There is no doubt that a tour pack is a useful way to carry miscellaneous items.
However, I was sometimes tempted by the look of my motorcycle without it—it feels lighter and cleaner.
When the riding season arrived, I was looking at the rear of my FXRD one morning and realized that I could make use of the tour pack mounting bracket for something else.
That’s when I decided to build a luggage rack.
After sketching out a design, I began bending steel plates, pipes, and square rods.
To join the components, I used brazing instead of welding this time, as I wanted to evaluate the strength and durability of this method for future use.
The original tour pack is bolted to the base with four screws.
Installing this luggage rack on the FXRD is very straightforward.
Simply loosen the four screws to remove the tour pack, then install the rack and retighten them.
It is so simple that I would like to call it a “Quick-Change Luggage Rack.”
I like the new appearance from the rear and from either side so far.
I will test it on the road for a while.
