Need MkIII Commando luggage. Got any?

I have a bare stock '75 Commando (Interstate style, originally a Roadster) that needs to be able to haul stuff.

Does anyone have a set of Hepco Becker mounts and side-rack that are made for the MkIII that are "surplus to their continuing operations" that they'll sell me?

I can buy a set from Andover Norton in the UK, but I need them here in Virginia, USA by May 15th and I'm not sure the slow boat from Felixstowe will get here by then.

I have a standard Craven "L" rack, but it's designed to mount to the top shock mounts, and the seat mounting hardware gets in the way and won't work ... otherwise I'd do a set of Craven "Comets".

Let me know. Thanks!!

Lannis

I use soft sided throw over bags with fairly good success. Fay won't even know they're there.... :mrgreen:

I thought about that; matter of fact I have a pair of old ragged ones sitting around, and "tried them on" for kicks.

Problem is, they look like they'd be all up in the wheel or the chain on a "spirited" ride or in a rough crosswind. Do you have anything on yours that would stand them off a bit?

Lannis

Lannis said:

I thought about that; matter of fact I have a pair of old ragged ones sitting around, and "tried them on" for kicks.

Problem is, they look like they'd be all up in the wheel or the chain on a "spirited" ride or in a rough crosswind. Do you have anything on yours that would stand them off a bit?

Lannis

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Nope, they are tapered to clear sport bike upswept exhaust, I just shorten the straps to keep 'em high

I have used a Craven rack and attached it to the top shock bolt. Not sure exactly what style Craven rack. I made a longer version of the shock bolt and could still take the seat on and off. Used Craven bags with the rack, which look cool on a Commando.

Stephen Hill

None of these opinions seem big and robust to me and soft bags suck in looks and saggy bouncy fit so suggest in a pinch to get a HiRider sissy bar to clamp on to strap a lot of cargo to w/o much or any rack fitted. There's a number of semi-universal racks that can adapt to Cdo some with back rests that adjust.

hobot said:

None of these opinions seem big and robust to me and soft bags suck in looks and saggy bouncy fit so suggest in a pinch to get a HiRider sissy bar to clamp on to strap a lot of cargo to w/o much or any rack fitted. There's a number of semi-universal racks that can adapt to Cdo some with back rests that adjust.

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That's a potential idea but I don't want to get too high and far back with the weight - two-up and fully ATGATT, I'm 260 pounds and Fay is 140, and even though our weight is transmitted mostly through the seat pan to the upper shock mounts and the fender, I don't want to put that rear loop in too much of a bind.

So I was thinking that the weight ought to be "on the down low" if I can .... !

Lannis

Lannis said:

hobot said:

None of these opinions seem big and robust to me and soft bags suck in looks and saggy bouncy fit so suggest in a pinch to get a HiRider sissy bar to clamp on to strap a lot of cargo to w/o much or any rack fitted. There's a number of semi-universal racks that can adapt to Cdo some with back rests that adjust.

Click to expand...

That's a potential idea but I don't want to get too high and far back with the weight - two-up and fully ATGATT, I'm 260 pounds and Fay is 140, and even though our weight is transmitted mostly through the seat pan to the upper shock mounts and the fender, I don't want to put that rear loop in too much of a bind.

So I was thinking that the weight ought to be "on the down low" if I can .... !

Lannis

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Good thing we're not loading an airplane.....

Just replace the top Tourmaster barrel bag with a pillion, and VOILA!

Stephen Hill said:

I have used a Craven rack and attached it to the top shock bolt. Not sure exactly what style Craven rack. I made a longer version of the shock bolt and could still take the seat on and off. Used Craven bags with the rack, which look cool on a Commando.

Stephen Hill

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On my MkIII, it has two big handwheel-type nuts to secure the seat. The seat mounting tabs slip down between two washers, which are contoured so that the tabs can slip between them, and then the big nuts are tightened down.

The luggage rack mount would have to go "inside" of the first washer, the seat tab, the second washer, and the nut, and would have to be secured to the shock mount with another nut, else the luggage mount would loosen every time you took the seat off. On my bike, and with my Craven "L" luggage rack (see the Craven site for a pic), there's just no room for all that, even if I extended the shock mount somehow ....

I agree that the Craven "Comet" bags from my A10 BSA would look the business on the Norton, but it's hard to see how it would happen ....

Lannis

PM "commando6868" here, he's got a great hard bag setup

Depending on your purse, a friend of mine has fitted over-the-counter badged Hinckly Triumph luggage (/ racking?) and they also look fine.
Ta.

Depends whether you want hard or soft luggage.

I generally use Cravens carriers (sometimes I make my own brackets up) with q/release Golden Arrow suitcases for weekends, and the narrower Comet cases the rest of the time. With the long bar from the top of the carrier to the rear footrest that should give you some rigidity
You can get some good used bargains on flea bay, and spares are always available footnote; avoid those universal Craven carriers with their puny 5 mm bolt/screw fittings. W & L type carriers are OK. Contact Cravens for the carrier & fitting kit for the Commando.

http://www.cravens.org.uk/

http://www.cravens.org.uk/catalogue.pdf

I was never overly impressed with Craven or any other British luggage "system". Flimsy and universally ill-fitting stuff in my opinion and, yes, I had a full Craven set on my first Commando in '77.
Then, as a BMW dealer from 1985-88, I saw how the grown-ups do it and wished for a similar professional system for Commandos.

Which is why I made the Hepco & Becker system happen.

I received a Craven rack with my first Vincent Rapide but was warned off using it by club members who had tried the Craven system and had lots of problems with the racks falling apart and also luggage falling off at times.
Instead I built a rack that copied a known good design which one of the club members had used successfully for a 15,000 mile South America trip. The luggage he used for that is the same stuff I have used for 55,000 miles, all original Craven items from the 1950s.
I have found the Craven luggage to be nearly indestructable, as have others who use it.
But the rack system seems to have problems. Two years ago I rode with a club friend who uses a Craven Rack . The panniers were forever coming loose, then one came completely off at about 60 MPH after hitting a big bump. It survived intact, albeit somewhat scratched up.
So my experience is yes to Craven Luggage, no to the rack.

Glen

After my P!! i viewed Commandos as poor mans Harley that should not lug as much as they commmonly do.

The main problem with the Cravens rack is that it was designed in the 1950/60s and is made from ½ inch diameter tube, and held on with flat bar stock as brackets, to enable one carrier to fit a load of bikes.
The L rack should really have ¾ inch diameter tube on the bottom for extra strength.

Yes, I have lost a side case when I either failed to secure it correctly or the top rubbers became worn and were unable to keep the correct tension on the mounting system so, it’s not without its faults.
The second time I had a Comet case ripped away when I tried filtering through a heavy rush hour traffic jam and miscalculated a not very wide gap between a car and a dustbin lorry, the lorry won without a scratch, I stopped the bike and picked up the what was left of the case and strapped it onto the back seat and carried on-all the time the traffic never moved.
The cases are made from something that you can repair with a fibreglass kit, unlike several others on the market which are a kind of plastic.

Sounds like everyone has had common experiences with Craven luggage.

Including me!

600 miles into a 1000 mile rally trip last year, the offside Craven "Comet" pannier on my BSA A10 came off at 60 MPH in the middle of busy, truck-intensive Ohio Route 7 along the Ohio River at Martin's Ferry. I was half a mile down the road before I could get stopped - I walked back against the traffic expecting to find nothing but mashed fragments of the bag and contents, but miraculously every car and truck had successfully dodged the bag. The top had broken off and the bag was broken in several places, but the contents were intact.

I've been looking for a Comet pannier since (the bag isn't repairable, the fiberglass is not just cracked, it's sheared off in sheets), to replace the one on the BSA, but they are hard to find. A pair came up on eBay recently for $800, but that's a little rich for me ...

If I could find another Comet bag to replace the broken one, and IFFF I could find a way to make the Craven "L" rack bolt up to the Commando top shock mount along with the seat mounting hardware, I'd just move that setup from the BSA to the Norton. The Craven mounting system IS sort of weak and wobbly, but it would do until something better came along, AND it would look the business (which is always important). Although the bike has a Givi windshield in front and AirHawk seat pads on the seat, so it looks a little funky anyway.

I need to be on the road May 14th, so I was hoping for a short term solution if someone had something laying around they'd like to sell ...

Lannis

Craven is back in business and still making the Comet model pannier.
Here is a link to their catalogue: http://www.cravens.org.uk/catalogue.pdf

Stephen Hill

Stephen Hill said:

Craven is back in business and still making the Comet model pannier.
Here is a link to their catalogue: http://www.cravens.org.uk/catalogue.pdf

Stephen Hill

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Yes! Looks like about $340 the pair plus shipping from the UK which will probably be $100, still not too bad.

Remaining is the problem of how does the "L" rack bolt to the top shock bolt of the MkIII? I've "offered up" the one I have, and it's nowhere near close to fitting - it interferes with the seat and with the seat-fixing nuts ... ?

Lannis