Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Back rest & seat mods

Alright so I don't have a great back to begin with but... after a 265 miles around SW Wisconsin I found myself trying the lean forward stretch at 75 mph near the end of my ride. So... I'm planning on getting sending my seat to Great Day To Ride during the offseason and was thinking about getting a backest, any thoughts?

I would love to change the seat and use a backrest. Think it would improve my riding posture and take a lot of pressure off my tailbone. Also think the backrest would take away a lot of muscle strain. I would hate to drive around in my Jeep with a backless seat, lol! (There's some logic there, isn't there?)

My corbin seat and backrest made all the difference for me. I noticed right away i was making steering inputs with my shoulders and arms instead of my back muscles.

Mind you, i also started an exercise regime which helped a lot.

Have you tried adjusting the handle bars, or consider a set of "pull back risers".

I installed them and found that they sat me further back in the seat, and much more comfortable on the lower back and tailbone.

That's just what i did and it's perfect. Order your backrest from Utopia and send it along with the seats and Spencer will install the bracket for you at the same time.
After this mod, i could ride my America 500 miles or more a day.

Part and parcel of the problem is forward foot placement for prolonged periods. Causes your back to slouch. Alternative foot location will help immensely as well as the options mentioned, all factor in. I put these on mine just to test them...they are still on there after a year and a half because they work well.


The reason it says not recommended for standing on is because lawyers/insurance companies dictated that. They have been rated for 230 pounds. I have bounced on them (185 lbs) and can't make them flex.


Fold up too.


Another option is dual purpose.

+1 on Corbin with the backrest. Makes a world of difference in posture and comfort. On longer trips, I also like to hang my feet and use the rear pegs in the exhaust hanger holes or I have a set up like Eddy has up above there.

Between the Corbin seat and backrest, Triumph floorboards, Jim's Spacers, Brent's passenger peg brackets (so I can stand up) and heck, even the Windvest, I can go all day.

Just a question for Fasteddy: Where did you get those foot rests? And are they easy to install? Thanks.

That's ok. I found Fasteddy's site. Looks like it just brackets to the frame. Any reason why I should remove the original triangle frame and original passenger foot peg to accommodate this?

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Any reason why I should remove the original triangle frame and original passenger foot peg to accommodate this?

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Yep... they use the same mounting holes.. can't have both.

and look at what fasteddy has for backrest. pretty slick deal, on and off in a second and works really well and price is right.

food for thought... stop me if youve heard this one... but if you look at yer bike (as im fond of doing) and get down real low, focusing on the spot roughly where Fast Eddys Rivco pegs end up, and take a peek below he scoot, youll notice a hole. Specifically, a cast section on the back of the motor akin to a tube that runs from one side of the motor to the other. just found this myself, and cant help but thinkin itd be a great spot to mount some apparatus that could hold pegs. see, Im lookin to relocate the pegs and controls, so I would need a permanent mount that could support weight. it looks like the kind of mounting point Triumph might use to mount motor to frame on the other models (non-cruiser) but I dont want to speak out of turn so instead Ill look it up. That said, if it is indeed a motor/frame mounting point, I cant see why ot would not withstand weight as its designed as a structural point. seems some more research is needed....

eureka!! its the lower rear engine mount, presumably used for the non-cruisers, but conspicuously inoperative on ours, with sufficient support by the looks of it. i see a peg relocation project in my wintery future...

Or you could get one of these, big but very comfy;
from here;
http://www.utpr.com/

FastEddy`s Backrest.

If you don't have any probs with the stock seat then Fast Eddy's backrest seems the way to go.

I guess we've all realised riding a cruiser stock has it's disadvantages without some changes. I did anyway, so because I have had 2 back operations I did the following:

Corbin seat and Backrest. In fact a really top bloke on here was kind enough to order it and have it delivered to his place and then send it onto me. Thanks again M...... I won't say his name just in case others start asking but saved me lots due to distributors in Aus wanting their pound of flesh.

Moving on, sorry - just finished night shift.

I then changed my bars to TBA from SM and bought risers that gave me that upright seating arrangement I was after.

Then good rear shocks (and front progressive springs) to top it off.

Yes, a pretty expensive exercise but well worth it for me as I can ride long distances very easilly now and at this time I can't see myself parting with her. Call it an investment in pain managment

The only criticisms I have with the Protac back rest from Fasteddy is that it's not easily adjustable up and down and fore and aft to suit individual riders and also it doesn't fold down. The Utopia has both of these attributes and is more ergonomically designed, although it's a little more complicated to fit. It can also be removed by simply undoing one bolt.
You pay your money and take your choice.
Yes I am biased, I really think the Utopia is a far superior piece of kit.

More info helps riders make better and more informed decisions which this site is all about. If I was looking at buying, this is the type of info I would like. Thanks for contributing, even if you are biased. Aren't we all to some point or other???

Does that Utopia come with the pillion seat or do you need to cut your existing seat to fit the rest?

That's the drawback, they won't work with on a solo setup. You do have to fit them in the pillion but it's not a difficult job. They're the closest thing to a Mustang backrest, it's bl###y annoying that Mustang won't do seats etc for the Triumph range.

haha....I think you can type "bloody" on this forum.