.......so I made my own luggage brackets

[BBB]

I use the Kriega US 20 for work commute when I get the chance. Change of clothes, shoes and lunch fit perfectly. Just the right size for an overnight trip plus waterproofs as well. Simple on and off with four alloy hooks, clip on the shoulder strap, disc lock stored in front pocket. I love mine a lot.

[nevada72]

So here's the Beta/prototype. Please don't judge it by the shitty hardware and unfinished appearance. Once I know it's a solid design that will get refined.

 

That out of the way- It mounts very easily and is very stable. I still need to devise a fastening system to keep the whole thing locked down, but there are a lot of possibilities. I'm considering something that fastens from the inside of the case to effectively lock it on when the cases are locked. But that's not for sure. 

The beauty of this system is one could very easily attach the brackets to a flat (heavy gauge) aluminum plate and mount pretty much whatever you want to it, all while utilizing the stock Yamaha luggage mounts. But in this case I used a Harbor Freight Apache case which seems plenty solid.

Edited April 18, 2020 by nevada72

[BBB]

I love this kind of prototyping, great job @nevada72. 

For securing the cases, could you use something like this, that goes through your aluminium bracket and through the Yamaha mount, from the top, as per your last photo?

Black Racing Flush Mount Hood Bonnet Pin Lock Kit Round Aluminum Matte Locks Key

---

Easy to open bonnet. 2 x Hood bonnet lock. Add the security with the locks...

 

[Howton]

Looks good! Use it for a bit and see how it works. You'll probably change the design here and there.

[Wintersdark]

The Kriega is a great looking pack.  I've always just used a little Nelson Rigg 1060S, but I've eyeballed the Kriega for big trips... Much too big to use daily though.  For daily use, I like something small enough to easily swing a leg over

 

does the Kriega require a rack?  Or can it just mount on the passenger seat?

[Zach26]

24 minutes ago, Wintersdark said:

The Kriega is a great looking pack.  I've always just used a little Nelson Rigg 1060S, but I've eyeballed the Kriega for big trips... Much too big to use daily though.  For daily use, I like something small enough to easily swing a leg over

 

does the Kriega require a rack?  Or can it just mount on the passenger seat?

It just mounts on the passenger seat. You just loop the straps around the sub-frame and they stay on the bike and the pack has the metal hooks that attach to the straps connected to the sub-frame. You could just tuck the straps out of the way when not in use. You could install it on a rack as well. 

Edited April 18, 2020 by Zach26

[Wintersdark]

6 minutes ago, Zach26 said:

It just mounts on the passenger seat. You just loop the straps around the sub-frame and they stay on the bike and the pack has the metal hooks that attach to the straps connected to the sub-frame. You could just tuck the straps out of the way when not in use. You could install it on a rack as well. 

Yeah, that's how I roll with the Nelson Rigg bag too.  I'm not interested in getting a luggage rack, but I'd really like something like that Kriega for more storage on trips.  In a perfect world, I'd find some way to keep the straps attached and just switch bags

 

Thanks!

[keithu]

Well done! Thanks for sharing the detail photos.

[bamarider]

I like what you've done with the mounting system, wish i had done something simular with my setup. After seeing what you done i wonder if the upper mounting brackets could be made with a 3D printer to make them to fit onto the bike.

[nevada72]

3 hours ago, bamarider said:

I like what you've done with the mounting system, wish i had done something simular with my setup. After seeing what you done i wonder if the upper mounting brackets could be made with a 3D printer to make them to fit onto the bike.

That's a really great idea! If I had it my way, I would use Delrin material for the top mounts. 

 

[nevada72]

I finished up the bags last night and I'll test them out today. Overall I'm pleased with the look and functionality. And my design goal of using the Yamaha factory mounts remained, for the most part, intact. I say for the most part because I had to come up with a satisfactory latching system that was A- Easy, B - Secure, and C - lockable. So I ended up using "draw tight" latches off the bottom mount. That's a different take on this than most, if not all, manufacturers use. I reasoned that if the bottom were secure, the top would not move. However, to do that required the removal of the lower mounting brackets to drill and tap for the draw tight hardware. It was actually quite easy and I like that it looks perfectly stock from outward appearances. 

In the end the theory proved sound and the cases are very tight on the bike with very little wiggle. Less than some factory solutions I've owned. And the simplistic solution calls for simplistic choices with locking - a padlock. Sounds very aggro, but that was the goal. It secures the luggage to the bike, and if you use padlocks on the cases, those are locked shut. Of course it's just enough to keep the honest ones honest. But it would at least slow down a thief at a gas stop bathroom break. And again, my factory bags really aren't any more secure.

I'll take them out for a test spin today to see if there are any issues.

 

[Wintersdark]

They definitely look solid and pretty decent actually - easily as good [better, IMHO] as the aluminum store bought hardcases you see on lots of adventure bikes.

Padlocks are fine; after all, the locks on the factory Yamaha hardcases would be trivially easy to pick or just bypass if someone was motivated to steal your bags.  There's only so much you can do to protect stuff on a bike after all, and in the case of bags, if you're parked in a sketchier neighborhood, you just take them inside with you anyways.

 

Damn good work!

[wordsmith]

Good work indeed!

[nevada72]

On 5/3/2020 at 3:26 PM, Wintersdark said:

They definitely look solid and pretty decent actually - easily as good [better, IMHO] as the aluminum store bought hardcases you see on lots of adventure bikes.

Padlocks are fine; after all, the locks on the factory Yamaha hardcases would be trivially easy to pick or just bypass if someone was motivated to steal your bags.  There's only so much you can do to protect stuff on a bike after all, and in the case of bags, if you're parked in a sketchier neighborhood, you just take them inside with you anyways.

 

Damn good work!

Thanks for the good words!

I may be biased, but I agree on the appearance. I've had a lot of different side cases on "Adventure" bikes and the look ranged somewhere between fabricated aluminum shop cases (Jesse) to glorified camera cases (Touratech Zega). I even had some that looked like an old sewing machine case (Micatech). Those were actually really nice. But all of them were expensive. And in the event of a drop or any kind of mishap, replacement would be expensive. To replace these - just $54 a side and 20 minutes of my time to re-drill.

I did about 100 miles the other day. Some of it on crappy roads destroyed by winter weather. No issues or rattling, which I can't stand. The case with the new SW Motech rack and tail bag provide plenty of room for any trip I want to take. 

[tktplz]

After going through the whole thread it looks sturdy, clean, light weight, simple and attractive with the cases looking nice and watertight. I like the look on the bike. Mine came with Hebco-Becker cases on a "C" bracket. They stick out a bit as you can see in the pix but hey, they came with the bike and it costs money to change right? I'll keep 'em at this point. Yeah I'm impressed. Good work and it can be repeated for folks on here for a small fee and they can go to HF to get cases. I'm sure it's a good bit of savings over stock bags or aftermarket. 

Yeah that's my bad-azz Yamaha ZUMA in Yamaha blue on the right. Hey, I was told I'm no longer a Red Neck since I moved to the lake. Now I'm Lake Trash! Well that was 13 years ago so I don't ride my riding mower to the neighbors, I ride my ZUMA!!!!! Completly street legal and 21 bucks every 6 months for insurance. Most of that is theft. They said that's what happens to them the most. Mine is in a locked shed with my bike so I'm pretty good there. Did the carb mod. It does 42 instead of 37 now.