New Topracks for the GS!

fred · February 09, 2009, 08:58:02 PM

Well, new to the US at least... I saw this on Web Bike World:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-luggage/shad-luggage/

So I checked out the North American distributor and they had the GS500 E and F listed! Check out the list of racks available:

http://www.binetto.com/SHAD-Motorcases/SHAD-Suzuki-Motorcase-Mounting-Attachment-Kits.aspx

It looks like they only have a toprack for the E, but a toprack and side rack for the F. It also looks like a pretty interesting mounting system from the installation instructions... I'm seriously considering trying one of these out. Apparently Shad has been around in Europe for quite a while. Any European GSTwinners out there who've had experience with this stuff? Web Bike World seems to like it... Now to find a retailer that actually has one of these in stock.

gsJack · February 11, 2009, 10:29:08 AM

Surprised there was no response to your post on the new to the US Binetto racks and cases. Only ones available now as far as I know that provide both top and side case mounting for the GSs. The Five Star 3 case racks are hard to get and expensive.

I mounted my Give Monolock case on a Suzuki rack and added necessary braces to support it. The SW-Motec rack remains my favorite for top case only, there are no side mounts for GSs. But I like that Binetto approach better than the Givi top racks which are also top only.

SW-Motech rack:

At $102.50 the Binetto top rack only is less expensive than either the SW-Motec or Givi top case only racks. Looks like a good solid approach to me:

http://www.binetto.com/Downloads/Attachment-Kits/Suzuki/S0GS51ST-Suzuki-GS-500-500-F-01-08-SHAD-Top-Master-Installation-Manual.pdf

Side case rack:

http://www.binetto.com/Downloads/Attachment-Kits/Suzuki/S0GS51SF-Suzuki-GS-500-500-F-01-08-SHAD-Full-Master-Installation-Manual.pdf

The Buddha · February 11, 2009, 10:46:52 AM

I can make a far better rack than this out of aluminum for less. Try ~60 bucks. I will need the sissy bar back in trade though, but otherwise yes very doable.
OK Fine I will make a couple and put it up for sale.
Cool.
Buddha.

gsJack · February 11, 2009, 10:54:32 AM

Binetto has a Where To Buy dealer's list, seems there are quite a few dealers for the Shad cases and racks:

http://www.binetto.com/Find-Binetto-Dealer-Retailer.aspx

fred · February 11, 2009, 11:48:17 AM

Quote from: gsJack on February 11, 2009, 10:54:32 AM
Binetto has a Where To Buy dealer's list, seems there are quite a few dealers for the Shad cases and racks:

http://www.binetto.com/Find-Binetto-Dealer-Retailer.aspx

Yeah, I found a top and side rack for the older style GS on the Shad website and emailed the Binetto guys and they said no one in the US stocks one, but any of their dealers can special order one, all I need to do is ask for the specific part number.

fred · February 11, 2009, 11:50:05 AM

Quote from: The Buddha on February 11, 2009, 10:46:52 AM
I can make a far better rack than this out of aluminum for less. Try ~60 bucks. I will need the sissy bar back in trade though, but otherwise yes very doable.
OK Fine I will make a couple and put it up for sale.
Cool.
Buddha.

Buddha, I have an extra grab bar lying around already sandblasted and everything. I'd be happy to send it and $60 to you if you feel like making me a toprack that will take a Givi mounting plate. I could even send you the Givi plate for reference if you don't already have one lying around...

The Buddha · February 11, 2009, 11:55:17 AM

OK that is fine, but check this out and see if we can trade or somehting.
Cool.
Buddha.

The Buddha · February 11, 2009, 12:01:33 PM

http://picasaweb.google.com/srinath.the.man/SissyBar#

That I made 10-12 years ago. The givi plate could be bolted onto that, cant it?

If not, well yea you'd have to send me the plate. I can fit angle section aluminum and make one of these again instead of pipe section aluminum, but if that givi plate is too weird I will have to figure some else.
But its all prolly easy - dont complain the welds are chunky or some else, that sissy bar plate is cast aluminum - a little cheap crap so welding to it tends to look splattered and chunky and whatever. The angle will be high quality aluminum and it will be well braced etc though.

Cool.
Buddha.

fred · February 11, 2009, 12:44:40 PM

Quote from: The Buddha on February 11, 2009, 12:01:33 PM
http://picasaweb.google.com/srinath.the.man/SissyBar#

That I made 10-12 years ago. The givi plate could be bolted onto that, cant it?

If not, well yea you'd have to send me the plate. I can fit angle section aluminum and make one of these again instead of pipe section aluminum, but if that givi plate is too weird I will have to figure some else.
But its all prolly easy - dont complain the welds are chunky or some else, that sissy bar plate is cast aluminum - a little cheap crap so welding to it tends to look splattered and chunky and whatever. The angle will be high quality aluminum and it will be well braced etc though.

Cool.
Buddha.

That looks like it would work. The Givi top plate isn't anything too special, just a plastic plate with a bunch of holes in the bottom for mounting. Here's a random image I found with google for illustrative purposes:

As long as there's a way to attach that flat plate to the rack, everything should be fine...

gsJack · February 11, 2009, 02:21:21 PM

You need the support struts too if you're going to put a Givi case on it. I mounted one of their lighter 33L Monolock cases on the Suzuki factory rack and after a couple weeks it started bouncing up and down attached to only the 2 bolts that originally held the passanger grab handle on.

I made a rack for my 97 GS that mounted only to the grab handle and used only soft luggage on it and it held up for years:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/gsrackpics.jpg

My E33 Givi case that I mounted to the Suzuki rack needed braces to support it after the light weight frame cross piece started cracking:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/GiviRackPics.jpg

If I needed to add a hard case to another GS and didn't have a Suzuki luggage rack I'd just cut a few pieces of aluminum angle like this to mount the case base plate:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/GS500_givi_rack.jpg

fred · February 11, 2009, 04:44:26 PM

Quote from: gsJack on February 11, 2009, 02:21:21 PM
You need the support struts too if you're going to put a Givi case on it. I mounted one of their lighter 33L Monolock cases on the Suzuki factory rack and after a couple weeks it started bouncing up and down attached to only the 2 bolts that originally held the passanger grab handle on.

I made a rack for my 97 GS that mounted only to the grab handle and used only soft luggage on it and it held up for years:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/gsrackpics.jpg

My E33 Givi case that I mounted to the Suzuki rack needed braces to support it after the light weight frame cross piece started cracking:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/GiviRackPics.jpg

If I needed to add a hard case to another GS and didn't have a Suzuki luggage rack I'd just cut a few pieces of aluminum angle like this to mount the case base plate:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/GS500_givi_rack.jpg

Good to know! I was thinking some triangulation might be in order to put something as heavy as a Givi case up there...

lilwoody · February 11, 2009, 08:45:26 PM

277 bucks, the rack and sissy bar I made myself sure looks a lot better to me now. I carried a 50 pound bag of dog food and 20 pounds of ribs home from the grocery store on my rack. This was heaviest load I put on it and I'm limiting myself to no more than 50 lbs from now on. The front was a little light but taking it easy got me home.

pronator · February 11, 2009, 10:03:37 PM

The Binetto/SHAD rack and cases look pretty good. Why don't they stock this stuff in the US?

I'm still hoping that my welder will come through and the new design will be slammed out. We're so close! It's been taking forever because of his big jobs but maybe I can guilt him into giving us a better price at the end.

It started as this: http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=41876.0

Planned design "tweaks": http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=42034.0

I can't wait until it's finally done!

fred · February 12, 2009, 12:16:45 AM

Quote from: pronator on February 11, 2009, 10:03:37 PM
The Binetto/SHAD rack and cases look pretty good. Why don't they stock this stuff in the US?

I'm still hoping that my welder will come through and the new design will be slammed out. We're so close! It's been taking forever because of his big jobs but maybe I can guilt him into giving us a better price at the end.

It started as this: http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=41876.0

Planned design "tweaks": http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=42034.0

I can't wait until it's finally done!

They are selling their stuff in the US now, which is cool. I'm excited about the racks you're making too. I'm still excited about getting one for my bike. Now that I have two bikes, I might end up needing an extra rack eventually...

pronator · February 12, 2009, 12:46:28 AM

Yeah, I guess I was thinking about why they don't stock stuff for the GS in the US without having to special order it. That's the kind of

that pushed me to making my own rack.

But now you've got two bikes...so many options, you lucky devil!

fred · February 12, 2009, 12:58:26 AM

Quote from: pronator on February 12, 2009, 12:46:28 AM
Yeah, I guess I was thinking about why they don't stock stuff for the GS in the US without having to special order it. That's the kind of that pushed me to making my own rack.

But now you've got two bikes...so many options, you lucky devil!

Yeah, no one stocks anything for the GS in the US. It is annoying. My local dealer doesn't even stock silly things like oil filter gaskets...

I do have a second bike now. I picked up the free one in Oakland that showed up in the for sale section a while back... Someday I hope to have it running again, perhaps a soon as this weekend, depending on when the parts I ordered come in...

The Buddha · February 12, 2009, 10:03:30 AM

I made mine for a milk crate and it was meant to carry my riding suit back from work. Like there will be a huge temperature shift in CA. Summer morning's will be very cold. Afternoons will be freaking 95 degrees. I made it to bring back my riding suit back from work. It will not take any load, and I wont advise loading that little strip the sissy bar bolts on to at all for nothing. Its a thin strip of steel. It will tear and mine tore too nust took time.
BTW mine is also a support base for a tote bag that will fit your seat but is too long to just fit the seat. Anyway ...
Cool.
Buddha.

lsdozer · March 23, 2009, 04:13:18 PM

Subscribing to this post for future updates on rack by Pronator

bill14224 · March 23, 2009, 06:22:50 PM

Those are some slick looking top cases, but I put a rack and backrest on my last bike, 1982 Seca 650, and I regretted it. Made the bike waffle around on the highway, especially if I had a bag of stuff strapped to it. Made it feel unsteady, so I took it off. I couldn't believe only about 8 lbs. of steel and a 6x9 inch pad could wreck the bike's stability like that, but it did. Changing the shock settings didn't help.

I've been bungee-cording everything to the seat or using a tank bag ever since. If I need more luggage I bungee my duffel bag to the seat. I can fit a week's worth of clothes plus toiletries and munchies in there. First time I tried the duffel bag I thought it would wreck the bike's handling since it sticks out a foot on either side. Amazingly, it didn't. Maybe it's a little hoopty, but it works!

pronator · March 23, 2009, 11:18:54 PM

Sorry folks, the welder's picked up some big jobs again. He's off the racks and onto fences, gates, and railings. I'll stay on him and keep everyone updated as things progress.

The good news is that I was able to stack/tie my tires (BT-45s) onto the topcase and bounce it more than 60 miles at freeway speeds without compromising the rack. I was very, very happy. And relieved.

News:

New Topracks for the GS!