Modern Buddy

has anyone successfully seen or built a sissy bar for the Buddy?

I would like to install one for long trips, such as Amerivespa to secure my hiking pack to. Not enough room in the topcase, and I'd rather not have to wear or "knee straddle" the pack for 1300 miles. I was thinking of trying to make one out of PVC piping clamped to the top handle of the rear rack, and a tripod type support arm to the tail end of the rear rack to prevent it from tipping over. The next step would be setting the pack turned backwards and securing it to the "sissy bar" with a bungee net. Then it could double as a backrest when packed with clothes. Most of the weight would be resting on the back of the seat, so I won't have to worry about too much weight on the rack. If all goes well I could spray paint it black and call it a day.

Can you strap your pack to the front (rider side) of the top case using the bungee net?

nerdherder wrote:Can you strap your pack to the front (rider side) of the top case using the bungee net?

I've done this but then its hard to get to your stuff. The main problem with this method is that every time you want to get gas you must undo the bungie net and take all of the crap off your seat

Yeah, I'd love a sissy bar for long trips too but I've never found one for the Buddy.

Be careful and don't strap too much onto your rear rack. I cracked the plastic under mine on the trip to San Antonio (Amerivespa 2010) last year.

If you have a top-case on your rear rack, you can still carry a small backpack (used as a backrest) on the rear of your seat. As jasondavis said, it will be a little troublesome when you stop for gas but, if you plan it out well, it won't be too difficult.

It does seem that a enterprising fellow could produce some thing to sell here? R

jasondavis48108 wrote:

nerdherder wrote:Can you strap your pack to the front (rider side) of the top case using the bungee net?

I've done this but then its hard to get to your stuff. The main problem with this method is that every time you want to get gas you must undo the bungie net and take all of the crap off your seat

You have to do that with a pack strapped to a backrest, too. Been there, done that.

Unless you're doing a Cannonball Run, it's not that big of a deal to be moving around a bit, undoing bungees and whatnot, if you're stopped for gas on a long trip anyway. You just have to strap things down in such a way that it won't go anywhere, but won't take an hour to remove it, either. Personal opinion.

I posted regarding the same thing for holding golf clubs or an instrument case. I think it would be a very successful accessory. I think it wants to be tubular metal with a diameter similar to the frame on a back pack.

If you're going to have as much weight as a back pack at the rear of the bike, you should consider getting a front rack and stowing some things there as well to maintain an even weight distribution front to back. You don't want to be riding an overly back-heavy bike. Remember too that there is a 10-15lb max weight limit for the Buddy rear rack.

Skootz Kabootz wrote:If you're going to have as much weight as a back pack at the rear of the bike, you should consider getting a front rack and stowing some things there as well to maintain an even weight distribution front to back. You don't want to be riding an overly back-heavy bike. Remember too that there is a 10-15lb max weight limit for the Buddy rear rack.

I like the front rack, but it has a very low height clearance, so just my bag of small hand tools (Modern Buddy's famous tactical bailout bag). the bottom of the bag will be sitting on the end of the seat, same as having a passenger on the back, but a lot lighter and not looking over my shoulder and ramming helmets with me.

It would work but I'm not sure there's enough of a market for someone to go to trouble of making it.

I have seen photos of a sissy bar. There's a guy (infrequent member?) who's adapted some non-Buddy bars and built some others for various purposes. His scoot is, frankly, insane. I'll try to find the pics.

EDIT: Grrr. Maybe not. I know I saw something like that somewhere once… a Picasa album or some such thing. Will search more…

ericalm wrote:I have seen photos of a sissy bar. There's a guy (infrequent member?) who's adapted some non-Buddy bars and built some others for various purposes. His scoot is, frankly, insane. I'll try to find the pics.

EDIT: Grrr. Maybe not. I know I saw something like that somewhere once… a Picasa album or some such thing. Will search more…

You're thinking of this one, no doubt.

I only remember because he's one county up, although I've never run into him. I don't think anyone could out-chrome him.

edit Actually, I think he removed the pics of his sissybar. He had it setup as a sort of backrest (it was much further forward than a traditional sissy bar would be), but I can't find the pics of that setup on his site anymore.

Yes, that's the one! And damn, no pics of the sissy bar!

Well that was an interesting set up! Very creative I like it. I wonder if Buddy Boy and his lady are still around this forum?The looked pleased with their scoots. Nice! R

still shifting wrote:Well that was an interesting set up! Very creative I like it. I wonder if Buddy Boy and his lady are still around this forum?The looked pleased with their scoots. Nice! R

I've seen him post recently. He installed LED brake light strips in his topcase.

Buddy girl and I are still around. I have since removed the backrest. It is sitting on tool box. I will see if I can find some pictures. It consisted of a top case backrest cushion and electrical conduit. I had to make the cushion removable so that I could get to the under seat compartment.

I have posted additional pictures here
https://sites.google.com/site/buddyboyscooter/home
They are the last four pictures on the picture page. If you want information on parts, i will come up with a list. The most expensive part was the top case cushion. Let me know.

Personally I prefer saddlebags. After three 1,200+ mile trips (Vespa, BV 500 & Burgman) I want my center of gravity low and the least interference with fueling possible.

Cdwise, I'm considering saddle bags for the trip to NOLA this summer. What kind do you use?

Two good quality cinch straps should let you lock it down to the seat horizontally pretty easy without much worries and would be my recommendation.

Granted my VMAX is a little bit bigger than a Buddy but the back seat is not wider than a scooter seat and I did a month with an 85L pack strapped to the back like this without problems (plus I had all sorts of other random crap as well, like a bear can and tons of water). One trick: I remove the waist pad strap part so it didn't hang down (not much need for it without doing serious hiking, some smaller bags you can tuck them in).

example 1 on flickr | example 2 on flickr

tl;dr: Don't worry about it too much, if you strap it on at all decently it won't fall off.

How to pack a Buddy for a trip:

Pretty certain to break the back panel under the rack. That was my experience on the way to San Antonio anyway; my backpack ended up being too heavy (on top of the Prima bag on the rack) and I had to wear it for a few hours on the way down.

Since I hadn't packed it with this in mind, it was rather painful by the time I made it in!

I loosely plan to use the (giant) saddlebags Laura tried to provide to me last year and strap a small backpack to the back of my (hopeful to buy; finances are tricky right now) Shad 33 case so it sits on the back of the seat. That should get me to NOLA in good form!

ericalm wrote:How to pack a Buddy for a trip:

Bah, some people overpack.
Here's how to do it:

I was looking to add a sissy bar to my Buddy to make sure my daughter stayed aboard when she was a passenger (she is 12, 5"7" and about 100# soaking wet, so we look like a hippopotamus riding a little scooter with a giraffe on the back, but she fits, along with her absurdly long legs...)

Anyway, I contacted a shop that does customized choppers and they were amused and somewhat intrigued to be doing something on a scooter, but they liked my scooter and were surprisingly respectful and seemed willing to try to work something up for me when I explained the situation.

I ended up not doing it and went for a second scooter where I would NOT be putting my elbows on my kid's knees as I rode down the road...heaven knows what I would have done at the next growth spurt and the idea of having my child's knees in my armpits as I tried to maneuver down the road was not all that appealing to me.

But, this might also be an option, the buy that I talked to was going to do some chrome and they bend their own sissy bars all the time for their own creations, the plan was going to be to use a similar mounting method as the rear rack, with longer bolts.

Cheers,
-v