Considering the Sears Travel Trunk

[Pale Rider 07]

I'm thinking that, for the price of $50, it's worth taking a closer look at. I'm curious if anyone has mounted this on a Genll with the included mounting bracket. I would consider having the top of the box painted to match the bike, looks like it would take paint well.

 

[SouthernCruizer]

I ordered one on the 8th....supposed to be in today...I'll mount and report back.

 

[Pale Rider 07]

I ordered one on the 8th....supposed to be in today...I'll mount and report back.

I look forward to your review...thanks!

 

[chivvalry]

The included bracket is going to require either drilling your existing OEM rack or adding some spacers and drilling the bracket. I got mine on Saturday and the holes in the bracket do NOT line up with your three mounting bolts. Not sure how stable it would be with adding the spacers (they will have to lift the bracket above the grab handle on the rack). The other possibility is to fab up an adapter plate between the bracket and OEM rack.

I'm still dwelling on whether or not to attempt to mount with the included bracket or just buying a Givi E228 ($100) or SR357 ($135) mount.

I spay painted the top of mine with gloss black and am considering going over that with a urethane or clear coat to get more shine. The top seemed to take paint well but getting paint to stick on the nasty orange strips was more difficult. Very light coats and lots of them for those. I'm thinking a little sanding on them would have made a BIG difference.

Oh, and DaveB....

"Why don't they build the entire plane out of that black box stuff?" - 'cause it would be too heavy to fly.

 

[Pale Rider 07]

The included bracket is going to require either drilling your existing OEM rack or adding some spacers and drilling the bracket. I got mine on Saturday and the holes in the bracket do NOT line up with your three mounting bolts. Not sure how stable it would be with adding the spacers (they will have to lift the bracket above the grab handle on the rack). The other possibility is to fab up an adapter plate between the bracket and OEM rack.
I'm still dwelling on whether or not to attempt to mount with the included bracket or just buying a Givi E228 ($100) or SR357 ($135) mount.

I spay painted the top of mine with gloss black and am considering going over that with a urethane or clear coat to get more shine. The top seemed to take paint well but getting paint to stick on the nasty orange strips was more difficult. Very light coats and lots of them for those. I'm thinking a little sanding on them would have made a BIG difference.

Oh, and DaveB....

"Why don't they build the entire plane out of that black box stuff?" - 'cause it would be too heavy to fly.

I had not noticed those orange strips till you mention them. They are rather ugly. How are the reflectors attached to the trunk? My thought is to modify those with some LED strips tied to the brake/running lights. Guess I have to figure out how to mount it first. Would be interested in what you come up with.

 

[Duezzer]

Pictures if you could

Thanks

 

[chivvalry]

I had not noticed those orange strips till you mention them. They are rather ugly. How are the reflectors attached to the trunk? My thought is to modify those with some LED strips tied to the brake/running lights. Guess I have to figure out how to mount it first. Would be interested in what you come up with.

There is only one real reflector and it's not the big red plastic strip on the back. That is a fake reflector and is basically just red plastic with a white paper behind it. It would be fairly easy to mount an LED strip behind that to light it up I think. It and the orange strips are screwed on and come off easily. The real reflector is a simple bolt on and also easily removed for painting.

Pictures if you could
Thanks

I might be able to take some shots tonight and post them.

 

[phroenips]

I'm still dwelling on whether or not to attempt to mount with the included bracket or just buying a Givi E228 ($100) or SR357 ($135) mount.

Do you know if either of these brackets offers a cleaner "bolt on" installation, or are you taking an educated guess?

 

[chivvalry]

I'm still dwelling on whether or not to attempt to mount with the included bracket or just buying a Givi E228 ($100) or SR357 ($135) mount.

Do you know if either of these brackets offers a cleaner "bolt on" installation, or are you taking an educated guess?

The sears box looks like it will mount up to a givi mount and I read somewhere on this site that it does. The e228 is a top plate adapter to the stock FJR rack and the sr357 is a complete replacement of the stock rack and passenger grab handles. It doesnt look as nice (IMHO) as the stock passenger grab rails but about doubles the weight capacity of the rack and top box.

Both of them bolt up directly to the stock FJR config with no mods required.

 

[etcmjoe709]

Wow! The large is on sale for $42.49, including a mounting plate. Hard to beat that deal, even if you have to do some engineering to make it work.

 

[SouthernCruizer]

Ive got this rack on my bike....

anyone know if this will have to be modified to install?

 

[chivvalry]

Ive got this rack on my bike....

anyone know if this will have to be modified to install?

Sorry... not a clue. I will try and get some pics of the mounting plate that comes with the sears box up tonight.

 

[BSReyn8]

Something like this?

I didn't want to post all the pics on a post so here is my flickr page.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/49260402@N02/

Sears trunk (exactly the same as the JCWhitney trunk) mounted on a custom plate, painted to match bike and added LED run turn and brake lights.

LED lights were bought at a local Advance auto parts and Auto zone (they generally only stock 1 package at a time which contains 2 strips) The box took 6 total strips (4 red and 2 yellow) or 3 packages (2 red 1 yellow). Got the idea here

and here.

 

[chivvalry]

Wow. You da man.

How stable is that puppy fully loaded? I'm deathly afraid of the spacers simply crumpling or bending. Where did you get the steel plate and do you have a clean shot of just the plate? I assume you cut it from a piece of stock?

 

[BSReyn8]

Wow. You da man.
How stable is that puppy fully loaded? I'm deathly afraid of the spacers simply crumpling or bending. Where did you get the steel plate and do you have a clean shot of just the plate? I assume you cut it from a piece of stock?

I just used a piece of 3/16" steel plate i had and then traced the mounting plate that came with the box. I cut the plate slightly larger (1/16" all the way around) with a jigsaw and grinder. I then figured out exactly where the 3 mounting holes would be and drilled them. After that I cut out enough room in the stock plate to allow a socket to reach all 3 bolts. Then mounted the stock plate to the steel plate with 4 short bolts (I stuck the piece of foam that comes with the box in between the two plates for good measure ). Removing the plate only takes about 2 mins, just undo the 3 bolts grab the plate and spacers and install the stock 3 bolts. Sorry I don't have a picture of the steel plate alone, but its really nothing to look at, just the same basic shape of the stock mounting plate with a few holes in it.

I used zinc plated steel spacers that I bought at Lowe's and just spray painted them black. I really doubt that you could bend or crumple these things they are fairly short and very strong. I had originally thought of welding the spacers to the bottom of the plate but because of the zinc coating I decided not too, its not really a big deal that they are not welded but it would have been nicer to not have to line up the angle every time I mount it.

This set up seems very strong and I have had no problems with over loading it, even with the wife using it as a back rest. If you pull the 3 bolts in the back you will notice there are spacers the run from the frame to top of the bolts, this is what my spacers sit on top of, so it is a pretty solid connection to the frame. I did notice that the bike seems to "wonder" a bit at speeds above 75 mph when I'm solo with the trunk on but not when my wife is on. I attribute this to a weird wind flow over the trunk whether it be a windshield to trunk combo (C-Bailey +4+4) or just the aerodynamic properties of the trunk I don't know, but it doesn't really bother me that much. YMMV

 

[phroenips]

I used zinc plated steel spacers that I bought at Lowe's and just spray painted them black. I really doubt that you could bend or crumple these things they are fairly short and very strong. I had originally thought of welding the spacers to the bottom of the plate but because of the zinc coating I decided not too, its not really a big deal that they are not welded but it would have been nicer to not have to line up the angle every time I mount it.

I assume the spacers you bought didn't already have that angle. Assuming not, what did you use to cut the angle, and what degree is it?

 

[BSReyn8]

I used zinc plated steel spacers that I bought at Lowe's and just spray painted them black. I really doubt that you could bend or crumple these things they are fairly short and very strong. I had originally thought of welding the spacers to the bottom of the plate but because of the zinc coating I decided not too, its not really a big deal that they are not welded but it would have been nicer to not have to line up the angle every time I mount it.

I assume the spacers you bought didn't already have that angle. Assuming not, what did you use to cut the angle, and what degree is it?

I do not really know what the exact angle is but I cut it free handed with a cut off wheel in a grinder. The spacers were 1.5" long and I basically cut from nothing to about a 1/8" to make the angle. If I were to guess it is more then 5 degrees but less than 15 so maybe around 10?? :dribble: If i were to do it again I would put the bike on the center stand and then block the front tire up in order to get the bike sitting level. I would then set a spacer in place and mark it with a level. This would be about the only way to get it exact, maybe I just got lucky but all my angles seem to match up perfectly.

 

[Pale Rider 07]

Something like this? I didn't want to post all the pics on a post so here is my flickr page.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/49260402@N02/

Sears trunk (exactly the same as the JCWhitney trunk) mounted on a custom plate, painted to match bike and added LED run turn and brake lights.

LED lights were bought at a local Advance auto parts and Auto zone (they generally only stock 1 package at a time which contains 2 strips) The box took 6 total strips (4 red and 2 yellow) or 3 packages (2 red 1 yellow). Got the idea here

This is really impressive work. The box looks great on the bike and you can't put a price on the added safety of the lights. Can't wait to check it out myself. But first I have to gather funds for the Helibar group buy listed today. Then the trunk.

 

[SouthernCruizer]

The Sears top case came in today. Compared to the OEM Yamaha case, this thing is VERY FLIMSY! The plastic is thin and cheap, and the mounting plate seems too thin. The mouting hardware is very generic-cheap-universal. After looking at this thing for a while, and trying to figure out how to mount it to the aftermarket luggage rack I have on the FJR, decided to mount it directly to the rack with a bolt that is included in the kit and fits the (3) OEM holes. The plate is super solid being flat agains the luggage rack. Clipping the topcase into the mount, it seems as though it should stay put.

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I will only be using the topcase for multi day trips a few times a year, so hopefully it will last for a while without falling apart. Again, this thing seems very cheap, so buyer beware.