pannier headache

[John B]

I'm A new T7 owner getting ready for the NMBDR. I'm 71 years old and have been riding 55 of those years. I bought a T7 with only 800 miles on it and the guy had dropped it and it was rubbing the swingarm. I bought the Camel enduro high exhaust

to get around the problem and love the exhaust. I however did not know about the forum and didn't know the pannier racks would be an issue. The problem is with the front brace that bolts to the passenger peg mounts. That 3/4"  tubing hits the can. After sending a set of racks back at my expense I ordered the Tusk racks (with top rack).  I had the same problem but, I liked the design and sturdy engineering so well I decided to make a modification since I have my own welding business with all the goodys. I welded a 1/4" thick spacer on the foot peg bracket to move the attachment point out slightly and cut the brace off the pannier loop being careful to only remove the weld and not any tubing length which left the cut end pre saddled. I did all of this (off) the bike. I put everything back on the bike and then rotated the diagonal tubing uphill on the loop (about 1/2") and the fit was perfect with no gap. I now had a good 3/8" clearence when I put the can back on. I removed the can again and covered the rear wheel and swing arm with a fire blanket and the side cover with a really wet T shirt. Welded the joint with .030 hard wire and 75/25 gas. The project turned out beautiful. Painted with semi gloss black and mounted a new set of Mosko Moto Backcountry Pannier 35's.  The racks come with a latch system for the Tusk quick disconnect bags so I removed the latch pins and springs and the Mosko Moto quick removal hardware fit right on. From a metal fabricators point of view I believe the Tusk pannier rack is well built and well worth the 230.00 bucks including the carrier rack. Fitment was good everywhere except they failed miserbley on the alignment of the bolt holes where the diagonal brace bolts to the foot peg bracket. I had to heat the brace where it welds to the loop and bend it down a full hole diamater to get a bolt in. I don't know why they were off that far unless they were not clamped down in the welding jig properly. I'm going into all this detail 

not to be a know it all but to make a point. Don't be afriad to modify things that don't fit perfect. If you don't have the equipment or skill, chances are you have a buddy that does. I'm glad I found this forum and really like all the imformation sharing. It has already helped me find work arounds to several problems I had questions about. Be safe out there and enjoy the outdoors!

 

 

 

 

 

[Belgradian]

Could you add a photo of the exhaust side without the rags? Thanks!

[NZIAN]

Can the modifications be applied to my wife? I could see her with a set of bolt ons and a more padded saddle. Your thoughts on this? Oh, yeah, welcome!

[John B]

  Belgradian here are some pictures. One from the back shows can clearence. It's more like 1/4" but that is plenty. this rack is asymetrical but looks great to me with (2) 35's.

NZIAN, thanks for the welcome and I would stick to modifications on the bike only. The bike will never complain!

[Belgradian]

Thanks John B! Looks good.