As I indicated in another thread, I'm finally getting around to posting some pics of the Nomad backrest that I mounted on my V2k.
The background on this is Utah Motorcyclist suggested we try and see if his Nomad backrest would fit on my bike. I had indicated that I wasn't all that happy with the look of my Hard Chrome backrest so he suggested we try his Nomad backrest on my bike to see if that might be a possibility. His bike was torn down to do his repaint job so it was a good time to try and see if it would fit. He also had seen a Nomad backrest for sale on eBay for cheap so we thought if this fits I'd buy it.
The hole pattern on the fender fit perfectly for the side brackets. The shape of the front of the bracket fit the shape of the chrome fender perfectly. The problem came with the rear part of the bracket. When the actual backrest tube was bolted onto each side bracket, the setup was too wide for the side brackets to fit flush with the chrome fender rail on each side of the fender. To remedy that, I used a 3/4" chrome spacer on each side, fitted between the inner part of each bracket and the chrome fender rail. The reason I had to do this was the fender on a V2K tapers toward the rear part of the fender whereas the fender on a Nomad doesn't. It appears that the attach points for the forward part of each side bracket are about the same width on both bikes, but towards the rear attach point the fender width is wider on a Nomad than the V2K- therefore the spacers. It was beginning to look like this was going to work!
I next attached my US Saddlebag brackets to the outside of each backrest bracket. This required getting some longer SS cap bolts as they had to be long enough to go through the saddlebag bracket, a small 1/4" spacer, the backrest bracket, the 3/4" chrome spacer, the chrome fender rail, and finally into the fender itself. I don't remember but the bolt length was 2 1/2 to 3" inches long!
I next mounted the saddlebags and immediately noticed my next problem- the bags looked "pigeon toed" on the bike. Time for more spacers! I got two more 3/4" spacers and fit them between the forward attach point and the chrome fender rail. Now the bags looked nice and parallel to the frame of the bike.
Before mounting my bags back on the bike I was concerned that the spacers I had to use would make the whole setup look kind of weird. It actually didn't look all that bad and once the bags were back on the bike, you don't even notice the spacers. In the end I paid $75 for the backrest and $65 for the luggage rack. I spent another $25 for spacers and bolts and $30 for a Vulcan emblem to put on the backside of the backrest pad. I then ordered up some studs and Mustang conchos and Utah Motorcyclist (Jared) came over and put those on the backrest pad so it would match my Mustang seat.
Once it was all mounted up my next problem was the license plate would not fit up under the Cobra luggage rack. I then laid down the plate on the fender but I really didn't like how it turned out. So I ordered up a Show Chrome relocation bracket which put the plate down under the turn signal bar. I then ordered up an LED license plate frame to light up the plate at night time to keep from getting harassed by the cops.
Following are some pics of the whole setup. I think it all turned pretty good and I like the looks of it much better than the Hard Chrome backrest I had before and also better than the V2K backrest setup from Kawi.
Here's the pics:
Side view with saddlebags
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From the rear
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Rear view with relocated license plate
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Left rear attach point with 3/4" chrome spacer
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Side view without saddlebag
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Another side view without saddlebag
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OEM backrest pad that Utah Motorcyclist studded & conchoed for me plus the new Vulcan emblem
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The background on this is Utah Motorcyclist suggested we try and see if his Nomad backrest would fit on my bike. I had indicated that I wasn't all that happy with the look of my Hard Chrome backrest so he suggested we try his Nomad backrest on my bike to see if that might be a possibility. His bike was torn down to do his repaint job so it was a good time to try and see if it would fit. He also had seen a Nomad backrest for sale on eBay for cheap so we thought if this fits I'd buy it.
The hole pattern on the fender fit perfectly for the side brackets. The shape of the front of the bracket fit the shape of the chrome fender perfectly. The problem came with the rear part of the bracket. When the actual backrest tube was bolted onto each side bracket, the setup was too wide for the side brackets to fit flush with the chrome fender rail on each side of the fender. To remedy that, I used a 3/4" chrome spacer on each side, fitted between the inner part of each bracket and the chrome fender rail. The reason I had to do this was the fender on a V2K tapers toward the rear part of the fender whereas the fender on a Nomad doesn't. It appears that the attach points for the forward part of each side bracket are about the same width on both bikes, but towards the rear attach point the fender width is wider on a Nomad than the V2K- therefore the spacers. It was beginning to look like this was going to work!
I next attached my US Saddlebag brackets to the outside of each backrest bracket. This required getting some longer SS cap bolts as they had to be long enough to go through the saddlebag bracket, a small 1/4" spacer, the backrest bracket, the 3/4" chrome spacer, the chrome fender rail, and finally into the fender itself. I don't remember but the bolt length was 2 1/2 to 3" inches long!
I next mounted the saddlebags and immediately noticed my next problem- the bags looked "pigeon toed" on the bike. Time for more spacers! I got two more 3/4" spacers and fit them between the forward attach point and the chrome fender rail. Now the bags looked nice and parallel to the frame of the bike.
Before mounting my bags back on the bike I was concerned that the spacers I had to use would make the whole setup look kind of weird. It actually didn't look all that bad and once the bags were back on the bike, you don't even notice the spacers. In the end I paid $75 for the backrest and $65 for the luggage rack. I spent another $25 for spacers and bolts and $30 for a Vulcan emblem to put on the backside of the backrest pad. I then ordered up some studs and Mustang conchos and Utah Motorcyclist (Jared) came over and put those on the backrest pad so it would match my Mustang seat.
Once it was all mounted up my next problem was the license plate would not fit up under the Cobra luggage rack. I then laid down the plate on the fender but I really didn't like how it turned out. So I ordered up a Show Chrome relocation bracket which put the plate down under the turn signal bar. I then ordered up an LED license plate frame to light up the plate at night time to keep from getting harassed by the cops.
Following are some pics of the whole setup. I think it all turned pretty good and I like the looks of it much better than the Hard Chrome backrest I had before and also better than the V2K backrest setup from Kawi.
Here's the pics:
Side view with saddlebags
From the rear
Rear view with relocated license plate
Left rear attach point with 3/4" chrome spacer
Side view without saddlebag
Another side view without saddlebag
OEM backrest pad that Utah Motorcyclist studded & conchoed for me plus the new Vulcan emblem
