[TWisty]

Last winter I made a rear rack out of PVC.

After 5,000 miles of fairly rough roads, carrying 40+ pounds of gear, it worked flawlessly.



So this winter, I made a PVC rack for the front.

Unlike the Cycleracks that blocks the headlight, my rack sits above the light.

Same basic construction using 3/4" PVC fittings and some steel mending plates.

Total cost around $10.



Pix follow (Hopefully):

 

[Point37]

nice job!...how does it do loaded?...does it flex much?

 

[r80rt]

Nice job, I like it.

 

[TWisty]

nice job!...how does it do loaded?...does it flex much?

I did a shakedown test with my 4-man tent (which actually sleeps 1 comfortably) bungied to the front rack. It weighed about 10 pounds. There was very little flex.



The rear PVC rack flexes a bit when fully loaded but I view that as a plus. Things that "give" a little, tend not to break. I'm a huge fan of those little ball bungies for fastening things. Only the duffle bag is lashed with real bungies.



Overall, I'm very pleased with both racks.

 

[evan]

Cool. Like it! I have an old yamaha rear rack I was thinking of making into front rack like your above the headlight. One thing I'm worried about it is when riding thru streams or large chunk rocks on a rocky trail is I like to be able to look down to see where exactly the front tire is going. Have you had any problems with stuff on your front rack blocking your vision looking in front of tire?

 

[assquatch20]

This is perfect for a guy like me right now. I'm going to have to do this.

 

[PalmStateCrawler]

Lol

We need to get you a mig rig...

 

[FortPayne]

Did you ever post pics or start a thread on your rear rack? Would love to see it AND where'd ya get the bags? They look just about perfect for the tdub.

 

[TWisty]

Have you had any problems with stuff on your front rack blocking your vision looking in front of tire?

So far, I've only had the test ride with the tent on the front rack, and it DOES limit your vision in threading your way through rocks, but no more than any other front rack.

 

[TWisty]

Did you ever post pics or start a thread on your rear rack? Would love to see it AND where'd ya get the bags? They look just about perfect for the tdub.

I did, but it was a year ago. I'll post them again.

I've since repainted the bike in army olive and camo duct tape I got at Walmart. Got those ideas from lizrdbrth and ronnydog.



The bags are East German milsurp, $5 each. They just hang over the rear seat and tank using 4 dog collars from the dollar store. The little jerry cans are also German milsurp, and each hold 1.25 gallons. In the pics, the PVC rack is attached to the factory rack with two hose clamps. The jerry cans are supported by a foot-long piece of wire shelving, which is also attached with two hose clamps. There's a couple of tool tubes bungied up underneath the rack. However, my aftermarket skidplate, made out of my wife's HDPE cutting board, did not work.



Nobody's gonna mistake me for riding a GS1200, but my "Appalachian Luggage System" works surprisingly well.

 

[DonBenito]

You know, someday you ought to think about adding some cargo capacity to that bike!

 

[joedirt1970]

I am guessing the bag doesn't get too hot over the pipe?

 

[Point37]

looks like a great setup!

 

[FortPayne]

Thanks for the pics! The bags are awesome and I'm gonna have to get some of those ball bungies. Nice setup!

 

[B-dub]

I"m constantly amazed at the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the people on this forum! Good job!

 

[frog13]

I"m constantly amazed at the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the people on this forum! Good job!

DITTO!!!.







Your PVC front "rack" could also double for a place to mount small (amp draw) auxiliary lights!.

 

[DanUrie]

WELL DONE, I have been looking at front racks and now am going to use your idea.



Years ago I built some racks out of PVC for a canoe and used wooden dowels that just slipped into the PVC pipe to stiffen it up without adding too much weight. Nice thing about PVC is it's sized by I.D. and wooden dowels are sized by O.D. So fit was just right I didn't even glue it in.



Thanks to all my "brothers from another mother" for all the great ideas and tips on TW's,

Dan

 

[TWisty]

WELL DONE, I have been looking at front racks and now am going to use your idea.



Years ago I built some racks out of PVC for a canoe and used wooden dowels that just slipped into the PVC pipe to stiffen it up without adding too much weight. Nice thing about PVC is it's sized by I.D. and wooden dowels are sized by O.D. So fit was just right I didn't even glue it in.



Thanks to all my "brothers from another mother" for all the great ideas and tips on TW's,

Dan

The dowel is an excellent idea.



I used 3/4" Schedule 80 PVC tubing in these projects. It has thicker walls and is stronger. The more common schedule 40 is pretty flimsy.



If anyone is going to build something similar, do so at your own risk.