getting ready for road trip

2062 Views 14 Replies 9 Participants Last post by leb123, Jun 27, 2013

leb123

Discussion Starter · Jun 20, 2013

I am getting ready for a road trip to southern Il from northern va via route 50. I have a 2012 burgman 400 with 1200 miles on it so far. I have installed dr pulley 19 gram sliders and a givi af266 windshield. for the seat I have put a air hawk seat pad. also I have installed the sena 10 in my helmet and have hooked it up to my phone so I can listen to music and news. I need to get a back rest, my fear of loosing the current butt support and not being able to adjust the back rest. has anyone had problems with this. I am 5' 11" and about 175# any sugestions would be helpful. I will be leaving at the end of July so I have time to change things. Again thank you for all the posts. this is a great forum.

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v8eyedoc

· #2 · Jun 20, 2013

Good luck and stay safe on your trip.....!! :thumbup: The stock "buttrest" on the 400 is almost totally useless...! This is just 1 suggestion for a true backrest.
Go here. The advantage of the open backrest is that you will not sweat there.!!! http://www.bestbackrests.com/

mikeyMarine

· #3 · Jun 22, 2013

put a sammich in the glove box and a gallon of water under the seat, the water is for washing your hands, and remember, you can't stand behind the door and pee on a burgman so plan ahead for that

really, backrests, there are some available, bearcats is the best I've heard, manyh here build their own to fit their individual needs and likes , it isn't hard, mine had a headrest it was up so high , but I am so lazy I married a pregnant woman, so I wanted that extra laid back support

Daboo

· #4 · Jun 22, 2013

When I took a road trip on my 400, I had the sleeping bag on the pillion seat along with a few other things. There was enough there that it became a back rest.

Last year, I rode the SS1000 on my 400 and made a temporary backrest that worked surprisingly well. I used a stuff sack that I normally use for a sleeping bag when backpacking. I stuffed it with large cell bubble wrap. I used a self-inflating camping pillow from Fred Meyer to give me some adjustment. The straps to hold it on with, were just ones I used for backpacking. Nothing fancy. I just ran those under the seat. The stuff bag was light enough that the seat would lift fine as if it wasn't there, and I didn't have to spend time unhooking it whenever I wanted access to the storage under the seat.

It worked great and gave me all the back support I needed. I felt like I was riding on a barcalounger for the 1000 miles.

Chris

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Mike337

· #5 · Jun 22, 2013

I'm the same height and size as you and went with the BearCat backrest. I had to pull it off once to heat it up good and bend the angle to my liking.
Before that I raised my stock buttrest almost an inch with some fiddling around in back and I think that was even better? I'm going to switch back to see after I heal from my surgery. We put the wooden beads on the shelf too after much testing.

leb123

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jun 23, 2013

Thanks for the response, I just ordered the best back rest, I think I also modify the but rest and raise it up and try both I am glad the other can be adjusted and comes highly recommended from this forum. All the things I have bought sure puts a dent in the momma don't know money, but I guess I will never have to do it again. I love this scoot and will never sell it. at 63 I think it will last at least 10 years. Thanks for all your help.

v8eyedoc

· #7 · Jun 23, 2013

leb123 said:
Thanks for the response, I just ordered the best back rest, I think I also modify the but rest and raise it up and try both I am glad the other can be adjusted and comes highly recommended from this forum. All the things I have bought sure puts a dent in the momma don't know money, but I guess I will never have to do it again. I love this scoot and will never sell it. at 63 I think it will last at least 10 years. Thanks for all your help.

Good for you leb123............and enjoy the ride as well......!! Stop to smell the flowers too..... AND - ride safe!! I am now going on 72 years old and not about to give up on either my Burgman 400 OR......my GL1800 Goldwing.............YET

mikeyMarine

· #8 · Jun 23, 2013

leb123 said:
Thanks for the response, I just ordered the best back rest, I think I also modify the but rest and raise it up and try both I am glad the other can be adjusted and comes highly recommended from this forum. All the things I have bought sure puts a dent in the momma don't know money, but I guess I will never have to do it again. I love this scoot and will never sell it. at 63 I think it will last at least 10 years. Thanks for all your help.

if she asks about the new farkles , just tell her the girlfriend paid for them 8) , then when she returns to earth and says you don't have a girlfriend :blackeye: , you can say, yeah and this is the reason, I spend all my money on the bike, want me to stop???? :twisted:

TwoWheelTim

· #9 · Jun 23, 2013

I hope you enjoy the back roads, but if you take the stuper slab (Interstate highway) you might consider what many of us do and find a flat silicon washer and place it between the bar end weight and the throttle grip. This serves to provide enough friction to set the throttle and relax your grip, but is easy to override by twisting the throttle closed. It should just barely keep the throttle from returning with its own spring tension.

You WILL have to adjust it to your own preferences. Have a safe trip and watch out for them cages, they are everywhere. I just finished 750 miles over the last three days.

Cheers.

paulcbrowne

· #10 · Jun 23, 2013

Maybe the best farkle you could add to insure a carefree trip is an AMA membership card.

leb123

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jun 23, 2013

Great idea on the AMA I will look into it tomorrow, for the throttle I picked up one of those plastic things that rest on the brake lever. I
did go to Napa and get some of the o rings after had picked this thing up. So I will keep the o rings in the tool kit and when the other breaks
I will use them. When I ordered the back rest they just had one for the 400 do they all fit the 2012 400? I hope so, I did not see a place to e mail him but I have been hearing nothing but great reviews on his work and the back rest. thanks for all your help and advice.

leb123

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jun 27, 2013

Just received my seat back rest, man does it look nice. can not wait for the ride to work tomorrow. Thank you for the advice,,,,,,,, will be joining AMA later this week. still cant get over how that back rest looks and feels. very fast service. I did order some leg wind deflectors 2 weeks ago and still have not got them through amazon from the parts store. I will check on them tomorrow and see whats up. :angryfire:Should of just went to the dealer and spent the 10 extra bucks. I had a paint guy set up for this week to paint them but now will have to cancel the apt. Again thanks for your help I enjoy this forum a lot.

IntRunner40

· #13 · Jun 27, 2013

I did a trip from St. Louis down to AL earlier this spring, passing through S. IL on the way down with the route taking me through Cairo and on the return through Metropolis and Carbondale. It was some really enjoyable riding on the back roads. I posted an overview of it in the trip report section.

The only modes of significance on my 2008 400 was the bearcat backrest, Givi adjustable Airflow windscreen, and Givi E370 topcase. I also had a ram mount on a break reservoir for my GPS which I had to plug into an adapter (Wal-Mart for $8) as the plug was too big to allow the glove box door to close (btw, there is a BurgmanUSA member called KiwiDave who has some great prices on Givi gear). Anyways, it was a nice and enjoyable trip so here's to hoping you find the same enjoyment.

mjustice5898

· #14 · Jun 27, 2013

leb123 said:
Just received my seat back rest, man does it look nice. can not wait for the ride to work tomorrow. Thank you for the advice,,,,,,,, will be joining AMA later this week. still cant get over how that back rest looks and feels.

So how was the ride this morning? I am going back and forth between this backrest and the 3 Brothers that some members have. I like the idea of being able to re-use the stock buttrest with the 3 Brothers, but the adjustability of this one is also appealing. Being a shorty (5'2" with my boots on), the last thing I need is more legroom, but some support to the low/mid back would be nice on those 200+ mile days. Looking forward to your product review!

leb123

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jun 27, 2013

I did not go with the 3bros for 2 reasons, 1 I saw them on e-bay but no way to contact them. I went to there web page and the phone # was bad. I did not feel good about giving card #s with out that important info. 2 I have a great respect for the folks on this forum, they have never steered me wrong and would rec. that you search the 3bros product. The ride to work was great. I just need to bend the back rest a little. the top of the rest hits the middle of my back and the bottom of it does not touch. But there again it was suggested from here and I can call them and e mail them.
good luck in your search.

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