Are there other back racks for the venerable K75 K100 series. At present I'm using two, the standard comes with the bike and is mounted on the fiberglass tail and then a Reynolds Rack. Here they are: The standard


And then there is the Reynolds, which is no longer made


The standard rack looks nice and with a bit of effort you can mount a top box on it:


But the Reynolds is better for carrying loads like camping gear and other things


But I'm looking for any other back racks. Any one  found?

The K1100LT topbox rack can be fitted also.

In Australia there is a Gearsack Rack, the model made specifically for the K75/K100 is not easy to find.

Al

AL-58 wrote:The K1100LT topbox rack can be fitted also.

In Australia there is a Gearsack Rack, the model made specifically for the K75/K100 is not easy to find.

Al

Got any pictures of the Gearsack Rack?

In Australia rear bags that sit on a rack and have a two layer panel on the vertical back section of the bag that allows the bag to slip over a hoop are quite popular.

Two of the well known brand names are "Gearsack" and "Ventura". In my case I have used a Ventura version for many years on all of my bikes as I am not a fan of the rigid rear top box style of luggage. In the pictures of mine below please note that it was originally black but with many years in the Aussie sunshine it has faded to brown.

The rack mounted on my K1100.


Note that the bag can be slipped over the loop facing rearwards or facing forwards and sit on the passenger seat if no pillion is on board.
When purchased new the rack system comes with a low bar which can be fitted in place of the high hoop just by loosening a couple of grub screws, withdrawing the hoop and fitting the low bar, as in the photo below, in situations where you will not be using the bag.



Here is a photo of the system with bag on my K75. I have camping gear strapped onto the pillion seat in front of the hoop.
 

and here is a photo of the bag in use on my K1100 on a frosty morning with the bag on the front side of the hoop resting on the pillion seat.


The Gearsack brand has a rectangular shaped hoop and the bags are a rectangular cubic style, but the idea is the same. I see from adds on the internet that a number of other brands now utilise similar styles and that the Ventura brand also have a range of different shaped bags these days. My bag is 25 years old and still going strong.

I have also fabricated a couple of hoops and mounting brackets for friends to fit bikes that the manufacturers don't provide a specific fit for. It is not a difficult fabrication job.

Hope this is of interest.

Cheers

Gaz, do you have links to the companies you mentioned?  That mount and those bags look very good.

Gaz, very interesting. While I can't make out the details from the photos I'm guessing the rack's mounting is to the frame and not to the fiberglass back piece. Will check it out.
J.

Yes the rack is mounted to the bike frame via the mounting bolts for the pannier Z frame bolts. The rack system consists of two "L" shaped pieces - one to mount on each side of the bike, and the hoop & rack piece (or the low bar as in this photo). The legs of the hoop or bar section fits inside the "L" shaped pieces and is secured by bolts with a knurled knob & locking nut which is also knurled. Hopefully you can see these more clearly in this photo.



The Ventura System web site.

Further reading regarding a link for the Gearsack items indicates that they are no longer in production. Even though I have had such long life from my Ventura most of my friends from many years ago used to believe the Gearsack versions were tougher than the Ventura.

I assume with a bit of internet surfing you would be able to turn up modern brands that use a similar idea. There are also many great tail bags on the market now that seem to have superseded the rack/bag system that I use.

Here is a link to an Aussie company that make all sorts of interesting luggage items amongst other things. The principal, whose name is actually Andy, is quite a character who I met at his stall at the Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island

AndyStrapz


I have no affiliation with any of these brands that I have mentioned.

Cheers