V7 Luggage racks. Specific question.

[Toecutter]

Does anyone have a suggestion for racks that sit further... forward... than the Hepco & Becker racks?

It seems like everything I find sits quite far aftward, and they look "out of place" to me. Pillion riders aren't an issue, as my wife rides her own bike.

I'd be appreciative of any suggestion.

If need be, I'll probably make something myself, but I thought I'd ask first.

[stevet]

There really aren't any other options for hard cases.  Hepco Becker C-bow seem to be a bit more forward but that is a lighter weight capacity soft luggage line.  I'll post a photo of my V7-II profile with the C-bow gear this evening.

I wish Givi had a hard case V7 system.

Steve.

[Toecutter]

Not a fan of hard cases, really. I just need something to "support" the back surface of a soft bag (leather, waxed cotton) and keep it out of the spokes/ from hanging off in turns.

[rocker59]

Not a fan of hard cases, really. I just need something to "support" the back surface of a soft bag (leather, waxed cotton) and keep it out of the spokes/ from hanging off in turns.

The shock, subframe, and side cover will do that if you throw over some soft luggage in a forward position.

If you buy some nice throw over luggage, you can adjust it fore/aft to your heart's desire.

I don't find the H&B bags' position objectionable.



But, if you were using throw over bags, there is definitely room to move them forward, if passenger accomodations are of no concern.  Though, putting feet down at a stop might be an issue, if the bags are moved too far forward:

[Kev m]

I assume the OP is talking about luggage racks, not bags.

And yes, everything I've seen HP, Givi, OEM, seems to sit back very far on the V7.

Sorry, I don't have an alternative.

However, I would think a skilled welder could adapt and HB or other rack so that it moves basically over the passenger seat area.

[Toecutter]

What are the dimensions on just the "rectangle" of the H&B racks? And how long are they in total from front to back?

[Kev m]

What are the dimensions on just the "rectangle" of the H&B racks? And how long are they in total from front to back?

Ooops, maybe I made a bad assumption.

Toe, you talking about the side bag racks or the topcase racks?

Cause the topcase racks aren't really a rectangle lol.

And FYI, the HB racks connect left-to-right side with a brace that goes across by the license plate behind the fender. So it would be tough to move THEM forward unless you came up with a new type of brace that didn't connect side-to-side.

[Toecutter]

I mean the sidecase racks.

Thanks for the answers, BTW. It's appreciated.

[rocker59]

Here are some photos of my H&B that may be of some help.

[Toecutter]

Thank you so much, Gentlemen, it is much appreciated!

Any chance someone has a pic of the mounting system on the bags themselves?

[stevet]

H&B C-bow on my V7II Stone.  The C-bow racks seem to mount farther forward than the HB racks for the Junior hard boxes shown by Kev and rocker, but the luggage types on the racks are in a very similar location on the bike.  That is the nature of the mount to the rack.

Racks mounted to bike-


C-bow bags, these ones- http://www.motomachines.com/Oval-Street-Soft-Bag-Set_p_5088.html  Time to clean my garage...


Started with a set of Mutazu plastic cases on the C-bows, using C-bow mounts bolted to the cases.  There is a reason the Mutazu cases are cheap.  They're cheap.  As is crap cheap.  They looked good, but they're cheap.






So, anyway, the C-bow racks might be a support system to consider for your saddlebags.

Last thought, get a pair of these C-bow mount brackets that you would mount to your bags, which would then mount and lock to the C-bow racks.  http://www.motomachines.com/C-BOW-Plastic-Mold-Mount_p_1546.html

Steve.

[stevet]

Thank you so much, Gentlemen, it is much appreciated!

Any chance someone has a pic of the mounting system on the bags themselves?

I haven't owned the HB hard cases in many years, but if I recall, the back side of the case is molded to engage within the rectangular area of the rack, then the lock mechanism grabs the box.

One of the C-bow links I sent should give an idea of the back side of a bag.

Steve.

[Zinfan]

I use ADVspec Magadan soft bags attached to the HB rack system.  I don't think they can be moved farther forward than hard cases due to the method of holding them on.  I use 2 ROK straps per bag to hold them on and have no issues with that system.  I don't have a better picture of the bags on the bike, sorry.

[Kev m]

H&B C-bow on my V7II Stone.  The C-bow racks seem to mount farther forward than the HB racks for the Junior hard boxes shown by Kev and rocker, but the luggage types on the racks are in a very similar location on the bike.  That is the nature of the mount to the rack.

Racks mounted to bike-


C-bow bags, these ones- http://www.motomachines.com/Oval-Street-Soft-Bag-Set_p_5088.html  Time to clean my garage...

Thanks for those pics. Those mounts look MUCH better on the bike when naked, and the bags don't look bad at all.

As a matter of fact, it shows those bags to NOT go back nearly as far, which sounded like Toe's original concern (though I couldn't interpret that correctly the first time, so I might be wrong again lol).

[v65tt]

Had h and b stuff on my last few Guzzi and the wife who spends lots of time pilion has often said the side cases would work better further back as the encroach on the pillion let space

[malik]

There are rackless systems around, I like the banana bags, such as the Wolfman Beta series. They rest on the pillion seat & hang a little over the sides, keeping some of the weight low. Work well for me. I also have the OEM rack on both V7's - I reckon they work & look better than H&B.

[sign216]

Not a fan of hard cases, really. I just need something to "support" the back surface of a soft bag (leather, waxed cotton) and keep it out of the spokes/ from hanging off in turns.

I use soft bags, and made stays to keep the luggage off the tires.  It was easy.  I'll post pics later one. 

[Toecutter]

Thank you all so much.

I have decided to go with the c-bow system, and the H&B rear rack. I think the combo will work best for me.

[rocker59]

:thumb

[biffalo]

Also thinking about the C-bow racks. But another thing, SteveT where did you get that seat? Looks great. Is it any comfortable while going long-distance?

br

Biffalo

H&B C-bow on my V7II Stone.  The C-bow racks seem to mount farther forward than the HB racks for the Junior hard boxes shown by Kev and rocker, but the luggage types on the racks are in a very similar location on the bike.  That is the nature of the mount to the rack.

Racks mounted to bike-

..............

.......
Steve.

[kingoffleece]

I agree.  That seat looks so nice I'm ripping off the idea!  Working on something similar right now.

[gerryp]

I agree.  That seat looks so nice I'm ripping off the idea!  Working on something similar right now.

Looking forward to seeing the results.

[Kev m]

I agree.  That seat looks so nice I'm ripping off the idea!  Working on something similar right now.

OK, I really am going to wait to see what you come up with.

[stevet]

Ah, my rebuilt seat.  Yes, artwork, absolutely makes this machine special.

Nate Van Hofwegen is the proprietor and art-teest of Vinyl-Lux in Nordeast Minneapolis, MN. http://www.vinyl-lux.com/  His bio is at his website.  If it's upholstered, he can do it.  Cars, vans, motorcycles, bicycle seats, restaurant booths (how he got started, if I recall), and his signature vinyl wall art.  He really does fantastic work at a fair price ($50/hour labor plus materials).  Other than a bit of input from me about what I needed and colors that caught my eye, I told him to run with it, whatever inspired him to get me to my goal, I was okay with.  And he delivered.

He flattened the hump between front and back, widened the front seating area as much as practical (working with the relatively narrow seat pan, added foam over the top of everything, sewed foam to the vinyl upholstery to make the tuck-and-roll, and voila', a masterpiece.

He does lots of MC seat rebuilds for vintage bikes and surprisingly for lots of scooters, too.  The day I met him a young guy was picking up a reupholstered back seat for a 1970 Datsun sedan "barn-find".  Oh, man, beautiful!  Better than factory.  Peruse his website for more ideas.

King, if you have a plan to widen the design of the seat pan, you'd be doing the rider's butt a big favor.  My rebuild could only go so wide on the foam because of the narrow pan.  (That said, my rebuild is SOOOO much better than stock, both in width and support.)  But if your pan could be as wide as possible and still work with luggage mounts, passenger hand rails, etc. once upholstered, that would be great for this bike.  I hate how MC mfr's design the seat for the lines of the bike and not for the rider's butt.

ToeCutter, glad to hear the C-Bow will fit your needs.  I'm liking it, works great for daytripping and light travel.  They aren't heavy load bags, but if you are doing a trunk/rear rack, too, heavy loads would go there anyway.

Steve.

[swordds]

I also never have a passenger and would like a "fender" rack that fits directly over the pillow portion of the seat, seems like it would be better weight distribution for gear if riding without a passenger?