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

[Ride On]

Nevada72, do you have a long term update for us?  This looks like a great solution for Yamaha's overpriced, leaky bags. 

[nevada72]

On 11/15/2020 at 3:01 PM, Ride On said:

Nevada72, do you have a long term update for us?  This looks like a great solution for Yamaha's overpriced, leaky bags. 

 

Still going strong! I've used them quite a bit and on some less than stellar roads here in the Midwest. They have been rock solid with no issues whatsoever. I figured by now I would need to tweak something, but I guess I got it right the first time.

I've also received some nice compliments on the luggage from people who like to tinker on their bikes. 

[Heli ATP]

Hey Nevada72, nice work. Should you decide to make some more brackets I am interested. I have FJR bags on the stock holders but would like the option to mount the  Moose Racing Adventure Panniers I picked up on closeout, for those longer adventures.

[nevada72]

On 11/17/2020 at 5:16 PM, Heli ATP said:

Hey Nevada72, nice work. Should you decide to make some more brackets I am interested. I have FJR bags on the stock holders but would like the option to mount the  Moose Racing Adventure Panniers I picked up on closeout, for those longer adventures.

 

I appreciate the compliment. I don't have any plans to make more, but I would be happy to walk you through it. It's really pretty simple.

[Ride On]

Nevada72 had a great idea here and I decided to build my own set of panniers following his lead.  You can too.  Nothing here is particularly difficult and the end result seems to be extremely durable. 

 

I've been using Yamaha's 39L top case and a 40L dry bag strapped to the passenger seat.  That works fine, but the dry bag isn't an option when riding with a passenger. 

 

The number of times I'd actually need panniers is close to zero, so spending $900 on a factory bags wasn't likely to happen.  With the cost dropping to $130 though, that equation changes. 

 

These bags add 29L of storage capacity per side and appear to be completely water and dust proof.  I've sealed the screws that penetrate the bags with Yamahabond to keep them both air and water tight. 

 

I also cut down the bags exterior webbing flush with the rest of the bag where the mounting brackets attach (using a wood chisel).  This provides a flat surface for the brackets to be bolted to. 

 

Rather than use JB Weld to make the tapered wedges that fit into the stock luggage bracket I used West System epoxy mixed with strands of carbon fiber I had lying around.  The aluminum angle it's cured to was drilled to allow the mix to harden through and around the aluminum angle.  It's bulletproof.  If I'd do it again through I'd use  epoxy putty that's kneeded together to mix and cure. This would be less messy and easier to form.  Saran Wrap allows mixture to both form to, and harden, in the luggage bracket and allow it's removal when cured.

 

So for about 8 hours of my time and $130 I've now got another option to haul luggage around should the need arise.  With snow on the roads, I just need to wait until spring to try them out. 

 

[Ride On]

Here's one of the completed bags...

[Ride On]

[nevada72]

5 hours ago, Ride On said:

Nevada72 had a great idea here and I decided to build my own set of panniers following his lead.  You can too.  Nothing here is particularly difficult and the end result seems to be extremely durable. 

 

I've been using Yamaha's 39L top case and a 40L dry bag strapped to the passenger seat.  That works fine, but the dry bag isn't an option when riding with a passenger. 

 

The number of times I'd actually need panniers is close to zero, so spending $900 on a factory bags wasn't likely to happen.  With the cost dropping to $130 though, that equation changes. 

 

These bags add 29L of storage capacity per side and appear to be completely water and dust proof.  I've sealed the screws that penetrate the bags with Yamahabond to keep them both air and water tight. 

 

I also cut down the bags exterior webbing flush with the rest of the bag where the mounting brackets attach (using a wood chisel).  This provides a flat surface for the brackets to be bolted to. 

 

Rather than use JB Weld to make the tapered wedges that fit into the stock luggage bracket I used West System epoxy mixed with strands of carbon fiber I had lying around.  The aluminum angle it's cured to was drilled to allow the mix to harden through and around the aluminum angle.  It's bulletproof.  If I'd do it again through I'd use  epoxy putty that's kneeded together to mix and cure. This would be less messy and easier to form.  Saran Wrap allows mixture to both form to, and harden, in the luggage bracket and allow it's removal when cured.

 

So for about 8 hours of my time and $130 I've now got another option to haul luggage around should the need arise.  With snow on the roads, I just need to wait until spring to try them out. 

 

Excellent work! I also drilled the angle bracket (giving the JB weld something to grab on to) and used Saran Wrap to form the JB Weld inserts. If there is one thing I would like to change, it's that. But honestly, it's held up well and once inserted, you don't see it. 

The other thing I would consider is using steel for those same brackets vs aluminum, which could conceivably fatigue. But in quite a few miles everything looks pretty much the same as the day I put it all together. 

[Ride On]

20 hours ago, nevada72 said:

Excellent work! I also drilled the angle bracket (giving the JB weld something to grab on to) and used Saran Wrap to form the JB Weld inserts. If there is one thing I would like to change, it's that. But honestly, it's held up well and once inserted, you don't see it. 

The other thing I would consider is using steel for those same brackets vs aluminum, which could conceivably fatigue. But in quite a few miles everything looks pretty much the same as the day I put it all together. 

Thanks Nevada!

No worries about the aluminum brackets.  Fatuige life is a function of the extent of the flexing, times the number of cycles.  I'd expect these brackets to outlast several motorcycles.  (The two aluminum bars holding the wings on my airplane are made from 1" wide by 1/8" thick 6061T6 aluminum and are under significantly more stress!)

[nevada72]

1 hour ago, Ride On said:

Thanks Nevada!

No worries about the aluminum brackets.  Fatuige life is a function of the extent of the flexing, times the number of cycles.  I'd expect these brackets to outlast several motorcycles.  (The two aluminum bars holding the wings on my airplane are made from 1" wide by 1/8" thick 6061T6 aluminum and are under significantly more stress!)

Well considering the relative importance of each application, I guess I'm going to not worry about a bag falling off versus a wing falling off.