Passenger arm rest questions

[Eydugstr]

I apologize if this subject is overdone, but the g/f has asked to get some arm rests installed. What exactly will I need to add these on? Using the search function, it looks like someone on the forum was making adapter brackets that allowed for using Goldwing arm rests, are these still available?

[Bulrid8]

Early 80's goldwing arm rests should be direct bolt on.

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

I apologize if ........... it looks like someone on the forum was making adapter brackets that allowed for using Goldwing arm rests, are these still available?

That member is "Chris near Kansas City", look him up and PM him or eMail him. I got mine from him and honestly my wife loves them. To be even more honest I've used them from time to time when riding solo, just hit cruise, lean back and rest an elbow.
They work great and Chris does excellent work. FWIT, I also got additional foot pegs for my wife as well. They give her another position to rest her feet on long ride, anything to make her more comfortable makes me happier!

[Eydugstr]

I apologize if ........... it looks like someone on the forum was making adapter brackets that allowed for using Goldwing arm rests, are these still available?

That member is "Chris near Kansas City", look him up and PM him or eMail him. I got mine from him and honestly my wife loves them. To be even more honest I've used them from time to time when riding solo, just hit cruise, lean back and rest an elbow.
They work great and Chris does excellent work. FWIT, I also got additional foot pegs for my wife as well. They give her another position to rest her feet on long ride, anything to make her more comfortable makes me happier!

I've emailed Marvella's twice about the passenger footpegs, but still haven't seen them come back up as being available. Will PM CnKC.

[SgtSlag]

Early 80's GW arm rests will bolt onto the upper rear shock bolt (that, or the forward passenger grab bar bolt -- same bolt?). However, rotating them forward/back, will rub their heavy metal plate against the passenger grab bars, chewing metal off both. I used washers as spacers, installing a longer bolt, for a while. In the end, it did not work out: they would work loose, and fall down. I had to re-tighten them 1-2 times per 8-hour riding day. I finally took them off.

They are great, when they are tight enough to stay in place, but the high maintenance of trying to keep them tight enough not to fall, was a deal-breaker. Even after I removed the passenger grab bars, I still had loosening issues. Tried nylon lock nuts -- no joy.

We trade positions on the bike around every 2 hours. I love those arm rests, and so does my wife. We miss them -- a lot! Thinking of putting them back on and trying some Loc-Tite, as we have a big trip planned for two weeks from now.

For the passenger to mount/dismount, with the driver on the front, be v-e-r-y careful... They get in the way, and it is easier than you think to catch a foot on one of them, and fall. I tried to hop off in a hurry, on a trip, as a companion bike fell sideways into a ditch, with two adults on board. I tried to hop off to help as we were on a busy, narrow road... My foot caught, and I fell backwards, ringing my bell! I still love those arm rests, but be forewarned, and fore-armed.

The 80's GW arm rests are fantastic quality, off of e-Bay; they are aftermarket, at a decent price. The mounting is a little challenging (and potentially dangerous during mounting/dismounting, as they are never fully out of your way). Cheers!

[Eydugstr]

Early 80's GW arm rests will bolt onto the upper rear shock bolt (that, or the forward passenger grab bar bolt -- same bolt?). However, rotating them forward/back, will rub their heavy metal plate against the passenger grab bars, chewing metal off both. I used washers as spacers, installing a longer bolt, for a while. In the end, it did not work out: they would work loose, and fall down. I had to re-tighten them 1-2 times per 8-hour riding day. I finally took them off.

They are great, when they are tight enough to stay in place, but the high maintenance of trying to keep them tight enough not to fall, was a deal-breaker. Even after I removed the passenger grab bars, I still had loosening issues. Tried nylon lock nuts -- no joy.

We trade positions on the bike around every 2 hours. I love those arm rests, and so does my wife. We miss them -- a lot! Thinking of putting them back on and trying some Loc-Tite, as we have a big trip planned for two weeks from now.

For the passenger to mount/dismount, with the driver on the front, be v-e-r-y careful... They get in the way, and it is easier than you think to catch a foot on one of them, and fall. I tried to hop off in a hurry, on a trip, as a companion bike fell sideways into a ditch, with two adults on board. I tried to hop off to help as we were on a busy, narrow road... My foot caught, and I fell backwards, ringing my bell! I still love those arm rests, but be forewarned, and fore-armed.

The 80's GW arm rests are fantastic quality, off of e-Bay; they are aftermarket, at a decent price. The mounting is a little challenging (and potentially dangerous during mounting/dismounting, as they are never fully out of your way). Cheers!

TY for posting this SgtSlag - this helps a LOT. A majority of the early eighties GL armrest kits on ebay look nice, but if it uses the upper shock mounting bolt I'm outta luck (My bike has a Markland style backrest which already takes up a lot of space on the shock mounting bolt threads.). Does Chris in KC's mounts correct this problem? Or am I stuck with investing in a Utopia backrest to get around that issue as well?

Did come across a doable but rough set of factory arm rests (or at least a set that appears to bolt onto the trunk) but from what I've read, not the desired set up?

[SgtSlag]

Here is a link to what I have: e-Bay link to early 80's GW Arm Rests. They are great quality, but...

This set (link) has possibilities, if you don't mind fabricating, and taking a chance. The price is decent.

My concern is that mounting anything to my ABS plastic trunk, will weaken, and crack, my trunk. Not terribly comfortable with passengers (like me) pushing themselves up, on the arm rests, when the armrests are bolted to the ABS Trunk... I would use ABS Prep & Glue to weld reinforcement inside my Trunk, to beef up the attachment area's plastic, before attaching anything to my Trunk. I've made repairs to my V-XII Trunk, and Vetter Windjammer fairings in the past, using ABS Glue (worked quite well, actually), but it is not for the faint of heart. ABS Glue is ABS plastic, dissolved in a liquid solvent: when the solvent evaporates, the ABS plastic is left in place; the Glue is actually a paste. After it cures/dries, it can be sanded, and possibly polished. Remember that ABS Glue is more like welding, and sculpting, with a paste, and you will be better able to employ it successfully.

These, for a GW 1800, are possibly adaptable to a V-XII, but I am only guessing, really. However you attach whichever type of armrests to your bike, carefully think about passengers pressing down on them, to lift their bodies, to re-position themselves on the bike: will the armrests be able to support the weight without failure?... The GL1200 armrests will bolt onto the bike's frame, easily handling the weight of a passenger lifting themselves up; the other types, I am unsure of.

Be sure to shop for best price -- I doubt I chose the best to link to in this message. I noticed that several sellers offer the same products, but for very different price points.

If you buy something, and are able to adapt it to your V-XII, please come back and share your results with us, including photo's. I believe many besides just me, would very much appreciate the information. Cheers!

[Jimvoyager01]

I bought a pair of Big Bike arm rests for a 1800 wing and made adapters for the 1200...they bolt on to the passenger handle bolts not the trunk

[SgtSlag]

Jimvoyager01, can you post some photo's of your modifications? Would love to see how you did it. I assume you used this model? Same unit available from Big Bike Parts, but at a higher price.

Looked at Big Bike Parts, found this HD model, which utilizes a flat, bolt-on plate, for the arm rests (look at the second photo of the assembly). I am wondering if we could adapt this horizontal plate to our XII's... This has very real possibilities. I have the trunk extender rails, which leaves quite an open space when the trunk is all the way back. Will have to look tonight, to see if I can fit that HD plate in there. Cheers!

[SgtSlag]

Eureka! It finally hit me... If I can find a C-clamp mount that will lock around the passenger grab bar, I should be able to mount the GL1200 Arm Rests to it. This would lift them up a few inches, which hopefully won't be too high. Need to go home and spend some time measuring, and testing. Lining the C-clamp with some inner tube rubber, will prevent scratches, as well as holding things securely in place. Thank you, Jimvoyager01 and Eydugstr! Cheers!

[Mr Jensee]

Charlie's Voyager had the factory arm rests and I decided after looking them over that I would not want them on my bike. As it is just getting off and on with the head rest is problem enough. Besides I dont ride my wife often enough nor do I go far enough to need them.

[Eydugstr]

Well....here's what I've learned/acquired so far...Again, thanks for all the responses.

Chris near KC no longer makes the brackets.

Found a rough but usable factory armrest set up from someone on the XII facebook page. Calling it my "Plan C." Like others have stated, not wild about how they bolt onto a plastic trunk. If it were me on the back I know at some point I'd put weight on the armests, so I can't expect her NOT to.

My "Plan A" is a set of GL1200 armrests from ebay. For future reference, they're made by an outfit called "Add on accessories" which carry a lot of stuff for Goldwings. https://addonaccessories.net/ Still waiting for them to arrive, and have no idea if my luck at adapting them will be any better than anyone else's.

SgtSlag - Could a piece of rubber fuel line be slide over the grab bars to act as a barrier inbetween the bars and the GL1200 brackets?

Mr Jensee - Can you post a closer pic of how you adapted the factory armrests to work on your bike? Noticed they are not attached to the trunk.

Anyone who has made adapters and gone with GL1800 and GL1500 - Please post a close up pic of your adapters. This is (possibly) my "Plan B", but I really do not want to play guessing games with armrest sets that run from $160 to $300 a pop.

[Jimvoyager01]

Eydugstr,,SgtSlag,,,The Big Bike Parts passenger arm rests i used are part # 52-677. I made a flat plate and bolted it to the bike between the bike and the passenger grab handles...Then i bolted the arm rests to this flat plate.. The pictures of 52-677 do not show the part that bolts to the plate.. J&P cycles shows a little better picture of the part that bolts to the plate,,their Big Bike Parts arm rest is listed as Show Chrome,,,,J&P cycles part # ZZ81002,,,,same Big Bike Parts # 52-677.... After some trial and error i reduced the plate to no larger than needed, and replaced some bolts to longer ones. Also i switched the passenger grab handles to opposite sides..

[SgtSlag]

Eydugstr, any rubber will work: it grips the grab bar surface, and the mount surface, with tremendous strength. It also prevents scratching. This has become my standard mounting technique for clamping things on tubes: front crash bars, handle bars, etc. An old bicycle tire tube is perfect to cut up for what you need. One inner tube will last you a very long time. Cheers!

[Eydugstr]

Well, got the GL1200 armrest kit in...No luck. The brackets that bolt to the frame are too short and bent at an off angle. Are you guys modifying these brackets to get them to work? If so, how?

[SgtSlag]

I just received a set of aluminum P-clamps, last night. Plan is to try mounting them on the passenger grab bars, and then attaching the GL1200 arm rests to these. This will lift the angled brackets out of the way of everything. Will be experimenting with which way to orient the grab bars, to get optimum positioning of the arm rest mounts.

When I mounted the Honda arm rests to the shock absorber bolt, the angled brackets of the arm rests were grinding away on the bike's frame, I believe. Wasn't a good situation. Hoping that the P-clamps will not raise the arm rests up too high (I will be putting the P-clamps pointing downwards, to lower the brackets as much as possible). Otherwise, they should be perfect. I am concerned about the P-clamps being made out of aluminum, though. May be too soft. Time will tell.

Found some chromed stainless steel P-clamps on e-Bay, for around $28.88/clamp... I paid $8.99 for a pair of the aluminum P-clamps off of Amazon. If the aluminum clamps are too soft for the job, I'll bite the bullet and buy the SS clamps, for $57 and change. The aluminum clamps came with three sets of rubber inserts, to fit different tube sizes. They also came black from the maker. I like the rubber inserts, not too sure about the black color -- minor point, but thought I would mention it. I'll post how they work... Cheers!