The idea was to have something simple that allowed adjustment for each riders body. Somewhere in the past I had seen a picture on the web of where a fellow had made his own part and was using clevis type adjusters. It was simplicity at its best. I decided to see if I could incorporate this idea into my own supports.
With the Softail set up we used just the bar and adjusters but the distance was quite different when it came to the Shovels. The struts were no longer straight like the Softails. By fabricating up a plate and some spacers we found we could incorporate the single bar to fit both the Shovels and the Softails bolt pattern.
The adjusters adjust for about 2 inches which translates sort of like this...if you are small and like to sit ahead it can be adjusted forward for that. If you are a bigger guys and like tall ape hangers and like to lean back...it can be adjusted rear ward to achieve that. One of the clevis joints is a left hand thread allowing adjustment in or out without having to take the strut mounting bolts out. This makes an adjustment easy, only needing a 9/16th wrench. You just unlock the locking nuts on each end and then trun the center nut to set the range. Both sides should be adjusted in small amounts together to eliminate binding and or misalignment of the uprights.
The backing plate is made from 14 gauge steel with 1/4 inch nuts welded to the inside so they never strip, unlike many of the aftermarket pads made from wood. Then it was off to "Restore your Ride" to get the foam and upholstery done.
The Pad is 10 inches wide, by 6 inches high and is filled with 2 inches of super high density foam, the same as used in our seats.
The bar piece, where the pad mounts, is also adjustable up and down about 1 inch total.
Height from the top of the rear fender to the top of the pad is about 10.5, the bottom of the pad is about 5 inches above the fender.
Our Solo Driver Back Rest is available in Gloss Black or Splatter Black (wrinkle) Powdercoating.
(Click the pics to get a close up look at the Splatter Black Powder Coating)
