S10 pillion cargo rack - why so flimsy?

[The Mountain]

Two-part question: First, why is the capacity of the under-seat rack so low? The seat itself can carry an adult human, but the rack is only rated for something like 10 pounds? Second part, are there any US vendors that make a metal rack plate for that rack position that is level with the rear rack? Touratech does or did, but apparently only in non-US markets as far as I can tell, and at one time Wolfman had something, but appears to have also discontinued it.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Because the distance from front bolts to the rear one is so short, anything beyond that is leverage, compounding the load. Seems to me there were a couple of 2010 bikes in South Africa that cracked the rear sub-frame.

 

[The Mountain]

Because the distance from front bolts to the rear one is so short, anything beyond that is leverage, compounding the load. Seems to me there were a couple of 2010 bikes in South Africa that cracked the rear sub-frame.

Are you talking about the tail rack or the rack plate under the seat? I'm talking about the rack that is exposed if you remove the pillion seat.

 

[SparrowHawkxx]

Two-part question: First, why is the capacity of the under-seat rack so low? The seat itself can carry an adult human, but the rack is only rated for something like 10 pounds?

Second part, are there any US vendors that make a metal rack plate for that rack position that is level with the rear rack? Touratech does or did, but apparently only in non-US markets as far as I can tell, and at one time Wolfman had something, but appears to have also discontinued it.

First part: You are correct, both the pillion rack and the luggage rack are plastic and have a maximum capacity of 11 lbs according to the owners manual, Page 4-28. The manual refers to them as the "Standard carrier" (luggage rack) and the "Additional carrier" (pillion rack).

If you remove the pillion seat you will see 4 rubber pads on the rack. Look at the bottom of the seat, there are 4 raised flat spots that line up with the rubber pads so the entire weight that the seat is carrying is transferred to the rubber pads and no weight on the plastic carrier.
It's been a long time since I have looked under that plastic carrier but I'm sure that those rubber pads are supported by part of the frame.
If you were to cut a piece of plywood and set it on top of the rubber pads you could rest your load on top of the plywood and strap it down securely and you would be good to go.

Second part: I don't know the answer to this question. Altrider has also made one in the past but has been discontinued. There was a recent thread, don't remember if it was here or ADVrider, but they were trying to get Altrider to produce these again, maybe someone can post a link.

 

[SparrowHawkxx]

Here's the thread:
Any Options Available for a Rear Pillion Luggage Rack?? | Yamaha Super Tenere Forum

 

[The Mountain]

First part: You are correct, both the pillion rack and the luggage rack are plastic and have a maximum capacity of 11 lbs according to the owners manual, Page 4-28. The manual refers to them as the "Standard carrier" (luggage rack) and the "Additional carrier" (pillion rack).

If you remove the pillion seat you will see 4 rubber pads on the rack. Look at the bottom of the seat, there are 4 raised flat spots that line up with the rubber pads so the entire weight that the seat is carrying is transferred to the rubber pads and no weight on the plastic carrier.
It's been a long time since I have looked under that plastic carrier but I'm sure that those rubber pads are supported by part of the frame.
If you were to cut a piece of plywood and set it on top of the rubber pads you could rest your load on top of the plywood and strap it down securely and you would be good to go.

So in theory, a stronger rack unit would have a higher capacity; it's the material the stock item is composed of that limits its capacity, not the frame or the design.

 

[Sierra1]

Personally, I'd be careful how much weight I was stacking up at the back of the bike. Yamaha designed her to be loaded like a pack mule, and engineered the suspension to handle it, but I'm sure there's a limit.

 

[MarcoSolo]

I too was disappointed to read about the limitations of the rack under the pillion seat in the manual. I decided I would just strap down my Wolfman duffel across the pillion seat, which I know will carry the weight. I have hard panniers that will hold the majority of the heavier stuff lower with the duffel holding bulky things like tent, tent poles and sleeping bag. I won't be carrying any more gear on the Super Tenere than I did on my XR650L with soft bags, except maybe some extra clothes, and it did fine on and off road. I don't plan on going any more "offroad" than gravel roads on the S10 on my next trip.

One thing I learned a couple of years ago about weight high and to the rear - I bought an Africa Twin on a fly and ride that had a big top box, jumped on it and rode 3,300 miles across the US - if there's any appreciable weight that high and that far back, at least on an AT, it upsets the handling of the bike so much that I couldn't take both hands off the bars without starting a head-shake that quickly became alarming. Without the top box, I could take both hands off and it tracked perfectly. Just to be clear, I don't ride with both hands off the bars - I was just checking to see how it tracked with my hands just above the grips and my answer was the head-shake. I was initially concerned that the bike had been bent or something was badly out of line, but it was just the weight of the box and contents that far from the center of gravity.