Photos of Ventura rack?

I think I'm about to order a Ventura rack system for my 2002 S3 but I'd like to see some photos of it installed... I'm wondering how it looks when the rack is not attached - is it very visible?

As far as which pack(s) to purchase, does anyone have feedback on which pack has worked best for them?

Any feedback or photos would be appreciated... Thanks!

[thorick]

I got their special combination package:

The base frame
Their large aero pack (but not the largest), with carrier frame
Their sport rack carrier frame.

I like the setup a lot. The large pack is big enough to easily haul a bag of groceries. The pack goes on and off the rack and secures very easily. It's a great system.
The sport rack carrier is lower profile, I use that when not carrying the large pack. It's easy to bungee a back pack to the sport rack (I didn't spend the extra $$$ to get the smaller pack that fits the sport rack).
Every other bike I've had has varying degrees of finish damage to the rear ends from lashing things to the rear seat. This will be the first bike that won't have any of that.

The frame itself looks rather 'industrial' with the main tubes sticking straight up in the back. It's definitely not a smooth and stylish look IMHO. The system is so useful and convenient, for me the function greatly overrides the form.

[Antmakka]

I've got the large rack for touring and then swap it for the grap rail for when I'm just out for a ride. It's quite discrete and doesn't affect the look of the back of the bike too much. Well worth the money.

I have the ventura pack system, and it works great.
The large pack frame is, as said already, a bit industrial.
It really holds the packs strong and does not let them move around even while cornering.
The sport pack frame works well, I have the small bag for this frame, but you can also strap just about anything to the bars, it is very strong.
The grab bar is not too large, sometimes it takes a person about 45 minutes of ooogling the bike to ask what it is.
Overall, a great deal, and a great multi-use package.
I'll try to post some photos of it in a few days.

[Antmakka]

Hope this works, shows some pics of ventura on my S3

[Antmakka]

You may have to right click on pic then 'view image'.
Let me know if it doesn't work and I'll see what I can do.

[Legman]

On 2006-06-19 08:04, Catamount wrote:
I think I'm about to order a Ventura rack system for my 2002 S3 but I'd like to see some photos of it installed... I'm wondering how it looks when the rack is not attached - is it very visible?

As far as which pack(s) to purchase, does anyone have feedback on which pack has worked best for them?

Any feedback or photos would be appreciated... Thanks!

Heres a link to a thread which shows a couple of bikes with ventura luggage. My 05 is one of them but Triplethreats blue 2001 model is better example to look at...... it looks very similar to how it would look on an 02. read right through the thread, Triplethreat posted up a couple of times.

Ventura Luggage

BTW I really like the system. I don't leave the rack on mine when I'm not using the luggage as it looks a bit funny on the 05, but on the 02 it tucks in a lot closer to the body work and is not as obvious. The bags are great, they really hold a lot of stuff, and are very easy to install and remove.

[ This message was edited by: Legman on 2006-06-20 06:22 ]

I'm sold on them! Just ordered today. Thanks for your help!