Dehorning the RR rack

Sharp edge on the RR rack

The RR racks have rectangular cutouts that I want to use to secure my Wolfman bags. There is a problem though, Apparently the edges are sharp enough to eat through the mounting straps in relatively short time due to the vibrations that the big thumper produces.

The way the straps run, (in reality from the upper and lower corners, but you get the point)

I'm keen on keeping my simplified method of strapping the bags to the racks so I needed to come up with a solution that removes this problem.

different edge trim options

I bough different edge trims, two with metal inserts, one flabby rubber one and rubber fuel hose. While the fuel hose is the most ghetto, it just might be the best of the four. The wider trim with metal insert wont bend enough to sit nicely nor will the flabby rubber one. The flabby rubber trim would also need to glued in place, otherwise it just falls off.

Fuel hose top left, flabby rubber bottom left, smaller trim with metal insert bottom center

Plan B

I'm wasn't overly impressed with what I came up with so I needed a plan B. I would like to say my plan B was genius, it's not, but it might do the trick well enough. Looping a double layer of webbing should prevent the actual attachment straps from wearing through and the protective webbing can also be used to hold a rubber trim in place without the need to glue anything. The webbing and rubber should provide enough "edge protection" even for longer rides and the webbing can be detached and used for something in an emergency. The webbing will be attached in place with plastic quick release buckles once I can score some from somewhere that are the right size.

This is the general idea how the webbing is routed

UPDATE

The "final" solution for now. There is a piece of rubber edge trim under the webbing. The buckles will be placed on the inside. They are on the outside for the photo only.

Wolfman Expedition Dry Saddle Bags & Rally Raid luggage racks

Wolfman Expedition Dry saddle bags mounted on Rally Raid luggage racks

Based on my own experiences on mounting travel gear solely on the rear/top rack I came to the conclusion that I needed rear/pannier racks and some sort of saddle bags. My goal was to get the weight of the gear lower on the bike and keep the gas cap clear from luggage so I could refill with minimum hassle.

My first instinct was to get 2 waterproof roll bags and simply strap the to the racks and be done with it.

Couple of things had me reconsidering this option.
1. getting to gear inside the back would not be ideal as the bag would be sort of sideways.
2 all the weight of the bags would be on the racks unless I came up with some sort of strapping system to distribute some of the weight of the rack.

Number 2 could be solved easily enough, but why go through the trouble when better commercial options are available. Plan A was then dismissed.

Renegade roll bag by Wolfman

I then started going through bag options designed for enduro type bikes. Options are plentiful and companies like Wolfman and Giant Loop come up often.

Basically there are two approaches to the rear bags dilemma. There are the horseshoe shaped bags that can be mounted without racks if so desired and the more traditional two separate bags approach.

I found good alternatives for the horse shoe bag from Mosko, Altrider and Giant Loop but I decided I didn't want any gear on top of the saddle or rear rack. I didn't want to end up back in square one with the fill up problem.

Mosko horseshoe style saddle bags

One thing I am adamant about is that the bags must be waterproof. Rain covers never really work in real life. I found several viable options for the bags, but once I found out that my friend had a pair of Wolfman Expedition Dry Saddle Bags laying around I decided to look no further.

Once I got the bags in my hands it was mounting time. There were straps and loops everywhere and if there is a "proper way" of mounting the bags to the racks with the provided loops I sure could not figure it out. Yes, the bags can be attached securely to the racks with the provided hardware, but I would need to get the bags on and off the bike with relative ease and speed. That didn't seem a possible combination. If I had the Wolfman racks, the provided hardware would work beautifully, but since the RR racks really don't seem to be designed for the Wolfman hardware I needed to come up with something better.

I decided to remove almost all the straps from the bags leaving only the wide top ones that come across the saddle and the ones that actually keep the rolled bag mouths shut.

removed straps on the left vs. the 4 replacements on the right

Instead of a small bag worth of straps I now have 4 compression straps with metal buckles that keep the bags in place. The setup is easy enough for me to figure out / remember even if I'm not using the bags frequently. I hate to those how-the-hell-did.this-work-again moments. using existing loops on the bags the end result looks clean enough and I have a place to store excess strap if the bags are not full.

Metal buckles on the straps

backside of the rack

topside

UPDATE

Quickly after I got this stuff posted I got a heads up from Poland about my mounting method. It seems that the Rolling Hobo had done something similar with his bags and ran into problems when vibrations ate through the straps. The straps are now going through the rectangular cuts on the racks and while they are not very sharp edged I fully believe that this issue needs sorting. I'm certain it can be solved, it's just a matter of how. Gotta put on the thinking cap. UPDATE -> in here 

Perun Moto rear rack & extension plate

Perun Moto rack and extension plate for the KTM 690 Enduro

At the time I bought my Nomadic rack it was the best and nicest looking* rear rack available. Since then Perun Moto has come out with a better design.

* just my opinion of course

By better I mean

1. More options for attaching straps to the rack. 16 on the Perun model vs. 8 on the Nomadic rack. This is important as the lack of slots was a bit of a problem for me with the Nomadic

2. Visually better design. The Perun version fits the bikes lines very nicely

3. Bumper added to the underside to limit flex and vibration and also reduce stress to the mounting bolts.

The Perun Moto design, while being made of slightly thinner material than the Nomadic, is bent much less aggressively than the Nomadic and the lower support also extends much further to the rear. These combined with the bumper design should at least in theory make the Perun rack a long lasting solution.

The trade-off of the Perun design is the relative narrowness of the rack which can be seen in the photo below. This is not a big problem though, as Perun Moto also sells an extension plate to the rack that when attached gives you more real estate than the Nomadic rack. The extension plate attaches with 4 bolts and can be attached without removing the rack so putting it on and taking it off when needed is not a big deal. That said I'm planning on mostly keeping the extension plate off the bike and attaching only for longer trips when I need the maximum carrying capacity.

I liked the design before, but now that I got my hands on it I like it even more. If you are in the market for a rear rack I highly recommend considering Perun's products. While the product is good, he also communicates swiftly and ships quickly. Maybe most importantly he is the one making and designing the stuff AND he actually owns and rides the bike the products are made for. Oh, and supporting the little guy over Touratwat for example is always commendable.

Where to Buy: Perun Moto

(And no, I get no percentage from the sales.) 

The Perun rack has 16 slots suitable for straps compared to 8 on the Nomadic rack. Both are drilled to accept a rotopax mount

Undersides of both racks

A key difference on the Perun rack are the rubber pads under the rack

The extension plate gets you more attachment options and space 

Comparison between the Perun  rack and the Nomadic rack. Visually the Perun rack fits the 690 Enduro a lot better.

The Perun rack is made of slightly thinner material than the Nomadic. 

Bends on the Perun rack are much gentler than on the Nomadic rack. The larger the radius on a bend the better, from a durability standpoint.

The Nomadic rack has quite aggressive bends which in theory are potential weak points / failure points

The Perun rack is supported from the back while most others like the Nomadic are not

Customized...

I wanted to use the longer spacers that came with the RR side racks for 2 reasons. I felt that the rubber bumpers pressed quite firmly on the rear fender and I wanted a little more clearance between the fender and RR racks. This meant that I needed to get longer (80mm) bolts to replace the ones that came with the Perun rack. 

BTW, I measured the holes with the rack and Perun spacers in place and I think the bolts could be a bit longer even if no customization is done. That or I measured incorrectly.

Perun spacer and RR spacer 

Longer bolt and the original Perun Moto bolt

I also used the form washers that came with the RR rack.

USE

Fondling the rack under the fluorescent lights of the garage tells very little how the product holds up and work in real life. I will have update this post once the season gets going and I get to actually use the rack for something. To be continued...

Installing the Rally Raid Soft luggage racks with a Nomadic rear rack [updated 6.3.2015]

Finally got a around installing the rack. For some reason I had decided that I wanted the whole rear of the bike matte black now that the bike would have the black racks to ruin the "lines". Childish I Know.

I bought a new black rear fender and painted it with rubber paint similar to Plastidip. The end result matches the tank surprisingly well.

Painted and unpainted black plastic side by side

RR provided spacers in place

The lower part mounted with RR provided hardware. I would prefer the 19 mm spacer to be much wider as there is space.

Installing a bolt that is too long  on the lower mounts will result in disaster

To avoid damage to the lower mounts, my plan to was to mount the lower ends using a large stainless steel washers that have a rubber "insert". This way the stress of the mounting bolt is divided to a larger area and the rubber may help absorb some of the vibrations. This may be a completely faulty logic, but I gave it a go anyway.

Stainless steel washers and a rubber mat with self adhesive back

self made "vibration damping" washers (holes not punched yet)

As I knew about the weak spot of the rack (the lower mounting points) beforehand 

( more here )  I had time to source the extra bolts and washers needed. The lower mounting holes need special attention, because using bolts that are too long will damage the rear swing. I used 50 mm long bolts, the RR provided 19 mm spacers and 3 washers + rubber washer.

The improved mounting solution

I added a third washer as the rubber flattened so much after tightening the bolt that the bolt was starting to protrude from the other side. It was only a couple of mm, but I wanted none of that. That yellow stuff is the adhesive from the rubber pushing out under pressure.

The final result looks sturdier to me

 

The Nomadic rack required the 3 small rear screws to be loosened as the RR bolts would not fit through otherwise.

My improved mounting plan is below, but I need to find the parts for that first

UPDATE [5.3.2015]

I accidentally found the missing hardware for the lower mounts. The local auto/bike parts store had a bag of "headlight mounting spacers" that have spacers almost exactly like the ones I was planning on having made. Had to buy two bags to get 4 spacers of the appropriate size, but still a big win. The spacers are chrome plated aluminum.

UPDATE [6.3.2015]

The final solution. I replaced the RR spacers with larger ones and secured the bolts with steel wire to prevent losing the hardware if the bolts come loose at some point. I'm done fiddling with the lower mounts. If they break they break.

The safety wiring needs to be sorted. This is not how it should look. 

KTM large rear bag [613.12.928.000] for 690 Enduro R - review

I was able to get some KTM luggage (tank bag and rear bag) very cheap so I didn't go with the Giant Loop, Wolfman etc. alternatives even though they are very likely better products. I have found very little information on both the KTM large rear bag or the tank bag on the net. Especially pictures of the bags mounted seem to be surprisingly scarce. With this in mind I took a few pictures so people considering the KTM bags could get a better idea how they fit and what can be fitted in them.

Overall impressions

The bag seems to be relatively well made although manufactured in Pakistan or somewhere similar no doubt. The fact that the bag is not water proof is a bit of downer, but I knew that going in. The bottom of the bag is rubberized and the shape of the bottom seems to fit the Nomadic rack pretty well. There is ofcourse some overhang on the sides which may be a concern if the bag gets shifted too close to the exhaust. Naturally the bag also covers the fuel cap, but due to the quick release buckles (or what ever they are called) the front end can be lifted out of the way pretty swiftly. Mounting a rotopax between the bag and Nomadic rack would likely eliminate the pipe burn threat so I will have to look into that. The only problem with that is that the rotopax mount can not be quickly detached which means that the Rotopax canister would always need to be mounted on the bike in order to use the the rear bag.

Mounting

The bag was mounted on a Nomadic rear rack which I installed a little while ago. The four buckles are placed on the four corners of the bag and while not optimal I was able to tie down the bag quite securely. I used the separate pieces of nylon straps that were provided with the bag. The 4 straps have a loop on the other end, so it gives you some options when mounting the bag.

Included accessories

The bag came with 4 separate nylon straps, 2 short straps with plastic loops on the other end, a "triangle strap" for carrying the bag on your back backpack style and a rain cover. The bag also included a sheet of clear self adhesive film that I assume is for protcting the paint on the parts that the bag comes in contact with.

* I'm only assuming the long strap is for the backpack carry and I don't have a clue what the short straps are for. No instructions came with the bag.

Available space

For testing purposes I packed in a pair of jeans and a pair of hiking boots and... Well that was pretty much it. The main compartment was full. I did not use the little extra space that can be utilized by unzipping one of zippers and thus allowing the bag to grow in height. By doing so, it does make some more room, but not much. The side pockets were left empty, but are likely handy on trips although not very spacious. You can easily pack in enough for a nice day trip assuming you don't have to prepare for a variety of weather conditions, but making a weekend trip with this bag alone is pushing it.

Conclusion

Can I recommend the bag? No, not at this point, but then again I wouldn't recommend against getting one either. Time will tell how it holds up. The man selling points for the bag over any $30 waterproof duffel bag are it's ability to hold it's shape when empty and the buckles on the corners.

UPDATE

I would not recommend mounting this back directly to a Nomadic rack or similar. The bag is wide enough to hang over the sides of the luggage rack and once it's buckled down tight, it's just too close to the hot exhaust. With extended use the bag will probable loosen up a bit more and you will end up with burnt luggage for sure.

In this picture the bag is not even strapped on, and it's already nearly touching the exhaust. Note that there is nothing in the bag either. Not good.