passenger armrests idea

[wmh9680]

Good Morning, Has anyone ever thought about passenger armrests that have a vertical handle at the front end for the passenger to hold onto, kinda like some upright ab exercise machines. My wife has had 2 spinal fusions and she loves to ride. I was teaching her how to drive last week and I was on the back and I felt how she feels every bump and the jerk from taking off and stopping and realized she needs something to hold onto to prevent slightest jerk. Even taking off slowly or downshifting the driver has a completely different feeling than the passenger. Just like in the car the passenger has a totally different feeling than the driver (just ask your wife). It has changed the way I drive. She cannot afford to have another back surgery. I'm sure there are others out there that this would help. Thanks, Mike

 

[DGoebel]

I noticed that you have the Show Chrome armrests, have you checked out the newly released BRP armrests? They might give her more to grab.

 

[Bob Denman]

:shocked: My initial thought is that you had better plan for what might happen if you hit your head on one of them in an accident...

 

[UtahPete]

Good Morning, Has anyone ever thought about passenger armrests that have a vertical handle at the front end for the passenger to hold onto, kinda like some upright ab exercise machines. My wife has had 2 spinal fusions and she loves to ride. I was teaching her how to drive last week and I was on the back and I felt how she feels every bump and the jerk from taking off and stopping and realized she needs something to hold onto to prevent slightest jerk. Even taking off slowly or downshifting the driver has a completely different feeling than the passenger. Just like in the car the passenger has a totally different feeling than the driver (just ask your wife). It has changed the way I drive. She cannot afford to have another back surgery. I'm sure there are others out there that this would help. Thanks, Mike

I think you would have to modify yours to accomplish your objectives. Some of the folks on this forum are good at working with metal and could probably give you some ideas of how to go about doing that. Good luck.

 

[UtahPete]

My wife has had 2 spinal fusions and she loves to ride. I was teaching her how to drive last week and I was on the back and I felt how she feels every bump and the jerk from taking off and stopping and realized she needs something to hold onto to prevent slightest jerk. Even taking off slowly or downshifting the driver has a completely different feeling than the passenger. Just like in the car the passenger has a totally different feeling than the driver (just ask your wife). It has changed the way I drive. She cannot afford to have another back surgery. I'm sure there are others out there that this would help. Thanks, Mike

Thinking outside the box here.

Instead of vertical grab bars mounted on arm rests, why not get rid of the arm rests and just hold the horizontal grab bars on the RT?

Might be able to modify a standard car seat belt and harness for the passenger...

Sew some straps onto the back of your jacket for her to hold onto?

 

[wmh9680]

I think she needs something in front of her (like the handlebars are for the driver) to brace her forward and backward. I've had some back problems (in fact I'm seeing the back Dr tomorrow to see if I need surgery) and I know that something in front of me made me more comfortable. Thanks, Mike

 

[UtahPete]

I think she needs something in front of her (like the handlebars are for the driver) to brace her forward and backward. I've had some back problems (in fact I'm seeing the back Dr tomorrow to see if I need surgery) and I know that something in front of me made me more comfortable. Thanks, Mike

How about a bracket attached to the driver backrest?

 

[Joel The Biker]

Some flat 1/4 steel plate the extends from the passenger armrests forward, then a vertical 1 inch tube with foam grips should work. Simply attach the plate under the armrest pad where the 2 screws are. Should be simple to make. If you find some 7/8 tubing you could add a nice set of kuryakyn ISO grips.

 

[Fire34]

Mine Too

We have a 2013 RTL , my wife has had the same surgeries,she loves the support the seat gives her. That was one of my worries also. We are having the BRP armrests installed as we speak. My wife has never told me that her ride in the back is unstable or any other complaints, about the only thing i hear from her is I wished you would have told me you were going to do that:yikes: so she could hang on to the oh shoot bars. It will be interesting to see how the armrests hinder access to the passenger grab bars.
Does your wife have any problems getting on or off, my wife has to use driver foot boards as she has trouble getting on using her foot rests other than that he has not let me know.

Dave

 

[wmh9680]

We have a 2013 RTL , my wife has had the same surgeries,she loves the support the seat gives her. That was one of my worries also. We are having the BRP armrests installed as we speak. My wife has never told me that her ride in the back is unstable or any other complaints, about the only thing i hear from her is I wished you would have told me you were going to do that:yikes: so she could hang on to the oh shoot bars. It will be interesting to see how the armrests hinder access to the passenger grab bars.
Does your wife have any problems getting on or off, my wife has to use driver foot boards as she has trouble getting on using her foot rests other than that he has not let me know.

Dave

She has a little trouble getting on and off. Her bottom 6 vertebrae are fused together so she cannot afford any more. When I rode on the back with her driving slow in a parking lot I noticed the jerking alot more in the rear than the front from stopping, starting and shifting. Mike

 

[fatenhappy]

I think she needs something in front of her (like the handlebars are for the driver) to brace her forward and backward. I've had some back problems (in fact I'm seeing the back Dr tomorrow to see if I need surgery) and I know that something in front of me made me more comfortable. Thanks, Mike

Why not do something like you have sort of halfway already said there .. why not have some type of handlebar set up on from the rear of your backrest / support ... just something easily custom made so the little lovelly doesn't get tired holding onto them ... adjust the length of each of the side areas where gripping to her satisfaction ... Only problem I could foresee is her getting on and off ... but try this for a starter .. (Just a quick edit ... we have similar issues where as my little lovely has had MS for 35 or more years and also has those balance problems ... also bare in mind I am 99% sure its illegal anywhere to strap your pillion in with any type of seat belt arrangement ... that needs checking though as I could be wrong with you guys in the States)

 

[wmh9680]

Thanks everyone, still thinkin and looking, Just wanna make her as comfortable as possible.

Has anyone else rode on the back to see the difference and while you are there think how it would be if you had a serious back problem. I know we all have some type of problem but 6 vertebra fussed is pretty serious. She's fine but we cannot afford another surgery. I don't think she will ever be the driver as it takes too much to turn at stop/slow speeds and I wouldn't want to push her back. Thanks, Mike

 

[DGoebel]

Having just installed the BRP RT Arm Rests and asking my wife to envision this issue, she said the Brp armrests have a nice grip contour to them, (the front underside of the armrests have a recessed area where she's able to grab kinda like when she could grab my love handles....). I installed them and not only do they mount with several bolts (versus the original screws), they tie into the RT's backrest and it's mounting bolts. I've really manhandled them and I'm 250lbs and they're very sturdy. But flip them up out of the way and easy on, easy off. You might just find a local or a dealer that has them already installed and have her give them a try.

My wife is absolutely sold on them, and she's tried almost all the other swinging versions before the BRP ones.

she also said, it was nice that she could flip up one or both sides and still grab the Heated passenger grab handles to warm her hands if need be.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

ARM-REST ISSUES

Having just installed the BRP RT Arm Rests and asking my wife to envision this issue, she said the Brp armrests have a nice grip contour to them, (the front underside of the armrests have a recessed area where she's able to grab kinda like when she could grab my love handles....). I installed them and not only do they mount with several bolts (versus the original screws), they tie into the RT's backrest and it's mounting bolts. I've really manhandled them and I'm 250lbs and they're very sturdy. But flip them up out of the way and easy on, easy off. You might just find a local or a dealer that has them already installed and have her give them a try.

My wife is absolutely sold on them, and she's tried almost all the other swinging versions before the BRP ones.

she also said, it was nice that she could flip up one or both sides and still grab the Heated passenger grab handles to warm her hands if need be.

Sounds great - however I think the OP was concerned about the passenger going forward during HARD Braking .... I seriously doubt your wife's grip will be strong enough to prevent that ..... I doubt very , very much that a 1/4 " thick steel plate is necessary to accomplish a mounting platform ..........jmho ..... Mike :thumbup:

 

[UtahPete]

I noticed that you have the Show Chrome armrests, have you checked out the newly released BRP armrests? They might give her more to grab.

I believe the Show Chrome armrests are mounted to the body plastic, not to any substantial metal part. They won't take much more stress than what they are designed for (resting the arms).

Anything designed to provide bracing for the passenger is going to have to be mounted more securely. I understand the BRP armrests are.

 

[mark4Jesus]

I just wish that BRP made them in brown to match my seat.

 

[wmh9680]

What I was thinking about was the upright hand grips at the top of this exercise machine

 

[Revalden]

Have you seen the Slingshot? Perhaps you and your lady should give it a test drive.

 

[ThreeWheels]

My girlfriends have always grabbed ME for support.
Sort of a win-win proposition.

 

[Revalden]

Grab Bars

How about a bicycle handlebar cut in half and bolted to the bottom of the arm rests. Or perhaps the bars off of an old Subaru Brat rear seat?