Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories Backrest

Hi,
Has anyone made their own backrest? I am looking to get one without having to buy a Corbin seat. My stock seat is perfect for me since I had gell and memory foam put in it by a friend. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Ron

I couldn't find it but there are several posts about making one that mounts under the pillion.

A few people have simply bent a bracket to sit between the seat and pillion and bolt into the seat bolt.

Bottom of this thread in the Tech Vault

i got a really good backrest from 'PRO-TAC', in n.c. best i remember, 120$-130$, very simple bolt-on brackets, to top OF shock and fender. U-shaped [chromed]support bracket and pad slip in and out for easy/out. works great for me,highly recommended.just made 1100 mile trip to quachita rally,paid for itself on that trip. phone # escapes me.

Here's Pro-Tac'c info
Motorcycle Driver Backrest


Office Hours 9am-5pm E.T. Mon-Fri
Closed some Holidays

Order Line 1-800-698-2678 U.S. only
Outside U.S. 1-864-348-3550
Phone/Fax 1-864-348-3549 e-mail protac@wctel.net

From my photo gallery, pic of bottom side of passenger pillon:


Make the backrest pad as thin as you can so it does not push you forward in the driver's seat.

For those considering the ProTac backrest, I can tell you it's not quite a direct bolt-on for the Speedmaster. Maybe the single/pillion setup on the America is different, but the gunfighter style on the SM is slightly too wide. I really like the backrest, and the price is right, but if you decide to go this route, you'll need to accommodate about one inch of interference between the seat and the two supports for the backrest.

This is what I did. There may be a way to modify the bracket, but I chose to modify the seat instead. I marked the side of the seat where the backrest had to go, then removed the seat. Below the marked area, I removed two or three staples holding the cover to the seat pan. I then used a rotary tool to grind off a half-moon shaped notch on both sides of the seat pan. I made it about half inch deep and about an inch long. I tried to smooth the edges so it wouldn't leave a sharp edge that might damage the cover. Then I just pulled the cover back into place and replaced the staples. Now the backrest slides right into place, and when it's removed the seat looks stock. For $125 and about an hour's effort, it works great.

I bought a 3/16" thick L-shaped shelf bracket and a T-shape piece from Home Depot, and a universal sissybar pad off eBay for a grand total of $14. Bolted the "L" under the pillion seat, and screwed the pad to the "T" and to the "L" bracket, maybe five minutes worth of work.
Makes a world of difference while riding any distance.

Quote:

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Make the backrest pad as thin as you can so it does not push you forward in the driver's seat.
(pics to follow when it's light out)

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Now you tell me... :P

Can you post a pic of the backrest?

Manufactured my own "sissy bar" from the common "concourse seats" found at many major airports...cut the cushion brackets off, rounded edges, and polished. Added aluminum formed center piece and locally made cushion, and "Triumph" stick on emblem onto 737 lavatory mirror material. Looks good to me, that's all that matters....don't know how to post pics, but can see in "photopost" b717doc gallery.

Did you have to do any mod's to make it work on the America??

Tinman,
This is what the Pro-Tac looks like on my 07 SM.

i'm gonna take time out of my busy schedule to say,,,,,,, you can make your own backrest anyway you prefer,,,, the pro-tac is VERY strong,[the angle of the pad support needed to be bent more forward to suit me, i put a conduit bender on it and had to work at it to get a few degrees out], it's not gonna turn loose at 65 mph. i'm not saying not make your own,,, i,m saying they[PRO-TAC] have good quality product at reasonable price, i weigh 230#, want to be careful what i lean against at 70mph. previous Mustang sears with backrests have spoiled me, too bad they don't make anything for us.

What application did you use? Their return e-mail said they didn't offer one to fit my bike..

they offer one for the america

Chy,
They weren't very familiar with the Triumphs. At first he said he had no application for the Speedmaster. When I told him it was almost identical to the America, he said they had one that would fit it. I think he said it was the same as the Honda Magna, but with a different angle on the bracket.

Thanks.. I'm still digging..

when they sent my backresr, upon installation i thought it leaned back too far,,, i called the gentelman and he asked the position [o'clock position] of welded "rod" bracket. itold about 10:00, he said "no problem" and sent me another in 3 days ,at 11:00 position. the backrest still leaned a little too much for me, so i took a little bend outa the backrest support,,, now just right. he said they had'nt made many triumph backrests yet, still in learning curve,, those guys are 1st class to deal with, nice as you want,, as stated before, the rest fits perfectly now and i like it's definitly worth the price. very good quality all,,,,

just a thought,,,,,maybe we all should lobby mustang to make a seat for us, with swivel backreat, man those things are fine!!!i've called them occasionally asking about triumph seats, knowing full well the answer, kinda hoping they'ed see a little interest in this market. anyway,,, i added gel-pad and alaska sheepskin, and backrest for about 250$, i've got pretty good seat now.

Sweet.. contacted Protac directly and have placed my order.. nice folks.. should be here next Tuesday or thereabouts.

Chy:

Did it come yet? If so how do you like it?

Not yet... he says it should be here on Tuesday though.

chy,,, my pad had more backward angle than i wanted so i removed pad from support and placed with "hump" up, put 2x6 on feet and 2x6 on bend and put a little lard on it,,,, had to work at it to get a few degrees out. now the angle of backrest is same as sissy-bar, as viewed from side, as well as fit me better. post how well yours works out, i could send pro-tac my bolt-on bracket and backresr support, let them put a protractor on it and get proper degrees of system, for bemefit of future users. they was real clear they had made just a few for triumph's, i think the way mine ended was what they originally intended. i especially liked the man's attitude at pro-tac, very good to work with, hard to diagnose development problems over phone. i was DETERMINED to put on backrest, so i fixed it myself, no bad reflection on them.

Got my back rest in today.. I'm thinking I'm going to like it a lot. I didn't go for a ride tonight but I'm probably going to ride in to work tomorrow so then we'll see.

What I liked most is the simplicity of it all.. and it's easily removed. Some would probably prefer the mounting brackets to be chrome instead of black but I like them that way, they kinda match the springs on my shocks.... and my bike is black after all.

Great people.. easy to please and work with. A+ on the service/price/delivery.. now on with the on the road testing.

Chy,

I definitely want to try this with my SM. Can you be specific about whom you spoke with and exactly what you ordered? Thanks.

I spoke with Rick at the number supplied by Iceman..1-800-698-2678. I also exchanged e-mails with Harold so either one should be able to help you. Just tell them you are interested in a backrest for a Speedmaster, they'll take care of the rest. Be sure to tell them you heard about them here.

Thanks. I got a reply from Harold about a week ago saying they don't do backrests for Speedmasters. Your experience obviously suggests otherwise. Once I hear how you like your backrest I will give them a call directly.

Sweeeeeeeeet...... loving the backrest, I'm very pleased with it. Maybe just a bit too high but that is easily remedied. Two thumbs up from me.. and worth every penny.

Sounds great. When you way may be too high, is that something I should have them change before they ship it? When you say easy to fix, what is involved? Thanks.

The height is easily fixed by cutting off the ends of the bars but they ask your height and what seat style when ordering so i think it's more me and getting used to it.

Are the ProTac backrests mounted to the top shock mount? I'm thinking I can talk to them about a backrest for Janet's T100.

now that you brought it up, i took a port-a-band and cut off approx. 1" or so, fits me just right now. at least that makes it somewhat adjustable, taller would find it o.k., shorter can cut "legs" off to satisfaction.

Yes, the bracket mounts between the top of the shock and the first bolt in the fender support.

How about a quickly removable passenger backrest? Anyone make such a thing? I have corbin seats, but corbin doesn't put a backrest interface into their pillion.