Nomad 1500 passenger comfort question

[1badbagger]

I'm in a bit of a spot. My wife has ridden her own road bike for years so passenger comfort wasn't really a big deal. Last year we sold her FJR1300 bought a horse and two dual sports (a KLR and a DR). Now we are planning a trip this summer and she'll be on the back of the Nomad.

The backrest (I have Kawasaki's now and a Cobra in the past) seems to slope back, while the passenger seat itself slopes forward towards the driver. This kinda makes her sit in "tits out" position (which doesn't bother me that much of course) and is uncomfortable for her.

I have had good luck with Corbin on other bikes. I realize seats are not one-size-fits-all. My wife has always had Cobin's on her bikes too so I know it would work for us both. Plus I like the fact that the Corbin's installed backrest is a little more upright.

I wouldn't mind having an upholstry guy just modify my stock seat, but my question for you fine folks is this: Has anyone purchased a backrest, or modified the stock Kawasaki to make it a little more upright? Anyone have a passenger on their Nomad that is really comfy for many many miles?

Your comments and suggestions are appreciated.

[Peg]

I've had plates made to bolt to the sides of the backrest to raise it by a bolt hole and tip it slightly more upright... Then I modified the degree of tilt because my pillion still wasn't quite comfortable... And ultimately we've gone back to the stock angle and setup, but with a new (Mustang) pad in place of the old F&S pad.

That F&S pad was the triangular shaped one which comes to a point at the top - and once the foam (which was open cell anyway) flattens out in it - it's not very comfortable at all.

The Mustang pad itself is on a slightly different angle than the F&S one, and it's just seemed to hit the right spot - with my pillion anyway.

As to the angle of the seat? I have a Mustang 3-piece on there - and we both find that extremely comfortable.

[jlreeves]

I have Mustang seats on mine also and don't get any complaints from the back seat. The back pad is somewhat wider and deeper than stock. It appears to be taller but I dont see how its angle would be different than stock.

[Loafer]

My wife hates the stock F&S says it leans too far back, she doesn't feel secure and therefore doesn't ride that much. I've looked into having new rods made to fix the angle, but she says she doesn't like riding that much and not to bother. The rods and angle brackets spoken of are in gadgets site.
http://www.gadgetjq.com/pbackrest_fix.htm

[ringadingh]

I rarely have a passenger on the bike, but my daughter who isn't that big finds it rather tight and uncomfortable after a while on the bike. Mind you I have the Tour Pak and speakers on the bike with the stock passenger seat. Also the drivers backrest probably gets in the way a little as well.
From what Ive seen I think the Russel Daylong pillion seat would give the passenger a larger seat to sit on and that may make the difference.

[cnc]

First let me say that my wife finds the back rest on the 1600 is fine and has no issues. Perhaps the 1500's are different and so I am just throwing an idea out there. If you go to the trouble of brackets or what ever mod to make the bars more upright, In my mind you will be pushing the back rest forward and lose passenger seating space.
If you were to leave the angle of the support bars alone and remount the back rest pad using wedges you get the pad more vertical without the loss of space. You could also play with the size of the wedges till you got the most comfortable angle for your wife. I'm thinking even making them out of hard wood and then covering the final version with leatherette would look and work fine.

[Peg]

First let me say that my wife finds the back rest on the 1600 is fine and has no issues. Perhaps the 1500's are different and so I am just throwing an idea out there. If you go to the trouble of brackets or what ever mod to make the bars more upright, In my mind you will be pushing the back rest forward and lose passenger seating space.
If you were to leave the angle of the support bars alone and remount the back rest pad using wedges you get the pad more vertical without the loss of space. You could also play with the size of the wedges till you got the most comfortable angle for your wife. I'm thinking even making them out of hard wood and then covering the final version with leatherette would look and work fine.

I think Norm's nailed it there... The Mustang pad is thicker in the top, tapering down to thinner at the bottom. Mounting it to the F&S bar has altered the angle of the pad (tipped it more upright) without sacrificing any seating space.

It occurs to me that I'm the opposite of my Mustang pad... You'll see from my sig pic that I'm thinning on top - tapering out to a well padded bottom. :tehe:

[zoom45]

I have the stock seats and fire and steel backrest (1500 model) and my wife has never complained. She must be comfortable. She will go to sleep if I don't keep waking her up. She will ride all day but l I have to stop for gas about every 100 miles so you really can't get too tired stopping that often.
Zoom45

[rustyford]

My wife never complained about the stock set up....too much. Then I added a tour pack with a wrap around backrest. She loves it. I was able to have her sit on the bike and adjust it forward and back to make her most comfortable.

[1badbagger]

Thanks for the great ideas guys. I ordered the mustang pad and we'll start there. Some really great ideas here. I knew I had seen something on Gadget's site about altering supports, but I looked several times and didn't see it, so I appreciate the link. We'll work from cheapest to most expensive mod because I think eventually I'll be in a newer bike and my wife will be riding her own again (she's a good passenger, but a better rider). I've owned my Nomad for six years now and even though she's getting a little older, I ride it and think "hey, it's paid for". Then I marvel out how smooth it is and how easy it is to ride and it's hard to imagine dropping more money for another bike (despite how much I like that Cross Country and Vaquero). Thanks again guys.

[madcow]

i have a CWI backrest on mine, it has an adjustable angle for the backrest which also has a curved pad, we did a quick ride to the city (sydney, aus) which was approx 900ks each way, the wife was very comfortable considering the distance and conditions we rode in.

[paul]

Might be a little late here, but....We installed the Mustang Regal Seat on our 1500 early on and have logged mucho milage since then. We both love the seat. Check it out on line, but be sure it's the Regal version. Only fits the 1500's. It's like a Mustang in a pillow top version. Oh, and if you don't have them, install grab rails. She will be very happy with those.

[1badbagger]

Just to update this thread, I received the Mustang backrest. Very nice. The only problem is, it doesn't fit the triangular shaped sissy bar. Looks like it was designed for the Cobra or the other Fire and Steel. I plan on having some work done to the passenger seat itself so I think I might have him put a new back on the Mustang so I'll have the proper bolt pattern. I have to say, the post carb (or shall I say post 2000) Nomad seems to be the hardest to find accessories for. Most things 1500 Nomad were designed around the carb models and then just forgotten after that. Kaw changed backrests and seat brackets along with a new dashboard after 2000. Oh well the good thing is new metrics (like the Vaquero) are getting the accessories they deserve.

[Peg]

Yep... I did forget to mention that part I guess. My own backrest was one for a Victory of some sort. I simply looked at all the photos I could find on the net looking for one with a clean back, and then modified it to fit the triangular sissy bar.

That involved using the top hole in the pad and sissy bar only, and drilling two new holes through both of them at the bottom.

I've epoxy-resined (is that a word?) steel plates to the fiberglass shell of the pad, and then drilled and tapped them to suit the screws.

It really was more than a little messing about, but I'm happy with the result. I'm short of time just at the moment, but will upload a picture when I'm able if you like?

[ivan]

Has anyone tried ButtyBuddy seat covers? I'm thinking of getting one for my wife.
http://www.buttybuddy.com/