Trunk for the rear rack on the 51

[51Hog]

Just found a nice sized box to mount to my rack.
It is a semi soft sided hard bottom cooler. 30.00 at Wall Mart.

I seem to remember a quick release sliding clip system for mounting trunks to racks. Anyone have any good ideas for mounting to the rear fender rack. Mine is the rack that bolts to the top of the fender.
This cooler will let me store my helmet while shopping. It should keep people from just walking off with it. ---Out of sight out of mind

[fourthgear]

Now that's a good idea . Are those handles on the sides ? I have a 58 frame with rack and have been looking for some thing to put back there for storage if we shop on runs , I like the hard bottom too . I figure just some bungees to hold it down if it has handles or maybe some thing sewed on , just for attachment.

[51Hog]

The sides are only semi rigid. Yes those are handles on the sides. I tried the bungees and if they are tight enough to hold the cooler securely in place, the sides start to collapse. Right now, I have small bungees hooked over the edge of the hard bottom and wrapped around the rack.
It is fairly secure, but not the way I want to leave it.
I saw a Pillion pad that has quick clips on the bottom of it. 5 second removal and it looks secure. Looks like the same system could be used on the bottom of the cooler.
JP Cycles has the P Pads.

[fourthgear]

Those P pads that clamp to luggage racks just have " U " type brackets at both ends and one the one end , they are spring loaded and slide on rivet's or pins . I'm sure they could be made up . I'm going to stop at the local wally mart today to see if they have one of those coolers. I wounder if you could put some thing between the handles and rack to keep the cooler from collapsing.

[FlatHeadSix]

Dale,
Have you got a 3-rail rack like mine, or is yours the round bar type that bolts to the top of the fender? All the quick release pillion pads I've seen were for my type with three flat rails, the pad had 2 bars on the bottom that fit between the luggage rack rails. Back in the 60's we had another name for those pads that also started with "P", but I won't get into that...

The rack on my bike is not correct for a '49, I don't think they came out unitil '52. But it looks good, works good, I like it, its my bike and its staying on there. (thought I'd throw that in there just in case some of the purists bring it up)

mike

[51Hog]

That sure is a good lookin' bike Mike!
My rack is the one that has round spreaders and bolts to the top of the fender. Not the sides of it.
Those J hooks sound like the Cats Meow. I think I would sandwich the bottom of the cooler with sheet metal, then install the clips. Can anyone find some good pics or drawings of the clips? No need to re invent the wheel....

[john HD]

so yours must look like this.

and it is a better looking red motorcycle anyway (inside joke)

john

[51Hog]

Here are a couple of pics of the cooler bungeed to the rack.
In reference to the Red color----- Uhhhhhhh
In my best Auzzi accent---Ats noh uh biek----Dis ----- is a biek. LOL
And on top of that My sheep can beat up ure sheep----

[FlatHeadSix]

and your cute little fire extinguisher water bombs or whatever those things are won't fall off either with those high speed D-Rings! Looks very practical.

Where you been ridin' that thing? Is that clay, mud, or salt residue all over it? I thought Alaska had paved roads by now....

mike

[51Hog]

Yea, Alaska has some paved roads. If we could talk them into paving the roads before they do the bike trails,......
My driveway is 3/10 of a mile long, and all of the ice is melting =MUD, and lots of it. I still need to put some more gravel down. $$$$
My Tires do not like the ice at all---Not even a little bit. My drive climbs about 600 ft in 3/10 mile, and winds through the woods while doing it.
Bought a sander for the back of my truck so I could get the bike up and down the drive.
Also, all of the sand and gravel that they put on the roads this winter is still there. Today we just got another 3" of snow!X**%$!#@***
Now the roads will be nasty for another week.
I am thinking I might put a quart of extra gas in those aluminum bottles that came with the cooler. It'll get me another 6 miles down the road on reserve!!

[john HD]

51

that looks pretty trick, nice way to haul stuff without having saddle bags.

with the mud your bike would look right at home here in wisconsin even if it is um, BLUE!

i noticed you have the soft ground attachment on your kick stand too!

john

[51Hog]

Dad put that stand on while the bike was in Florida---I don't think there is anything but sand and swamp there.
Kind of embarrassing, --all that mud, I guess it shows that it is actually ridden. It is my daily driver as long as there is not too much ice on the roads. I have already gone through a set of tires. Just a little more than 8 months riding. I will try to make the summer with what I have, then I will replace them this winter when I do the major maintenance.
When I did the frame off this time, I was torn as to which color to paint.
After much thought, I decided that the bike was blue when Dad and I found it. My son remembers it blue when he was very young. I didn't have much choice in the color. I do like the Black and the R----R----Re--d
You know what---I like all the colors OLD Iron is beautiful!

[51Hog]

Well---Just mounted the bag to the rack. Velcro is our friend!!
I sewed three pieces of velcro together end to end (Center 8" piece is the coarse loops, and both 4" ends are the softer strips.) All three pieces face the same direction.
I cut two slots through the bottom of the cooler parallel to and directly above the outside round bars at the front of the rack. Did the same at the rear of the rack.
Velcro goes through the bottom of the cooler from the inside, around the outside bar on the rack, back up through the same slot in the bottom of the cooler and fastens to itself. The other end goes through the slot on the opposite side of the cooler and rack, and fastens to itself when it comes back up through the bottom of the cooler. Same thing goes with the other strap on the rear of the cooler.
I used 3/4" velcro and it holds TIGHT. I think the bottom of the cooler will tear out before the velcro lets loose. Less than one minute to install and remove the cooler. Cost for the setup with the velcro is less than $35.00. Pretty cheap for Jacket, Tools and Helmet storage. Oh yea--also an extra quart of gasoline can go in the aluminum bottles. It is a long ways between gas stations in some areas in Alaska.