Fabricating a proper Luggage Rack on a '81 GS850g

[mrhedges]

I saw plans on Basecliff's amazing webpage on how to create a luggage rack. My buddy is a welder and pretty into helping me make something has anyone done this? I would really like to mount a top box (seems easy enough) but I'm also interested in mounting some kind of side bags/cases for 2-up long distance touring/moto-camping. Anyone mount hardbags before? or luggage in general?

 

[Burque73]

I think Steve, aka GS Whisperer, put a set of luggage from an 1100 GK on his 850. Look at links in his signature for ideas.

I have a set of Vetter hard bags on my 83. Here's a link to that thread.

 

[Steve]

Many, many have mounted hardbags and luggage. Most have chosen to do something ready-made, a few have done their own.

One of the ready-made solutions is something like a Vetter system. Everything is made for the bike and it bolts right on. Might not be the most aesthetically pleasing, but it works.
I chose to go with a ready-made system that had to be modified a bit. I have saddlebags and trunk from an 1100GK. I had to make an adapter plate at the rear of the frame to hang the lower framework, and I had a welder friend put a support on the footpeg mount to be able to fasten the brace that normally mounts to the 1100's footpeg bracket. If you didn't know that Suzuki never offered that luggage package on an 850, you would never suspect it. You can see the results by clicking on the link in my sig.

For my wife's bike, it came to us with some throw-over leather bags that I fastened under the seat. I also made some brackets that kept them from going inward to hit the wheel or down onto the pipes. Last year, my sister decided she wanted to upgrade the bags on her bike, so we got her old ones. Had my welder friend make some mounts for them and I am very pleased with the results. You can click on the link in my sig for my wife's bike to see the original leather bags, but here is what is on the bike now:

Bare bike:

Completed bracket. It's a little hard to see, but the top-front corner has a couple of angles that take it back to the shock mount.
The top-rear is bolted to the luggage rack, which is securely mounted to the frame where the turn signals used to be. (they are moved to the license plate area)
The lower-front has a brace that reaches forward and down to the inside of the footpeg/muffler mount.

Bag mounted:

Completed project:

.

 

[Burque73]

Steve, that looks great!

I still need to get the rear rack mounted but the bags have been really nice to have. I was surprised how durable those vetter hard bags are. With a low speed spill the only damage was a small scratch on the little chrome rail towards the bottom of the side bag.

 

[thebrandonbeezy]

Many, many have mounted hardbags and luggage. Most have chosen to do something ready-made, a few have done their own.

One of the ready-made solutions is something like a Vetter system. Everything is made for the bike and it bolts right on. Might not be the most aesthetically pleasing, but it works.
I chose to go with a ready-made system that had to be modified a bit. I have saddlebags and trunk from an 1100GK. I had to make an adapter plate at the rear of the frame to hang the lower framework, and I had a welder friend put a support on the footpeg mount to be able to fasten the brace that normally mounts to the 1100's footpeg bracket. If you didn't know that Suzuki never offered that luggage package on an 850, you would never suspect it. You can see the results by clicking on the link in my sig.

For my wife's bike, it came to us with some throw-over leather bags that I fastened under the seat. I also made some brackets that kept them from going inward to hit the wheel or down onto the pipes. Last year, my sister decided she wanted to upgrade the bags on her bike, so we got her old ones. Had my welder friend make some mounts for them and I am very pleased with the results. You can click on the link in my sig for my wife's bike to see the original leather bags, but here is what is on the bike now:

Bare bike:

Completed bracket. It's a little hard to see, but the top-front corner has a couple of angles that take it back to the shock mount.
The top-rear is bolted to the luggage rack, which is securely mounted to the frame where the turn signals used to be. (they are moved to the license plate area)
The lower-front has a brace that reaches forward and down to the inside of the footpeg/muffler mount.

Bag mounted:

Completed project:

.

I have a very similar set up in my shop (mounts not bags) i saved incase someone nearby was interested

 

[mrhedges]

cool, thanks. I really like that pinstriping a nice touch.

 

[Steve]

I have a very similar set up in my shop (mounts not bags) i saved incase someone nearby was interested

Depending on the mounts and bags, they might not be compatible. The mounts that were made for her bike are very specific to her bags. There are grooves in the inner panels of the bags, we placed the tubular mounts in those grooves. There are holes that fit over pins on the stock Honda mounts, but those Honda mounts A) don't fit on a GS and B) did not come with the bags, so we added some tabs that have pins on them. They are visible, but hard to see, in the second picture. Those pins have holes drilled in them for hairpin clips. With a combination of fender washers and rubber washers on each side and the hairpin clip holding it all together, the bags are easily removed, but it's not something I would want to do at the motel at the end of the day. It's more for ease of service every once in a while, not every day.

I had mentioned earlier about the brackets I made for the throw-over bags. Here is what they looked like.
Bolted basically to the same points, the shock mount and the luggage rack:

A view from underneath, showing how it keeps the bags off the tire and the muffler:

Bottom line: different bags are going to need different mounts, so be prepared to get creative. :encouragement:

.