This is my 666th post on this blog.
Welcome back to the real world, or at least that is what the weather was saying to me this morning. After the 80°F days of Philadelphia, I came home to rain. This morning was dark and raining but since it was still above freezing, it looked like one of the few remaining riding opportunities I'll have this year. The heated liner kept me nice and toasty warm though I needed to ride with the face shield mostly open due to fogging. I hear the pinlock visors don't have that problem but, unfortunately, they don't make the appropriate visors for my helmet. I don't get much opportunity to ride in the dark and with the rain, my 25 year old technology headlights don't put very much light on the road. It just forces me to slow down. The rest of the week looks promising.
Four years ago, I picked up sturdy Reynolds rear rack for my bike with the intention of using a top case. What I didn't know at the time was that I needed different side case mounts as the stock ones would no longer work. The eBay seller didn't volunteer this tidbit of information. I recently contacted a reseller of BMW airhead parts and they had several sets of these mounts in their inventory and their price was very reasonable. They arrived while I was gone and now I have another project.
This rack positions the top case about 2" closer towards the center of the bike so it doesn't hang as much past the rear wheel. The rack also pivots back to allow you to easily open the seat. With the setup I used on my road trip, you almost needed to remove the top case to get access to the under seat strorage. Sorry about the poor quality of the pictures. These tiny images are screen grabs from a scan of an early '80's Reynolds catalog posted on the Internet.
Richard:
ReplyDeleteMany manufacturers don't make it easy for us. Same thing with my R, the stock rack had to be replaced with another stock rack which included the topcase rack, otherwise I could not use the factory sidecases.
I attribute this to the costs of ownership. Lucky thing you managed to find the correct pieces for your bike
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
My Flickr // My YouTube
I was almost ready to fabricate the correct parts. I had been watching the ad sections of the forums but never found the correct part. This rack actually attaches to the rear subframe at five points and is even sturdy enough to support an optional trailer hitch.
DeleteThere's nothing like having a project to get you through the winter. Mine is less technical and more strategic. Once you get the new luggage racks installed, maybe you will set your sights on the Atlantic (think I've heard a rumour that it's the coast to see.)
ReplyDeleteHopefully, it won't take all winter. I installed the rack last night and decided to put the original shocks back on since one of the aftermarket ones failed on my last trip. It no longer adjusts and leaking oil.
DeleteI'm told that a motorcycle trip would be permitted every other summer. Every year was deemed too often.
PS - congrats on post 666 - glad I don't spook easily.
ReplyDeleteIt was an afterthought after seeing the post count on the Blogger dashboard.
DeleteSeems way too tame a post for 666. But cool that it is close to Halloween. Hmmm...install the rack then put a pumpkin on it!! :)
ReplyDeleteToo late, I picked up a pumpkin recently and felt compelled to put it in the oven instead of carving. Due to shipping costs, getting a pumpkin just to carve seems excessive. And once carved, they don't bake as well.
DeleteWe had temps in the high 30's the last couple of days, but those were the lows. When winter comes I use DOT approved snowmobile helmets with dual shields. They even have ones with electric visors now. The visors don't fog, but my glasses do sometimes. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on making it to 666. Most blogs seems to be like Biblical grass, here today and gone tomorrow. I know I enjoy your blog and look forward to your posts.
~k
Yesterday it was raining them it cleared up in the middle of the night so the temperature dropped rapidly. So we now have a lot of black ice. Many unstoppable SUV's in the ditch while studded tired econoboxes cruise on by.
DeleteThough the most common casualty seems to be fat tired sport compacts recently arrived from the lower 48.
Congrats on scoring the right mounts Richard....having a top case is very handy at times. Looking forward to the finished pics.
ReplyDeletedom
I found the top case to be very convenient on my trip last summer which prompted me to start looking for the correct mounts again. I hadn't bothered with that particular vendor before since all they listed was a phone number. No web site and no email so for me, hard to get hold of. In a recent ad, they now listed both.
DeleteSo far, the rack is installed but need a bunch of hardware for the case mounts.
We had fog this morning. First time since Spring. Fall is definitely here and I hear we are supposed to finally get rain on Friday.
ReplyDeleteGlad you made it home safe and sound even if it is a little chilly.
And congrats on 666 posts, I am looking forward to reading many more.
Fog is definitely better than black ice. That's what we had this morning. No riding today. I've noticed that Corvallis has had a pretty nice stretch of good weather. Have you been commuting since the new luggage addition?
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