Rack for '80s Venture Trunk?

[mac]

I want to get a luggage rack for my '80s Venture trunk. What would work best?

[MAS Tequila]

Mine is mounted to a Wompus rack.

MT

[ringadingh]

I agree with the Wompus rack, they can't be beat.

[oldbikers]

I found that if you can get the rack it came with and make your arms to fit the nomad it works best my venture trunk is mounted with 14 bolts in rubber the last one was mounted to a flat rack with 4 bolts and the whole bottom broke out of it. You can go here and get the drawings for the arms but I only used the 2 bolts don't see the need for the shock mounting hole.
http://home.insightbb.com/~kpmh.010/N-TourPak.htm

[MAS Tequila]

Do you mean the top rack?

I just looked at your pic again and see a Venture trunk already on the bike.

Mine has one, but was already there when I got it.

MT

[cactusjack]

The phrase "luggage rack" would indicate he's looking for a rack to mount ON the trunk, not a rack to mount the trunk on.

I bought one for my tourpack from JC Whitney for about $60.

[rickyboy]

It's been a while Mac and I can't remember where I got mine from. I think it was a KawaNOW member. I have seen them on eBay. Try there.

[oldbikers]

Sorry mac I just didn't read your thread close enough

[mac]

No problems, but yes I'm looking for the top luggage rack to mount on the trunk. If I need to buy one after market, just want to know which one fits.

[mac]

BTW, those with the Venture trunks, I locked my keys in the trunk this weekend while riding the mountains of northern Arkansas - luckily, we were able to simply open it with a screwdriver in the keyhole and just turn..... y'all may want to check yours and see if it is just mine or they all do that. May not be as secure as you thought.

[cactusjack]

The 80's Venture trunk is pretty narrow at the top. I think this will fit:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/YAMAHA-ROYAL-STAR-VENTURE-TRUNK-RACK-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem414b109640QQitemZ28043 2252480QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

[ringadingh]

The early and mid 80's Gold Wings had a similar shaped trunk and top rack. One of these racks would most likely also work.

[mac]

Thanks guys. The link shows a rack for a '99-'09, I want to make sure they will fit.

So an '80s GW rack will work too?

[ringadingh]

I don't see why the GW rack wouldn't work but it would be best to look at one either in person or on some pics to verify first.

[mac]

Ringadingh, your thinking this should work? : http://www.saber-cycle.com/store/product439.html

[mac]

Went ahead and pulled the trigger on the new GW rack for the '80s Goldwing. Of course the rear mounting points were too far back, but I went and purchased some chrome spacers (2x1" for each side), longer bolts (3"), and a couple of rubber stoppers I drilled a hole in and cut at a sharp angle. The rack shipped was just under $75, around $19 for the chrome parts/bolts/washers/stoppers. I wound up JB Welding (epoxy) metal washers/plates around the bolt holes in the trunk for support.

The photo makes it look like the rack is much wider than the trunk, but they are actually the same width. I thought the style of the rack matched the bag rails, so all looks good.

Thanks for everyone's input and Rickyboy's help.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v186/MasterMac/Mobile%20Uploads/7605835f.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v186/MasterMac/Mobile%20Uploads/f5b4c7aa.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v186/MasterMac/Mobile%20Uploads/caf9a055.jpg

[phatnomad]

Your luggage rack looks good. I have a venture trunk like yours and a GW rack like yours sitting on a shelf. Where did you get the spacers? Could you get some close up pics of the spacers and the screws from the inside of the lid? I would greatly appreciate it. My e-mail address is glholder@hotmail.com. Thanks for the help.

[mac]

Gary - just went by an Ace Hardware store. Got the .5"x1" chrome spacer (4), as they didn't have 2" chrome spacers, not sure of the inside diameter, but it was fairly thick and fit the screw. I'm pretty sure the screws are .25" and purchased 2.5" screws (2) but with the extreme angle they go through the trunk I really needed closer to 3" screws and went back and exchanged them. To fill the gap I purchased 2 black rubber stopers and used a dremmel to cut them on the diaginal to go between the trunk and first spacer.

The screws did still seem just a bit long, so using the dremmel I cut the tips of them off some (just a little bit) - but I don't think it really matters as they should be able to be screwed in pretty far.

I had a couple of washers with large openings, so I was just going to bend them to fit where they were but broke them off, which actually worked out well. I had a piece of a sheet metal angle bracket that is like 1.75" wide that I pounded out flat then just cut it in half, making two rectangle (maybe 1.75"x 2"?) and drilled a large hole in it, being sure to turn my drill bit at an angle to make an oval opening (because of the angle the bolt was going through). I epoxyed those in place to help brace the mount points and to prevent it from cracking as well as adding more support.

The extra washer epoxyed did make it almost a bit too thick for the enclosed .5" long screw that came with the rack, luckily I had a couple of extra screws the same size but longer that worked well. Let me take one more closer shot of the spacers.

Used the thick rubber washers on the outside of the front, inside in the rear. I also used a flatter rubber washer on the inside of the front bolts, several on the rear (because of the angle).

Spacers & rubber stopper
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v186/MasterMac/Mobile%20Uploads/3b77727e.jpg

Front bolts
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v186/MasterMac/Mobile%20Uploads/1ad446c0.jpg

Rear bolts
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v186/MasterMac/Mobile%20Uploads/2aa3a93e.jpg

Hope this helps. It's a bit scary drilling into the trunk and hoping it will all turn out OK.

[ringadingh]

It looks good on there, that is the rack I mentioned last week, I didn't see your post about it until today.

[phatnomad]

Dennis. Thanks for the pictures and the instructions. I will go by Ace hardware soon and get the parts to install the rack. I am glad you found a way to install the rack and make it look like it belongs on that trunk. As I said before I have that same rack sitting on the shelf for several years. Now I can put it to use.

[coacha]

On mine, I had to do something similar. I ended up taking two strips of aluminum and making trim pieces and putting them over the holes and drilling new ones to fit the rack I used.

[rickyboy]

looks just fine !! mac

[mac]

Rode to work today - view with completed rack from out my window.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v186/MasterMac/Mobile%20Uploads/d38d31c1.jpg