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Published: February 15th 2008
9 FEB 2008
I wanted to add a trunk to my Sporty, Effie. I had a dual purpose need of a trunk for the back of my sporty.
1.) I have a new laptop that has a 15” screen. The old laptop would fit in a saddlebag, but the new one is taller than the bag. I had researched waterproof, crushproof computer cases that I might strap on the back rack, but they were very expensive and would still leave the computer unsecured on the back of the bike.
2.) I also wanted to be able to secure (as in LOCK UP) my clothes and gear long trips or my helmet on day trips.
THE BRACKET
My first concern was how I was going to mount a trunk on the bike. I soon found on ebay a bracket that would attach on the sportys detachable side plates and provide a platform for a trunk to be mounted on. The bracket was $69 ($49 plus $15 shipping and $5 insurance). I already had the detachable side plates, this looked to be a cheap but strudy way to mount the trunk. Having it detachable was an added bonus.
Below is the
text from the bracket auction on ebay:
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HARLEY TOUR PAK PACK MOUNT DYNA, SOFTAIL, SPORTSTER
TOUR PAK MOUNTING KITS
(DYNA'S, SOFTAILS, & SPORTSTERS)
(EXCEPT 2007 SOFTAIL CUSTOMS)
Now you can install a tour pak on any Sportster, Dyna, Softail models, within minutes, for cheap. Are you tired of not having enough space for your stuff on long trips, on your street ride. Your saddlebags are just not enough storage space for you. Wish you had more storage space, now you can. Why spend $20,000-$30,000 on a tour bike, when you don’t have to. You can have the convenences of a tour bike on your street ride at any time you want, within minutes. Now you can have 2 bikes in 1. Make things easier in life for yourself, why go without. I am selling them for $49.95 and $15.00 shipping and handling U.S. (OUT OF THE COUNTRY WILL HAVE DIFFRENT SHIPPING COSTS, EMAIL ME FIRST FOR A SHIPPING QUOTE) SPECS. ARE BELOW with pics of kit mounted on a 2006 street bob. The tour pack I used was an after market trunk, that cost me $110.00.
FOR HARLEY DAVIDSON'S SPECS
1. EASY TO INSTALL AND UNINSTALL
(5-10 MINUTES)
2. FITS ALL YEARS (SPORTSTER,DYNA,SOFTAIL)WITH RIGID OR DETACHABLE SIDE PLATES.(EXCEPT 2007 SOFTAIL CUSTOMS)
3. FITS ALL HARLEY OR AFTERMARKET TOURPACKS
4. 2.5MM THICK STEEL CONSTRUCTED
5. CERTIFIED WELDED
6. FULLY TESTED
7. SANDBLASTED & ENAMLE PAINTED (BLACK)
8. INSTRUCTIONS INCLUDED
9. PROFESSIONALLY BUILT,MACHINE PUNCHED HOLES,NOT DRILLED
10. 40LBS WEIGHT CAPACITY
11. COMES WITH MOUNTING BRACKET,MOUNTING TABS AND MOUNTING BOLTS FOR MOUNTING TO BIKE
(***DOES NOT COME WITH SIDEPLATES OR TOURPAK ***)
***INCLUDES***
(STAINLESS STEEL HARDWARE)
ALSO AVAILBLE IN MY OTHER AUCTIONS
WINDSHIELD STEREO SYSTEM, TANK LIFT KITS
FOR HARLEY DAVIDSON'S
TOURPAK MOUNTING KIT NUMBERS
***IMPORTANT***
HD Harley Tour-Pak Pack 4 ROAD KING ELECTRA GLIDE
Fat boy FLHT Heritage Softail FLTRI VRSC DYNA FXR FXD
$105.00 + $30.00 SHIPPING
Four colors available: Vivid Black, Fire engine Red (matching with 2004 fire-fighter Red,) Pearl White and Metallic Silver
KIT# (0750)
Fits all '04-Later SPORTSTERS with Detachable Sideplates
KIT# (0638)
Fits all '04-Later SPORTSTERS with Rigid Sideplates.
KIT# (0538)
Fits all '82-'03 SPORTSTERS, '82-'00 FXR MODELS with either Rigid or Detachable Sideplates.
MADE IN THE U.S.A -- U.S. PATENT 6978765
THANKS MOTOWN M.C. PRODUCTS
100% FEEDBACK --- BUY WITH CONFIDENCE !!!
==============================================
THE TRUNK:
Looking on ebay I found a bunch of different trunks. A wide selection is available from small one to big ones, trunks with and without lights. A great selection of paint colors were also available and ones that are just primed ready for your custom paint. I chose one large enough to hold 2 full face helmets, it was available in silver and because it had holes drilled in the lid for a rack they didn’t have anymore, it was really cheap for such a big trunk. I would have liked it to have lights, but it was ideal in all other ways.
This is the text from the auction on ebay.
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Pre drilled Tour-Pak pack Trunk 4 Harley ROAD KING
MUTAZU MOTORCYCLE ACCESSORIES INC
$89 + $30 shipping
These are the premium quality aftermarket Tour Pak available for the Harley Davidson owners. Our Tour Pak's appearance is smooth and glossy shinny on all the surfaces, they are made of high-intensity ABS Plastic (Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene Copolymer) which is many times stronger than regular plastic.
We don't use recycle material for the trunks. The origin color was "white”. We intentionally paint the trunk’s interior to BLACK. This will increase the
durability of the trunk. Also help to maintain cleanness of the interior.
Unlike the other seller's so call "Tour Pak" that use cheaper material to cut the cost. Some of them still have the PRODUCT MARK on the top of the cover that they have to cover it by some kind of stickers.
The outside dimension of the Tour-pak are: 22.83"x17.32"x13",
Big enough to hold two full face motorcycle helmets.
Every Brand Tour Pak will be shipped in a factory package that comes with: cushion backrest, mounting hardware and two keys for the lock.
===========================================
I ordered the 2 parts from ebay and waited about 8 days for both of them to get here. A couple more days for some warm weather and I was out to get it all mounted on the bike.
As with most things that were going to supposed to fit universally, it needed some modifications. I did install the bracket and trunk in less than 2.5 hours, my installation took longer because I had to repair my detachable side plates. I had removed the latches for another project. I had to install another pair of latches and get all the spacing (washers)
correct on them.
Mounting the bracket onto the side plates was a very easy install. The bracket came with a hardware kit. The bracket mounted slightly different than a sissy bar would on the side plates. The bracket came with a metal bars which had 2 nuts embedded in them. This metal bar slid inside the area a sissy bar would normally be installed. The only slightly tricky part was getting the nut bar aligned so that first bolt would start correctly in the threads. Blue locktite on the bolt threads will stop the bolts from vibrating loose. I have attached a picture that shows these parts.
The next step was to mount the trunk on the bracket. I figured it would be easiest to just leave the bracket attached to the bike and mount the trunk on it there. Of course the install had been going too easily, so the first problem soon popped up. The multiple sets of holes that were prepunched in the bracket did not match the 4 holes that were predrilled in the bottom of the trunk. I decided to modify the bracket rather than drill more holes in the bottom of the
TOUR PAK MOUNTED
ITS A LITTLE BIG, BUT THE PAINT MATCHES REALLY WELL. I THINK ONCE THE SADDLEBAGS ARE PUT BACK ON IT WILL NOT LOOK SO BIG.trunk. The ABS material of the trunk is more likely to tear out with the extra holes and more holes also could increase the chance of water getting into the trunk. I knew it would be close getting the back 2 holes drilled in the platform without hitting the supports on the bottom of the bracket. The trunk came with a rubber foam mat that is installed between the trunk and the mounting platform. I used the holes in that mat as a template for drilling the front 2 holes in the bracket. See the attached picture.
When the front 2 holes were drilled in the platform, I mounted the trunk on the platform just using those 2 holes. With the trunk mounted square and firmly onto the platform, I used the trunk as a template to drill out the back 2 mounting holes. I was slightly off square as I soon found 1 of the back holes was very close to the support and a nut (even when modified) would not work on the bottom of the platform. I needed to modify a bolt, and reverse the hardware install in that hole. Using a grinder I removed part of
the head of the bolt and cut the bolt shorter so it would not stick up any taller than the nut on the inside of the trunk. While I had the trunk still mounted I marked the rubber foam mat which was oversized for the platform I was using. With it marked I could easily cut it down when I removed the trunk. Once I knew all the hardware would work I removed the trunk from the platform to clean the mat, bracket and trunk. There were metal shavings that had been generated when I was drilling the holes in the bracket.
The final step was to reinstall the trunk using blue locktite on the hardware.
I haven’t used the trunk in the rain, but its hinges and latches look sturdy enough and everything is working. I am not affiliated with either vendor, but at this point I am very happy with the quality of the products they sent me. I can’t wait to use it on a trip. Total cost was $188.00, it would be more if I had needed to buy the detachable side plates and docking hardware.
---- 10 NOV 2008 UPDATE ----
I
have used the trunk for the riding season, around 17K miles. It was used in all sorts of weather. I only took it off once, as I really like having it on. It is holding up well. The only problem I have had with the trunk is a really bumpy road might pop the latch loose. maybe 3 times this has happened to me. I know when it pops loose because the lid will hit me in the back. Normally I don't keep the lid locked. But locking it will stop it from popping open. I really love the trunk. I have had some of the paint rub off, but as you can see the last picture I have bags that are zip tied to the lid. One holds my rain gear the other also has some gear in it and they actually sit right on the lid, thats where the paint is rubbing off. I would expect to see that happen.
---- OCT 2010 UPDATE ----
The lock will no longer stay locked and required a strap around the box to keep the lid down. www.mutazu.com started selling replacement locks so I ordered one and installed it, that
17 days with this kind of load in 2009
This is a pic from one of my 2009 trips. This trunk was not designed for this. has solved the problems I was having. The replacement lock was about $12 and took 5 minutes to replace.
---- 18 JUN 2011 UPDATE ----
Well this will be the last update for this trunk. I put the trunk on in FEB 2008 and it came off today. This trunk has served me well and given its all. The trunks days were numbered when I bought the Nolan103 helmet this year and found out it will not fit in the trunk. The trunk is about 1" to short so it will not latch shut if the helmet is in it. Carrying the helmet around was getting old. But when it broke around the rear henge I started looking for a new one. The other hinge was ready to break. And when I was taking the trunk off I noticed that it had a crack going all the way across the bottom. It was a strange place for the crack. It was not where the mounting plate ended, The crack did not include any of the mounting holes. Just to let you know I am still very satisfied with this trunk, I got more than my moneys worth out of
Loads like this is what broke the trunk
I abused this trunk. Under normal conditions I am sure this trunk would last alot longer. But 3.5 years of this kind of abuse and it gave up. this trunk. I abused it for 3 years. Strapped a ton of weight to the top of it and still used the hinges on the lid. Its no wonder it gave up. I am including pictures of the failure points and some if it with loads strapped on it. I probably would have bought the same trunk from www.mutazu.com if it was not that my new helmet would not fit in it. The color match was perfect to the HD silver Effie is. I bought a different trunk that is larger and the installation of it can be found in this blog:
2011 2nd Trunk Installation on my 2005 Harley Davidson Sportster Other blogs showing installation of parts on Effie are:
08 Installing Floorboards on my 05 883 Harley Davidson Sportster, Effie. 08 Installing Police Saddlebags on my 05 883 Harley Sportster, Effie 09 Using RAM mounts on my 2005 883 Harley Davidson Sportster, Effie
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Troy Balduc
non-member comment
mounting brackets
I like you trunk set up and want to do the same with my sportster, however I am trying to find the brackets that you used. Maybe you can find them on ebay. Thanks Troy