Introduction: My DIY Triumph Bonneville Backrest / Sissy

By matt jackson

i found that no matter wherei looked at online, that the backrests available did not meet my needs! or more specifically my girfriends!

they were either too small, too low, or meant i had to lose my rentec sports rack (not happening).

I wanted a big comfy back pad, adjustable in height, and rake.....that i could still keep my rack... so i decided to make my own.

parts used:

2 x bmx clamps
2 x steel pipes
2 x exhaust clamps (long thread)
1 x piece of stainless
4 x bungs
1 x packet of upholstery pins
1 x can of matte black
1 x ebay back pad
1 x piece of mdf (coated)

tools used:

jiigsaw, hammer, angle grinder, allen keys, bench grinder, bench drill, hole saws.

Step 1: Whats Comfy - Oh... a Goldwing

The first thing i did, was source a comfy backpad. What better than a goldwing pad -for 2 quid- from ebay?

Step 2: Cleaning Up Goldwing Pad

The pad came with a moulded plastic back on it, to fit onto a goldwing. It was a bit messy, so i unstapled it, cut the centre out of the (to retain the integrity of the outer edge shape) and replaced with coated ply used in stage building, and finished with upholstery pins. so basically, new back... with outer edge of plastic moulding.

Step 3: Scavenging

I then scavenged a piece of stainless from a local kitchen builder. they were a bit grumpy but they still helped me.

Step 4: Bench Drill

i then found my hand drill didnt have the beans to drill the stainless very well... so went to use a my pals bench drill. I measured the holes to screw to back plate to the pad.... and holes to attatch the exhaust clamp bolts to the poles.

Step 5: The Design

so the idea was that; the backrest would screw onto the metal plate. the metal plate would bolt to 2 x steel poles. the steel poles would clamp to the horizontal part of the grab rail at the back of my rentec rack. here you see the plate and the steel poles. poles were about 10 quid (ebay) the exhaust clamps were a couple of quid (long thread ones)

Step 6: Measure Twice Cut Once

actually nearly cut my finger off, with angle grinder. i was cutting down the bolts, and lost concentration for a moment. be so careful!!!

Step 7: Bmx Clamps

i  looked for ages for something strong and the right size. and found these bmx stem clamps. the are 22.6 horiz hole and 28.8 vert hole... and have 4 hex bolts on each. these clamps would hold the 2 x poles. and the 8 x hex bolts would 'deny' any rotational force as i accelerate (hopefully)... here's me sizing them up

Step 8: The Final Thing (ish)

so it all fitted pretty good. I sprayed it all matte black and added 'chair feet ends' as bungs. It goes on and off in about 5 mins, so we use it only for long journeys,  and its super strong... you could pick the bike up with it. plus only a few marks on the chrome where it clamped on. Its a bit ugly, and over engineered, but it needed to be super strong, and you cant really see it when its in use, and loaded up with gear.

Step 9: The Ultimate Test

well...... a 2000 mile round trip to the dordogne complete. the back rest was a massive success. super comfy and strong to attatch stuff to. my girfriend said she nearly fell asleep at one point. EEEEK!