Giving up on the SW-MOTECH Alu-Rack.......

I have Givi PLXR side racks on my '03 VFR800, work great!

I ordered the SW-MOTECH Alu-Rack from Twisted Throttle, because it has a nice profile to it, and looked like it would work well. I got it in and attempted to install it.

It installs over the grab handles. Has spacers that go into the grab handles and then it sits on top of those. In theory this should work ok...

Except, the rails are threaded, and then of course the frame of the bike is threaded. So you have basically the grab handles and spacer sandwiched between two threaded surfaces. Since there is no way to take up slack when you are working between two threaded surfaces, the grab handles just rattle and have major slack in them. I tried many times to thread into the frame with as little slack as possible ......but its impossible.

I have no idea why its designed the way it is. If anyone is using the Alu-Rack top rack and has managed to install it without serious slack/rattle in the grab handles please let me know the trick. My plan is to do a return with TT in the morning and order the Givi FZ166 and M5 top plate, which is what I should have done all along. This does not use the grab handle bolts.

My givi side racks actually use the grab handle bolts, but of course the plates are NOT threaded, so the bolt is allowed to nicely compress the grab handle and plate together, leaving a nice tight fit and no slack. The root of the problem with the SW-MOTECH design is that they threaded the rails and I have no idea why.

 

Ok, I need to post a redaction. Turns out I had these rails on backwards, and so I was putting the bolt through the wrong hole! So it went on great after that. It is VERY tight between the seat cowl and the rack, so getting the seat on and off is a real pita......that's the price you pay for a lower profile.

I have not yet mounted my V45, that comes in this week. I will post more through follow up once I get the V45 in.

The plate goes into the rack with 3 cam's, they work similar to how the GIVI PLXR racks go together.

 

Sounds like you're working it out. Any chance of some pics for those of us considering this?

 

Way to man up and admit you were a buffoon. I would never do that. lol

 

Yeah, a bit of egg on my face, but I am not too proud. Now of days where you get little more than a picture of an exploded parts diagram it can be easy to screw things up. I will post pics for sure in the next few days.

 

You do know I was just busting your balls, Signal? Or maybe you don't have any, so you didn't know?

But glad you got it figured out. I have done similar shit all too often. I've learned now to just walk away whenever I take on a new project that should be simple, and something goes wrong. My wife and kids usually run to the neighbors when they hear the F-Bombs flying from the garage and the BFH pounding on the workbench.

 

Pilskin, i don't mind a ball busting........i roll with the sarcasm of this site and dish it out from time to time too.

I just want to end this thread in saying I don't see anything wrong with the SW-MOTECH rack at this time, and sorry for the alarm. I can't see a way to edit/change the title, otherwise I would, and/or lock the thread. Please don't post in this thread anymore so that it drops off and people don't get worried that there is some issue with the SW-MOTECH. I will post another thread with report on how the rack is doing, as now I have my V46 mounted and can give some feedback.

 

Hey signal.....glad ya fingered it oot
Did you figure out the two spacers that go into the handle holes for the bar to attach on top?
had to figure everything out.....
I thought the instructions sucked

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yeah i figured the spacers out. The Motechs come with the fat spacer and the thin ones. I already had spacers in there from my Givi PLXR panniers, but they are a tad smaller than the fat motech ones. So I only used the motech fat spacers and left the thin ones out, since the width of the givi brackets even everything out. That's why they give two spacers anyways, in case you have pannier brackets installed they are typically the width of the smaller spacer.

The next day i installed a full set of PLXR's plus top rack on my wifes FZ-6R.......that was a pita. The givi and motech stuff is very well made, can't complain. It's so nice having a top box on, finally an easy place to keep helmet, rain gear, gloves, compressor, etc.

 

The best mod for convenience going to work.... don't have to wear that f+cking backpack anymore.

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