Installed my new Harley Adjustable Riders Backrest this morning, only to find out that it wouldn't work with the Tallboy seat on my 2012 Limited. The seat was almost 2" off from where it needed to be. Re-checked the P&A book and it doesn't say it won't work with the Tallboy.

But, in the P&A book under the Tallboy seat description, it does say that it will work with the standard backrest, but not the Adjustable.

After saying a few choice words, I weighed my options. I ordered it from an online dealer and I installed it so it couldn't be returned.

After thinking about it for awhile, I decided to see if I could make it work.

Here is what I did in case anyone finds themselves in the same position.

Re-drilled holes in the backrest mounting bracket 1 3/4" from the stock position.



Fabricated a new bracket extension piece.







And, it works!!



The Backrest won't fold down all the way, but I can live with that.

 

Nice!
The Harley online catalog does say the adjustable won't work with the Tallboy seat, so I went with the standard rider rest. I still feel like it pushes me forward vs not using it at all. This could be future mod for me.

 

Nice! good work man. Do not underestimate a man in his garage. It can be done! A+
Thanks for sharing with the class. Thanks for the pics as well. great post man.

 

Yea, that was my concern with the standard backrest, I was afraid it wouldn't give me the room I needed. I've actually had my Tallboy seat re-worked a little to give me even more room. I also liked the way the Pad bracket fit into the base bracket better. With this mod, I can take advantage of the extra room from the Tallboy and still have the nicer backrest.

Thanks, gotta tell ya though, I was a little nervous drilling into the bracket. I was pretty sure I could make it work, but not 100%. If it wouldn't have worked, it would have been a lot harder selling the adjustable bracket with a couple extra holes drilled in it, or I would have had to take a bigger hit on the price. But, all is well

 

good job talldog , that seat really moves you back , how do you like it ? what about the passenger ?

 

Seat is a Tallboy that has been re-worked to give me an additional 1 1/2" back and 1" higher and Gel pads for both me and the wife, it's pretty comfortable.

I had to have the Passenger Backrest bracket cut and re-welded so the wife didn't lose any room.

 

My problem is just the opposite,I have the Sundowner seat and the backrest is too high on my back.I've been looking into some modifications like you made but to shorten the backrest.Thanks.

 

Same issue will be found with the HD Hammock seat except its slot is only half as far back. Fixed mine the same way as OP.

 

Thanks for sharing the info and photos. Getting ready to replicate your mod. Couple of questions for you:
1. Do you still have this on your bike and has it held up with the modifications you made?
2. You mentioned that the backrest does not push forward like it used to. Is there enough room for wifey to get on and off?
3. Could you provide some dims for the angled bracket you fab'd?

 

Hi hunts4beer. I know this is a dated thread, but thought I'd take a chance. Did you ever end up modifying your adjustable backrest to work with your tallboy seat? I've got a '14 Road King that I'm adding a tallboy seat to, but would really like to keep my adjustable backrest. It seems that the recess in the tallboy seat is way too small to accommodate the height of the adjustable bracket.