Go Rackless

[OlafofOregon]

Benefits of Rackless Soft Luggage:

* Lighter - several pounds of metal in even the simplest, lightest racks (35+ pounds with hard boxes and rack)

* Eliminates points of failure in the field (both luggage racks and the extra stresses on bike's subframe)

* Positions weight closer to center of bike for optimal handling

* Better clearance - only as wide as handlebars, less likely to catch rocks, logs, brush and legs swept under bike

[estebangc]

I agree, Olaf. But:

1) What if you cannot hang the soft-luggage due to exhaust/other reasons? A frame is in any case a better/safer way to keep it in place.
2) What if the rack is well built and it actually adds strength to the subframe?

I have hard alu panniers that came with the bike when I bought it 2nd hand and THEY ARE A DEAD PIG and I'll definitely move to soft panniers.

PS: Where did your post went????

[OlafofOregon]

I'm not sure what happened to my post . . . it seems to have disappeared?

For years and years, the state-of-the-art in backpack design was the external frame pack. In the '80s, internal frame designs emerged and now dominate. Motorcycling is still catching up!

Granted racks do add some protection to the bike.

But eliminating the additional weight, potential points of failure in the field, creating a narrower profile and positioning of weight closer to the bike's center are reasons enough to go rackless.

Exhaust heat can be managed with heat shields.

I've been riding 40 years, and I have never had anything more than a tail rack on any of my motorcycles - and I've never used hard luggage.

There are simply better ways to carry gear - especially off road - on a motorbike.

Originally Posted by estebangc

I agree, Olaf. But:

1) What if you cannot hang the soft-luggage due to exhaust/other reasons? A frame is in any case a better/safer way to keep it in place.
2) What if the rack is well built and it actually adds strength to the subframe?

I have hard alu panniers that came with the bike when I bought it 2nd hand and THEY ARE A DEAD PIG and I'll definitely move to soft panniers.

PS: Where did your post went????

[OlafofOregon]

Sorry - we should start a different thread to discuss rackless options, as this thread is about racks. Glad I got a response from someone on this forum though (crickets). Happy New Year!

Originally Posted by estebangc

I agree, Olaf. But:

1) What if you cannot hang the soft-luggage due to exhaust/other reasons? A frame is in any case a better/safer way to keep it in place.
2) What if the rack is well built and it actually adds strength to the subframe?

I have hard alu panniers that came with the bike when I bought it 2nd hand and THEY ARE A DEAD PIG and I'll definitely move to soft panniers.

PS: Where did your post went????

[Kenny M]

Hi Olaf, Im planning to go without rack as well, do you maybe know what I need for bags or equipment? No problems with things getting stolen? Thanks
Cheers

Kenny

[BornAgain]

Don't have any experience with these Home small company and seems to have a good product.

[Fern]

if you want to go without rack on a DRZ400 it might be worth putting a heatshield over the exhaust. Quite a few DRZs have the dreaded hole, where the luggage pushes the side panel, and if you are unlucky, can set fire to your luggage!

[mollydog]

Originally Posted by Fern

if you want to go without rack on a DRZ400 it might be worth putting a heatshield over the exhaust. Quite a few DRZs have the dreaded hole, where the luggage pushes the side panel, and if you are unlucky, can set fire to your luggage!

This is true with many bikes. I've personally set fire and melted side panels on my former DRZ-E, Triumph Tiger, KLR650 and my current DR650.

On the KLR and Tiger I had FULL BLOWN fires ... which nearly engulfed the entire bike. Both happened on fast freeway riding (70 to 90 mph). Other bikes it melted and ruined plastic side panels ... made a stinky mess and ruined the bag.

A light weight bag, lightly loaded, is not much of an issue. But bags loaded with bottles of Wine, Tools, boots, spare parts can apply enough pressure to side panel to melt and start a fire if they get close to or make contact with muffler or mid pipe.

A skimpy little heat shield ain't gonna get it if you're packed heavy. An off set is needed to be safe. Or ... a nice Carbon or Titanium muffler is better ... very little heat.

But most stock stainless Cans get RED HOT.

I had Titanium Cans on my former Vstrom ... no melting or burnt luggage. You could lay your hand on the Ti Remus muffler ... warm but no burning!

If riding a supported weekend jaunt where you get there by pick up truck, then it's easier to travel light. For extended, unsupported rides, it's tougher to do, especially if carrying camping gear.

[Guillaume]

You can also go halfway between no rack and a full rack.


For my trip to Ushuaia I installed Andy Strapz soft bags on my KLR. The bag on the right side was kind of pressing against the exhaust and I didn't felt safe with that setup and from what I read here (fire!) I was right. What I did is install aluminium bars going from the luggage rack to the fame under the seat (If I remember well, got the pictures of installation on another computer). One simple very light bar bent to run straight down just a few millimetres away from the widest part of the bike, which was the side panel over the exhaust. The bag were throw over and resting against that rail. There was a problem with the way the bags were resting on it, the shape, so I had to install a hard plastic panel behind my bags. A lot of fiddling, but it finally worked very well for the 50k km of my trip and all the trashing my bike endured.


For those who'd like to see a partial picture of it, in the third picture of this entry (Will on wheels: Estrada Real) on my blog you can see the rear of my bike on the exhaust side, you will see the beginning of the rail starting from the luggage rack and the plastic panel behind my right bag.


I got the idea from a fellow rider in Montreal who built a similar system for his trip down to Panama, he has a DIY guide on his website:


MotoJournalism: DIY luggage rack - KLR650 with Ortleib panniers

[mollydog]

Yes! The Motojournalism guy is an AMAZING photographer! I followed his long report on ADV Rider. I think he may have even "borrowed" an idea I gave him about building stand-offs. See any similarity to his and mine?


His

Mine. It's a bit different. The stainless brace I use goes UNDERNEATH plastic side panel. Works well ... but I needed more once I ditched that crap FMF pipe and went back to stock Stainless muffler which gets HOT!

Tried a few work arounds schemes but a real rack was the ultimate answer (... for me!)

The little rack below is small, very light. (2 lbs. or so) Best thing about it is how close it hugs the bike. Pannier rides in close to bike, not hanging way off like so many with big racks do. Curves to fit DR650.

I kept the stainless brace on. It is a stainless pipe hangar left over from my Remus system. Very stiff, yet able to shape it to fit. Very handy as a stand off. Fits perfectly under plastic panel.

Rack keeps my 22 lbs. pannier (loaded) from burning when forced hard against side panel/pipe and cruising at 75 mph for HOURS at a time. Things get very very hot under these conditions. My racks DO NOT support the panniers, I do attach panniers to racks to keep them from moving fore and aft and from jumping up and down when off road. But ALL the weight is taken by the over the seat straps. Very strong. I supplement with a big bungee cord helping to stabilize/secure.


Note stainless brace still there, under plastic panel. Not really needed with rack, but what the heck. No more bike fires!

[Guillaume]

Yes Mollydog it do seems like you started something there.

I do agree that the second rack you show looks a bit more adequate for the job. Although my system has proven to work it was not perfect, bags were really never symmetric, I rode 50k km with kinda crooked bags hehe.

On my upcoming trip to Europe I decided to keep it simple and just go with a tank bag and a tail bag, but for my following big trip I might be looking at carrying more stuff. For me it's the camping equipment that tilt my carrying capacity over the limit of what I can carry on just the tail of the bike.

Another rackless option worth mentioning is the Giant loop system, although they are a bit expensive. They also are subject to burn and melting from the exhaust but they have come up with their own, rather simple and interesting "heat shield" solution as demonstrated in that video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlZW...iQ82e_dpYNmovA

You could actually just get the heat shield and use it with different styles of side soft luggages.
http://giantloopmoto.com/products/hot-springs/

Enduristan is also using a similar heat shield system:
http://blackdogcw.com/black-dog-shop...ld-detail.html