Soft Luggage Support Rack

[Lgn001]

I use Cortech full size soft luggage on a couple of bikes, and they sat a little too close to the mufflers on the VFR for me to be comfortable. Nothing got burned, but the bags got warmer than I liked. After searching for some sort of rack and coming up with nothing that seemed reasonable, it occurred to me that 1/2" EMT electrical conduit was cheap, and I already owned the bending tool. Not that I am worth a damn at bending it, but Rev B came out OK. Rev A worked, but looked a bit off. Well, Rev B is subjective with regard to looks, but I like it better.

Interestingly enough, the whole thing came down to whether or not I could find some stepped bushings that would mount to the existing side brackets (I guess they are for the optional hard luggage). I got lucky and found some. Without them, it would have been problematic to mount the rack and enable it to hinge up a bit so the seat could be removed.

The first four photos are side views;






This is obviously the rear view. An added benefit is that the rack crossing the grab handles is an excellent mounting location for bungee cords or luggage straps (I carry a large duffle bag on top of the saddlebags for all the layers of clothing and "stuff");



This is a view of the mounting bolts and stepped bushings (the bolts now have protective rubber bumpers on the ends);



These U bolts are for the rear saddlebag mounting straps;



Altogether, I figure the hardware cost about twelve dollars. The swearing as I bent the tubing was priceless. It wasn't as bad the second time.

BTW, this thread was inspired by "johnny" and his ammo tool box. I forgot...

[QuietGuy]

Well - I use a Ventura rack and bags to carry stuff and don't have soft-luggage for my VFR...

IMHO the Ventura rack is butt ugly - so much so that I'll remove it anytime I don't need it. I was impressed with your mod' - it doesn't look anywhere near as ungainly... Well done!