[Bike] Mucking around with new stuff
I just installed a SW-Motech rack on my Blackbird. It's made out of black anodised aluminium and steel pressed sheets - quite heavy, but good quality and German made. It fitted quite well, and although there were just diagrams these proved sufficient for me to relatively painlessly install the whole system in about 3 hours, including drilling new holes in the mudguard and number plate. I found that the rear bracket that fits to the mudguard to be the most tricky part, and although I'm certain I've got it in the right place it's still a really tight fit to get the panniers on.
The rear bracket includes new mounting points for the indicators which I think it is necessary to use because otherwise view of them would be obscured from anything more than a shallow angle. Unfortunately the indicators I've got look rather ugly in this position which is just above the numberplate and to the rear of it, so you see the screw threads and wires.
Frustratingly, while trying to get one of the rubber bungs into the hole it pinged off somewhere and I can't find it. Perhaps it will show up in the daylight but I'm not holding my hopes out for it. I'll ring the company and ask if they might post me another if I can't find it.
Oh, two other things. The top rack apparently has a weight limit of 5kg. That would be enough for the fixing plate, the top box and perhaps a light sleeping bag in the top box. Hrm. I think I'll choose to carefully ignore that one.
The other thing is that you lose the handle when you install the top loggage plate - and on mine there's a lot of paintwork that needs attention under the handle.
Now I just have to install my Speedo Healer, which I'll probably do during lunch tomorrow :)
The rear bracket includes new mounting points for the indicators which I think it is necessary to use because otherwise view of them would be obscured from anything more than a shallow angle. Unfortunately the indicators I've got look rather ugly in this position which is just above the numberplate and to the rear of it, so you see the screw threads and wires.
Frustratingly, while trying to get one of the rubber bungs into the hole it pinged off somewhere and I can't find it. Perhaps it will show up in the daylight but I'm not holding my hopes out for it. I'll ring the company and ask if they might post me another if I can't find it.
Oh, two other things. The top rack apparently has a weight limit of 5kg. That would be enough for the fixing plate, the top box and perhaps a light sleeping bag in the top box. Hrm. I think I'll choose to carefully ignore that one.
The other thing is that you lose the handle when you install the top loggage plate - and on mine there's a lot of paintwork that needs attention under the handle.
Now I just have to install my Speedo Healer, which I'll probably do during lunch tomorrow :)