/5 SWB Luggage

[Teslaesque]

Hi,
I'm wondering if someone can provide suggestions for adding luggage to my short wheelbase /5. On my K bikes, it was a no-brainer to buy the bmw mounts and bags, because they're great. I'm not so sure about this bike though. SWB mounts seem difficult to find in the used marketplace, and are prohibitively expensive new. Am I missing something? Can anyone give me pointers on where i'm going wrong here? Otherwise, i'm thinking of just finding some ortlieb waterproof throw-over panniers.

thanks in advance!

[barryg]

I have several sets of Krauser bags and mounts, all for the long frame. Held one side of the mounts up next to my swb '71 R50/5. The hole was off about an inch. Thought about it for about an hour, got a step drill and popped an appropiate size hole thru the subframe. Attached the mounts, then put the bag on. Perfect fit. Did the same to the other side. Never looked back, and I can now use my Krauser bags and mounts as needed on my swb /5.

[JJ Cerilli]

Try this company (Siebenrock) in Germany who now makes high quality "replica" Krauser bags.

http://www.siebenrock.com/products/index.en.php

Here is a photo of a set I bought (with chrome bag mounts) for my '78 R100RS.

Very spendy, ($800+), yes, but excellent quality, locking, w/keys, etc. and it fits my bike perfectly.

[37071]

I had a set of Krausers that I bought years ago as spares for my R100RS. I put these spares on my 71 R75. They stick out the back a little more than they did on the R100 but work fine.

[Teslaesque]

Gar, i'm concerned with the mounts. Where did you get yours? I'd rather not have to drill holes to retrofit some LWB racks to my SWB

[37071]

I used the universal Krauser mounts that allowed me to fit the pieces and move the turn signals. The BMW bag mounts are not as flexible in their mounting points.
If you like I can post a picture.:type

[Teslaesque]

i'm finding krauser re-pros for around $40 or $50. thats MUCH more my speed than the $300 bmw wanted. i guess i'll give it a shot and see if they work.
thanks!

[bmwcca1]

i'm finding krauser re-pros for around $40 or $50. thats MUCH more my speed than the $300 bmw wanted. i guess i'll give it a shot and see if they work.Okay, real simple, here's what I did and helped others to do:

First, remember the only difference between long-wheelbase carriers and short-wheelbase carriers is the length and angle of the lower brace arm plus a slightly longer top shock mounting tab on one rack side. You'll notice both racks have two upper mounting holes for the shock bolts to enable mounting to either size frame. I mounted the LWB racks to my SWB /5 by using the passenger foot pegs to attach the lower diagonal rack braces. Some folks prefer to drill a new hole in the bike's frame. I didn't want to modify the bike in any way so my first modification was to the bolt hole in the rack's brace holes to fit the foot-peg bolt. I used a tapered hand reamer to enlarge the holes to the size of the foot peg bolt. A drill would work just as easily but it doesn't take much. I remove the passenger foot pegs. Then I test-fitted the racks and found that, on the left side, the forward-most part of the upper mounting flange with the shock bolt holes needed to be bent to clear the SWB frame cross piece just behind the seat latch mechanism. I bent it inward a bit with a hammer and a pair of channel lock pliers or large vice-grip pliers. You could just cut it off with a hack saw but bending the tab over makes it possible to reuse the racks later on a LWB model. I then mounted the racks normally to the rear frame loop and upper shock mount. For the next step, I grabbed the rack's lower angle brace with my hand and simply pulled it up, bending it slightly until it aligned perfectly with the foot peg mounting holes. It didn't take much movement and the strut bent easily with no chrome cracking. Then I inserted the foot pegs through the rack brace arm hole and the frame mounting hole, and installed the foot peg normally. Some pegs may not have enough threads left to secure the nut. In this case I suggest simply leaving off the wavy washer and mounting the nut directly. You can check the tightness after a couple of hundred miles just to reassure yourself that it's not going to fall off or use some blue Loctite. I have over 10,000 miles on my installation without the washer. Works great.

Let me know if any of this isn't clear. I can send pictures if you need them. I also understand the racks from an R65 will mount right up, but I haven't tried this. I'd rather perform the slight modification to the LWB frame than pay R65 part prices. You can also use the LWB frames as-is, simply by drilling a mounting hole for the lower brace in the frame section near where the passenger foot peg attaches, as the first respondent suggested. I found it cleaner to simply bend the mounts as opposed to drilling holes in an otherwise complete motorcycle frame.

Sorry I don't have a better photo of the bag mounts but you can make them out in this photo if you just ignore the fashion model who's in the way.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c378/BMWCCA1/EsquireSlash5.jpg

[37071]

Sorry no glam model:cry - just Krauser mount, from a /7 I think.

[37071]

Back Above

[Teslaesque]

Thanks for the pictures. I'm trying to keep mine sporty, but I'm so used to the luxury of good hard bags. Its a difficult balance to strike. Your pictures have helped me understand better what mine would look like with mounts. Since I probably won't be doing much long distance riding on it, I'm going to change my search to finding soft bags that don't require hardware. I've attached a shot of mine as it sits now.

Thanks for your help!

[bmwcca1]

Thanks for the pictures. I'm trying to keep mine sporty, but I'm so used to the luxury of good hard bags. Its a difficult balance to strike. Your pictures have helped me understand better what mine would look like with mounts. Since I probably won't be doing much long distance riding on it, I'm going to change my search to finding soft bags that don't require hardware
I guess "sporty" is in the eye of the beholder!

It was a bit early in the morning for me at the annual /5 Seneca Rocks rally but the bike looked ready to go!

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c378/BMWCCA1/slash5marxistSenecaRocks.jpg