I just installed the Xciting 250/500 backrest kit available from Jac Vinson @
www.rvtoys.net for $70 + shipping.
There is very little info and even fewer pics of this kit online so I decided to do help out Jac and the Kymco community with an installation write up.
Hopefully this will help Jac sell a few more of these to you Xciting owners as it is a well made accessory and worth the cash. It would be a chore to try and make something similar for less for what he sells them for. I purchased the last one from his inventory so if you guys want one he had mentioned that he would like to have some sort of group buy arranged before he fabricates the next batch.
I would put this mod at an "EASY" level of difficulty, of course YMMV depending on your mechanical aptitude. Install time took about 30 minutes.
They say a pic is worth a thousand words so lets get to it...
This is obviously the stock seat.
Here is the kit as it was delivered. Jac had pre-assembled the components before shipping so there was one less step in the installation process. He had emailed me and also put a note in the included instructions indicating that this was done.
These are the instructions included with the kit. They are clearly written, include color pictures and list what tools are necessary for installation. I used a few extra tools but I will explain that in later pics.
First, you need to remove the stock butt rest. The instructions explain how to do this. You will need a 2.5mm allen wrench. Man, I didn't realize how faded and dirty my seat was. lol.
Here is the stock butt rest removed from the seat. Next using a flat head screwdriver and a pair of pliers, you remove about 1/2 of the staples holding the cover to the butt rest, pull back the vinyl and remove the foam pad from inside the rest. Jac mentions that you can try and re-use the old staples to re-attach the vinyl cover later if you don't have a stapler but I did so I didn't.
Next you remove the 2 screws that hold the mounting bracket inside the butt rest and remove the bracket.
Here's the stock bracket. You won't be re-using this bracket for the installation but you should hold on to it if you ever decide to go back to the stock configuration.
The back rest kit attaches to the outside of the rest so now you can put the foam back in and re-attach the vinyl cover with staples. I don't have a fancy air or electric stapler so I just used a common construction stapler. Some of the staples didn't seat fully so I used a ball peen hammer to hammer them fully in.
Here's the rest with the cover re-attached.
Re-using the phillips head screws from before, attach the Jac Vinson kit as shown to the outside of the rest.
Slide the whole assembly back into the seat and lock into place and that's the finished product!
Final Thoughts
I haven't tried the new setup out on the road yet but initial thoughts are positive. I'm 6' 1" tall and have a "larger" posterior. This kit lets you move further back on the seat resulting in more leg room and lets you take advantage of the wider portion further back on the seat. The back of the rest is now exposed so I'm thinking of taking some spare seat vinyl that I have lying around and wrap it over some chipboard or plastic and attach it to the back to give the whole backrest a finished look. So if you find your stock seat uncomfortable or would really like a real backrest like the other scoots out there, then pick yourself up one of Jac's kits!
