Custom Luggage Rack

[bmccrary]

I guess I should start be explaining the situation.

Over my spring break, March 1-9, my parents on their Nomad and my girlfriend and I on the FZ6 will be traveling to Southern Florida to visit my grandparents.

We will use three of the days to get down there and to spend with them, and the other 4 or 5 coming back home. We plan to head up around the gulf coast and possibly up through the Georgia Mtns.

My parents have the ability to carry alot of luggage on their bike, but they cant carry 7 days of luggage for 4 people, lol. For Christmas I recieved a Silver Streak set by Nelson Rigg.
Nelson Rigg
Nelson Rigg

The tailbag is rather large, and all the luggage racks I have found, none are large enough for that bag.

This is the best one I have found. But it isnt large enough, I don't think.
TwistedThrottle.com : Krauser K-wing Toprack (Yamaha FZ6 Fazer, '04-) - 4004.022.201

I like the way it mounts to the rear pegs, because that lower bar would great for keeping the saddle bags hanging straight.

I am still looking for other options, however they are all very costly. I may have mentioned before, but I am a student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and I am enrolled in the Motorsports program. We have a few lab employees that help out with the race teams and offer to teach students different things, such as welding and fabwork. One of the head guys is a avid rider, and is willing to help me make my own luggage rack.

Pictures of the Motorsports Lab.
skeeterman426/Engineering - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
(I like going to school now , its just hard sometimes, lol)

We are throwing some ideas around about how to make this and what route to take with it. I started this thread to show what route we do take and how we do it.

I am open to any input here as far as ideas or products to use. Any machinists out there that have any tips to offer would be nice, too. So feel free to post input. I hope this will be able to help some one else do the same thing if they wish.

-bryan

[bmccrary]

I forgot to post this one up, too.

YAMAHA MOTOR CANADA | 2007 FZ6

I like the way this one mounts as well and looks like it might be a good size, however at 300 bucks... that is a bit high.

So come on guys, throw out some input.

-bryan

[Fred]

My first thought is to use a GIVI topcase rack like this one.
TwistedThrottle.com : Givi Topcase Rack (Yamaha FZ6, '04-'07) - Givi FZ351

The GIVI racks are two parts. There's the rack itself, and then a bolt on plastic plate. The top box mounts to the plate. GIVI does this so that one rack can hold multiple styles of top box.

The advantage for you is that you can install the rack and then make your own bolt-on top in place of the mounting plate. Your bolt on top can be whatever size and shape is needed to fit your luggage.

And if you want to add a top box at some point in the future, you can.

Fred

[bmccrary]

Good idea!

My first thought on the Givi was that it wouldnt work because it was smaller and in was not a flat surface to hook luggage on. But I see what you are saying about bolting on a top plate.

-bryan