Is anyone using the AltRider Luggage Rack? http://www.altrider.com/altrider-lu...qvarna-tr650-terra-and-strada/pid/1100/cid/15 Does having the two bolts tied to the subframe stiffen the plastic rack sufficiently for mounting a topcase?
I am a little confused at the question. Are you trying to mount the AltRider plate over your plastic rack? I wouldn't mount anything heavy to that factory rack, especially if your TR is doing anything other than pavement duty. RuggedExposure lost a Rotopax on his stock rack. That was the only thing on it, and a gallon of fuel doesn't weigh all that much. I've got the TCI system, which ties the rear rack and luggage rack together. It is rock solid. I've strapped a 55lb rucksack to the tail rack many a time for my 60-mile roundtrip commute. Random photos for reference:
Most of the commercially available luggage plates for the TR mount on top of the plastic rack and will indeed suffer the same problem as RE. But the Altrider plate is a little different, in the sense that it mounts both to the plastic rack and to rear subframe. That should strenghten the plastic rack. Whether it will be enough I don't know. It will definitely be stronger and will prevent the 2 inner plastic supports from breaking, but there's still stress on the 2 outer plastic supports. I have been looking at the Altrider plate as well and wondered whether it would be sufficient to mount a top case. An alternative is the H&B top rack, which replaces the original plastic entirely.
I'd really like to see that AltRider rack bolted up. Another option is the Nomadic rack. Seems to work pretty well from the chatter on here. http://www.nomadic-racks.com/index....id=62#!/~/product/category=976078&id=27910902
Altrider instructions (linked) have a couple pictures. Also, the instructions have a very large note: MAX LOAD recommended load is 10 lbs.
Interesting design. So it only bolts to the bike at two points, and the rest of the load is beared by the plastic rack, which is bolted into the exact same holes as the AltRider rack. I'm not seeing why anyone would pay $147 for the Altrider rack when the Nomadic is $99 and has a four point mount.
I really like the looks of the Nomadic rack. I already have the Husky/Givi side racks and cases. I want to use one of the side cases as a top case when I don't need so much space commuting during the week. I'm spoiled by the simple looks of the Givi mounting kit that AltRider sells. I have the same setup on my FJR with a PCA rack. I contacted Nomadic and was told I'd need to use the plastic E250 plate to mount a Givi top case to their rack. It isn't a deal breaker and I already have the E250 plate. I wish Nomadic was interested in redesigning their rack to accommodate the Givi kit, but I can't blame them for not wanting to invest more in the TR650. I'm tempted to get the Nomadic rack and drill my own holes for the Givi mount if there is room. Or just live with the E250 plate and quit whining about my first world problems! Givi Mounting Kit Here's the kit installed on AltRider's Multistrada rack. Arg... Good catch. I missed that.
But it only works if you are using their side racks right? On a side note I just listed a set of BRmoto side racks in the classified section.
Macntatsch, I'm in the same boat you are with the factory racks and Givi cases. Please keep us posted if you try drilling the holes.
The BRMoto rack is very nice indeed. For my Magadan bags I would probably like something a bit bigger than the wolfman hoops, or the hoops mounted lower, but that's just me. The main reason why I won't consider BRMoto is that it would cost me 620+ USD after shipping to the european mainland, taxes and import duties.
The two through bolts do stiffen the rack quite a bit, but we still don't recommend going over that ten pound weight capacity. Our luggage rack will add a wide surface for you to carry all your tools, gear, groceries, etc with multiple lash points that the plastic rack can’t offer Somehow pictures of the rack installed on the bike didn't make it to our website. I'm not sure how, since we actually have our own TR650, but we'll get that fixed soon. I went and snapped some quick pictures of the rack on the bike for you, let me know if you'd like them from any other angles. As far as the AltRider rack versus other options, our features CNC routering on all the edges so it won't cut through any of your straps. We chose to keep the grab handles on the bike because although it's no 1200cc behemoth, the TR650 is a heavy bike to pick up. It's important to have somewhere solid to lift that won't cut your hands if the bike goes over.
It's definitely nice to have the grab handles to slide the tail around in the garage. Nice sticker on the rear fender.
My thinking exactly... Its really not a problem with rack, its a problem with rack support. Unless its a completely new design, not utilising original rack at all, its a 'no-go' for me.
Thank you for addressing our questions. So we can carry all our "tools, gear, etc" as long as it weighs less than 10 pounds?
Even though this is an old thread , I'm going to add this. I wanted to have the option to move my Touratech topcase 38L from my big adventure bike to the Terra using the rapidtrap like on the other bike. I tried adding a hoop to the factory rack with the touratech luggage rack and it was not rigid enough to support it. I saw the Nomadic Rack here, so I ordered one and installed it. An amazingly strong and rigid piece with very high quality and I added the rapid trap which made it a really simple install with minor modifications. Just drilled a few extra holes and added some nylon spacers.
