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Backrest ideas

ssayre - 21-9-2014 at 08:12 PM

I know this has been covered before and I've seen some different methods in the past but is there anyone that has a good semi easy solution for an xr buggy backrest? I've seen some wood ideas and some PVC ideas but wanted to know how they hold up or if someone has made a decent one that they have been using for awhile. I made a simple one today that worked but I think there is probably some better ideas. I'll post a picture of what I have so far.

John Holgate - 21-9-2014 at 08:26 PM

This is what I did for the Vmax. Cost very little and has held up perfectly for several years. I'd be surprised if you couldn't modify a little for the XR.

Backrest for Vmax

soliver - 21-9-2014 at 08:41 PM

BeamerBob has a great backrest plan for the XR. I think it's all iron pipe fitting & whatnot... If you can afford it though, I REALLY recommend the VTT rail kit. It turns the XR into an all new buggy.

ssayre - 22-9-2014 at 04:04 AM

Thanks John, that's a great idea. I didn't think of using fence end rail clamps to join the bar to the buggy.

Spencer: yes, the rail kit or other drastic buggy upgrade is on the horizon but I wanted something I could tinker with for awhile and be inexpensive.

soliver - 22-9-2014 at 04:35 AM

This was BB's mod circa 2010 for a PL bigfoot buggy... looks simple and I think it just clamps onto the rails.

BeamerBob - 22-9-2014 at 09:37 AM

http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=8698#pid652...

This is the thread that describes how I built my backrest. The pic links were broken so I fixed those. They show cad drawings of the dimensions for a backrest for an XR+ and an original Flexi buggy.

IMG_9617 by Musekiter, on Flickr

ssayre - 22-9-2014 at 10:11 AM

Thank you very much Bob. I made a second version today that looks better than the first but isn't very comfortable. I will make your version.

Here is take 2 on backrest. Hopefully 3 will be charm. My second version works and is solid but the bar hits me in the lower back. I think I'm getting closer to the right idea at least.

abkayak - 22-9-2014 at 10:28 AM

i think you need to try dropping the seat down..my xr has an awoc backrest that sits like that but my ass is dropped down much more...im in there nice and deep and much harder to get pulled out...my bar is across shoulder blades...

ssayre - 22-9-2014 at 10:58 AM

Funny you say that. I literally just raised the seat only because my arse was dragging on patches of tall weeds. Normally I have my seat a bit lower. Do you have the hump part as well or just the bar?

soliver - 22-9-2014 at 12:18 PM

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

Funny you say that. I literally just raised the seat only because my arse was dragging on patches of tall weeds. Normally I have my seat a bit lower. Do you have the hump part as well or just the bar?

you'd be amaze at what you can get out of bigger tires to raise your ride height too... I went and got lightly used golf cart tires free for my back wheels (18x8.5-8's) and a new front midi (16x6.5-8) and only spent $27 overall for the one new tire,... the midi on the from is a truer 16" diameter, so with the additional height in the back I gained about 1.5" of ride height.

DAKITEZ - 22-9-2014 at 01:02 PM

How many teeth did you knock out with your knees in your face like that lol. Gotta love a real buggy when you have leg room

Quote: Originally posted by BeamerBob

http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=8698#pid652...

This is the thread that describes how I built my backrest. The pic links were broken so I fixed those. They show cad drawings of the dimensions for a backrest for an XR+ and an original Flexi buggy.

IMG_9617 by Musekiter, on Flickr

ssayre - 22-9-2014 at 01:10 PM

Being in my xr buggy is the one time I'm glad I'm short.

BeamerBob - 22-9-2014 at 02:33 PM

Man, when I got those tires on, I was king of the beach! It rode smoothly and would roll right over sand you could barely walk on. If I stretched it out any further, I lost steering control, so had to just deal with the bent knees. Dino, if you remember, this was my ride when I moved to CA. Rode this setup several times at the sodfarm.

DAKITEZ - 22-9-2014 at 02:35 PM

I remember you one day on a standard pl and you burned your elbows on the rear tires lol

BeamerBob - 22-9-2014 at 03:39 PM

Yep, that was my gateway buggy till the Ivanpah was delivered! Next time out, I burned the scabs off my elbows! I just don't fit.:D

rocfighter - 22-9-2014 at 04:00 PM

I hit my bows on the big foots on my libre. But I have the same issue Bobby has. Long arms! I need to make up some extensions.

Bladerunner - 22-9-2014 at 05:47 PM

I have the original " Spring Back " back rest built with the same idea as the woody you show. It is Plexiglas.

What I find is a HOOJ advantage with this style back rest is the lateral support it gives me . Frankin'buggy is so old it pre-dates articulated side rails. If I didn't have the straps from the Spring Back holding me in I would be screwed. They don't just hold me in but are comfortable. My straps are brought farther forward than you have them in the picture.

I have the " Rub Elbow " issue with my little buggy BIG time !

ssayre - 22-9-2014 at 05:55 PM

out of the 2 I have made so far, the plywood spring back is more comfortable.

ssayre - 22-9-2014 at 06:03 PM

Bladerunner, does your spring back fit in a pocket on the seat and how thick is the plexiglass?

Bladerunner - 22-9-2014 at 06:50 PM

No pocket. It is a solid piece with long thin holes for the straps and it is now U-clamped to the axle. I would guess it is just a bit less than 1/4' thick. Not the original axle mount but it works great. The blocks you have on yours make sense for the XR. I sit too far back ( by design ) in my buggy but have no choice. Keeping your body / back forward is important. Too far back and you kick out the back wheels too easy.

skimtwashington - 23-9-2014 at 03:56 AM

I'm curious, ...I can't see how Ssayre's backrest is attached to his seat. Need another pic from front or perhaps side view..
Will it fold down flat for packing?

The' springbacS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K- plexi works great and can attach right to axle on the PL comp ST as the seat's back end is quite close to the axle. You can fold it down nice and flat for packing with practically no bulk added.

... but the XR+ has too much of a gap between the seats back end and the axle. You either have to attach it to the seat like Ssayre did( and also' hold it out' with straps back to axle) or use a block/spacer that attaches to axle to get the backrest just behind your seat.

Don't know how easy Ssayer's set up folds down ...but for me, I'm fitting my buggy in the trunk of a Honda Civic coupe! My springback on my old ST folds completely flat and easy. "Rail kit' backrest would not work for me... would have to be removed each time .

Side straps in both cases are similar operation and adjustable(for back angle or completely loosened for folding/packing) .

ssayre - 23-9-2014 at 04:55 AM

skim, my first back rest was bolted right through the webbing of the top of the seat which is not ideal. I took it apart. I'm going to make another springback that bolts to the axle and is blocked at the bottom like you said. I'm also going to try the beamerbob backrest as well. So far I've had almost everything I need in my garage so I've only spent $20 so far. That makes experimenting easy.

3shot - 23-9-2014 at 12:48 PM

Dirtslide has some real good detailed pics of old school springbacks on some of his vintage buggys. Didn't know if you saw those or not in the forum search. Can't for the life of me find them, but they are in here..

IMK - 24-9-2014 at 01:48 AM

There are some pics and links related to springbacks towards the end of this thread:

http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=27173#pid26...

ssayre - 24-9-2014 at 12:42 PM

Thanks IMK, but I'm currently trying very hard to reinvent the wheel. It will be kind of a hybrid between a couple of established ideas.

DIY Option

JamKiter - 25-9-2014 at 05:15 PM

There is a seat made for canoes and stadiums. It's simply a padded 2 piece hinged seat. It has snap straps to keep it in place. Sold at Cabelas, Gander Mtn, DicS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s, etc. Less than $20.

ssayre - 25-9-2014 at 05:20 PM

Backrest "Take 3"

This time I used a 1" piece of PEX clamped to the buggy with 1 3/8" fence clamp. I plugged the ends of the pex and wrapped the siderails and the ends of the pex with EPDM rubber membrane to hold better and to dampen any sound. It's very supportive, has a slight flex for comfort and safety. My original idea was to support the top of the pex with webbing tied back to the frame like a spring back but I'm not sure I need to as strong as it feels. I will need to test to see if the tubing will try and kink. Either way, this is very comfortable and I think is my final design with the exception of spring back webbing if I need it and maybe some padding. I forgot to mention that 1" PEX is very rigid so I used a heat gun to ease assembly. Not sure that would be needed though. And this is extremely cheap. Less than 20.

Update: I supported it with webbing from the top of the back wrapped around side rails and tied to downtube. That made it perfect. Super comfortable. I'm sitting in it now :cool:

ssayre - 25-9-2014 at 07:34 PM

Thanks jamkiter, I had considered that as well but never made it to gander mountain to try them out.

3shot - 25-9-2014 at 07:51 PM

Turned out good bro!!

soliver - 25-9-2014 at 08:18 PM

Looks good Sean, the pex even matches the XR blue :smilegrin:

ssayre - 26-9-2014 at 04:22 AM

Thanks guys. Yes Spencer, I was glad to find blue pex and I will post photos of the completed back rest with the springback support webbing but I have the wrong color on it now. I'm getting either black or blue webbing. I may have to tolerate janky wind, but I don't have to tolerate a janky backrest

The webbing tensions the whole system and fits around me snugly providing more support.

3shot - 26-9-2014 at 10:08 AM

:thumbup:

ssayre - 27-9-2014 at 09:00 AM

ssayre springback version 1.0

I couldn't find blue or black strapping yet. Here's the finished product more or less. I tied the strap to the top by pulling the strap through itself and followed with a series of half hitches to keep the strap from sliding down the sides and to create more width between straps. I just need to test it.

soliver - 27-9-2014 at 10:15 AM

That looks great Sean!... You can usually get 3/4" black nylon webbing by the yard at most fabric stores, with all the assorted buckles, snaps, etc too. JoAnn, Hancook, Michaels and such. Not very expensive either. They might have colored options too.

BEC - 27-9-2014 at 11:48 AM

I have found that most rock climbing stores, REI, Eastern Mountain Spots etc all carry spools of the webbing plus they also carry really nice 3-5mm rope for strops in various colors. Looks good....let us know how it functions...

ssayre - 28-9-2014 at 04:56 AM

I went to Joann and they did have different colors of webbing but I needed 5 yards and it was just a little more than I wanted to spend at $3 per yard. They also had D rings that I thought about getting to make it adjustable but I wasn't sure If they would bend or break under tension. Bruce, I'll post about how it works when I get the chance. Looks like no wind in the foreseeable forecast.

cheezycheese - 28-9-2014 at 06:51 AM

Who needs wind.....

Flyguy0101 and Andrew.

ssayre - 5-10-2014 at 02:10 PM

I got to try out the backrest today. It worked great. It was very nice to focus on riding and flying instead of trying to sit up. I can't believe how much more comfortable and enjoyable a simple backrest can make a buggy. I'm surprised that pl doesn't make a backrest as an option.

soliver - 5-10-2014 at 02:35 PM

Sounds good Sean... now after all that effort, you should buy the VTT rail Kit :smilegrin:

Jus kidding, ...you're right, a comfy ride makes all the difference in the world for sure. Glad you like your mod!!!

ssayre - 5-10-2014 at 02:44 PM

Thanks Spencer, I do have plans for some other upgrades. Next, I want to upgrade to wide tires using your golf cart tire idea.

soliver - 5-10-2014 at 03:52 PM

Make sure to keep your Barrows, especially for the tall grass. The extra surface tension of the bigger tires can make it harder to move in the bigger grass. Ideally, you can get an extra set of rims and put your bigger tires on those to be able to switch back and forth easy. I'm planning later this year to get another PL front fork set up to make my XR frankenbuggy complete and rework my tandem set up. A guy on KiteCrowd recently explained to me how in the smaller inland field, having a smaller lightweight buggy on barrows can be advantageous for gaining speed over the larger heavy weight bears like my Stinger Hybrid... made a lot of sense. If I can swing it, I'll have 2 complete buggies... one smaller light weight, one bigger heavy weight.

here's to dreaming, right.

volock - 21-11-2015 at 05:00 PM

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

Backrest "Take 3"

This time I used a 1" piece of PEX clamped to the buggy with 1 3/8" fence clamp. I plugged the ends of the pex and wrapped the siderails and the ends of the pex with EPDM rubber membrane to hold better and to dampen any sound. It's very supportive, has a slight flex for comfort and safety. My original idea was to support the top of the pex with webbing tied back to the frame like a spring back but I'm not sure I need to as strong as it feels. I will need to test to see if the tubing will try and kink. Either way, this is very comfortable and I think is my final design with the exception of spring back webbing if I need it and maybe some padding. I forgot to mention that 1" PEX is very rigid so I used a heat gun to ease assembly. Not sure that would be needed though. And this is extremely cheap. Less than 20.

Update: I supported it with webbing from the top of the back wrapped around side rails and tied to downtube. That made it perfect. Super comfortable. I'm sitting in it now :cool:

Sorry for reviving the old thread. I'm curious how the clamp pieces are holding up after all this time? I'm debating making a cross bar for my buggy (so when I pop the axle off, the seat can stay adjusted just right. Debating between your fence clamp solution and a ZSI Beta Clamp. Pictures for reference for everyone (I'm open to any opinions):

The downside of my Sysmic S2 is there's no way to simply slide any kind of elbow/pipe over the existing side rails, so I need something for attaching a straight piece of tubing between the two sides (and still want it removable). The stock backrest is perfectly fine for me as a backrest, but I'm also going to have to make a new one for my wife so she has a backrest, as the stock one doesn't work for her, with us having to have made other modifications to the buggy. I'm leaning towards the ZSI one, as I can weld the metal tube to the end of it (they're made to be welded), and I have a feeling it may end up more sturdy. It's also available in stainless steel (or with an aluminum insert instead of rubber). I'd worry the other clamp wouldn't hold very well when using it for tightening the seat straps on.

ssayre - 21-11-2015 at 06:17 PM

The fence clamps are rock solid. I used nylock nuts instead of the supplied ones to prevent vibrating loose. I wrapped the side rails with pieces of rubber roofing before installing clamps and it makes for a permanent very strong connection between my pex (or whatever material you want) and side rail. It's never budged since the day I installed it. It's also what I use to mount a camera pole to various spot on the buggy.

volock - 21-11-2015 at 06:22 PM

Thanks ssayre, I could have seen it going either way some, so was curious.