New rack for the old XL

[CBAT]

After much searching on the internet and too much waiting for something to show up on ebay, I decided to go ahead and build a cargo rack for the old XL. I had originally planned on going to hetkind's welding school in January but family got in the way of that. So, I bit the bullet and bought a small core flux wire feed welder (Lincoln HD100 Weld Pak) and thougth I'd just figure it out for my self. :rofl: Well, sometimes it works. Anyway, I drew up a very rough plan and got some advice from the aforementioned hetkind and went to work. I read the directions that came with the welder, watched the 15 minute DVD that came with it, bought about 25 dollars worth of 3/16 x 1 stock and dove in. I had a small propane torch that worked well enough to be able to bend and shape the stock to get what I needed. The welding took quite a while to get used to. Luckily I already had a good handheld grinder to clean up the sloppy welds. By the end of the 2 days of fabrication I could do a decent weld. It is definitely a learned skill. It's all getting used to how fast you need to move the arc and feed the wire to the weld. I aint gonna win any prizes on this project, but I got a welder and some basic skill to do rough work when needed. Here's the results:
http://www.twtex.com/photopost/data/500/medium/DSCN1003.JPG

http://www.twtex.com/photopost/data/500/medium/DSCN1002.JPG

http://www.twtex.com/photopost/data/500/medium/DSCN1001.JPG

I think it will work. :rider: The bag was one I had left over from my mountain biking days. The rack was designed to work with the straps on the bag. Now I need to get up the nerve to tackle this
http://www.twtex.com/photopost/data/500/medium/DSCN1000.JPG
That's the spot where the sidestand fell off. :eek2: I'm a little nervous about taking on that.

[Jack Giesecke]

Very nice. I picked up a HUGE rack from a CT90 spares bike I acquired when I had my CT90, but it was after I'd sold my 84 XL600R which I wanted a rack on. I'd bolted a locking top box to it for use going to work before, the fender being metal and strong underneath the plastic. But, a rack would have been really nice. I'd tried to get a Ventura rack/pack system, but they didn't offer the mounts for the old XL. :doh:

My 04 Diamo 200 has a NICE and strong rack on it, something that really attracted me to the bike after my XL experiences. I wanted the bike primarily for off road servicing my feeder down at my place, hauling stuff in and out, and that's hard to do without a rack. I even hauled out 2 deer with it this season. Every good DP bike needs a rack. :mrgreen:

[fallendown]

I'll have to show you guys the ultimate adv rack, carries luggage all day, and you can cook on it at night.

[Jack Giesecke]

Eew, that busted frame looks nasty. A good welder with a Mig can fix it right up, though, even brace it some. I'd get someone good with a welder to do some bracing there and come up with a stronger stand mount.

[CBAT]

Every good DP bike needs a rack. :mrgreen:

My thoughts exactly.

[CBAT]

Eew, that busted frame looks nasty. A good welder with a Mig can fix it right up, though, even brace it some. I'd get someone good with a welder to do some bracing there and come up with a stronger stand mount.

Looks nasty but still holding together. I rode it 340 miles around Llano and Mason after it fell off in the morning. I'm afraid your right about needing to find a good welder, not my slop, slag, and grind beginner skills.

[Tourmeister]

Why do the pictures show up so small compared to the photos when you click on the thumbnails? I'm using the member's photo gallery.

:tab You are linking to the thumbnail images in the gallery and not the full sized image. When you are in the gallery and see an image you want to include in your post, click on it so that you see it full size. Then get the link for it. In my browser (Firefox) I can just right click on the image and pick the "Copy Image Location" option.

[CBAT]

Ah, thank you Mr. Tourmeister.:hail: I"ll try that next time.

[Tourmeister]

You can edit your original post and change it ;-)

[CBAT]

You can edit your original post and change it ;-)
:doh: All better now. Thanks for the help, again.

[DANNYROTH]

CBAT, That (the rack) looks real good! My attempts at welding can only be made to look acceptable after a generous working over with a grinder and several thick coats of heavy paint.

I like the way you braced it from up under the seat. I have seen a lot of those on eBay that hook up to the bolts under the Honda tool pouch and to the signal light brackets, which are too close to each other.

[CBAT]

Thanks Danny. Believe me, I did use the grinder alot. I've got a friend with a OEM rack on his XR650L and he has broken the rear part of his frame twice so I wanted to make sure this would be strong enough. I used 2 pieces of 1 1/2 angle to make the offset bracket under the seat.