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pozo_izquierdo
May 31st, 2006, 11:10 am
Just returned from a 2000 km trip to the German LT-Treffen and we had the bike pretty well loaded up.

I had the self-designed Dauntless hitch mounted luggage rack onboard and all went well.

The luggage rack itself weighs about 6 kg and the packed suitcase with its vinyl cover weighed about 17 kg.
I don't want to claim that the weight was unnoticeable especially at very slow speeds but at highway speeds there was no issues. The Dauntless mount has some slack in vertical direction and I had the cables tightened so that the slack was eliminated. This way the whole package survived the German Autobahns as well as the not-so-good ex-East-German country roads where my GPS routed us.

Some pics of the ready product.

Regards
messenger13
May 31st, 2006, 11:22 am
Nice. :)
hschisler
May 31st, 2006, 11:35 am
Very nice, Ari. I recall you were working on this project.

Are those the RS mirrors on your handlebars?
pozo_izquierdo
May 31st, 2006, 11:50 am
Very nice, Ari. I recall you were working on this project.

Are those the RS mirrors on your handlebars?

Thanks Howard,

yes those are the RS mirrors and I can highly recommend them. They are practically vibration-free whereas the stock mirrors with Muth Signal mirrors are not. I get a much better rear view from these and the stock mirrors are practically just turn signal holders for me any more...

Regards
SilverBuffalo
May 31st, 2006, 2:11 pm
so.....how do you like the seat?
pozo_izquierdo
May 31st, 2006, 2:41 pm
so.....how do you like the seat?

Hi Hans, and thanks for asking!

The (Russell Day Long) seat is good. This was actually my first longer trip on that seat and I have to say that my butt liked it much better than the stock seat. It is quite stiff, but I guess that is the way they are supposed to be. Same thing with the Kontour seat I tried, much stiffer (and much more comfortable) than original. I think the secret is the added width of the seat.

I have also raised the front part of the seat about 15 mm as I had the feeling of sitting a little downhill especially when I had my power seat adjuster in upper position.

Regards
BUGKILLER
May 31st, 2006, 3:28 pm
Hello, Which brand of cup/can holder do you have. I have never seen those before. Thanks
RonKMiller
May 31st, 2006, 8:53 pm
:thumb::thumb:
pozo_izquierdo
Jun 1st, 2006, 12:12 am
Hello, Which brand of cup/can holder do you have. I have never seen those before. Thanks

Hehe, thanks for the interest! The brand is "Ari's special cheapo". I bought the bottle holder itself from a local auto parts store ($1,50). Then I found the stainless steel canvas buttons from a boat store ($ 3,00). I used a knife and a heat gun to reshape the bottle holder to fit the contours of the bike and there it is...

Some pics to explain it better...

Regards
BUGKILLER
Jun 1st, 2006, 12:39 am
Hehe, thanks for the interest! The brand is "Ari's special cheapo". I bought the bottle holder itself from a local auto parts store ($1,50). Then I found the stainless steel canvas buttons from a boat store ($ 3,00). I used a knife and a heat gun to reshape the bottle holder to fit the contours of the bike and there it is...

Some pics to explain it better...

Regards
Hats off to you .That was very creative. :thumb:
avonfloater
Sep 18th, 2006, 5:37 pm
Anyone feel any lightness in the front when using these various rear mounted racks?

Denny
usmctpdog
Sep 18th, 2006, 9:35 pm
Excellent work on both counts!
pozo_izquierdo
Sep 18th, 2006, 11:44 pm
Anyone feel any lightness in the front when using these various rear mounted racks?

Denny

Well, in my case there is so much junk mounted on the front of the bike that this rear rack actually makes it just less nose heavy...:p

No, seriously I did not notice any special lightness in the front. Total weight was 24 kg. (Rack 7 + load 17)

Regards
UncleRock
Sep 19th, 2006, 7:09 am
I can't make out what you have for the upper spreadder bar lock. To keep it from verticle movement, but you did a nice job on it.
You may have to watch parking if your in the habit of backing into the curb.
Rock
pozo_izquierdo
Sep 20th, 2006, 1:56 pm
I can't make out what you have for the upper spreadder bar lock. To keep it from verticle movement, but you did a nice job on it.
You may have to watch parking if your in the habit of backing into the curb.
Rock

Here is a close-up of the U-bolts that I hook the support cables to. As I have moved my trunk further back from the factory rear position these u-bolts are pretty much hidden under the trunk.

I was indeed a bit concerned about the ground clearance especially when I have the extra brake light hanging as the lowest point. I never scraped it, though. Not even when riding into the ferries as they often have quite bumpy ramps...

Regards
UncleRock
Sep 20th, 2006, 7:01 pm
Here is a close-up of the U-bolts that I hook the support cables to. As I have moved my trunk further back from the factory rear position these u-bolts are pretty much hidden under the trunk.

I was indeed a bit concerned about the ground clearance especially when I have the extra brake light hanging as the lowest point. I never scraped it, though. Not even when riding into the ferries as they often have quite bumpy ramps...

Regards
That looks plety stout for the job
Well done. :cool:
Rock