Custom backrest

My g/f and I were not interested in a trunk, nor paying the excess dollars towards a Corban Seat with backrest (especially trying to ship up here to Canada. Its funny now that they no longer have a distributor in Canada, we Canadians can "conveniently order direct" from the supplier" (quoted from their website) in Cali. Who wants to pay that much in USD, plus shipping and duty to get it up to Canada?).

Solution:
I got together with a buddy, and bent/welded up a cheap alternative. I wanted to follow the lines of the bike. I also wanted the backrest removable, both for cosmetic and functional purposes. The design will allow me to mount my existing tailbag around the backrest.
The rack is constructed from steel tube, bent, welded and capped onto a steel mounting plate. The plate is bolted off the stock handle bars w/ aluminum spacers. The backrest mount is aluminum, keyed and bolted to fit into the rack. I constructed the pad using scrap dense packing foam, wrapped with vinyl and stapled to wood (I curved the wood by steam). I don't sew, so I tried to wrapped the 1 piece vinyl as clean as I could. I found "T" bolts at the hardware store, which locks itself into wood, and was able to bolt the backrest to an aluminum back piece and mount.

Results:
The design is sleek, simple, and rock solid. The rack does not bend/flex. Painted with semi-gloss black, I think it looks good. My tail bag fits around the backrest/rack good. The final position of the back rest is a little too far back for my g/f. She is only 4'11", so with her short frame, she sits further up on then the average passenger. I'll probably either redesign the backrest, or put in a spacer. I'm still able to take on/off the seat (with backrest removed) with ease. I am much more confident/comfortable with 2up riding as with my g/f.

 

hey interested in making a few more and selling
I'd be interested in one.
looks great

 

I never originally planned on "producing" my backrest. I used scrap parts and tools at my buddy's work. I can look into it though, no promises. If I were to produce it again, I'd probably only fabricate the rack and backrest mount. The backrest/vinyl job isn't perfect, but can easily be put together such as I did, or something more professional. I'll let you know if I decide to make another one.

Thanks for the compliment!

 

This looks good.

I like the attachment at the grips. I've been thinking about aftermarket sidecases & this attachment is pretty clean & do-able.

I'm thinking you could sell more than a few of these for the 2-upers.

Nice going!

 

Hell, Cheiper than what I had to buy. Nice job, looks minimal and functional.