Will the luggage rack from a gs850l fit on a gs850g

[Guest]

Hello,
Noob question here I have an 80 GS850G and the girlfriend wants a backrest and a spot for luggage would be great. Found one on eBay but it's for an L I did try searching but all I have found says that the side covers won't swap but I can't find any info on the rack. Thanks for any responses and info.

[ChicagoBob]

Would most likely fit. The two bikes' frames are very similar (tanks, side covers, forks, headlight and handlebars are different), and most racks rely on pivoting rear links that allow them to fit a number of different bikes.

[Dogma]

It takes some work to do that conversion. Depending on the rack, you'll probably need to fabricate some brackets to reach up under the tail cowl of the G. Those mount points are exposed on the L. You may also need to spread the rack an inch or two, as the tail cowl of the G is wider than the fender of the L.

I did this conversion on a rusted KG rack ('80 850 GL to '80 1000G). I wouldn't do it to a nice one. It required some hammering.

[kdo58]

no it wont, unless you hack it up.

[bwringer]

If the arms are free to slide on the KG (rare), you should be able to extend them far enough to work with either. The distance between the shock mount and the mounting point at the back is different between the G/GL.

However, the brackets mentioned earlier are almost never included with fleaBay racks, so you'd have to fabricate something.

[1_v8_merc]

Just fab something up real quick.
If I can make Goldwing hard-bags fit my 750, you can make a GS case fit a GS, lol.

[DanTheMan]

The welder and angle grinder is your friend. A rack made for an "L" does need some work to fit a "G" but it can be done and made to look nice. It all depends on how much you want to do and what your skills are.
By the way, Welcome to the nuthouse we affectionately call the GSR forums. Here's a link to help you out with many thing GS related: http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff/