Need MkIII Commando luggage. Got any?

zefer · May 1, 2015

I know you need luggage fast but if and when you want some nice looking and functional stuff,try Doug @Dougs norton I have 2 sets,a small rear rack and s Nelson Riggs tail bag ,the rig looks factory and works too CNW used to.... Years ago offer them I think they are called"compacs" they do require a small
Unobtrusive rack but man they are great they are perfectly fitted to follow the slant of the rear shock and actually look very nice on the machine,when the bags are off you can hardly see the frame/bag mount

Hobot · May 1, 2015

The most down and dirty quick robust luggage rack is the kind that project to struts forward with holes in them that go over the shock/seat mount pegs and then can support the rack part off rear loop by various means. Often these racks have extensions on either side to aid this. These are cheap but usually still nice chrome and easy to remove or refit.

Bernhard · May 2, 2015

Lannis said:
Sounds like everyone has had common experiences with Craven luggage.
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 ...Lannis

I too had a top sheet ripped off. I merely used the undamaged one to make a fibreglass mould to make a repair to the smashed one.
The main problem with Craven panniers is that if you carry heavy weight the carrier settles and pushes the top mounting further into the rubbers which puts the side bracket out –this then forces the top mounting off the hooks. The remedy is simple realign and drill the side mount again and fill the old holes up with fibreglass paste.

Lannis · May 2, 2015

hobot said:
The most down and dirty quick robust luggage rack is the kind that project to struts forward with holes in them that go over the shock/seat mount pegs and then can support the rack part off rear loop by various means.

Being very new to Nortons as a practical matter, I don't understand how you are supposed to use the top shock mounts to mount a luggage rack.

On my A10, my A65, etc, it's easy ... just put in a longer bolt and use it to mount the front part of the rack.

But how do you do that when the seat mounts to that same bolt, and has to come off every time you want to check the oil? There's nothing holding the seat on the bike except those big nuts, and the grip has to be good ... ?

Lannis

Hobot · May 2, 2015

The shock mount bolt sticks out for seat mounting and usually has enough extra length to slip on a flattened strut end and still screw on the alu hand nuts but highly recommend only using steel nuts as hand nuts have fewer threads engaged so chews em out faster than normal or loosen up to disappear on the fly. Cheap expediant soft bags tied up short/high can work pretty well for a time being kept out spokes by the shocks but at some point they will get saggy and harder to keep stable out of things. Remind ya that my buddy Wes would burn my home it I put any type of rack over his Donkey Dick tail light and he carries a weeks worth of out of state camp cargo with Brit iconic umbrella to boot by just temprary re-installing Hi Rider Sissy bar to strap bed roll, ground cover sheets and clothes and gift luggage to it no problemo, then easy off for sleek ratty Commando look. Sissy bar also doubles as camp recliner too.

Wes in foreground on way to Ohio 2004