Help fitting an SW-Motech rack to a K8

[Nobbylad]

Yes it's German engineering, yes it should be straightforward, no I can't do it

Struggling to get the rack to fit properly, have taken the rear grab rail off, assembled the rack, but can't seem to get it to sit properly on the bike.

Too hard to discuss in detail, but please pm me if you've got any experience fitting them.

Thanks in advance!

[Nobbylad]

Update - I found if you leave out the metal spacers they supply with the rack, it fits OK.

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/236/

Item 7 in the instructions in the link above.

Can anyone confirm this is the correct way to fit it?

Do you mean the cylindrical spacers in the photo at step 4 (http://www.twistedthrottle.com/ezima...53-500x600.jpg)? If so, yes I definately used them on mine, but they did need a bit of pursuasion to go in (tapped them in very gently with a hammer I think - or more likely I used the screwdriver handle!). I'm pretty sure I used all the parts on mine.

Any chance you can get a picture and put an arrow on it going to the part you mean, and I can check mine. Have you got the paper instructions?

Just took a few photos of mine in case they're any use. They're not brilliant I'm afraid because it's dark so I had to use the flash. As you can see, my bike is spotless!

[Nobbylad]

Nutter...thanks very much for the photo's! Yes, they're the spacers I left out.

When I fitted them, the rack sat quite high on the bike and there was a gap between the side mounts and the bodywork, not sure the pillion seat would have fitted with them on (although admittedly never tried it). I left the spacers out and found that the lugs on the underside of metal plate that sits on them in your photo, fitted quite snuggly into the rubber grommets on the bike.

The supplier is e-mailing sw-motech to ask if there's any differences between bikes, mines a K8, what's yours?

Ah, ok, so I think you mean the round ones that fit into the rubber mounts (in the first photo of mine), rather than the cylindrical tubes that fit into the helmet hook (second photo of mine).

I don't remember having any problems with those, but it was a while ago so I could be wrong. Mines a K6, so it might be slightly different. Maybe if you get chance you could take a couple of pictures of how yours sits so I can compare it with mine?

[Nobbylad]

Cheers mate, glad I went down to take some photo's, the nuts'n'bolts holding it onto the helment hangers had come off, found both bolts but only one nut after half an hour stripping the bike!

Pics below....not sure if fitting the spacers would raise the rack up too much or whether it would make the pillion seatr fit better (it's a bit tight at the mo). From memory, when I used the spacers there was quite a gap between the rack and the bodywork whereas without them fitted, it's all nice and snug (pics 3&4).









Clearance between rack and plastics:-

It might be worth fitting the spacers and trying the pillion seat. Mine goes on fairly easily. I'd be interested to know how you get on. Did you hear back from sw-motech?

[Nobbylad]

I'll try the spacers tonight, was raining last night. Haven't heard back from motech yet, will let you know on both counts soon.

[Nobbylad]

Got a response from SW-Motech, they sent through an update fitting diagram with the spacers shown as you have installed them, i.e. the right way round!

Still haven't put them on mine yet, it's gonna be 'one of those jobs I'll need to get round to'!

Instructions:-