Any Trunks that Work with Vetter Mounts???

[Gimpdiggity]

Hi everyone.

I have the Vetter mounting brackets on my GS, but I don't have the Vetter bags on it. My plan is to use the mounts to help support soft sided saddle bags because the ones that I want are pretty large.

But my Vetter mounting brackets have the top case mounts on them, as well, and I would like to add a hard top case to the bike.

Are there any universal trunks that you guys know of that would work with the Vetter mounts?? Most of the universal trunks that I am finding work with a luggage rack, but not just with the bars that make up the Vetter mounting points.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Jeff

 

[Piston720]

You may want to look at the GIVI monokey or Monolock universal mounts.
I have a krauser toprack and added the universal monokey monting plate for the E-52 topcase that I bought on Ebay.
This mounting plate can fasten to almost anything as long as the mounting surface is flat(Level).
Check out ebay for "GIVI" because the GIVI website does not show the universal plates only mentions them.

 

[Planecrazy]

What I did was a little more extreme. When I bought my 1100G it came with NOS Vetter sidebags and the complete mounting frame, but not the Vetter trunk. It also came with a KG slide-mount trunk (which I actually liked the look of better than the Vetter trunk I didn't have). Problem was, the KG trunk was designed to slide on and off of a standard KG rack and that couldn't be mounted on the bike at the same time as the Vetter framework.

Soooo ... what I did was to take another very rough KG rack and chop off the top (the "rack" part) so that I could make it work with the narrower Vetter frame. I used square tubing and my welder to fabricate a framework (attached to the KG rack) that allowed me to bolt the KG piece to the Vetter frame using the stock bolt holes. Then I was able to use my KG trunk with the Vetter bags!

I have admittedly been lazy on the "finish" work, so still have to grind the welds smooth and paint it to match, but the solution worked very nicely for me!

On my first bike (the GS550L) I had a compact KG rack and no trunk, so I decided to take an old cooler I had and make my own trunk. Because I wasn't concerned with it "holding water" I simply drilled holes through the cooler that allowed me to create a "U-joint" style bracket (four of them) to hold the cooler to the rack. In order to protect the finish on the rack I used pieces cut from an old bicycle inner tube between the rack and the brackets to protect the finish and help keep things from shifting. This solution worked great for over a decade!

One thing I'd suggest if you go this route is to use a cooler that has an attached lid and a latch. Mine wasn't attached, so I had to add hinges and a latch. Also, don't count on the "trunk" to be very secure versus a commercial trunk. If somebody wants to get in it won't be very difficult.

Last thing you should consider is checking out prices on universal trunks. There are several out there that could be made to fit the Vetter brackets without as much work as you'd need to put into a home-made effort.

Hope this gives you some good ideas!

Regards,

 

[dpep]

These Givi knockoffs are probably your best bet as far as value. They have a mounting plate that you can secure to the existing vetter frame and leave in place.

http://www.jcwhitney.com/MATTE-BLACK-TRAVEL-TRUNKS/GP_2010969_N_111+10211+600014603_10111.jcw

 

[Gimpdiggity]

Does anyone happen to have the measurments for the baseplate that comes with that Givi knockoff that JCW sells??

The reason I ask is because when the Vetter brackets are lined up correctly, the holes are just about 14" apart. That means that I would need a mounting bracket that is at least 14" long in order for it to work.

 

[BigLou]

Does anyone happen to have the measurments for the baseplate that comes with that Givi knockoff that JCW sells??

The reason I ask is because when the Vetter brackets are lined up correctly, the holes are just about 14" apart. That means that I would need a mounting bracket that is at least 14" long in order for it to work.

From their website:

Mounting plate dimensions: 11"W x 9"L x 1"H.

 

[Planecrazy]

You could always fabricate extensions to make the base plate work - It'd probably still be easier than doing it from scratch...

Regards,

 

[Gimpdiggity]

From their website:

Mounting plate dimensions: 11"W x 9"L x 1"H.

D'oh!!

Thanks, I didn't manage to see those on the site!!

 

[Gimpdiggity]

You could always fabricate extensions to make the base plate work - It'd probably still be easier than doing it from scratch...

Regards,

This is probably true...but to be completely honest, I'm not very good at fabricating. I can make things work with other things, like handlebars work with a bike they're not supposed to, but when it comes to going and getting some spare metal or something...I always seem to think it's just not going to come out well and then I don't even really try it.

I'll see.

I have a few options in mind right now, none of which would be really bad, I think.

 

[dpep]

The reason I ask is because when the Vetter brackets are lined up correctly, the holes are just about 14" apart. That means that I would need a mounting bracket that is at least 14" long in order for it to work.

How about put up a picture to let us see what you are dealing with?

What is to keep you from drilling you own holes wherever you need to? Or using some C-clamps, or hose clamps, or zip ties, or whatever you need to secure the plate?

If you require something that attaches right on to the vetter bracket without any adaptation then go to e-bay and register for email updates for keyword Vetter. The vetter box itself is the only thing that will fulfill that requirement.

 

[Gimpdiggity]

Here's one...let's see if I can get it to post:

The reason that I have to have it end up being long enough is because the bars at the back need to be that far apart in order to be level. If they are closer together than that, then the trunk would end up sitting at a really awkward angle on the bike.

Like, if I were to try to fit a trunk onto them with them at the angle that they are currently at, it would point strangely down towards the front of the bike and I don't think it would look right at all.

By spreading them to where they are actually level with each other, then that is the distance that I need to be able to cover in order to have the trunk sit flat and level.

 

[atb1998]

vetter trunk

vetter trunk

Most vetter sets i have like yours have a mounting frame on the bottom of the trunk that detaches. The trunk frame bolts to the mount braces, then to the bottom of the the trunk with u bolts. Also are those braces for the trunk detachable? mine are. Had the same proble your describing and switched the front short to the back. Also another thing thing to look at is the possibility you have the hard mounts on the wrong sides which will also do the same thing. I say this as a possibility because of the funny angle of the side cases. They should not be leaning that far forward

 

[atb1998]

vetter bags

vetter bags

they hould look more like this

 

[Planecrazy]

There is DEFINITELY something wrong with the way your frame is mounted ... those side boxes should be completely level at the top, and the trunk hoops should also be level with each other, EXACTLY like Atb1998's pic. My setup looks just like his.

You also appear to be missing the chrome "rack" that would normally bolt to the top of your Vetter frame. In the event that you had an actual Vetter trunk and took it off you'd still be able to use the rack to strap other things down to the bike...

If you check out www.craigvetter.com you will most likely find a page that has downloadable instructions for the frame (he's been collecting .pdf's in support of his old products). Chances are it will reveal where your installation has gone wrong. It could be something as simple as the fact that the Vetter brackets were made for a different bike and don't belong on yours. If that's the case you can probably modify them so they mount level like they should.

Good luck!

 

[Gimpdiggity]

Well, it's very possible that the frames aren't actually for that bike. I got the bike just a few weeks ago with them on there. I know that they aren't on the wrong side because the vibration damping rubber things are facing the correct way.

As far as the bags sitting level on the sides, that doesn't matter, I find the Vetter side bags absolutely hideous and they were removed on the first day the bike was here. So the frame is only on there still to try and help support any soft sided bags that I end up getting.

I was planning on just taking the frames off, but I figured if they could help me mount a trunk of some kind then I would leave them on there.

 

[Gimpdiggity]

Well, after going out to the garage and seriously looking at the mounts for the first time, I don't think they are designed for the GS at all. They were made to fit relatively well, but there is no way that they would actually hold bags level at all...when I put them to a point where they WOULD be holding the bags level, the mount on the front that should go down somewhere near the foot rests was a good 4 inches away from any hard point on the bike.

So obviously the previous owner got them from some other bike and just made them fit.

I think I'm going to take the whole frame off and just go with some nice large soft sided saddle bags. I had wanted the trunk, but this Vetter stuff just seems to be like more of an expensive hassle than it's worth. I like the fairing, but I may just end up ditching that, too. I don't want to because I bought the bike for mainly highway riding, but the parts to replace windshields and trim and such for that big thing are way more money than they should be.