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650 Sport Pass Seat Comfort & Safety - Mike Mas
Hey Guys - Half the time that I’m out on my 650 Sport, Linda’s hanging on the back. Even before my Sport 650 arrived, I had my back rest sitting at home. Adding a back rest provides another level of safety for your passenger, since by pushing on the pegs puts pressure on the backrest, offering another method of hanging on the the rear of the bike other than the grab rails.
When I set out to find a backrest for my 650 Sport - Givi seemed to be the most popular and priced right around $120. The problem is it did not complement the Sport’s seat and looked to be more of an add-on item. BMW’s backrest while being more money at $262, has real fabric and stitching like the factory seat. In addition the backrest offers beefier mounting and trim for the hardware. Regretfully, when I went to order the backrest the parts guy told me I’ll need to replace both grab handles since two extra bolts were required to secure the rest. Anyhow, these were $68 each for a grand total of $398.00. If this sounds like a lot, you’re right, but what ain’t expensive on any BMW? If it makes anyone feel better, the back rest for my Can Am Spyder was $795, but its a substantial piece of furniture with many adjustments to fit the passenger.
Installing the back rest only involves removing four bolts - then replacing them with the new handles. Somehow I ended up with silver handles instead of black, but I think it actually looks better. After you install the new handles by the front bolts, you just set the rest on the rear and secure it with four bolts and two trim pieces to finish it off. While the mounting looks ok, the trim pieces could have a better fit. I like the fact the rest is low, since it makes it easier to swing your leg over the rest when climbing on the bike, and does not change the lines of the bike.
Foot Pegs - What good is a nice backrest if you don’t have some nice floorboards to go along with it. Regretfully unlike the 650 GT with its built in floor boards for the passenger, the Sport only has some cheapo pegs. The boards I added to my 650 actually came off my Indian Scout. They are Mini-Boards manufactured by Kuryakyn and offer tons of adjustments to make them fit almost any bike.
The only modification I had to make was - to remove the metal sleeve and add a few washers instead to get the board level. I didn’t care for the ugly stock galvanized finish of the stock peg mounts, so I painted them gloss black to match the frame. Be advised the pegs don't really retract like the originals however since the board is so far aft on the mounting side its not a problem.
All in all, the back rest and floorboards adds a lot of comfort and safety for the passenger and the best part both are small enough to where they do not distract from the Sporty look of the 650.
Ride Safe - Mike
BMW Backrest # 77 34 8 527 045 $262
Grab Handle Left # 46 72 8 527 814 $68.25
Grab Handle Right #46 72 8 527 818 $68.25
Kuryakyn Spear Mini Boards reveille # P326939 $91.79
Hey Guys - Half the time that I’m out on my 650 Sport, Linda’s hanging on the back. Even before my Sport 650 arrived, I had my back rest sitting at home. Adding a back rest provides another level of safety for your passenger, since by pushing on the pegs puts pressure on the backrest, offering another method of hanging on the the rear of the bike other than the grab rails.
When I set out to find a backrest for my 650 Sport - Givi seemed to be the most popular and priced right around $120. The problem is it did not complement the Sport’s seat and looked to be more of an add-on item. BMW’s backrest while being more money at $262, has real fabric and stitching like the factory seat. In addition the backrest offers beefier mounting and trim for the hardware. Regretfully, when I went to order the backrest the parts guy told me I’ll need to replace both grab handles since two extra bolts were required to secure the rest. Anyhow, these were $68 each for a grand total of $398.00. If this sounds like a lot, you’re right, but what ain’t expensive on any BMW? If it makes anyone feel better, the back rest for my Can Am Spyder was $795, but its a substantial piece of furniture with many adjustments to fit the passenger.
Installing the back rest only involves removing four bolts - then replacing them with the new handles. Somehow I ended up with silver handles instead of black, but I think it actually looks better. After you install the new handles by the front bolts, you just set the rest on the rear and secure it with four bolts and two trim pieces to finish it off. While the mounting looks ok, the trim pieces could have a better fit. I like the fact the rest is low, since it makes it easier to swing your leg over the rest when climbing on the bike, and does not change the lines of the bike.
Foot Pegs - What good is a nice backrest if you don’t have some nice floorboards to go along with it. Regretfully unlike the 650 GT with its built in floor boards for the passenger, the Sport only has some cheapo pegs. The boards I added to my 650 actually came off my Indian Scout. They are Mini-Boards manufactured by Kuryakyn and offer tons of adjustments to make them fit almost any bike.
The only modification I had to make was - to remove the metal sleeve and add a few washers instead to get the board level. I didn’t care for the ugly stock galvanized finish of the stock peg mounts, so I painted them gloss black to match the frame. Be advised the pegs don't really retract like the originals however since the board is so far aft on the mounting side its not a problem.
All in all, the back rest and floorboards adds a lot of comfort and safety for the passenger and the best part both are small enough to where they do not distract from the Sporty look of the 650.
Ride Safe - Mike
BMW Backrest # 77 34 8 527 045 $262
Grab Handle Left # 46 72 8 527 814 $68.25
Grab Handle Right #46 72 8 527 818 $68.25
Kuryakyn Spear Mini Boards reveille # P326939 $91.79
