Back rest giving my wife crotch pain!

[chrisz]

Hi,

 

I've installed a back-up back rest on my bike for the driver, but now my wife complains that when she rides pillion, during hard braking her crotch slides up against the protruding metal bracket giving her issues (as you can imagine, I now have issues).

 

There is about 2 good inches of space where the back rest could go forward towards the front seat, this would give her much more wiggle room. Anyone tried any mods to bring the back rest further forward? (I've told her to wear extra padding there, but this idea didn't go over well?!)

 

Thanks for any serious advice...

Chris...

[10ovr]

A picture would help,,,Can you put a pad around the metal bracket ?

[chrisz]

A picture would help,,,Can you put a pad around the metal bracket ?

 

I'll see if my wife will pose for the photo, give me a minute..

[10ovr]

A picture of how it mounts to the bike would help to see if you can do some kind of mod to it to move it forward..

[chrisz]

Ok, might have to do this a couple of times as I can't seem to add more than one photo at once (btw, my wife doesn't want to pose).

[chrisz]

Hope the photo comes through this time!

[chrisz]

Mount side.

[chrisz]

Mount back side.

[chrisz]

Last one.

[10ovr]

Hope the photo comes through this time!

Looking at it,You don't have a lot of options,,I think If you can find a guy that dose metal work and welding ,They could cut out a section,Move it forward and re-weld it,,,It should not be that big a deal for them,,,

[Angel]

Consider some padding?

if she is sliding into it when you brake or slow down... she'll continue to do the same if the stem is repositioned forward.

I try to pad it before altering it.

[10ovr]

A little rope around her and the top case would do the trick,,,But don't forget to untie her if you stop for lunch,,They get mean sitting out in the sun for over an hour

[chrisz]

I suppose a seat belt would work, hmmm...

[lvmyks]

I suppose a seat belt would work, hmmm...

 

Showed my wife your set-up, her reply is why don't you ride and let her drive once and see if you like it. HA HA

One the other hand, why not remove it when she rides with you? I hope you don't think about a seatbelt.

[John Bentall]

Put some anti-slip matting on the passenger seat so that she does not slide forward under heavy braking?

[russell_bynum]

Hope the photo comes through this time!

 

GOOD LAWD!!!!!

[RichEdwards]

I can see her concern. Poor design. I would remove it and try to get a refund.

[boatzo]

I can see her concern. Poor design. I would remove it and try to get a refund.

 

+1 on that one.

[RoanokeRider]

My wife found the backrest to be uncomfortable just by sitting on the bike in the garage so I remove it for 2 up rides. It is only 2 bolts and I need to remove the seat to get the Autocom leads out anyway. I think that the sliding may be indicative of another problem. Your wife should not be sliding around unintentionally. If she is trying to grip with her legs, etc, she is not going to be comfortable on any ride. There are seat jacks for the rider protion, not sure how to solve this for the passenger. We have a Russell so it it not a problem. Good luck with the problem.

[chrisz]

When we ride together, we use the Bimmer, otherwise for (alone) short trips I use another bike. I'm going to try to modify the backrest to move it forward an inch or so and also to pad it. The reason why she slides forward is that the stock seat is quite slippery even with leather pants. I will however also add a sheepskin seat cover that we have but only use on very long rides. If all this doesn't work, the back rest goes on sale, hopefully for someone that rides solo.

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Mrs. Caddis]

When we were riding 2 up on My husbands RT I used to slide like that. I made enough fuss that we ended up getting Sargent seats. There is no "good" reason for her to slide at all. What a world of difference a proper seat will make. In my opinion moving the back rest forward WILL NOT solve the problem..... Invest in a new seat for her. If you keep the backrest, stop by a auto upholsterer, pick out some nice foam that they can customize to fit around the back of that thing. They probably will have fabric that will match your seat to cover it with!

[tallman]

1st I've never seen a backup that protruded that much.

Something seems out or order.

 

2nd, foot pegs.

Are they the right position for her and does she apply pressure under braking?

You have an Autocom so you can communicate.

 

3rd, if that is the way it is intended to work on your bike remove it when she rides, it is dangerous.

 

4th, if you insist on keeping it there, see an upholstery shop and get it covered ASAP.

As it is, it is incredibly dangerous in an accident.

That bare metal is close to major arterial blood flow on the inner thigh.

Good luck.

[r77toy]

I removed the staples at the front of the cover and intalled a "pommel" of scrap foam,like this http://www.billmayersaddles.com/BMWRT.html,

 

[chrisz]

Ok, some mods done to the back rest, couple of photos to follow. First I ground down about 1/2" of the metal tab that was protruding. Bent the backrest frame some to move it forward about another 1/2". Then I made a new cover and filled the inside with motoport padding.

 

Hopefully this will work. Thanks all for the concern and suggestions.

 

I'll let you all know how it works out.

Chris...

[chrisz]

The padding actually goes all the way to the top.

[chrisz]

Final result.

[Peter Parts]

As far as I can tell, a backrest has no useful ergonomic function except maybe to keep a passenger from fantasizing about falling off the end of a bike.

 

I suppose there some throne-like postures some passengers like on Winnebago bikes (the kind with passenger cigarette lighters) that work nicely with backrests. But even on those bikes, no meaningful rider posture I can imagine would be helped by a backrest.

 

The deep-dish Corbin shape (or a traditional "tractor seat" shape) are ergonomically useful. They lead to getting your lumbar curve (the lower spinal curve) to keep its proper shape. If the muscles of your back, with the urging of a tractor-seat shape, keeps the curve, you can ride all day comfortably.

 

So touring fitness starts in the winter with back exercises.

[ghan]

Looking at your final picture makes me think subconsciously you don't really want your wife riding with you.

 

Otherwise you would remove that hideous crotch torturing device.

[DunRTer]

Does that bloody gadget come with batteries?

[SPG]

Which would you rather be comfortable riding? Then go with it, me I would take it off. ;-) Steve

[boatzo]

Chris,

 

I have to say that if I put something like that on my bike and asked my wife to ride on it, SHE WOULD GIVE ME A PAIN IN MY CROTCH, with her knee . I would sell the damn thing and enjoy having my wife ride with me. MHO

[VinnyR11]

Chris,

 

I have to say that if I put something like that on my bike and asked my wife to ride on it, SHE WOULD GIVE ME A PAIN IN MY CROTCH, with her knee . I would sell the damn thing and enjoy having my wife ride with me. MHO

 

+1

 

That thing is definitely not designed for 2-up riding.