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Re: Top Rack Installation



It was probably my message to Lisa off line....

I threatened a rant on the subject and am still not cool enough to talk
about it (plus at 11:00pm, I am still at work, so I am doubly unhappy)

The old grab rail will come off with only 4 bolts, but that is where the
fun ends. In brief, there are 3 additional support brackets that must be
added to install the top rack. Of course in order to add two of them, the
rear fender must be moved out of the way, so if you have installed the 2
pannier setup, get ready for a fight. 

Once you get all the pieces in there appropriate positions, it is now off
to find the smallest rachet you own in order to get at the nuts. And of
course, due to the limited area underneath the newly installed brackets,
your rachet will only get off ONE click before hitting the top or bottom of
one of the brackets - making the tightening a time consuming process. 

I have many complaints, but here are the major ones...

1) Finish on rack was 2nd rate - hadn't even bothered to paint where it was
hung on the paint line, so there is a nice strip (on the under seat area)
with no paint at all. Not that anyone would ever see it, but its just sort
of "cheesy" for lack of a better word.

2) Once installed the brackets will add a minimum of 10 minutes to the time
it takes to remove the rear fairing - shops should really like this.

3) Main support bracket is not cut correctly, so the rear fairing makes
direct contact with the bracket

4) Seat does not "seat" after installation. In order to be able to put the
seat back on and be able to use the lock, I had to do the following:
Replace stock bolts on front support with low profile bolts (heads were
contacting the seat), trim two plastic supports under the seat that were
hitting the front support, add two washers under the lock mechanism to
raise it to the point that it would release the seat without fear of
breaking the key....

Other than that, I love the rack ..........

- - Eric

At 09:01 PM 06/03/1999 -0500, Richard wrote:
>I thought I saw an e-mail where someone wasn't happy with the way the
>top rack is installed.  The one for Lisa's ST has come in and looking at
>the grab rail mounts, it looks real easy to install (4 bolts?).  Thus I
>am planning to pick it up and install myself unless somtone says it is a
>major pain.  Am I missing something?


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