Ventura Rack Owners/Users...

[taw1126]

I'm really trying to find a way to make the Ventura rack work with my factory "City Bag" mount. Do any of you have a photo of the left side of your bike with the Ventura rack installed? And can you tell me if the forward mount goes between the shock and the bike, or on the outside of the shock?

 

[EncoreJoe]

The forward mount on both sides goes on the ouside of the shock absorber - between the shock and the upper rear shock mounting bolt.

Sorry I don't have any pictures.

Joe

 

[taw1126]

Thanks Joe. I'm going to try to mount all of this stuff together...I think if I mount the Ventura rack next to the shock, and the City Bag rack on the "outside", I might be able to make this work. Hopefully nothing a few minutes with a grinder can't fix...

 

[Norvel]

Here's my set up with the Ventura Pack-Rack System on my 09' Bonnie.

The bag is a Kuryakyn Grand Tour Bag.

 

[Norvel]

And if you were wondering how sturdy these racks are here's a pic of my 600 mile, 4 day camping trip last year. Got everything I needed for the week strapped to this rack. Sturdy as a rock.

 

[taw1126]

Got everything I needed for the week strapped to this rack.

Jed? Is 'at you Jed Clampett? I heard Ellie May had one of those new-fangled Triumphs...

I've seen/known about Ventura racks for about 18 months...but that has got to be the most STUFF I've ever seen strapped to one. How hard was it to ride the bike? It looks sort of like a beanbag with a clutch...

And what did you do to make the solo seat's rack work? Bracing on the underside?

 

[Norvel]

Jed? Is 'at you Jed Clampett? I heard Ellie May had one of those new-fangled Triumphs...

I've seen/known about Ventura racks for about 18 months...but that has got to be the most STUFF I've ever seen strapped to one. How hard was it to ride the bike? It looks sort of like a beanbag with a clutch...

And what did you do to make the solo seat's rack work? Bracing on the underside?

lol...yea, I got quite a few looks everwhere I went.

I didn't do any bracing to the Solo seat at all.

The Ventura "Rack" is supported by the brackets that bolt up to the top of the Shock and to the top of the frame under the seat pan.

It's really solid when all tightened up.

The bike rode really very smooth. Pulled the 8% grades I traveled up during parts of the journey with ease.

In the curves nothing shifted. I had everything cynched as tight as tight could be

I'm not a heavy guy so it was like the extra weight of all the gear gave the rear suspension and tire some better traction.

You can't see it in the pic, but had more stuff strapped to the other side
on the rack rail.

Also, if you look closely, the Tour bag (which had alot of heavy stuff in it) that is sitting on the Solo seat rack is directly over the rear axle....makes a big difference in handling when loaded with this much gear....

 

[taw1126]

The Ventura "Rack" is supported by the brackets that bolt up to the top of the Shock and to the top of the frame under the seat pan.

That "top of the shock" mount is what I expect to cause me grief. I have the Triumph "City Bag" mounted on my bike so I can commute when the weather's good, and it mounts in the same spot. I hope I'll be able to mount the Ventura L-bracket over the city bag rack or vice versa.

As an aside...any issues with the finish on your Ventura parts? I read on a couple of forums that the chrome finish was not very durable. Honestly, if Heppco & Becker made their rack as versatile as the Ventura I'd probably buy one of those. They look to be better built.

 

[Norvel]

As an aside...any issues with the finish on your Ventura parts? I read on a couple of forums that the chrome finish was not very durable. Honestly, if Heppco & Becker made their rack as versatile as the Ventura I'd probably buy one of those. They look to be better built.[/QUOTE]

No problems what so ever (at this point) with the finish and I've had it about 8 months now and use it all the time.

 

[GuyM]

Left side photos:

Took those a couple of years ago when I first got the rack/pack system. It's been great.

 

[taw1126]

Thanks Guy. New Bonneville actually sent me one of those photos when we were trying to figure out if this can be done. That black bag looks way better than the red one they show on the site.

Still have my fingers crossed that I can make all these parts fit together...

 

[GuyM]

New Bonnie sent you one of my photos? Hah! That's great!

I must have sent them some after I got the rack set up. Darned if I remember. Pretty funny. I like New Bonnie... Good folks, good stuff.

Regards, Guy

 

[Norvel]

I like that short rack idea for short trips.:up:

I got the tall Rack as I was doing 200-300-600 miler trips and wanted to strap as much stuff to it as possable.

They also have a Grab Rail that sets in the same way as the racks do.

I've found this whole system to be quite versatile.

 

[taw1126]

They also have a Grab Rail that sets in the same way as the racks do.

Hopefully the grab rail is what I'll have on there most of the time...I'm not planning on doing too many overnighters on my Scrambler. Main reason I want this is so my kid will have something behind him when he rides with me (for his peace of mind and mine). But I won't buy the grab rail until I know if I'll be able to get the "L"-bracket installed on the left side.

 

[GuyM]

Yeah, I got two different heights, and yes, the Ventura system works pretty well for multi-day trips. Here's all packed up for a trip through Washington, Idaho and Montana w/camping & fly fishing gear:

I'm sure there's other ways to pack the Scrambler, but this setup works real well for me!

Guy