Make my own pannier racks

[severs]

I have been a bicycle-tourist for 23 years. I have also motorcyle-toured a bit - 15 years but not so many trips per year. Currently my TA has a huge Givi top box and a tiddly magnetic tank bag that works very well, thank you.

I'd like to get some side panniers to expand my luggage space a little bit, but I don't need them often and I dont need vast cavernous boxes. I'd therefore like to use my very high quality indeed cordura bicycle panniers (45 litres capacity in the pair) on the back of my TA. This will satisfy my reluctance to spend money (I am a Yorkshireman and have a reputation for short arms in long pockets).

I'd like to fabricate a carrier/frame/rack thing which will attach to the sides of the bike and support the panniers, fashioned as a small-scale equivalent version of the universal rectangular hoop that seems to be behind the typical spam-tins seen on transcontinental tourer's big trailies.

Any suggestions as to the best way of doing this would be welcome. I kind of imagined something like a pair of touring bicycle "low rider" racks welded/bolted to some sort of support frame, attached to the rear footpeg mounts and the rear rack platform's mounting points (on the rear subframe).

Has anyone made their own pannier racks? Is there any obvious pitfalls I can learn about before I start?

[romeo one]

Hi Severs,I have made a set of pannier racks for my 2000 @,I used some 16mm mild steel tube and bent it to shape and welded it up.I used a 15mm copper tube bender (not the small ones with the alloy formers) the large steel stand alone ones,have some pictures when I find them I`ll try and post them.

[lawson]

Hi Severs.
Like romeo one I made my own pannier racks for my 1997 600 TAusing 16mm mild steel. I made up a triangular hoop for both sides which seemed to fit very neatly just under the 2 side panels on the bike. Attachment was using one of the rear footrest bolts on each side, one of the mounting bolts for the pillion grab handle on each side and one of the rear carrier rack subframe mounting points.
With my adapted 20 litre plastic equipment cases as panniers the whole set up is very secure and the set up survived a 2 week trip to Norway including riding on unsurfaced roads.
With the panniers removed the frames blend in with the bke very neatly and are very unobtrusive.
I'll try and post some photos over the next few days.
One pitfall - don't leave the fabrication process and fitting until the night before you leave on a big trip!!

Lawson
1997 XL600V 1983 Kanguro 1983 Merlin 1961 Nuffield 1970 Husqvarna 1978 EMX