Just finished up my custom rack for my TW200 by bolting it in place last night. My first ever “custom” motorcycle accessory I’ve created.
There was no goldilocks rack for me on the market.
Manracks – mounts to good locations, nice aesthetics, but too small.
Cycle racks – too huge. Overkill for me.
PM racks – Almost right, but taper reduces load stability, and also mounts to subframe – no-no for strength.
Tusk Racks – Very close with proper mounting, but IMHO god-ugly square design.
And then there are the rest that I didn’t even consider due to mounting entirely to the subframe.
So I figured most racks cost more than a basic tubing bender, so I’d just buy the bender and make my own. I already have a welder. The manual bender I bought has some quirks like not starting the radius where you’d expect, so you have to bend a test piece to figure out an allowance. It also needed a good ol 4ft cheater bar to bend the ¾” .065 wall tubing, but seemed to handle it, fine, but would no go beyond that.
All rack material was free scrap from work. Even the rear bracket was a scrap bracket I cut down to size. The forward brackets (actually the most finicky part of the project) were flat 1” x 1/8” I bent on a friends brake at work. Trimming them to to proper size and positioning them for welding on a jig took a bit of work.
Finished the whole thing off by blasting it at work, and some black enamel paint. Now ready to strap stuff to it.
I’m considering a milk crate and Home Depot Plano 16qt storage crate for hard options, and a molle duffel or backpack for a softpack.
![Automotive tire Wood Motor vehicle Bumper Metalworking hand tool]()
![Bicycle tire Bicycle accessory Bicycle part Bicycle frame Bicycle fork]()
![Tire Automotive tire Hood Automotive lighting Motor vehicle]()
![Tire Wheel Vehicle Automotive tire Fuel tank]()
There was no goldilocks rack for me on the market.
Manracks – mounts to good locations, nice aesthetics, but too small.
Cycle racks – too huge. Overkill for me.
PM racks – Almost right, but taper reduces load stability, and also mounts to subframe – no-no for strength.
Tusk Racks – Very close with proper mounting, but IMHO god-ugly square design.
And then there are the rest that I didn’t even consider due to mounting entirely to the subframe.
So I figured most racks cost more than a basic tubing bender, so I’d just buy the bender and make my own. I already have a welder. The manual bender I bought has some quirks like not starting the radius where you’d expect, so you have to bend a test piece to figure out an allowance. It also needed a good ol 4ft cheater bar to bend the ¾” .065 wall tubing, but seemed to handle it, fine, but would no go beyond that.
All rack material was free scrap from work. Even the rear bracket was a scrap bracket I cut down to size. The forward brackets (actually the most finicky part of the project) were flat 1” x 1/8” I bent on a friends brake at work. Trimming them to to proper size and positioning them for welding on a jig took a bit of work.
Finished the whole thing off by blasting it at work, and some black enamel paint. Now ready to strap stuff to it.
I’m considering a milk crate and Home Depot Plano 16qt storage crate for hard options, and a molle duffel or backpack for a softpack.
