Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories Backrest for rider's seat?

Hi All

I've just done my first long ride on my America and have found that my lower back suffers after a while. I like the stock seat but would really welcome a backrest for the rider's seat, something along the lines of the Triumph one offered for the Rocket.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Utopia products in the USA.

Corbin makes one for their seat.

I can recommend the corbin. I believe utopia is the protac product which didn't work for me.

Most important i recommend frequent stretch breaks and maybe some back exercises.

fasteddysports.com has them.

Has anyone tried the item for sale on the fasteddysports website?

If so what do you think?

Oh, also recommended are short risers like "jim's spacers".

I have been using one for about a year. Works fine for my old back. Makes getting on and off a bit more work though.

My Corbin experience was just the opposite. The Corbin is set on one place-the Utopia adjusts up/down, forward/bask, and for angle, and will pivot with the rider over bumps and not dig in. Every good jolt with the Corbin was like a poke in the lumbar. Way better for me-but the guy who bought my Corbin loves it-so go figure. I hated it.

The other thing to consider is the positioning of your handlebars.

I installed the Rivco risers from Brent, lifted the bars up and back, put me further back in the saddle and more upright in the spine. Also improved the feel of the front end, heaps more solid.

If you're gonna drop Corbin-sized cake on a seat with a backrest, look at a vendor with a backrest that folds forward or backward to make it easier to get on or off the bike. I love my Corbin but with a short inseam it's a pain to throw my leg over the backrest. For example:

http://www.day-long.com/new_pages/options.html#backrest

I did the exact same thing so that the backrest nestles nicely in my lumbar region with no poking feeling at all. For someone who has had major back surgery with continual problems, it has been fantastic.

I would imagine someone that is virtically challenged would find getting the leg over also a challenge , but I don't suffer that condition

If you mean the driver's seat. I made a homemade backrest for my 02 TBA many years ago. Still works great. There used to be some pics of it on this site, but... You use a strip of 1/4 thick aluminum strap, attached to the bottom of the rider's pillon, extending forward & up behind the driver's seat, with a very "thin" horizontal pad attached. Very comfortable.

In the Tech vault under how tos there are instuctions on how to make a simple riders back rest. I've almost finished mine. It's easy and I might have $20.00 tied up in it including a siisy bar pad from a guy who did not need it and steel, paint and hardware. I have not ridden with it yet but it should work good and it's cheap, like me!