Grrr - backrest!

[Big Al]

Bloody marvellous - just noticed 2 serious fractures at the bottom of my Cuppini-style 2-in-1 backrest, meaning i'm going to have to replace the sodding thing pretty sharpish. So note to myself:

1 - Pay more than £15 for your Vespa bits, even if they look entirely sound.
2 - Hold onto the bike rather than the backrest when hauling the thing on/off the kickstand.

I was actually warned against getting this style of backrest by the Scooterworks whilst getting the bike road-worthy - can anyone recommend/advise against any other styles of backrest/carriers?

[Lucia]

This was from SIP in Germany - designed for the T5. (excuse the dog )

[alanw]

ive got the 4in1 backrest/carrier on both vespa and lammy and seem ok ,lammy ones been on 2 years
with the 4in1 type you have side rails which come around your pillion, which my wife reckons makes it feel that little more safer
im sure theres some innuendos in that lot?

[Devo McDuff]

I put a flipover rack on a few months ago. Looks wise I love it, not really tested it to much on the luggage/pillion side yet though.

[Big Al]

Have been considering the flipover - anyone know what it's like in terms of easy luggage attachment?

Lucia, the SIP actually looks really smart, but do you know if it'll fit a T5 Classic? And did it require any drilling to the back of your scooter?

[Devo McDuff]

I drilled mine at the back to secure it .... after advice to do so on here. There is a thread on the tech board somewhere about installing it.

[Spence]

As I fitted Lu's "backrest", I'm sure she won't mind if I step in here to answer your questions Al.

This item's usefulness as a backrest, despite having a pad on it, is nil because it's far too low to lean on. The fold-down carrier is perfectly adequate however; in the up position it has an extra reflector for visibility, and it has a little clip to hold it in the down position which not all rear racks do.

It didn't require any drilling to fit, but undoing the seat post involved completely removing the tail light assembly to get at the nut underneath, which was an unmitigated pain in the arse. The bottom brackets just bolt behind the number plate.

If it fits the Mk1 T5, it may not fit a T5 Classic. Someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but I thought the Classic was a T5 engine in a PX frame. I don't know if the Mk1 frame is sufficiently different to the PX frame to stop this rack fitting though (even though this particular Mk1 T5's parked next to my PX in the garage. I just can't be arsed to sit and compare them).

[Big Al]

Cheers for the input Spence - I think you're pretty much right about the T5 Classic being a T5 engine in a PX frame. This was the main reason why I was concerned about the SIP item fitting on a classic, which lacks that rather steep/straight rear profile of the original T5 - not entirely certain that the section which bolts beneath the seat would be long enough or that the lower bracket which bolts onto the back of the bike is angled correctly to fit.

Will try and get a response directly from SIP on this and let y'all know. There's actually 2 backrests on their site aimed purely at the T5 - the one fitted to Lucias bike (which seems to have LML branding!) and a cheaper one that, apart from lacking the pad and the LML branded plastic bit, seems identical.

Can see what you mean about its usefulness as a backrest though!

[skrappey]

I got one of these fitted on my LML when I took delivery. Very useless as a backrest but very useful as a carrier because you just wedge stuff between rest and seat. It holds loads and is very strong.
With it being so far back it can upset the balance of the bike and wheelies are a possibility if you have a fair load on.

[Lucia]

You're right about the LML branding - I've just remembered now that the plastic plate at the back had 'LML' on it - but I got rid of it. That'll be the one on SIP's website.