luggage rack fitting for a 2011 B5

[Arizoni]

I'm talking about the chrome G5 rack.

Yes, there is a chance of the chrome plating chipping when the tubes are bent but unless you plan on sending the rack back or your just making a "rack collection" where only undamaged racks will do, what's to loose?
If the chrome did chip, you could always use the "Indian Chrome Paint", commonly called "Aluminum colored paint", and everything would look like it was a factory original.

[mattsz]

Should I ask ?   

bushings for hurdy-gurdy axles: http://www.midcoast.com/~beechhil/vielle/

On second thought, don't ask...

[barenekd]

Get a couple of these clamps for the front. Drill the rear and mount the on the existing stubs.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/ms21919clamps2.php

As for my experiences with Nfield Gear, the only things I've gotten from them were the Tribar headlight and ring mounts, which were OK, EFI muffler, OK, Rearset footpegs which took a little modifying and chasing down bolts, but came out very nicely, and a clubman seat for an Electra which fit the bike perfectly, quality is lacking a bit, I've done some modifying to the foam and cover, but it still needs some work.
Bare

[Arizoni]

As I mentioned after installing the luggage rack on my G5, it seemed to have been made by someone without any access to the real dimensioned drawings for the bike from RE.

After they got it to fit the bike they had on hand at the moment, they then removed it and used a rusty tape measure to determine the locations and sizes for the mounting holes.
Using these newly found dimensions they started producing their racks.

I suppose on the bright side, every RE that has racks, crash bars etc. mounted on it can correctly claim to be 100 percent "custom" as each one of these things must be customized to fit the motorcycle your riding.

[mattsz]

Arizoni - a collection of undamaged racks?  That sounds like a great idea!  Maybe I should keep them both, and mount one so I can carry around the other.

I plan on keeping one, and sending the other back, so I have to make sure I don't damage either one before I decide.  As much as I prefer the look of the G5 "fantail" chrome rack, I'm now leaning toward the Bullet flat rack as being more functional: large items will sit flat on it rather than tipped up on the other.

Tim at NFG says that there is missing mounting hardware for the Bullet rack, which he can get in about a week - he's never seen it, and he doesn't have any information regarding the fit and finish of it, so I guess I'm waiting to see what he comes up with.

meanwhile, Bare, I'll look for those loop-type clamps, or more likely make my own, for the bullet rack.

[gremlin]

Any update on this ?   Photos of the completed installation would be nice !

[mattsz]

So I've settled on the NField Gear black rack which comes with a removable seat pad.  The fit and finish is the usual quality, I'm afraid.  It came with some rusty hardware which just didn't make sense; when I asked Tim about it he said that there was some other special mounting hardware to fit the rack which he would be getting for me.  It arrived eventually, but I still couldn't see how to make it work to mount the rack, which is supposed to be a custom fit for my bike.

Tim inquired of his supplier, who sent him "instructions", reproduced here for your edification (image: "rack instr").  Not what I'd call instructions; anyway as near as I can tell, the suggestion is to replace the upper shock mount bolts with the new ones, and use the included spacers to fit the rack.  But the new hardware still doesn't fit - the bolts are too long and would strike the fender if I used them.  Also, the nuts and bolts seem to be a size or two smaller than the current hardware holding the shock, so it just seemed too dicey to even consider.

I ended up going with what I'm going to call "b" shaped hose or piping clamps, of the style suggested by barenekd above.  I found some sturdy ones that were dipped in vinyl, perfect for mounting to my fender supports.  I also collected some stainless metric hardware including nyloc nuts.  I could have used the seat mount hardware for the racks rear support arms, but I decided to go with new.

It's not clear from the photos, but I had to bend the flat portion of the rack's forward support arms outward a bit so they would clear the fender and leave enough room to fit the bolt head.  The rack's rear support arms fit into the rear seat tabs.  You might just see the bends in the first photo (image: "rack 1_notes), which shows the front mounting from above.  Notice in the photo how the rack mounts line up with the shock mounts.  I might have been able to find some different shock mount hardware to fit, but I decided that my current setup would be easier to remove if I want to take the rack off.

The next photo (image: "rack 2") shows a side view of the front mount - the clamp I used is obvious.  The front of the rack is mounted a little higher than it would be if I used the shock mounts, but the rack is basically level as it is.

[mattsz]

The third photo (image: "rack 3") shows the rear mount - straight forward, but observe the poor quality powdercoating.

Photo 4 (image: "rack 4") shows the overall mount.

Photo 5 (image: "rack 5") shows the bigger picture.

Now to find a box I can use on it.  Mostly I want to be able to strap on a bag or extra clothing layers, but when I go to work on the first day of my 7-day week, I carry more gear than my cheap bags hold.  Today I clamped a red milk crate to the rack - my coworkers weren't impressed.  I tried to explain the safety benefits of a high-visibility red crate, but they wouldn't be swayed. 

[Jack Leis]

Looks great Mattz !

[motorat]

i have a box thast came with my vstrom.
i set it on the rack i have on my RE.
when i get home i will post the pic.

it looks alot like this:
http://www.cariboucases.com/store/?name=Catalog&mode=i&item=000355

[gremlin]

.....I tried to explain the safety benefits of a high-visibility red crate ..... 

  

[gremlin]

Awesome !   Thanks for the photos !   
This just made my to-do list !

[mattsz]

For the curious: the rack is NField Gear's "Rear Carrier/Pillion Seat" for Bullet, #Z90205.  Original price 149.95, it's offered (and I bought it) at a special price of $104.97.  Still too expensive by half, in my opinion, but it is what it is:

http://nfieldgear.com/enfield-store/aftermarket-parts-accessories/luggage/rear-carrier-pillion-seat.html

The seat pad isn't comfortable.  I'd love to have one of these sprung pillion seats for it:

http://nfieldgear.com/enfield-store/aftermarket-parts-accessories/seats/old-fashioned-pillion.html

But I'm not sure it would fit, and anyway I don't have any prospective passengers for it.  It's another $90 I can use somewhere else...

[Ragmas]

The third photo (image: "rack 3") shows the rear mount - straight forward, but observe the poor quality powdercoating.

Photo 4 (image: "rack 4") shows the overall mount.

Photo 5 (image: "rack 5") shows the bigger picture.

Now to find a box I can use on it.  Mostly I want to be able to strap on a bag or extra clothing layers, but when I go to work on the first day of my 7-day week, I carry more gear than my cheap bags hold.  Today I clamped a red milk crate to the rack - my coworkers weren't impressed.  I tried to explain the safety benefits of a high-visibility red crate, but they wouldn't be swayed. 

I have the same bags but without the part that goes over the fender.  Do you know what model they are?  I want to see if I can find the part so I can hang them all proper like.

Sam

[mattsz]

I have the same bags but without the part that goes over the fender.  Do you know what model they are?  I want to see if I can find the part so I can hang them all proper like.

Sam

Hey Sam-

Mine are "Waterproof Classic Biker Motorcycle Saddlebags" by Xelement, purchased from LeatherUp.com:

https://www.leatherup.com/p/Motorcycle-Saddlebags/Waterproof-Classic-Biker-Motorcycle-Saddlebags/49964.html

If you have the same bags, you know that they're nothing special.  I wasn't prepared to plunk down a chunk of change on high-quality bags without having a clear idea of what size or shape or attachment style I would want.  So I got these because they were fairly cheap and the right size.  And they almost weren't that, since, as I said in my product review, the given dimensions were clearly external, and not quite right at that.  Fortunately, the items I need to carry for work do just fit.

I don't know if you can get just the support "strap" that holds them up.  Mine is scuffing up the top of my fender a bit.  The bags attach to the support strap with a zipper, edged on each side by velcro.