piratemonkey 0 Posted March 21, 2011 We need a beefy rack for the DRZ400S. It has to hold 30 days' worth of gear (including a Rotopax gas can), all the while withstanding constant shaking and occasional hard jarring. Wayne wasn't satisified with the construction of anything he found online so he decided to make it. It first started with him disappearing into the garage for an hour or two at a time to scribble on an engineering pad. After that, he bought some tubing. Finally, it was time to go over to his friend's house, whose Man Cave far exceeded the minimum suggested male content of a pool table and neon beer sign. Last Saturday was all about cutting the tubes... and making the fishmouth joints... and making sure all the pieces were ready... The seat attachment points were made ahead of time; they just needed a little welding. This Saturday was the weld-fest. One rack in the foreground, the second one underway. This is the moment Wayne wished he were single and building for one. By the end of the day, we had two fully functional top racks (steel). You can see that Simon and I were exhausted from all the moral support we had to lend. Next to come, the side racks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagstr 288 Posted March 21, 2011 Zina, You would be advised to hang on to that guy. A good machinist is a valuable commodity. Not that I would suggest a man is a commodity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mctrails 38 Posted March 21, 2011 Nice shop and great looking rack. My only thought is you have this nice heavy duty rack mounted to the wimpy little aluminum subframe of the bike. I would seriously look into beefing up the subframe and mounts if you expect the thing to hold up to what you are expecting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joliet 0 Posted March 21, 2011 Nice garage and good job on the racks. These are supposed to hold a lot of weight, but they are kind of wide. http://www.cycleracks.com/pricing.php Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piratemonkey 0 Posted March 21, 2011 You would be advised to hang on to that guy. A good machinist is a valuable commodity. You would not believe my threshold for pain if it means I get a competent inhouse mechanic/machinist. My only thought is you have this nice heavy duty rack mounted to the wimpy little aluminum subframe of the bike. I would seriously look into beefing up the subframe and mounts if you expect the thing to hold up to what you are expecting. The side rack will be welded to the top rack as well as tied into the passenger pegs -- we're hoping the brunt of the load will be taken up at that point and not by the subframe. My Husky subframe cracked with hardly any weight on it so although Wayne is knowledgeable about tensile strength and leveraged stress points, should he ever feel like rolling the Cosmic Dice of Luck he need only look at my PCOFSHT to make him set those dice down and get back to the prudent approach: Over-engineering. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Strega 0 Posted March 21, 2011 NICE WORK WAYNE! Your rack looks quite similar to this rack: (Brilliant minds think alike!) The price is $89.00 plus $15.00 shipping to anywhere in the continental USA Specs: * Guaranteed to fit your DRZ 400s * Guaranteed against breakage * Made in the good 'ol USA * Large 14" X 14" platform * Weighs only 4.3 lbs * Steel Tube Construction * Satin Black Rust Inhibiting Paint * Sits flush with top of seat so a slide off the back won't injure your lower back. * Mounts quickly and easily to the existing toolbag holes in the rear fender and existing subframe tabs. * All hardware is included. Taken from HERE I pm'd him to get direct contact info if anyone is really interested. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spyder 2 Posted March 21, 2011 Zina or Wayne, do you need to borrow a 1/2" tube bender? It worked well for this project on an NX650 a few years ago.... (Bender cost a little over $100 back then) More pictures here.... NX650 pictures Top rack came out great, Wayne. Let me know... Spyder Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Strega 0 Posted March 21, 2011 Nice lookin rack Spyder Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piratemonkey 0 Posted March 21, 2011 Nice lookin rack Spyder No kidding -- that is one sweeeeet rack. Wayne's friend's Man Cave comes with a tube bender. If there's any problem with it we may call upon you. Looking forward to getting this done so we can load them up and test them out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spyder 2 Posted April 8, 2011 Nice lookin rack Spyder No kidding -- that is one sweeeeet rack. Wayne's friend's Man Cave comes with a tube bender. If there's any problem with it we may call upon you. Looking forward to getting this done so we can load them up and test them out. Thanks for the compliments. Care to bting us up to date with the finished results? (Pictures please) S Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piratemonkey 0 Posted April 8, 2011 Care to bting us up to date with the finished results? (Pictures please) Wayne has made the side racks. He opted not to do the tube bending; instead he welded four pieces together. He's doing some more welding this weekend so I'll post updated pics after that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piratemonkey 0 Posted April 18, 2011 Alas, the rack is functional. Only a few more things need to be added, like tabs and caps. Before it's powder coated, we'll be doing a short camping trip on it to make sure it meets our needs. It's so ruggedly built that a car better not hit us or it'll suffer major damage. The side racks were designed specifically for our Chase Harper bags and a Rotopax gas can. The top bag will rest on a board (varnished, edges rounded). Now it's my job to sew on straps and buckles in strategic spots so the bags have a minimum of movement, but also won't be a PITA to remove. I'm also going to sew easy-access bags that can strap in the space between the side bags and top bag; it'll be a good location for items like a tire pressure gauge and tire irons. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crawdaddy 96 Posted April 18, 2011 ......we'll be doing a short camping trip on it to make sure it meets our needs.... Nice rack! (it's not often that a guy can get away with that line to a lady ) Wow, serious capacity.......Looks like we may have found another mule to shuttle beer to Bar 10? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paulmbowers 236 Posted April 18, 2011 Looks great- don't for get a new rear spring- that's a LOTTA weight back there. Baby got back. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piratemonkey 0 Posted April 18, 2011 Looks great- don't for get a new rear spring- that's a LOTTA weight back there. Baby got back. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piratemonkey 0 Posted April 18, 2011 First, the above post was in error. Nice rack! (it's not often that a guy can get away with that line to a lady ) Chris, I assume you have the slap marks to support this? Looks great- don't for get a new rear spring- that's a LOTTA weight back there. I think I might be ok if I return the spring to the stock settings. I have mine set up really soft at the moment. Wayne will be carrying most of the tools so he'll probably get a stiffer spring, although our springs aren't the same color so John-Mark might have already put on a stiffer spring. We're not sure. We'll find out on our test camping trip when his bike comes home looking like a dog with advanced hip dysplasia... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smalltank 0 Posted April 18, 2011 That's a nice rack for a long trip good job on the buildmade in the USA Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piratemonkey 0 Posted April 18, 2011 The more I look at it, the more I think a giant version of it would make an interesting MMA cage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
