Luggage on Kat with Cowl?

[KatDK]

Hello,

I almost obviously live in Denmark, although a sweet country and all we're lacking some aftermarket items for the Katana I bought this year.

I've fallen in love with the Braada Solo Cowl from Braada, Undertail and Hugger from the Brazilian company but got to thinking..

On my old bike I had a Givi hard topbox, which was excellent for when I was in town or at a festival, I could lock most of my gear into the box and leave it on the bike.

I don't really appreciate the look of the monorack (mounting for the box) on a bike, nor do I believe it is even possible to have one of these on with a Cowl installed.

So, all in all.. my question comes down to, what the heck do you guys do with your equipment when leaving the bike in a public place? Walking about with the helmet and a although cool while moving jacket but hot like hell when not jacket doesn't seem too appealing to me.

I never ride anywhere without jacket, helmet, gloves and boots.. I tend to ride in my jeans when it's really hot though.

[md86]

Run a cable lock through your jacket and helmet and the bike . What I do when I don't feel like walking around with all my gear on .

[WildKat]

I usually take my gear with me everytime I leave the bike. The only time Ive left my jacket and gloves and helmet on my bike was at a Huge motorcycle event I go to every year near my house. In that case I did as md86 suggested and used a cable to string through all my gear and to the bike. Certainly not fool proof but its a deterrant none the less and it saved me from walking around in 95 degree heat and sun with a jacket, gloves, and helmet. Fortunately they had some security there too and people tend to look out for one another..but other than that, if I leave the bike the gear goes with me.

[The CyberPoet]

Givi makes side-mount bag systems for the late model Kats that can be used in conjunction with the cowl (but not in conjunction with the Brazilian undertail or any other aftermarket undertails to my knowledge because of the bar that passes through where the rear blinkers were originally mounted).



Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Bulletproof Enemy]

i wish second look didnt go out of buisness, i ripped one of my seats (i have 3) and cant find a replacement yet.... doh! what a slick product

[The CyberPoet]

i wish second look didnt go out of buisness, i ripped one of my seats (i have 3) and cant find a replacement yet.... doh! what a slick product

EDITS
I didn't know Second Look went out of business...
According to their website, their products are still avialable: http://www.second-look.com/

But I'll bet that a place called Skinz in Clearwater, Florida could manufacture exactly what you want to spec. They usually do bikini's and outfits out of the same types of lycra/nylon blend materials that the secondskinz I'm thinking of used in their seat covers.

You might also want to try these guys, who will do custom covers as well:

http://www.coverkingcovers.com/info_custom-seat-cover.php

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Kat-A-Tonic]

I've been using the Oxford Sport Humpback Series soft luggage for storage. They're light, contoured and flexible, which is an advantage if you want to stuff them with awkwardly shaped items.

[suzukisportrider2004]

those hard cases are sweet but givi site says they wont fit my 04

[KatDK]

I've been using the Oxford Sport Humpback Series soft luggage for storage. They're light, contoured and flexible, which is an advantage if you want to stuff them with awkwardly shaped items.

Thanks, I'll look into those.. They look kinda nice and seems to be able to fit with the mentioned mods

Thanks for all your help guys, cheers.

[The CyberPoet]

those hard cases are sweet but givi site says they wont fit my 04

I'm fairly sure they are lying unintentionally, and that they could be used with a PL525 or PL518 mount (either should fit). At worst, you'd have to change the front foot-peg support bracket to the '01-'03 version (switching from a 43811-08F10 to a 43811-08F00 on one side, and 43821-08F10 to a 43821-08F00 on the other).

Why do I say that?

Because the rear grab rail mounting location on the frame hasn't moved (mounting point #1).
The rear blinker location is still the same in the undertray, I believe (since the undertray from the 98-02 fits the 04+ when you do the tail conversion -- blinker hole is mounting point #2 and it actually ties together the left and right racks with a rod that passes through).
And the footpegs are still in the same location as far as I've been able to acertain, which means the final mounting point is still in the same location.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[suzukisportrider2004]

does it just run tho shovel? i cut that off can i still mount it?

[The CyberPoet]

does it just run tho shovel? i cut that off can i still mount it?

I guess so, but you'd have a metal rod crossing through thin air... I feel that the shovel actually provides some stability for it. Look at where the blinker mounts are on the shovel, and figure you can cut off anything 1/2" lower than that with no questions....

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet