Modern Vespa

I wanted an old school rear rack/backrest combo for my LX150 (when the darn thing eventually arrives!) rather than go the topbox route. As fellow fans of this choice may know there is little to choose from. There was a good standard option available for the ET4 which also fit the LX150, but I couldn't find anyone who still stocks them, and there aren't any used ones out there either. I scoped out the Cuppini and decided that although the backrest part was an exercise in design incompetence, (it basically waves in the wind with a 2 bolt attachment to the rack and no strutural support) I might be able to make it work. I picked up a used one from an MV member (thanks Mel) and did the following: Inserted a foot long piece of wood between the backrest and the rack member (about 2' wide gives a tight fit) and secured it to the bars with 3/8" pipe brackets. I also painted the wood matte black so it would look reasonably inconspicuous. The pad is alo useless in stock form. After some experimentation to find a combination which would give some level of cushion but not squish down to the point where you could still feel the bars through the pad I arrived at foam packing board (the flexible shiny type) topped off with recycled computer mouse pad material. Total cost about $10. It seems as if it will function well and looks OK too. Hope this helps any frustrated Cuppini owners


side view showing how wood transfers load from backrest to rack

view from behind

cover, mouse pad aand packing foam

finished item

I think it looks great Des, looks a LOT more stable. Who would have guessed, a backrest that you can actually use as a backrest!!!



Mel