[David Morrow]

I feel bad that we hijacked a thread on the general forum on a ride to Athabasca; my apologies for that.

I'm sort of downsizing from my FJR to a CBR1000RR ( I got a screaming winter price on a 2015 CBR1000RR ABS with only 5200 Km's on it.) I'm now doing a few changes to make it more agreeable to some regional touring. I designed and fabricated a mount to fit my FJR bags although I can also mount Shad 23 (a bit flimsy and ugly) or Shad 36 (a little too big for a CBR ) bags as well. Handlebar risers are on the way, sport touring wind screen, and lower foot pegs.

 

[doser]

the 'veloci-tourer'!

 

[Squisher]

I'm quite interested in how this 'build' goes. Kind of along the lines of my thinking in my current ride a gen2 fz1 touring edition. And so far I am loving the dual purpose capability of this bike. Sport and touring. Granted no real touring yet due to this covid business. But it's been fantastic to have hard bags for all sorts of reasons. Commuting, shopping mainly so far but as soon as we feel it's prudent we'll be hitting some overnighters for sure.

It'll be interesting to hear how you like this bike after all the km on a fjr. I'm curious why you decided to go this route after having logged so much time on a fjr?

 

[David Morrow]

Since your FZ1 TE has FJR bags, you will find a few more uses than just travel and shopping....

 

[CHIA]

Quite surprised you be fabricating a mount for FJR bags vs something like a Givi V35 bag.

The Givi has so many more mounting options/racks avail for different bikes, thought it would be easier to fab something.

Do you have any detailed pics of the mount/rack you made to attach your FJR bag?

Does the CBR tail section have enough beef to hold the weight?

 

[David Morrow]

The Givi racks are IMHO far more complex than they need to be and the Shad was dead simple. In fact, Shad bags mount almost identically to the FJR - two point on the top rail which carries the weight and then one up front for stability.

I first bought a Shad mount designed for another Honda and mounted the Shad 36 bags which are pretty much identical to the Givi V35. They are too big and way too wide. The FJR bags leave the bike with an overall wide that is 6 inches narrower than the Shad.

Here it is with the Shad 36 bags :

And with the Shad 23 bags :

I sent the 35's back but kept the 23's in case I sell the FJR although I would likely find some used FJR bags somewhere.

Both the Shad rails that I bought and the FJR rails that I made mount to the same main mount so swapping back and forth is just 2 bolts on each side plus the forward stabilizer. The main mount is bolted to the frame and I've seen enough Youtube videos of fat chicks hanging off the back of sport bikes to feel comfortable that nothing back there will break.

Here is the Shad rail :

This is the FJR rail that I made. You can hardly see it because I was able to tuck it inside the main mount. That allowed the bags to sit in really close which I preferred. :

These are the rails for the FJR bags (before some sanding and repainting )

 

[the bartender]

as someone who tours on an Aprilia Tuono, i very much approve of this thread and your direction. Nicely done.

 

[doser]

David, aesthetics are personal, but I much prefer the more angular design of the Shad 23 to the 'bulbous' 36. And if you're travelling without a passenger, two 23 litre side cases plus ANY sort of top case gives plenty of space for anything and everything you need, for any duration. I sometimes add a 40L Shad topcase, but usually only when travelling in the hot season in the USA, so that I have extra volume to carry a mesh jacket and to store the leather jacket when I need to switch.

 

[doser]

as for fabbing mounts, nicely done. the lesson is that you can 'stick' any luggage to any bike, with a bit of welding... starting with 'something close' always helps.

 

[David Morrow]

David, aesthetics are personal, but I much prefer the more angular design of the Shad 23 to the 'bulbous' 36. And if you're travelling without a passenger, two 23 litre side cases plus ANY sort of top case gives plenty of space for anything and everything you need, for any duration. I sometimes add a 40L Shad topcase, but usually only when travelling in the hot season in the USA, so that I have extra volume to carry a mesh jacket and to store the leather jacket when I need to switch.

To a large part I would agree. But, the Shad 23 bags are pretty flimsy compared to the Shad 36 or the FJR bags. But I really like that they are top loading. In fact, one of the lock latches was broken on arrival. And even after many years of long distance riding, I still find ways to reduce the crap that I pack and the 23's would likely be sufficient. I do have a tail bag that I always take but that's mostly for intra-day convenience for layering / delayering, extra water, etc. I've been avoiding the southern US in the hot season for the past few years; my body is finding is tougher to handle some of that heat.

 

[jeckyll]

If my knees could do it, I would possibly still be touring on a sportbike, but getting onto the Super Tenere makes me want to go far, the Tuono makes me want to go fast... but get off after a few hours

Good on ya if it works for you. I used to do a minimalist touring setup on my 9R, with only a tail bag (and up to 5 days on the road).

 

[kerunt]

Touring on that CBR can't be any less comfortable than touring on an R6, which is definitely doable!

Nice hard-bag setup!

 

[David Morrow]

Touring on that CBR can't be any less comfortable than touring on an R6, which is definitely doable!

Nice hard-bag setup!

If you are interested in something similar, I have nothing but time on my hands these days.

 

[jeckyll]

Touring on that CBR can't be any less comfortable than touring on an R6, which is definitely doable!

Nice hard-bag setup!

Holy cow that thing is packed!

I did 'hotel only' when sportbike touring

 

[David Morrow]

I did 'hotel only' when sportbike touring

On my first cross country ride I camped but that was 1976. Years later I packed my camping gear twice to Newfoundland and never took it out once. I've also been a moteller ever since. Camping may be nice to meet fellow travelers but campgrounds are seldom right in the towns that I visit. And I want to walk the town at the end of the day and safely have a couple cold beer which means not getting back on the bike.

 

[jeckyll]

On my first cross country ride I camped but that was 1976. Years later I packed my camping gear twice to Newfoundland and never took it out once. I've also been a moteller ever since. Camping may be nice to meet fellow travelers but campgrounds are seldom right in the towns that I visit. And I want to walk the town at the end of the day and safely have a couple cold beer which means not getting back on the bike.

I've actually been going more the other way (as my camping gear for dualsporting / adventure riding is part of my emergency kit) but still try to balance it. Much cheaper to camp of course, and if I get at least a 1/3 of the nights in camping, saves me a lot of money

Easier to carry the gear on a big bike of course.

But I've also met some great folks camping, so even if money were no object, it's nice at times. Still, it sucks carrying all the extra stuff and weighing down the bike, or worse yet, dragging unused camping gear into the hotel and back out every day

 

[kerunt]

If you are interested in something similar, I have nothing but time on my hands these days.

Appreciate the offer, but I got out of the two-wheel game some years back. I'm just here to feed my nostalgia!

Holy cow that thing is packed!

I did 'hotel only' when sportbike touring

That gear load-out is what I called the "unintentional wheelies mod."

Hotels (and mainly, the showers) were definitely appreciated. I recall a fondness for Motel 6 locations, given that virtually all of them had the same $56/night rate and were reasonably clean.

 

[kerunt]

Slightly off-tangent, but just remembered one of the last big trips I did by bike. I rolled into a campground in Colorado late in the evening, parked the she-strom, set up camp, had dinner, went to bed. Woke up in the middle of the night due to dull, but loud noises, which I quickly attributed to my hard-bags flying around the campsite. Then there was the sound of something lapping up the remains of tea I had left in the middle of the table. Somehow managed to fall asleep, got up around 6am to find a bunch of bear footprints around my tent, packed my gear and GTFO of dodge.

That was my first bear-in-close-proximity experience.

Motels don't have bears, but you do occasionally have to watch out for cougars.

 

[jeckyll]

Slightly off-tangent, but just remembered one of the last big trips I did by bike. I rolled into a campground in Colorado late in the evening, parked the she-strom, set up camp, had dinner, went to bed. Woke up in the middle of the night due to dull, but loud noises, which I quickly attributed to my hard-bags flying around the campsite. Then there was the sound of something lapping up the remains of tea I had left in the middle of the table. Somehow managed to fall asleep, got up around 6am to find a bunch of bear footprints around my tent, packed my gear and GTFO of dodge.

That was my first bear-in-close-proximity experience.

Motels don't have bears, but you do occasionally have to watch out for cougars.

Hahahah

Oh man, glad that turned out OK

 

[jeckyll]

Appreciate the offer, but I got out of the two-wheel game some years back. I'm just here to feed my nostalgia!



That gear load-out is what I called the "unintentional wheelies mod."

Hotels (and mainly, the showers) were definitely appreciated. I recall a fondness for Motel 6 locations, given that virtually all of them had the same $56/night rate and were reasonably clean.

I have a few places I stay regularly that are mom & pop, sometimes they're the best if you can get them. I've not tried Motel 6's very much, might need to check them out. Used to go to Best Westerns and always thought there were most often the best value for money combination.

Lately when I come to a town I see if there is a B&B or a guesthouse to stay at, often had great results with that. Sure, you need to share a bathroom potentially, but sometimes a much better feel to the place than a standard hotel.

For instance, had a couple of great stays at the Guesthouse in Smithers on my trip to & from the Yukon and Alaska last year:

(They even have a hottub).

Same in Whitehorse, found a place was able to do Laundry at no extra cost, they even provided the detergent. And met a guy who'd traveled the world on his GS, amazing to get some insights. So, sometimes it can be great