How To - Custom install fairing and trunk-saddlebags

Just bolt the stuff on, you say? What's this doing in Modification??
You can't if you don't have the brackets- - you gotta make them.

I just finished mounting the rear "TourPack" and I'd like to show everyone how I solved some problems, and the custom brackets I made, then I'll show how I mounted the touring fairing in a slightly different location, then we'll see the rack that Micro came up with, and later, once I build it, a custom rack for my 900 to hold a trunk from an Exciter 250.

The problem comes from a PO who doesn't bother to drill out the rusted bolts, he just grabs an angle grinder, and slices thru the bottom mounting flange of the plastic trunk support, pretty much ruining it for anyone who just wants "bolt-on" parts. Then he sells it to you.

Luckily I got the plastic fragments he cut-off, so I could estimate the alignment of the holes, if you don't have these pieces, you'll need to have someone hold the trunk-SidePlate assembly on your bike with the stays in place, and mark the alignment of the 6 holes on the brackets, to use as a reference point.

Look thru this post for the image:
http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=17161.html

I trimmed the bottom 1/2 inch from the plastic brackets to further help with alignment, and to clean-up gouges and nasty stray cuts from the butcher's handiwork. Not a necessary step.

Spend a little more and buy all stainless nuts and bolts:
6 ~ 5/16-18 X 3/4 Oval Head Phillips and lock nuts
12 ~ 5/16-18 X 3/4 bolts, carriage bolts would work better, lock nuts
6 ~ 5/16-18 X 1 bolts, 10 thin washers, 4 lock nuts (mount bags)
I had to buy a hinge that I will weld on to a broken hinge.

I bought angle iron that's riddled with holes and short slots from Home Depot, it saves some drilling and cutting effort- - I only had to drill 2 holes per side. It's 1 1/2 inch angle, 10 inches long, and plenty strong, thicker and stronger than the stuff used to mount garage doors.

And exact copies of what I made are for sale for $25 - - PM me.

(insert picture here)

To get them to sit flush with the inside of the Side Plates, I split the difference between trimming the "webbing" and slicing up the steel brackets. I ground about one inch of the plastic webbing, and notched the steel angle iron to fit around the rest of the webbing.

I aligned the angle iron with the marks made earlier so I wouldn't have to drill the center of the 3 holes, just the outer 2. Then I drilled 6 holes per side to secure the metal angle iron to the Side Plate. If you are using angle iron with no pre-drilled holes, you would now have your helper hold the trunk-sideplate-brackets assembly in place while you scribe marks thru the 6 holes on the stays. You see where having 2 holes aligned perfectly would help?
I just bolted it on, double checked all alignments, and drilled my holes in the front and rear of the angle iron brackets.

The angle iron brackets are trimmed at a taper to fit.
This will show up in a picture, added later.

I bet this picture keeps sliding down. I need to get Photobucket.
-------- --------- ----------- --------
There are 6 ways to mis-align something added to your bike,
vertically, too high or low
fore and aft
left-right from the centerline, also,
a twist on a vertical axis, think steering the fork
a twist on a horizontal axis, think leaning the bike
a twist on another horizontal axis, think raising or lowering the headlight.

There's a technique of finding the centerline of a boat's transom called the "X" dimension, also used for hanging a light at the center of a room.
The same basic technique is used to "square-up" a motorcycle fairing or rack. We're going to assume all components have a perfect right-left symmetry and that your frame isn't bent.
Measure from the top shock mount, rear peg mount, gas tank bolt to identical points on the rack or box. Measure straight and "X"ed. Measure from the license plate bracket to the saddle bags.
If identical measurements are off by 1/4 inch, you only have to adjust by 1/8 inch to center it.
With some patience and work, you can get it perfect.
Is the box or rack level, with respect to the frame?
With your bike on centerstand in your garage, don't assume it's level, place a carpenter's level across the frame and shim the mainstand until it's level. Now you can see how far out the box, luggage rack, or fairing are. I have acces to a construction laser room level, so I'll be checking mine soon. Mine came out pretty close on the first try, but could use a slight adjustment.

--------- ------------ ------------ ----------
Will continue- -

 

Custom Mount a Fairing:

I started with the touring fairing with lowers, and no brackets. I had help on this one, a friend who taught me to weld, he's got a MIG wire feed. With the fairing hanging from the ceiling on a ratchet strap over the bike on mainstand, the battery and brains removed, I sat on the bike and got 1 1/2 inch of knee clearance.

The fairing was then loosely taped and roped into this position, but could be moved a bit.

The lower bracket was made first. A Schwinn bike fork tube is curved and tapered, and has an open end that attaches to the upper crash bar mount. The front ends are connected with a welded bar. The lower plastic is attached 6 inches forward to the welded bar with tiny brackets.

Since this lower bracket was welded "flat, level, and square" and all measurements are symmetrical, then when the fairing/lowers unit is bolted to it there can be no twist mis-alignments,(2) or centerline mis-alignment. The fairing now can only pivot fore and aft.

The main mount angle iron is 1 3/4 inch and .140 inch thick. Two were cut 3 1/2 inch long. I would go thicker, as Yamaha brackets are .175
we figured the shortest, simplest, strongest bracket was to slightly flatten a short piece of angle iron, laying the 90* angle open to about 135.

Drill holes, bolt brackets to fairing, line-up to the frame, draw a cut line to match the frame slope, grind, re-fit. Several trim and re-fit cycles, each time getting closer, the fairing centerline and other measurements checked as described in the previous section.

These brackets are permanently welded to my frame.
Since the fairing is about an inch higher and an inch further forward, the lower triple clamp on the fork rubbed the fairing bracket a little. Add some clearance with a grinder. The headlight support "ears" needed to be bent in alot, like to 45*

Some wires were messed up during all this work causing the bike to be "down" for months, so don't try to rush big projects.

Nice pictures added soon
To be continued - - -

 

This is just an outline for the 900 trunk installation:
I have not started the build

The picture below is the lower bracket for the touring fairing.

I want the 900 bracket and trunk to be solidly mounted, yet removable.
When it's off the bike, the remaining mounts or clips should be almost invisible.
Underneath, near the shocks, there could be 2 recievers for 2 posts.
Towards the back there could be 2 hood pins pointing down.
More to come.

 

TtR,
I can add pics and dimensions if that would be helpful. My luggage braket adds structural support to the bike as well - kind of like a bumper. I am a machinist and I have my own shop so I made my luggage rack so that the luggage can be removed easily by simply removing a couple of heavy duty plastic thumb screws that I machined up. As you noted, alignment is the most difficult part. I made mine this past winter while it was too cold to ride up north here but I can tell you - I spent a lot of hours just staring at the bike and taking measurements before I actually came up with a design. That being said, it would be a fairly simple operation for someone with minor welding skills to knock out a set of these now that the design work is done.

As for my fairing mount, it is not nearly as sophisticated as yours. I used two pieces of 1 1/2" angle iron welded back to back and used holes that were already on the frame (I am assuming they were there from the factory since the bike only had about 4k miles on it when I got it). I added a couple of ears to the outside ends of the angle bracket and that was it. Again, easy enough to do now that the figuring part is done but this all took quite a while to do. My fairing bracket took three tries before I got the positioning correct and an additional mod before it was stiff enough to handle 70mph plus winds.

I am down for the next couple of days while I am waiting for a new petcock to come in so I am going to pull my luggage to paint them. I can take some pics while I have everything apart.

 

Will this work for a Maxim?

 

motorduck
sorry but i don't know if it will work.

 

What's the trick to adding pictures?

 

Bracket

 

bracket installation

 

bracket installation

 

bracket installed

 

luggage hung on bracket

 

trunk installed

 

side view of luggage installed

 

mounting holes

 

That's a mighty fine job you did there brother. It looks awesome! I've been studying my 1981 XJ650H for several years now, trying to come up with some strategy as to how I can tie into the frame. Since I don't ride anyone on the back I was looking at using the rear foot peg brackets as part of my connection point. There are also two spare threaded holes up near the seat; one on either side. My plan is to make a full size mock-up out rigid foam then build my side box/ trunk combinationt out of sheet steel.

 

I gotta say that what you've done looks slick! Well done, and well thought out. I'm sure that there will be quite a few folks out there borrowing some of your ideas. Nicely done!

 

Thats a heck of a job! Looks like it could be a genuine Yamaha part. This was the boost I needed to start bothering my Godfather about teaching me welding again so I can make some for an 82 Maxim....

 

Nice mods! I was looking around for quite a while for suitable bags and a way to mount them. I ended up with just a trunk for now. I may not bother with the hard bags until I get something larger than my current XJ550R. I added a 3/4 faring and had to fab my own mounts. Not as slick as your work but functional.

The upper faring is supported off the mirror mounting holes. (I have removed the mirrors and installed kawasaki zx mirrors on the faring.)

upper left side:


detail upper left:


detail upper right:


Finished install:


The lower supports are similar and attached to the fork brace. (I found some attachment points after removing yamaha emblem.)

I'm really pleased with the faring. Reduces a lot of fatigue on long highway rides. And it never rains on me now that I have raingear with me in the trunk!

Sorry about pic quality. Craptastic camera phone.

 

I dug up this old post, hope you are still around. I see you started with the original plastic brace. I am trying to figure out how mine goes on and it just does not seem to line up. It was on this bike originally but removed, '82 Seca. I would love to get the hard saddlebags put back on but this brace is giving me headaches.

Any ideas?