SWMotech Racks - open discussion of issues

[jajpko]

We're talking about splaying and we're talking about plumb here. Both racks are splayed front to back, but both are plumb or damn close to it. I was answering the guy who was worried about plumb.

If someone is not satisfied about all that, that is fine. To my tastes, they are perfect enough for my tastes and much better than some of the more utilitarian bags that to my eyes are plain ugly, regardless if they are splayed or not.

Fred, I did not mean to piss you off.. ::025:: I just have a hard on for TT. ::025:: ::025::

 

[fredz43]

Hi Jim,

Not pissed off, just my opinion, based on my experience. I am very happy with the SW-M racks and bags, as are the other 3 customers that we installed sets for. TT has been very good as far as customer support and dealer support in our case. YM has evidently varied. No problemo.

 

[AlsoRan]

Yeah, the cross brace placement could definitely explain how one could be cocked inward while the other's cocked outward.

I tried moving the brace on purpose to see if it would reposition the lean and it did not work. It put a side load on the fender which I did not like. For me I ended up getting some spacers and spaced the round v-grooved hangars so that it leveled them out. 3/16" space made a big difference. Looks good now.

 

[rem]

A couple quick pics of that would be appreciated, Alsoran, if the spirit moves you. No rush. Thanks. R

 

[fredz43]

I tried moving the brace on purpose to see if it would reposition the lean and it did not work. It put a side load on the fender which I did not like. For me I ended up getting some spacers and spaced the round v-grooved hangars so that it leveled them out. 3/16" space made a big difference. Looks good now.

What round v grooved hangers are those? Are they on the adapters that bolt to the racks for the Trax?

Thanks.

 

[AlsoRan]

A couple quick pics of that would be appreciated, Alsoran, if the spirit moves you. No rush. Thanks. R

Attached are a couple of pics of the spacers that I installed on the SW Motech racks (KFT.06.145.20000.B). I did this because of the "lean" that the panniers had as you looked at them from the back. This bugged me right off the bat. I liked the overall set up so I used some spacers to level them out. The pictures show the left and right rack, on the left rack you can see the spacer behind the lower Vee-grooved (round hangar) mount for the TraX bag. There is not a spacer behind the upper mount. On the right side the set up is opposite, there is a spacer behind the upper mount but not the lower. The spacers are .125 (1/8") thick, which was enough to level out the left pannier, but on the right side I needed to add an additional 1/8" to get it leveled, so I spaced the upper attach points where the right side rack bolts to the bike. I just used some washers in that case. So now the panniers are level to the eye. The whole spacer thing is not noticeable unless you are looking for it.

I mentoined in a previous post that it appears to me that their welding jig was off. That would explain why there seemed to be several racks that had the same problem. Maybe this is corrected by now, but if not this was a simple fix. I think the TraX set up is great and it looks good on the bike. The whole thing is definitely not a deal breaker.

Hope this helps...

 

[rem]

Thanks for doing that. I'm still not really seeing it, but once I get my bike back home it will probably make sense to me. Thanks again. R

 

[whisperquiet]

Two weeks ago, I mounted up my new 37 liter Micatech V2 bags to the SW Motech racks. Fredz43 correctly observed that my bags were "splayed". Shock, humiliation, and anger came to mind so I decided to un-splay, de-splay, and re-splay them today.

Thus, I shimmed out the luggage mount points on the left lower mounts with 1/8" washers.......better! Then I shimmed out the top two right side frame mounts 1/8" and the top luggage mounts an additional 1/8" to de-splay things a little.

The result........less than a 1/3 bubble out on my level on both sides versus a full bubble out of plumb beforehand.

Hopefully, Freds43 won't point out any problems the next time we meet for lunch!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[fredz43]

Two weeks ago, I mounted up my new 37 liter Micatech V2 bags to the SW Motech racks. Fredz43 correctly observed that my bags were "splayed". Shock, humiliation, and anger came to mind so I decided to un-splay, de-splay, and re-splay them today.

Thus, I shimmed out the luggage mount points on the left lower mounts with 1/8" washers.......better! Then I shimmed out the top two right side frame mounts 1/8" and the top luggage mounts an additional 1/8" to de-splay things a little.

The result........less than a 1/3 bubble out on my level on both sides versus a full bubble out of plumb beforehand.

Hopefully, Freds43 won't point out any problems the next time we meet for lunch!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey, Dennis, I wuz just jerkin you around. They looked fine to me. Of course, I have been accused of having splayed saddle bags, but I don't t really give a shit, they look good to me. I have more important things to worry about other than if my luggage is 1/8 inch out. ::021::

 

[whisperquiet]

Hey, Dennis, I wuz just jerkin you around. They looked fine to me. Of course, I have been accused of having splayed saddle bags, but I don't t really give a shit, they look good to me. I have more important things to worry about other than if my luggage is 1/8 inch out. ::021::

I rode the bike after de-splaying............voila!!! like a new motorcycle!

 

[sallydog]

i think that it is incredible that a company like that can design a set of racks that you have to shim to get them to mount correctly. do they at least come with a shim kit and directions that state "shim to taste"

 

[fredz43]

I have seen several other pics of other panniers from the rear that show that they are not prefectly plumb vertically and some are not the same width at the rear as they are at the front. Which of these measurements makes them "splayed" I am not sure. Take a look at the recent rear shot of the top quality Holan bags on their racks in the pannier thread for instance. Both of them appear to be out of plumb vertically, but does that really matter in the end? Perhaps when they are loaded, they will end up vertical, but will that make a big difference? Look at the highly regarded Alt Rider crash bars. They stick out farther on one side than they do on the other, but they are quality bars just the same. SW-M racks may not be perfect for some, but take a look at others and in many cases you will also see features that are less than perfect, plumb or symetrical. In any case, if that bothers some, so be it, make another choice. Doesn't make a difference to me, as long as I have the bags I want, the racks I want, the bars I want, etc. . I think some brands, while being very well built and sturdy are too darn ugly for my tastes, but that's just me. We all have different tastes and criteria and we end up with different setups on our bikes, but they are each our own bikes, so if we're happy with them, who cares?

On the other hand, I could be wrong.

 

[rem]

Yeah, mine are out a couple degrees here and there, but it don't bother the old dog none. I remember them explaining to the Forum a while back that they made up the racks without a bike ... just based on measurements provided to them. I find that a bit strange, but having said that, it just doesn't bother me. They are solid. The Micatechs look good hanging there. I'm good with it. R

 

[sallydog]

I remember them explaining to the Forum a while back that they made up the racks without a bike ... just based on measurements provided to them. I find that a bit strange, but having said that, it just doesn't bother me.

well that explains it. but there has been plenty of time to fix that. maybe it doesnt bother you that some people think your racks look like shit and some other racks out there are kafluy also but there are plenty of manufacturers that put out racks you dont have to shim to make them correct. IMHO this is the nicest looking bike i own and i cant have crooked boxes on them

 

[colorider]

Thanks for doing that. I'm still not really seeing it, but once I get my bike back home it will probably make sense to me. Thanks again. R

I see where they look plumb, but I'm not seeing what he did to make it happen. I need to work on mine again sometime and see if I can make it look better.

 

[rem]

maybe it doesnt bother you that some people think your racks look like shit and some other racks out there are kafluy also but there are plenty of manufacturers that put out racks you dont have to shim to make them correct.

I totally agree with you. They should have the situation well in hand by now. R

 

[colorider]

I totally agree with you. They should have the situation well in hand by now. R

I believe they do. The problem is all the racks that were sold/delivered before they took care of the problem......

 

[rem]

I list a little to the starboard myself. ::013:: R

 

[colorider]

I list a little to the starboard myself. ::013:: R

Me too, and sometimes to port........

;D

 

[rem]

I could make a list of my lists ... but no one wants to list en to that. And I'm frequently racked with pain .... sorry, I had to get racks in there somewhere. OK, gonna go have my coffee. R ::008::