Rack turned out to be 8 lbs. exactly. Notice how the rear of the rack now takes care of the tail assembly failure issue and fits nicely into the relief pocket. I am extremely happy with how it turned out!
Here are Ken's. This was great because we did go two different routs and both assemblies turned out light and strong. We both felt very strongly about a two bolt mount on the front mounting bracket to prevent a swivel affect. His mount also cures the tail section failure. Another thing that added an extreme amount of strength is the cross bars which got rid of all flex. Kens mount is fantastically simple for those of you looking for ideas. No cutting on the bike, hoops were pre assembled and ordered from BR Moto. BR Moto also has a good price on the chromoly tubing so the ordering process can be done from one supplier. Here is the bike and Ken too!
While Fab works on a final pic post, a few comments. This has been a real blast, but long days and long nights too. It is easy to underestimate the time it takes to get everything cut just right and alighned left to right, and just to decide each little bit. Fab has been, well, fabulous. I've really enjoyed working with him and sharing his facilities and taking advantage of hospitality. With coffee in hand and Willie and Lobo on the stereo, it's nice to sit back and admire our work. A real bonus is that the rear loop on both bikes is in the perfect place to stabilize the rear fender. No shaking when the bike is running, and I hope it solves the breakage problem long term. One more day of work and a few more items, then home for me!
This is exciting! Too bad the bags are full of welding blankets, jackets, clean rags, and whatever else was laying around. I may have to up the dates on my trip to the Gates of Lodore!
Well Ken had to go home and at noon he left. We just had enough time for him to take my wife and I to breakfast and pick up and load his things. We decided not to do his skid plate. The aluminum we had was pretty thin for the job (1/8") and I don't have enough time behind a TIG torch to make the welds look anything like the existing welds on the Motosportz skid plate. Ken knows a very skilled TIG welder in Huston and will have him do it. We had a great time and Ken is welcome here anytime! We drank a lot of coffee, ate good food, and shared some working skills. We were very optimistic with our plans to get a lot more things done, but reality and fantasy are two different things. The main thing is both of our bikes are ready for the trips we want to take in the near future and that was the main goal. I am not use to sharing what I do with other people and was a bit nervous about the whole thing, but it was great. Ken's company, help, and skills along with all your guys complements and excitement made this a real blast! I am going to limit my mod posts to here on this thread so I don't feel like I am high jacking the Terra Mod section. I still have a lot to do and will continue to post my mods here as long as there is still interest.
With 413 views Fab I'm pretty sure people will still have interest in your post. Keep up the good work and sharing for all to see.
Thank you! Medium Expedition Dry. It looks huge in the pic, but it is going to work out fine I think. Looks normal in real life.
Thanks HD1! Your "crash test dummy" incident has the radiator guard at the top of the list. I was suppose to go back to work tomorrow, but the forecast is snow so I will get to work on the bike again.
Thanks fleche! It really is unbelievable how much steel is in these things. I am thinking about cutting off the entire kickstand tube and putting in the lighter tubing the entire length. We did not have enough tubing on hand to do that in the first place. The passenger pegs and sections I cut off were 2.49lbs! That brings the added weight of the rack down to 5.51 lbs. you already know we are going with the RotoPax system, but I can't bring myself to do it the way Wolfman does it. I want to do something different. Something that is strong enough to add the 2 gallon RotoPax on both sides or 2 one gallon fuel pax and 2 one gallon water Pax. Wolfman only recommends 1 gallon per side. I have not researched it yet, but I think with the new 1.75 gallon RotoPax, I can still get the side bags on....if I design something stronger. Thanks kjack! I am taking donations towards that oven. If its large enough, I will build you a rack! Oh, and it needs to be a large enough donation to build an addition to the shop to add the oven. I called on the powder coating and the price was good ($70), but when I told him I would be bringing in more stuff later, he said to finish everything and then bring it in and he will do everything for $70. I thought that was pretty cool! I told him I painted it and he said no problem.
I can't imaqine i'm the only one who'd be disappointed if you chose not to share the ongoing transformation of this project. Thanks to you both for making it happen. When the doubt for the future of the Terra hangs in the minds of some, others are out there going at it regardless. I love it!! I think we'll run satisfactorily on the ethers of your inspiration for a while to come. Will look forward to more installments updates tidbits.......cheers both!
I found I could slip the bottom hole in the rotopax onto the rear footpeg and strap to the Outback rack side braces. You could probably fab a proper mount.
Sweet! Those pics are great DB. I will look at that option today. Ken just raves about his TE 630. I'm dyin to see one. Can you believe I have never seen one in real life? Husky isn't real big around here. Last summer my cousin and I had the only two Husk's I've seen outside the showroom floor.
Awesome work fellas! I may attempt this in the future, with some help from my friend, who just happens to be a welder!
Back home again! DYNOBOB, jump on those racks! We spent more or less four long days getting everything dialed in and as symetrical as we could, so it was not a quick process. Several folks have done racks now, starting with BigDog. At least we provided a blow-by-blow of how we did it. I think the key is to make up those top lugs to mount to the Husky sub-frame. Fab's rack is fantastic being one piece, but I know that shipping is an issue that way so I expect Wolfman will go with separate racks with a removeable cross bar. If you do it yourself, consider the one piece route if you have the time. With some bars to protect the radiator in those inevitable falls, this is going to be a great long distance road/adventure bike and I am very anxious to put it to use. Fab and I briefly discussed doing the Colorado Brackcountry Discovery Route, and the map arrived while I was in Colorado. We'll take the Terras! Using the TE630 would be cheating........ My KTM folding mirrors were waiting on the table for me when I rolled in, and they are now on the bike; much nicer looking. Now to get the skid plate finished, unless Motosportz comes thru with their add-ons. The one thing that we didn't get done, and that I really wanted to do, was the chain guide. Turns out the swing arm on the sprocket side is not parallel with the chain and the guide can't go on the way I thought it might. It will require several plates put together and carefully aligned to make it work, but it will happen. With no Fab shop, it will be a bit more difficult. Just a few more days would have done it, but my time ran out! Turns out even us retired guys have some schedules to keep.
Your documentation is much appreciated, glad you made it back home safe. Now, please make some time in your schedule to post pics of new mirrors, no rest for the weary!