Backrest - Extend your stock backrest

Page history last edited by JackK 1 yr ago

BACKREST EXTENSION

By MORG_KW

It was somewhat obvious before, but after switching to my new Corbin seat and realizing immediately that the new passenger seat was considerably higher than the stocker, causing the backrest to hit more of my wife's tailbone than her back, something had to be done. A friend of mine has a Mustang seat on his 1300 and it created the same problem for his wife.

After going, hmmmmm....I realized there had to be a viable solution. For me it was not a Cobra sissybar/backrest unit. Personally, I don't like the way it looks, or fits, on our Tourer. Its hardware is not nearly as nice and it also leaves far too much of a gap between the fender and saddlebags, appearing almost unfinished. For that reason, I came up with the following idea for a backrest extension:

What did I do???

I went to Boater's World (West Marine "should" also have it, as should other marine hardware and supply stores) and bought a piece of marine StarBoard Polymer ($6.99). That’s a very strong piece of polymer plastic. It's a 11 1/2" by 4 1/2" STEP PAD, made by Teak Isle, that is used as a stepping point for entering and exiting a boat. Being a powerboater all of my adult life, I knew it was great stuff. They're more often found in white, but I painted this one "satin black." Prior to painting it, here's what I did:

First: I placed this piece of StarBoard against my backrest (I have Yammy's custom backrest pad, but it will work identically with the Tourer's stock pad) and drew a line along the top to approximate the curvature of the concave area in the back of the pad. I then simply used a Tupperware lid (rocket science, huh???), one that was was identically shaped as the top of this rounded concave area and drew a nice rounded outline along the top of this StarBoard for rounding off its top corners. I then used a jigsaw to very quickly and easily cut off the top edges in order to round the corners. I also cut off some of he bottom overhang to "clean it up," otherwise it would have stuck down well below the cross bar (the one with the Yammy Star on it) that fits between the sissybar.

Next: I used the stock hole pattern for measuring the holes in this new piece of StarBoard (plastic), being ultra-careful to be sure they were exact. Into this plastic I drilled 2 sets of holes, one for the stock placement where the seat WAS positioned and where it will once again bolt back onto the sissy bar.

Another set of holes was drilled exactly 4 3/4" higher, which is where I found it best to be placed, according to my wife. This positioned the pad "perfectly" for her, hitting her back where it's very comfy and natural as she leans against it. Others who have since tried it all said it was also really comfy for them, as well. You have just a little leeway to position those upper holes where it best suits your needs.

My final step, still yet to be done, will be to have this piece of StarBoard Polymer covered in a marine grade black vinyl. This will allow it to flow really nicely, matching both the seat and saddlebags.

Other than using the jigsaw, this required nothing more than buying this step pad (the piece of marine StarBoard Polymer) and some new SS metric hardware to secure it (thanks to Ace). All in all, very simple & extremely effective. Once everything was bought, it required about 30-45 minutes of my time. If one doesn't have a jigsaw, rather than buying one, perhaps there's a friend has one. It requires only a couple of minutes to make the cut.

Following are 3 pics from last week's first of three trips thru The Tail Of The Dragon...US-129. You can see the position of the back rest and how it meets my wife's back in an ideal way to give her the maximum comfort and support.