Rear Rack

[OldGuy]

So, after exploring the (few) aftermarket rear racks and looking at various options, I want to see if there is any interest in a rack that I'm envisioning. The goal would be to come up with one made here in the US (in deference to Hitchcock's shipping rates), is stout enough to handle a reasonable load and fits with the stock pannier racks and boxes.

The other thing I would like (and this is strictly my preference) is to have it at the same level as the pillion seat, so that a large duffel would fit comfortably on the rack + seat. All of the available racks are higher than the pillion, which can make it awkward for packing certain things.

Another option would be to have it extend over the pillion a bit, but not so far you can hit your butt. I don't think too many people ride 2-up when off-roading, so the pillion is just wasted space. Partially covering it with the rack would provide a good sized rack without extending too far rearward.

I'm not thinking of making them myself, but if there's enough interest, it would probably be possible to have a shop fabricate them. Price is the only real worry, but quantity would be a factor in that. Under $180 would be nice, but if it's better than what's out there, who knows.

If you have any ideas or suggestions, I'm totally open to that too. Once we have an idea sketched out, I'd be happy to shop it around (we have a loft of fab shops in the area due to Boeing's location here) and of course, I'm open to other's ideas on this too.

OG

 

[pineygroveshop]

OG,
Following.

 

[Roy Gavin]

Sounds good so far, but as someone who has broken more than his fair share of racks I would have it braced down to the exhaust hanger bolts .
Vibration can be as much a problem as load, and this would also help damp this out, and might for a fixing point for shields for throw overs/ soft bags which might increase the value / price equation.
Not as simple a fabrication job as might be imagined , you need a good shop who knows how to handle seamless cold drawn tube, the factory racks on my BMWs are Bronze welded , TIG might have superseded that but the correct job will not be cheap.
FWIW most Ebay racks are made from the wrong material welded the wrong way and will fail at the perimeter of the weld PDQ.
Hitchcocks fine welding is exemplary, which might explain part of the cost ----

 

[Laserman]

One nice thing about the stock rack on my '22 is that it's already level with the stock pillion seat. It's a tiny lil rack tho, not good for much other than bolting top boxes or even a giant (21*15*9") Wald basket. Mine sits with most of carrying weight on pillion seat.

...

A large utility rack would be awesome. I really liked the looks of that one a member bought from some guy, the rack that needed to be scissor-jacked to fit lol

 

[grymsr]

Sounds good so far, but as someone who has broken more than his fair share of racks I would have it braced down to the exhaust hanger bolts .
Vibration can be as much a problem as load, and this would also help damp this out, and might for a fixing point for shields for throw overs/ soft bags which might increase the value / price equation.
Not as simple a fabrication job as might be imagined , you need a good shop who knows how to handle seamless cold drawn tube, the factory racks on my BMWs are Bronze welded , TIG might have superseded that but the correct job will not be cheap.
FWIW most Ebay racks are made from the wrong material welded the wrong way and will fail at the perimeter of the weld PDQ.
Hitchcocks fine welding is exemplary, which might explain part of the cost ----

ditto on the ebay racks. I had to eat half the cost of one when I discovered it would fit the bike only as long as it didn't have panniers. this was never addressed in the listing. Buyer beware!
Hitchcocks stuff is great. It's the shipping to the US that gives one pause.

 

[nmroadrunner]

I don't mind paying extra for quality items...the Hitchcock rack fit and finish were superior and adding the accessory grab handle allows for a more secure load in my setup...YMMV

 

[Lost in the 60's]

I've been shopping for a rear rack for my Interceptor. The one from Hitchcock's will cost $180 bucks US to have it shipped to me from the UK, while the one on ebay from India would be less that 1/2 that. However after reading this thread I'm inclined to bite the bullet and go with the one from Hitchcock's.

 

[nmroadrunner]

It looks and fits suberbly:

 

[OldGuy]

I like it! Is it roughly level with the pillion? If not, what is the vertical offset?
OG

 

[nmroadrunner]

I'm going to say 1.5" or 3.8 cm if you measure things like the rest of the world...

 

[Lost in the 60's]

This is the one I am considering.

 

[OldGuy]

I'm going to say 1.5" or 3.8 cm if you measure things like the rest of the world...

View attachment 5749

Thanks!
OG

 

[Lost in the 60's]

My luggage rack came from Hitchcock's today. I'm pretty happy with it. The fit is perfect and the color matches the color of the bike's frame perfectly too. The cost was quite a bit higher than ordering one on ebay from India but I felt more confident getting it from Hitchcock's. I also got Hitchcock's bag that is made especially for this rack. It fit's perfectly but is very diminutive in size. It's got room for a wallet, keys and a cell phone and not much else. And with shipping it added about $50 bucks Americano to my order. I don't recommend it. I think you can do better with something else with more capacity. I also got the 16 tooth front sprocket. I'm going to try that out later when I'm ready to give the Interstate another try. So far the fastest I have had the bike up to is 75 and I only touched that for an instant before backing off. The bike had plenty left, but my balls did not. At 75 on the speedometer the tach read right at 5000 rpms. So I figure with the 16 tooth sprocket on the front instead of a 15 I should hit 16/15 X 75 = 80 at 5000 rpms.

 

[Overdrive]

At 75 the bike is pretty much flat out, despite what you say about ‘having plenty more left’
The 16 tooth sprocket works well and drops engine revs by a few hundred at any given speed, but I still wouldn’t expect the bike to sit for any length of time at anything over about 65 unless you have absolutely no mechanical sympathy.
If you intend to spend lots of miles on the freeway you’ve maybe bought the wrong bike.

 

[OldGuy]

At 75 the bike is pretty much flat out, despite what you say about ‘having plenty more left’
The 16 tooth sprocket works well and drops engine revs by a few hundred at any given speed, but I still wouldn’t expect the bike to sit for any length of time at anything over about 65 unless you have absolutely no mechanical sympathy.
If you intend to spend lots of miles on the freeway you’ve maybe bought the wrong bike.

I think he's talking about his Interceptor 650.... Somehow, we got off topic from Himalayans.
OG

 

[Lost in the 60's]

I think he's talking about his Interceptor 650.... Somehow, we got off topic from Himalayans.
OG

Yep. I was talking about my 650 INT. I was going by the title "Rear Rack". Didn't notice that it was under a Himalayan forum. Sorry, my bad. I'll move it to the right place.

 

[OldGuy]

No worries - just a little confusion about gearing and top speeds. A Himmie will do 65, but probably not happy to do it all day (and certainly not on any sort of grade). And gearing it up is probably the wrong choice.
OG

 

[grymsr]

The cost was quite a bit higher than ordering one on ebay from India but I felt more confident getting it from Hitchcock's

I second that. I have been burned twice by india ebay sellers. I guess there is a cottage industry banging out accessories for RE then claiming they are factory made. Twice burned, forever shy.

 

[OldGuy]

After thinking about this for quite a while, my original post is probably a bit off. The rack can't extend over the pillion unless it can easily pivot out of the way. One still needs access to the electrics without removing the rack, so probably a non-starter if it's going handle any reasonable load.

Also, if you are using a soft top bag (ie something like MoskoMoto duffel or separate sleeping bag, pad, tent etc.), a slight step between the rack and the pillion isn't that big a deal. Given Hitchcock's is only about 1.5" above the pillion, that seems doable to me.

So, what it boils down to is cost. I've talked to a couple of fab shops around my area, and a one-off rack of just about any design is going to run ~$400-$500. Yes, producing in quantity will bring it down, but enough to warrant the time and effort of designing it too? So sanity prevails, and I think I've come to view Hitchcock's rack as the best alternative, even though the shipping still seems a bit steep.

OG

 

[nmroadrunner]

I can verify the Mosko Moto Rackless 80 fits just fine with the Hitchcock rack.