pics. I don't think I'm too far from you either......... Romney Marsh.

Mick.