It's good to see so many bike on bike setups I've made bicycle racks for three of my motorcycles, and all have used different setups depending on the bike. Triumph Sprint bike rack attaches to the OEM pannier racks, homebuilt (for Givi) adapter plates, and SW-Motech top rack. FJR 1300 bike rack attaches directly to a Givi top rack The Aprilia Falco rack is a bit more complex than the other two and attaches to homebuilt pannier racks and rests atop the pillion.
Did 3,005 moto miles and 300 mountain biking miles with this setup from early May to early June. Portland, Yachats, Gold Beach, Humboldt County, Santa Rosa, St. Helena, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, Long Beach, Laguna Beach, Temecula, San Diego, Ocotillo, Idyllwild, Palm Springs, Kernville, Mammoth, Susanville, Portland. Coastal crosswinds on 2-lane Highway 1 / 101 aren't fun. Everything else about the trip was.
Yostwerks, this rack looks nice and stable! Can you show a closeup of how you attach the bottom bracket to the rail? I assume the bottom bracket rides on the gray block that is fit into the rail (shown in another of your pics)? Any special tricks re: the rear derailleur and chain in order to deal with the travel vibration with the rear wheel out?
I use a chain keeper on my setup when I take the rear wheel off. http://www.pedros.com/chainkeeper.htm Put the chain on the big sprocket before putting it in the rack to keep tension tighter, pop the rear wheel off and the wheel keeper in and the chain won't bounce off the sprockets.
It's great to see all the different options for carrying bicycles on the back of a motorcycle. I hope to use my setup to do a float trip this summer, parking my motorcycle at the take-out point and riding my bicycle up to where I inflate my raft and put it in the water. Should be fun!
Packraft I assume (?Alpacka?). I've been thinking about getting one since I haven't come up with a way to tow my kayak behind the Transalp yet. I can tow it behind my bicycle though. Heading up to paddle Icy Bay near Yakutat in a couple weeks, but flying up with my Aire Lynx II for that.
Just finished making my rack for the fz1, should have pictures up soon. Still need to finalize and make it more neat. It's a little getto right now.
I'll play.. The whole rack is on/off in about a minute using Yakima bases/tower. Bases stay in place on some parts I fabricated.
Thanks .... You are correct about the gray closed cell foam and bottom bracket setup. The standard Yakima strap wraps around one chainstay and the tray to secure the bike in place (pic). The chain is simply pulled up and over the brake pads to provide tension. I ride with the rear wheel removed to keep the bike's weight forward and to lower the CG. I've found this much improves the bikes stabilty... Tom
A folding kayak might be the way to go for motorcycle kayaking . I've come up with a way to carry both the kayak and a bicycle, but haven't taken the time yet to build the rack. Here's my homebuilt Falco folding kayak at Lake Dillon.
Also discussed here: http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10377939#post10377939 Johnny Rack on my former V-Strom, modified to remove the rear wheel for better weight distribution: Globetrottin Rack on my 1200 GS: <table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/w9qZVroYlifLtrfwAOMBFdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-MmxvR_x5zqU/T-ds5XEvnoI/AAAAAAAAYao/9f8ARIf2Rss/s800/331634_2244790311585_1289261130_o.jpg" height="479" width="800" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/onefastrph/June242012?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">June 24, 2012</a></td></tr></table> <table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DEMiomjrR95mEonUGhLe-tMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N4zABwT6O68/T-ds5eWSMlI/AAAAAAAAYas/Kh80XTSSBG4/s800/325967_2244786551491_864848727_o.jpg" height="800" width="479" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/onefastrph/June242012?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">June 24, 2012</a></td></tr></table>
Do you mind giving us a handling report? I'm trying to decide if i should design my setup with back wheel on or off.
I am thinking of making a home brew bike-on-bike rack. Im glad this thread got revived. I like the idea of the bicycle alongside the motorcycle to keep the weight down. Like Helluvastella's setup with the V-Strom. I think that will yield the best results, and if the rear wheel comes off and mounts next to the front one that will help even more. I plan to make a bracket that can be easily removed from the right side Givi rack. This bracket will hold a Yakima Copperhead fork mount roof rack and the Yakima clamp will attach where the foot peg is. This will make the bicycle lean far forward, but with the back wheel off and the bottom bracket supported by foam in the Yakima channel...I hope this will yield a fairly stable setup. If it does not stick out further than my side cases, even better. I will be following this thread to see what others have to say about the handling of mounting a bicycle off the back. Looking to reed523 for his experience. This will be my next best option, but it seems a little too top heavy for my liking. When I get around to building this rig, I will take pics and post them here.
At low speeds the steering is a little lite but not bad. With speed it really makes it less noticable that the bike is even back there unless there is gusty wind. Did about five hours total riding with it mounted this way and had zero issues. Can still rail corners although bumps upset the bike slightly when leaned over. This set up cost me $10....,give it a shot, you can always change it.
Side saddle on the KLR worked really well with 2 caveats. Do not put it on the high side, at least with a stock suspension. It is kind of discouraging to walk back out of the gas station with a fully loaded KLR laying on top of your new Specialized Allez (amazingly no damage other than a slightly tweaked wheel). Also, make sure you have whichever wheel is hanging off the back up plenty high. I managed to flat spot one dragging it in the twisties of Austin's Lime Creek Road The pic I have posted is v.2 with both of these issues corrected. I did a 1600 mile trip to Durango and back with this setup and had zero issues except for numerous offers from beautiful women with exceptional taste :) Actually 2 thumbs up from girls in convertibles but i'll take what i can get!
Thanks for the feedback from your experience. That is an excellent point about mounting the bicycle on the high side of the motorcycle. I will make sure to take that into consideration when designing my setup. I think the v-strom leans over far enough that i should be ok, as long as the bike is on level ground and there is not significant wind. I hope to dive into this project in the next week or so. I received my Yakima rack (bough in an ebay auction for less than $50) so i will be able to start playing around with different configurations. People are already telling me i am crazy for thinking i can mount a bicycle to a bike safely. I know its possible, and i will prove it to them. And the looks i will hopefully get will be worth it as well!:eek1
Good luck with your project. Just a final note of caution on the right side thing, the KLR would look fine when you walked away, but after a minute or two, it would start to move and momentum would just lay it over. I think your going to be surprised how far outboard the bicycle actually has to be mounted to make it all work. Be sure and post pics of your project. I had a Wee in-between the KLR and ST. I could not ever figure out how to go sidesaddle with it so i dreamed up this: I made one dry run without the bikes on:eek1 Let's just say apparently I do have a "survival instinct" gene because that mess is piled on the scrap pile out back. I still like the general idea but it would need lots and lots of modification (and maybe a Goldwing) to make it work.