Friday, November 11, 2016

Why does this always happen to me?

Owning a pure bred sports bike or in my case the R1 which is basically a race bike, it has a couple of draw backs. No I'm not talking about it being an uncomfortable SOB, I'm talking about being able to carry anything at all. You see there's no space under the seat, the tool kit that came with the bike can't even fit under the seat, there are 2 allen keys under that little rear seat and there's not even enough room to put in a credit card so carrying anything is pretty much out of the question. You couldn't even fit a pair of under pants under that seat, even if it was a thong!

I've been putting off getting any luggage carrying equipment for the bike as most rides I've had my wing man Slomax with us who had a spare pannier available in his aprilla I could put my backpack in. Not that you can fit much in a backpack. I have a five day ride coming up and the Slomax won't be on this ride and I don't fancy living out of a backpack for that long so I decided to do something about it.

So I got my ass down to Motorcycle accessories supermarket in Auburn and picked up a Ventura rack and 47 Litre bag for the R1.

The ride is on tomorrow so I got out in the garage this afternoon to fit it up. Half way through I realized that the people at Ventura can't count. There are 4 bolts and only 2 nuts in the pack.
So I Consult the parts list that came with the rack that will be the answer they must have forgotten to put 2 nuts in the packet. Sadly the Ventura people must have hired someone who can't count either as the parts list also states 2 nuts. Now how in the fuck am I supposed to fit 4 bolts with only 2 nuts. After spending nearly $600 on this which is pretty outrageous really for 2 pieces of tube steel and 1 bag they can't even get the fucking number of parts in the kit right. Jesus I don't need this shit only hours before the ride.

So then a trip to bunnings for some nuts and I got the rack fitted, but now I have another problem. The rack is too close to the rear indicators and actually pushing them down. The R&G tail tidy has moved the position of the rear indicators and now its not gonna work. Double fuck it. Pic below of rack sitting on the indicators.



So again what to do? Well looks like another trip to bunnings to buy some longer bolts and some washers. I lowered the tail tidy with some washers and slightly bent the bracket on each side so there is a 2-3mm gap between the indicator and the rack. Job done for the moment.

So now here is the touring R1 race bike. Ventura people give yourselves an upper cut firstly for your lack of checking your shit and secondly for your pricing. I shouldn't have to take a trip to the hardware store to pick up shit that was supposed to be in the kit. Now lets hope this bag is water proof.


10 comments:

  1. feel your pain steve with the lack of supplies in the packs sometimes.
    the bag looks the goods though
    not going to rub any paint off there will it

    the waterproof thing is something I have learnt never to trust on any luggage set up I have got so have been using these as a pack extra to stuff clothes in then put it in the luggage pack and have double security of the gear being dry
    dry bags - http://bit.ly/2fHc49c a link to some dry bags if your ever interested
    cheap but nope wont be here by tomorrow for your trip

    enjoy where your going


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Peter
      I never trust these bags either. I had one for my old R1 and I always pack my stuff into plastic garbage bags and touch wood have never had wet clothes.

      Ha the picture looks like its touching the seat panel but theres about 2 inches between the two so there wont be a problem with that.

      Delete
    2. well thats fine then as the picture it looks like its sitting on the plastics
      copy that link and look at those bags /cheap and durable
      i have a assortment of sizes and pack everything in them

      Delete
    3. How are you going to keep the front wheel on the ground?

      Delete
  2. It ain't pretty but it sure will do the job. Maybe that's the main reason why I never seem to find any rice sorry race bike riders on a grand tour. Enjoy your trip.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Have a great trip. I sounds as though you've earned it with that frustration level. I might be inclined to send a copy of my receipt and a link to your blog post to Ventura and see what they say. More and more companies are making things right and making things up to the consumer to get a "good review" online.

    The cost of the rack/bag seems a little bonkers but then a lot of accessories are.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Have a snickers Bro...







    And a good trip!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice save!

    I had a similar issue installing saddlebags, except it took much longer to source a complete set of nuts and bolts.

    Enjoy the trip.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Typical, you leaving things to the 11th hour. You know aftermarket accessories NEVER just fit. They need massaging which equals time.
    At least you will have room for your hair curler now......

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow that seems expensive.

    My mate with the MT-01 had the ventura rack cause damage to his bike so hope yours is no problem.

    ReplyDelete