I’ve managed to put Bultakenstein back on my radar screen. One of several reasons for its lengthy hibernation has been my reluctance to do any structural welding on the frame, which is necessary to mount the rear of the crankcase, the next logical step. (Another is my reluctance to inflict the sound of my air compressor and air grinder on my wife’s ear – my workshop is directly under our kitchen and bedroom.) I finally gave in and decided enlist the help of a local pro welding shop. As I started looking forward at what alterations it will need beyond the additional transverse frame tubes I’ve already discussed, so I can get all the alterations done right, and at the same time. I started considering changes to the seat area. The rear of the frame is not very conducive due a different seat design due to the way the rear frame tubes curve up high, right in the middle of where my butt will be located.
The little triangle in front of these tubes is too small and much too far forward to suffice for a seat base. In order to accommodate an adult-size posterior, the seat would need to sit on top of these frame tubes. I found a seat on Ebay that was about the size and shape I wanted: A Honda NU50 Urban Express. As a bonus, it had some cool detailing in the vinyl cover and it was fairly cheap and plentiful I can get a replacement if this one starts looking shabby.
Unfortunately, setting it on the frame makes the problem quite apparent.
The NU seat turned out to pleasantly be pretty much exactly what I had pictured in my mind, but if I choose to attach this seat on the stock frame so that its level, the whole thing will sit way too high. I did a quick Photoshop sketch to see how I’d like it to sit:
This will obviously require some cutting and re-welding on the rear of the frame. I told myself early on that I wasn’t going to fall into that trap of hacking up the frame, but now I’m losing my resolve on this point.
