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Scrambler Pannier Racks Installed!

15K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  AllBeefVeganSalad 
#1 ·
(crosspost from ADVRIDER): I love my Scrambler, but with those big, high pipes on the right side, it's difficult to get luggage on them. Other bike manufacturers have lots of choices when it comes to aftermarket rack systems, but AFAIK the only one available for the Scrambler is made by an English company called Metal Mule and is very hard to find in the US. However, I was fortunate to get one from a guy over on ADVRider.net early last year.

They'd been sitting in my garage since last February and I got tired of looking at them, so yesterday when the wife suggested I take the bike out for a ride (since it was so nice) I said "no, I think I'll go ahead and install that rack that I've had for so long!"

My previous setup was a Renntec rack (chrome) which I had to tweak a little to fit around the exhaust mount (at the time I got mine in 09, Renntec didn't make a rack for the Scrambler. My understanding is that they do now.) Onto that I mounted a cheap JC Whitney top case which has lasted much longer than I expected it to. Then, for my Sturgis trip in '09, I added the Triumph number boards as low-tech "saddlebag guards" and ran an inexpensive set of nylon throwover bags.



Anyway, first step was to remove my old stuff. The Metal Mule rack and pannier set comes in three pieces, the rear rack and the two side racks.



In addition to removing the seat, you also have to remove the rear fender (or as they say in England, "Mudguard.") I had never done this before so I had to interrupt the installation process to run down to the hardware store for a T30 Torx bit, since the fender is held in by 4 Torx-head bolts.

The reason the fender has to be removed is that Triumph for some reason put a threaded hole onto the inside of the shock-mounting bracket. This is the forward mounting point for the rack.




Once those bolts are in, there's a special bracket that goes on top of the rear frame bracket, this attaches both the rear rack and the side racks. The special bracket is the flat piece in the center of the picture.



After that is hooked up, the rear fender can go back in and then the side racks go on pretty easily. The side racks attach to the upper shock mounting brackets (on the outside) just like the Renntec rack did, and also to the back of the passenger footpeg brackets.






The side racks attach on the rear to the special bracket on the frame and also to another "bridging" bracket that connects the two side racks underneath the license plate.





Yes, it's a close fit to the rear turn signals, but once everything is bolted in, nothing touches the rack. It's SOLID!

Top case mounting plate attached easily and then the case went right on.






Seems like a very well built item. Too bad it's so hard to get and so expensive in the US.

Not only will it hold racks, it also makes it easy to put the bike on the center stand.

Now all I need to get are some side cases (no, not going to put the 40mm ammo cans on there - too heavy!) Anybody got any side boxes or pelican cases for sale?
 
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#5 ·
Great job with documenting the fit-up of the Metal Mules to your Scrambler - they look like very well made racks. Wonder if you could use a mounting kit to fit Pelikans to those racks from Happy Trails? Here is the kit they offer - for three different sizes of tubing: http://www.happy-trail.com/Happy-Trails-Pannier-Mount-Kit.aspx

Best of luck with the brackets and whatever bags you end up mounting on them.
Tom
 
#6 ·
Got the side cases on!

Another ADVRider xpost: Had nice weather and some time this weekend so I installed the side cases. The cases are Duratool cases, basically imitation Pelicans, that I found out about somewhere on ADVrider.com. Place I got them from is called MCN electronics. They come in multiple sizes, I got the biggest ones I thought would fit and they were $30 each plus about $16 for shipping to Colorado.

First step was to get out the tools so I could remove one of the side racks. I suppose you could put the cases on without drilling but it would be unneccessarily difficult and you might end up with sloppy results.



It literally took me about 5 minutes to remove the left side rack (4 bolts and out.)



Next, I used a strip of duct tape to show where I wanted the bottom of the racks to sit:



Next, per the instructions that came with the Happy Trail pucks, I placed the pucks and drilled. I had to use a small bit (about 3/16") to go through the screw hole on the pucks. Once that hole was drilled I removed the puck and enlarged it to the recommended 5/16" size that is neccessary for the bolts to come through.



Once the 5/16" holes were drilled, I was able to bolt in the pucks:



The bottom two pucks are held on by bolts while the top two have a large plastic knob. You can loosen this knob to allow the pucks to rotate when putting the rack on or taking it off.



Fitted the bag to the remaining (right side) rack just to see if it would fit. On the Metal Mule racks (and I'm guessing on most others) the shape of the rack's "hoop" is the same on both sides so the arrangement of the pucks allows either bag to be fitted to either side.



After that, I put the left side rack back on and was able to bolt on both bags:



Front view. This gives you an idea of width. Safe to say that even if lane splitting was legal in CO, I wouldn't be doing it in this configuration!



To be continued....
 
#7 ·
Continued (had to split the message to get all the pictures in)

Here she is fully "geared up" with all the cases on.



So all's good, right? Well, not quite. No matter how you put those pucks on, they're going to rattle a bit. That bothers me. It also bothers me that the pucks don't "wrap around" the rack in any way. My fear is that if I were to ride over a rough surface or bumpy pavement, the upper pucks (the ones that are designed so that they can turn so you can remove or replace the bags onto the rack) might rotate enough for the bags to fall off in traffic - obviously "not good." :D

So, I'm going to work on it a bit more and possibly might see if I can either augment or even replace the upper pucks with one or two "J-hooks" that will positively wrap around the upper bar preventing catastrophic loss of the bag. I will also work on waterproofing the bag, probably by putting a rubber patch sealed with silicone sealant around the holes.

And of course, then I have to apply my ADV stickers to make it "official!"
 
#8 ·
Are the bags rattling a little because the pucks are designed for rack tubing that is slightly thicker in diameter? I had Pelicans mounted to MotoSport (no longer in business) brackets on my '01 Bonnie which mounted the bags in a similar manner to the brackets - we took a 5500 mile trip with them in '06 and had no problems with the bags coming loose or falling off. MotoSports hardware was a little different, but the same basic idea. Nice job with your Metal Mule racks and those Duratool bags! I have a set of MotoSport brackets for my '06 Scrambler along with some alloy bags - they need a cross mount between the sides of the brackets to strengthen them a bit. This set-up is courtesy of the first owner of my Scrambler.
 
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