Tow Bar for '81 g/s

[Pete Rihoy]

Another one for the "Sages",

I have contaced Watsonian Squire about a tow-bar for my '81 g/s. They have told me that they have drawings for a '89 only.

(Please dont tell me that I shouldn't restrict the bike by hanging a trailer off it, It will get my gear to the site and leave me free and unloaded to explore once I am there

I know that there was a major model change about '87. Does anyone know if my bike's frame would mean that this would fit, of if it wouldn't?


Pete Rihoy,
Guernsey.

 

[(RIP) Proff]

Another one for the "Sages",

I have contaced Watsonian Squire about a tow-bar for my '81 g/s. They have told me that they have drawings for a '89 only.

(Please dont tell me that I shouldn't restrict the bike by hanging a trailer off it, It will get my gear to the site and leave me free and unloaded to explore once I am there

I know that there was a major model change about '87. Does anyone know if my bike's frame would mean that this would fit, of if it wouldn't?


Pete Rihoy,
Guernsey.

A friend tried this in early 80's on a R80rt mono, the mono sided swing arm is not suitable for the axle attached trailer hitch and the rear subframe is far to weak, only solution was to fix from lower swingarm joints and it looked and made the bike terrible..
The rear subframe will take a fair bit hanging on it, like big ally panniers, but pulling from it as in trailer is a no no .

 

[Rob Farmer]

Trailer FFS!!!

I thought I was in UKGSer not the BMW owners club

Thats It - You're barred!

 

[Voyager]

And just what's wrong with the BMW Club ?

You see all sorts there - such as this, spotted at the BMW Club Rally at Kelso on 28/08/2005.

The couple that owned it got early retirement and dedicated their lives to touring the world (slowly ).

That mono R80RT seems to be coping OK

Bob.

 

[the civil one]

Yeats and gregory

Their correspondance was described once as
""Streams of conciousness""
Much like you Mr Rihoy.
Theres absolutely nothing wrong with it.
"For those that dream with open Eyes are Dangerous men,
they may act and make their dream a reality"

On the first thread that you "interested me" you were looking for a
Pannier mount for a G/S , i then read that you were Making your own from
A4 which is fine , but Why A4 , apart from its stainless Qualities.
I am Having some more " n " shaped pannier mount brackets profiled this week from 5MM clean steel ,
on which you can begin your Fabrication of a Rack for your G/S or
wait a wee while and i will have a G/S rack to sell you , "Plug and play".
On the Notion of a Tow bar for your G/S , i would have to agree
with Proff on this and say that i would reckon that your subframe is
to weak to cope with the stress that would come with towing , BUT , your
subframe could be strengthened to accomadate .
I just happen to know a Chap that has a Spare subframe that could be
"Beefed" to cope.
Any interest in any of this go to www.cajasahel.com , to see capacities.

 

[Rob Farmer]

Oops!

That was a piss poor attempts at humour that clearly went badly wrong

I hope you don't think you're barred Pete

 

[Pete Rihoy]

Oops!

That was a piss poor attempts at humour that clearly went badly wrong

I hope you don't think you're barred Pete

Don't worry Rob, I'm far too thick skinned (or is that thick? yes, probably;-) to take the hint anyway

The Civil One said;

On the first thread that you "interested me" you were looking for a
Pannier mount for a G/S , i then read that you were Making your own from
A4 which is fine , but Why A4 , apart from its stainless Qualities.

Mainly, yes, although the thick walled tube I am thinking of using should be stronger too. I'm not one for cleaning that much, but (or because of this) I hate the way things corrode. I'm fitting a full stainless exhaust and replacing all the fasteners with stainless too. 'Just seems the sensible way to go?

I'm very impressed by your panniers. What sort of price for a set for my '81 g/s?

 

[the civil one]

Mainly, yes, although the thick walled tube I am thinking of using should be stronger too. I'm not one for cleaning that much, but (or because of this) I hate the way things corrode. I'm fitting a full stainless exhaust and replacing all the fasteners with stainless too. 'Just seems the sensible way to go?

I'm very impressed by your panniers. What sort of price for a set for my '81 g/s?

I prefer Flat Bar. it is so much easier to adapt to different fittings.
I also Use Steel , for several reasons , 1 being the cost difference ,
I am just finishing my own G/S , this week i hope , i will hopefully then
be making a Set of Boxs for it.I have a bit of a backlog to clear over the next fortnight.
I will Probably just go for a 9" and 10" Pannier set , to make it easy ,
I just carry the Same price structure thru my entire range , which starts
at £550 powder coated. I dont do the Panniers for a Living ,They just evolved out of the Buses ,{think aluminium paneling} so i dont need to make the Profits the others do , which in honesty i think are extortionate
i just offer a good honest Product at not much more than cost.
See the Picture of the Mounting brackets , i can offer you the n shape
part if you want to fab your own rack . The picture is of a set of mounting brackets for an 1150GS ,but you get the Jist for the n shape.

 

[Voyager]

Oops!

That was a piss poor attempts at humour that clearly went badly wrong

Oh dear

My response was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek

Bob (often mis-understood).

 

[Pete Rihoy]

Have I missed something? From what I can see, everyone knew that all the ribbing was just that, and no one took offence? I certainly didn't

 

[(RIP) Proff]

Don't worry about it Pete
Most of us old buggers on here can't remember what we last typed, or on what thread

 

[the civil one]

As i mentioned

after your mention of stainless , i was laughted out of the Profilers !
8 times the cost , few, other than the fact that its stainless , extra qualities
I had these profiled this week , they were just dropped off , so i have no
idea of what they are actually costing . 5MM flat bar. ready to be breathed on.

 

[Pete Rihoy]

Yes, I can understand this from a commercial perspective (needing to reduce costs at every opportunity) but I can get use of bending machinery and would do the welding myself. Considering that I spent £700 for a full stainless exhaust for the bike (plus replacing all fasteners in stainless) the actual cost difference of the stainless material is "small beer"?

The advantage of knowing it will stand on the bike, without care, and not corrode is well worth the extra IMO?

I am considering modern Alloy Panniers though, if I can persuade myself to the advantage of the increased capacity over the "period look" ;-)

Regards

Peter.

 

[MickDB1]

Peter
If you are considering Ally paniers
Metal mule do some and I have made some frames to fit them ( out of 3/8 nominal bore tube, threadable tube to most folk ) a bit of work but if you are making a new subframe you could utilize the frames into the design,. Save the old frame for the resale or fleabay. using them would also give you a more ridgid backend anyway. Most pipefitting companies would have a bit spare SS would be maybe the best but most folk dont have the tackle to weld it. Good luck with the build. I dont think I would have one ( trailer) but I recon they look great - Maybe next year - One of me mates had one for a while
He loved it
HTHY

 

[Pete Rihoy]

Thanks for the reply and encouragement

I have a firm who supplied the guard rails for my boat (A4 stainless) and they will bend similar spec. tube for this too. This will be to a higher spec, (in terms of strength and corrosion resistance) than the normal frames.

I have my own MIG, which I am competent with (so the welding is not a problem) and I anticipate that I will be able to to be able to create a far superior mounting, at not-a-lot-more than the cost of a (potentially) "Rusty" alternative.

 

[Voyager]

Can we see some pics when its done please ?

Sounds like a good plan.

Bob.