Sissy Bar?

[codemonkey]

My 10 year old daughter really, really, really wants to ride on the back of my scooter (so bad that she's asked for motorcycle gear for her birthday in June.) I'm not ready for two-up riding yet but maybe I will be by the time her birthday rolls around. I think I'd feel better about it if she had some kind of a back rest. Plus I think it would look cool

[KidDynomite]

I think I'd feel better about it if she had some kind of a back rest.

You'd probably have to buy one and fabricate it to bolt onto the Buddy.

Maybe a better opiton for you is the back rack/ case. This would allow for just a snug litte area for her to squeeze in behind you.

[x-mojito50mod]

you can use a Vespa one, and do a little grinding/bending to make it fit. Check this post:
viewtopic.php?t=717&highlight=mod+buddy

[rablack]

I ride two up with my 11 year old son. I've got a rack and topcase which definitely adds not only to utililty but to passenger security. I'm going to fabricate a back pad for the case to make it a little more comfortable over bumps.

[San Francisco]

Yes, as others said, get a rack and add a case of some sort. But keep in
mind that a child will not be leaning back to take advantage of the
case or bar sticking up. They are just too small. What they need to be
doing is holding on to you. That requires that he or she be sitting up
close to you, away from the "backrest."

In any event, the Prima case which I have acts as a very nice backrest
for the adult passenger.

Above all else, go on ebay and get a child's full face helmet, a protective
jacket and boots. It's damn dangerous to little ones on bikes and scooters
even in the small "fender benders."

Plus might as well teach em while they are young about safety, that starts
with the proper gear.

[codemonkey]

She will definitely 100% geared up before she sits on my scooter. And I think we'll do lots of parking lot practice so she can learn to be a good passenger before I take her on the street. I'm just thinking the sissy bar or topcase or whatever would be a little extra security.

[ScooterDave]

As someone who takes his 6 year old daughter on scooter rides, I use my scooter with the backrest. I wedge her between myself and the backrest. She was never the size of a normal kid. She is very tall for her age & weighs 85 pounds.

codemonkey, judging from your post, you are a newer rider. If you have your daughter just holding on to you & you expect her to lean into the curves with you, you are mistaken. Her instinct will be to try to stay upright. By wedging my daughter between myself & the backrest, she is forced to lean into the curves with me.

Oh, by all means buy her a helmet on eBay. To do that, you are going to need to know what size helmet she wears. To do that, you will need to go to a motorcycle shop & have her try on helmets. Salesmen love to have people come in and spend 30-45 minutes with them trying on helmets and have no intention of buying anything from them. Sheesh.

[codemonkey]

Yeah, I'm a new rider. I've had my license for less than a week. They talked a bit in the class about riding with a passenger making sure they are properly geared up and know they need to lean with you. I'm definitely not going to stick her on the back until we're both ready.

[ericalm]

Given the rash of weld failures on the Buddy rear racks, I'm not sure I'd trust anything attached to one to reliably support anyone leaning against it, even a child... especially a child. The fact that the hardware for the racks isn't quite right—the rear nut barely fits on, you can get it maybe 2 rotations down onto the bolt—doesn't inspire much confidence either. It's fine for holding/supporting your gear, but should it fail with someone leaning back on it, the passenger could get spooked and react poorly.