91
As hard as I tried, I just could not seem to bend a sissy bar to fit the way I wanted it, so, after much begging, 
I was able to obtain an un-chromed sissy bar from Paughco, and even though they don’t make one to fit this 
frame, I got the widest one they had and was able to heat and bend it to fit. 

That’s one of the things about ordering as much as possible from one supplier. If you purchase all of your 
build stuff from one place, as I mentioned, they will sometimes accommodate you in areas like this when 
you need it. It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself, and it was  definitely easier and faster than 
bending another one from scratch. You can send it with your other parts to chrome once you have finished 
getting everything to fit.

Another thing that isn’t an off-the-shelf item is the seat pan. Since I’ve known Bob LePera for too many 
years to count, I called him. If you purchase your seat from LePera you can pay for it and they will send you 
a metal seat pan that you can make fit almost any frame in the industry. When you’re finished with 
fabrication (beating it with a hammer) you can send it back to them for covering. There is an extra charge 
for this feature, but I don’t know anyone else in the industry that will even do this, especially with the top 
quality of the LePera products.

92
When you are building any bike it will often almost talk to you. 
You’ll see what works with it and what doesn’t. I didn’t want a 
solo seat but had compromised with the idea of adding a 
pillion pad. Mike made a pattern for a seat out of cardboard 
and traced it onto the pan. We then cut it out and beat it to fit. 
We put a pillion pad size piece of cardboard on the rear fender and stood back to look at it. It just didn’t 
work, so as you can see, it was back to the drawing board and everyone agreed with me for a change, 
which was a strange twist of events. The final piece looked much better and was sent back to LePera. 
Don’t forget about clearance under the seat for the battery. 

93
Take a look at this finished product: a 
super, top-quality leather seat from 
LePera. It just doesn’t get any better 
than this. Don’t settle for less!