RCinNC
Well-Known Member
Hello All,
I've finished my prototype of a topcase quick release system, and am posting photos here in case anyone wants to adapt a similar design for their project. The system is designed to work with my homemade tail rack, described in an earlier post. The system is very secure, but can be released just by flipping the QR handle (which is actually just a QR seatpost clamp from a bicycle). The front clamping blocks are made from laminated 1/4" ABS plastic, which is surprisingly strong. A padlock can be passed through the QR handle, QR bracket, and tail rack, locking the whole unit to the tail rack. If a more permanent mounting is needed, the hole in which the QR skewer passes through is threaded to accept a 5/16" bolt or knob (a plastic bushing is placed in the threaded hole when the QR is being used). Normally the clamp blocks and the quick release bracket would be mounted directly to the bottom of the top case, but since there is a slight bow in the underside of my Duratool top case, I built the mounting platform to give it a flat surface. The system would work with just about any topcase, as long as it has a flat bottom portion no smaller than about 8" front to back by 6" side to side. The system would be easily adaptable to something like a luggage packboard, or a Rotopak carrier.
I've finished my prototype of a topcase quick release system, and am posting photos here in case anyone wants to adapt a similar design for their project. The system is designed to work with my homemade tail rack, described in an earlier post. The system is very secure, but can be released just by flipping the QR handle (which is actually just a QR seatpost clamp from a bicycle). The front clamping blocks are made from laminated 1/4" ABS plastic, which is surprisingly strong. A padlock can be passed through the QR handle, QR bracket, and tail rack, locking the whole unit to the tail rack. If a more permanent mounting is needed, the hole in which the QR skewer passes through is threaded to accept a 5/16" bolt or knob (a plastic bushing is placed in the threaded hole when the QR is being used). Normally the clamp blocks and the quick release bracket would be mounted directly to the bottom of the top case, but since there is a slight bow in the underside of my Duratool top case, I built the mounting platform to give it a flat surface. The system would work with just about any topcase, as long as it has a flat bottom portion no smaller than about 8" front to back by 6" side to side. The system would be easily adaptable to something like a luggage packboard, or a Rotopak carrier.
