15k miles, didn't do a lot of touring, did he.
I'd like to see the bar assembly in a little more detail. The bike looks pretty good. Everyone has their own physical issues to deal with and maybe this works well. As far as the backrest, I would have had one if they were available seeing as Bullroarer had a tendency to fall asleep when he was back there. My only concern is that rear rack is not as substantial as a Givi and there could certainly be a lot of stress on four mount points so close together.