Modular Luggage System

Its coming along nicely. cant wait to see the finished product.

porchev914 wrote:

Nice fab work on those luggage supports Any chance you could duplicate that in Ti? :laugh: All kidding aside, it looks like you have a good idea and its comming along nicely! Whats next?

Ahh titanium! I have no experience fabricating with the stuff, but I have cut literally tons of Ti 17 and 6-2-4-2 on a lathe at my previous job. Good fun. Heck lets go with triple nickel titanium. Real high zoot luggage rack material. I bet I could kill a HF chop saw in one day with that stuff. 22 sfpm with carbide tooling.

Ok now for some business. I have completed phase one of the luggage rack this afternoon. It's funny how I got inspired to finish. I was growing tired of this project and just about to drop it for a while. Then I got home this afternoon, and what's on my doorstep? A new pair of Michelins! I'm dying to slap that back tire on and see how it looks, so I decided to put the wraps on the rack. Keep in mind that I will revisit this when I formulate my double-secret, unobtanium, hard bags.













So there you have it. I think I'm gonna have a hard time putting it on the bike b/c I really like the way it looks off the bike.

I like it. Very ingenious .

I gotta say, I have never liked luggage systems on bikes. To me it spoils the clean lines of a machine that wasn't designed for it. But a system that's clean, simple and easy to remove has me reconsidering. Its hard to argue the practical merits of luggage, especially on long cross countries. Good work Josh, I'm digging it so far!

Ya nailed it Adam! I couldn't stand to ride a bagger all the time. I want to be able to get there with all of my gear, and then drop it off, so that nobody will know that I even have even the top rack. With what I have, you can detach the whole system with just a 7/16" wrench. Four bolts and the whole thing comes off. The side bags, when I make them will attach to this rack in a similar fashion. This way I can have full bags, or just the top rack, or nothing, and the whole system removes with one wrench that is easily stored in the toolkit.

VERY NICE. MAYBE U COULD HAVE 1 END SLIDE INTO A FITTING (slot?), AND ONLY HAVE TO BOLT 1 END IN ??

Thanks again Mark. You could be right about the two bolt mounting system. I'll just have to see how it comes together in time. Unfortunatly, you guys will have to be patient to see phase two get started. That will come after the bike is running or if I have to wait for parts or money. I needed to get the first phase completed since the mounting tabs required that I modify the frame. That had to be done before the frame gets finished. The hard bags or pannier mounts will attach to the top rack in some way. I promise that I have a cool idea for hard bags, but I want to keep it a secret until I at least have it in rough form. Heck it might be goofy looking, and then it will be a secret forever!

Alright, you've got a good start on the luggage system. Now are you're looking to start work on the engine? I don't think you have elaborated on your engine plans, or at least I missed it if you did. Or do you have more planned for the frame? I'm rooting for the finished product! :evil:

Once I get the frame mods done, then its on to the motor. I still need to add mounts for rearsets and passenger pegs. I'll have to fabricate a steering stop, and a mount for the remote nitrogen resivoir that's attached to the shock. Just trying to be careful not to miss something that needs to be added or removed before I strip the frame and paint it.

As for my engine. Since most of my internals looked good, I was planning on sticking it back together stock at first. However, I have at least one change. I bought a welded KZ900 crank. I'm going to run that b/c my stock crank spun the alternator rotor, and I'd rather not deal with fixing that problem. Long term plan is to go up to 1075cc with 10.5 to 1 pistons. Mild street cams, possible street port and polish. I scored a set of BS34's for $10 from the same guy that I got the GSXR, so I might give those a try. I just want a bike that pulls hard off the line to the midrange. Sensible, strong, street motor no top end screamer here. That's why I have the ZX-10r!

Finished product, now there's a goal. I'd like to ride it this year, but who knows. It's starting to warm up, and I'll be spending more time riding the 10 and fishing. OOOO I love the saltwater! Plus my garage is a miserable place to spend and afternoon in July thanks to the Houston weather. When its 100 deg. and 95% humidity I sweat just looking outside!

Paint it black and then you and Leon can have a 'Biker-luggage rack-build off'!
Looks good; look forward to the finished product!
-KR

what ever happened to this luggage system? im not done reading the entire bike build yet, so maybe the answer is in there. great idea.

dcmspikes wrote: what ever happened to this luggage system? im not done reading the entire bike build yet, so maybe the answer is in there. great idea.

Wow, I even forgot about this on myself. The short answer is that particular project stalled.

The long answer goes like this. I found that the rack I built doesn't easily fit over my combined taillight/license plate bracket. Some mods are needed to make everything jive for the easy removal that I want. Currently, all mechanical projects are on hold. We bought a new house and we're moving this weekend. I plan to get back in the groove once we get settled, but that will take a while. I have lots of life changes going on right now. Frankly, this project is not too high on my list right now.

Thanks for the interest. I'll get back to it in time.