Anyone have a Utopia backrest?

[surfran]

Is anyone familiar with the Utopia backrests? Anyone have one that they installed? It looks much more difficult than the Bakup, but price is better.

Just looking at options as I know I want a backrest at least when riding alone.

http://www.utpr.com/bmw.html

Thanks,

Randy

[jhowdy]

Randy,
The Utopia is a good product, but for the time and labor you'll invest in installing it you'll just about break even with the price of the Bakup. No modification to the stock seat, cutting, fitting, etc. Just two bolts and you're riding in 5 minutes. Check out Raffy's site www.motogear4you.com and you'll get the best price from him. If for any reason you want to remove the backrest, you indicate maybe only using it when riding along, you can do it in a matter of minutes with the Bakup, really. I've had mine for over 3 years and wouldn't ride without now.

[RonKMiller]

It is very time consuming to install: pull staples out of half of the rear seat, roll the cover back, pull the foam up, measure and drill holes, bolt plate to seat pan. Cut slit in vinyl on front of rear seat and install a VERY poor fitting piece of plastic to cover the hole you made, install backrest, re-staple cover which is difficult without a good air powered staple gun. The biggest problem by FAR is that it intrudes on passenger seat space. I installed one ONCE for a customer without charging him but never again - it is easily a one hour job even if you know how to do it.

It ain't worth it in my opinion to even mess with. I thought the quality of the parts was pretty cheesy too - painted steel instead of all stainless like the BakUp.

I sell BakUps for $385.00 including shipping, Raffy is $365.00 and A&S is currently $365.00. I have black and grey in stock.

[surfran]

Jack and Ron,

Thanks for the feedback, I was kinda figuring that it would be quite a hassel when I saw the procedure. I really like the looks of the Bakup and the option to easily remove so that's probably what I will end up doing. Maybe I'll get lucky and find a used one for less, but if I don't I will definatetly be buying something before Spring riding season hits here.

Randy

[Reid]

I'm having Rick Mayer make me a saddle. As he does this he will mount the Utopia backrest (which I had Utopia send directly to him) at no extra charge. I do understand the Bakup is sweet and looks better than the Utopia, but given that it's being installed with the new seat (i.e., no hassle in my part) it's a deal I couldn't pass on.

[ka0mlh]

Reid when you get your seat it would be great to see it if you don't mind?Do you happen to be a member of Flatlanders club?

[surfran]

Reid,

When do you expect to get the unit back? I would be interested in pictures as well but I think I am going to go Bakup at this point.

I am not sure if/when I will upgrade the seat/s but the Bakup should be fine no mater what I choose at that point.

The thing I liked about the Utopia is that it folds forward which looks like it would be easier for the wife if/when she rides.

I am probably thinking way to far ahead as I only picked up the bike a few months ago and she hasn't even riden on it yet, but it's Winter (well been feeling like Spring, but calendar still says Winter) and I have much time to dream up my want list.

[Reid]

Reid when you get your seat it would be great to see it if you don't mind?Do you happen to be a member of Flatlanders club?

No, not a member of Flatlander Club. Is that ham? Was in AKSARBEN, but been inactive since moved to "no wires" zone.

[Reid]

I'll post pix when I get the seat back from Rick. We delayed production date because the wx here in Omaha has been awesome for riding (considering it's January). So it'll be a few weeks. Stay tuned!

By the way, the Bakup folds forward I believe.

[meese]

Yep, the Bakup folds forward to make passenger mounting easier, and is spring-loaded to fold back up. It is a fine backrest at a decent price.

I still think the best backrest I've seen is on the Russell Day-Long Saddles. It folds completely flat for passenger mounting, or just removes completely in seconds. Plus it is infinitely adjustable, and sits higher up to give better rider support and more room for the passenger's thighs. The only downside is that it only fits into the special slot built into the Russell seats, so you gotta buy the whole package.

[ka0mlh]

Reid,flatlanders is a local BMW riding club that is run out of BMW of omaha.http://flatlandersbmw.com/

[Reid]

Coincidenatlly, I joined the club Tuesday and was in the shop for some warranty work yesterday and spoke to Richard about it. Looks like a great club....had no idea there was this much BMW representation in Omaha area.

[ka0mlh]

Glad you joined! will have to meet ya face to face at the next ride.

[pfai]

Hi,
I have a used back rest that fits the description . Bought a Back Up back rest for my '02 LT and have this used one will sell for $100.00. It does require the installation of blind nuts into the back of the seat backrest but not a bad job to do.
Good Luck, Paul




'02 K1200 LT E Black
'01 Custom Road Star
'03 Kodiak SS Xtreme Enforcer






.

[surfran]

Paul and everyone thanks for all your replys. I ended up buying a Bakup from BMW of Oklahoma and received it a couple days ago.

Great advice, it is a very nice unit. Now if I can only get the snow to go away I could go out and try it on a ride. Sure feels good sitting in the garage, but figure the open road has to be better. :D

[RVB1019]

Sorry, call me cheap but almost $400 for a back rest is nuts! I went on ebay and purchased a headrest from a BMW car. I got 2 for $28 + S&H. The leather is a close match to the seat. I can't wait for a dry (not wet or snowy) weekend to test her out.

I think I saw this on the old site. All I have to do is add two small hose clamps to the back of the seat and volia! Saved me a boat load of cash for a new Cee Bailey Windshield!

[RonKMiller]

Sorry, call me cheap but almost $400 for a back rest is nuts! I went on ebay and purchased a headrest from a BMW car. I got 2 for $28 + S&H. The leather is a close match to the seat. I can't wait for a dry (not wet or snowy) weekend to test her out.

I think I saw this on the old site. All I have to do is add two small hose clamps to the back of the seat and volia! Saved me a boat load of cash for a new Cee Bailey Windshield!

Since I originated this *this was not such a very good idea after all* (MY words) Ghetto mod, and would like to save you a lot of frustration:

You'll need to take the seat apart to do this, and mount the stanchions INSIDE the plastic lumbar section in order to have enough support. If you mount it on the outside it will pop off as soon as you lean against it and probably crack the seat pan. You'll also need to drill two holes in the bottom of the pan for the stanchions to stick through a bit for additional support to keep it from "levering" and bending the clamps.

I would recommend 4 rubber lined hose clamps and some very stout wide flange stainless steel rivets with large stainless fender washers as backing plates, or you'll pop it off the first time you lean against it. Regular rivets that you can set with a hardware purchased pop rivet tool will not cut it. You'll need one of the big un's from a specialty tool supplier - they cost about $175.00.

Oh yeah, you'll need two corresponding holes in the top cover of the seat for the stanchions to poke through, a way to trim the holes so they look good, and trim some of the foam for vertical channels for the stanchions as well. The stanchions will need to be cut to length with a cut off saw, a hacksaw won't touch 'em - they are solid chrome moly steel, very hard. After you've gone through all this work you'll find that the headrest is not thick enough and does not have enough adjustment to get you comfortable without re-padding it to make it MUCH thicker, which means you'll need to upholster it as well with a new cover, not a minor job.

After you've spent a week messing with this you'll gladly shell out $375.00 for one that takes about two minutes to bolt on.

Oh yeah, Cee Bailey's windshields can fracture into very sharp potentially deadly shards when shattered. Dangerous to say the least. Not a chance I would have one on my bike - back to OEM polycarbonate for me.

Sorry to pee in your cheerios, but unless you REALLY like to mess with this stuff I say fugheddaboudit! ;)

[RVB1019]

Why do all that work? Yesterday, before the big snow, I simply put the headrest between the backseat and the front seat. I rode almost 100 miles and had great back support. While I'm sure it is not as comfortable as the $400 one, it wasn't bad. I was thinking of welding a metal plate to the stantons so that it would act as a lever against the front of the seat.

Shouldn't this work?

[RonKMiller]

Why do all that work? Yesterday, before the big snow, I simply put the headrest between the backseat and the front seat. I rode almost 100 miles and had great back support. While I'm sure it is not as comfortable as the $400 one, it wasn't bad. I was thinking of welding a metal plate to the stantons so that it would act as a lever against the front of the seat.

Shouldn't this work?

Sounds like a winner to me! ;)