Guitar case rack

In the evenings I'm a pretty active musician gigging a few times a week. I play acoustic instruments & putting them in a car is fine of course but I'm wondering what kind of rack might be available to carry a guitar on my XJ650.

My Mandolin & fiddle cases can both be worn like a backpack. The mandolin & fiddle are only a tad over head high & I tried riding with one last night and it went fine. I'm not sure how well I'd like to try that with a guitar case though as the narrow end would stick up well above my head and the wind pressure on it might be an issue.

Has anyone made a rack that would allow me to lay a guitar flat with the body perhaps on the back of the seat with the neck extended over the tail light?

Thanks!

 

i've thought about that myself, but never tried it.

any ideas for an upright bass?

 

I've been trying to come up with something for my shotgun. The roads to the range are nice for riding. Pistols go in a backpack.

 

crazy gun toating americans lol

 

Only to the range and back thanks to maryland law.

look up the local baltimore news and you'd think everyone should carry all the time.

 

LOL, I was behind a guy with a Harley who was towing a Kayak. There was a ball joint on the back of his bike connected to a long tube (probably aluminum) which had a T at the end with wheels and it strapped to the back & front of the Kayak. Had a license plate, he was buzzing right along.

You could... do that with your Bass...

 

i think a shotgun could be mounted to one of the forks without too much trouble.

as for the bass - i've thought about turning it into a trailer, but i live on a pretty bumpy road and would have to have to retune it all the time

that, and it's big, but it's mostly air - so i think the wind would be problematic.

 

Rode a bunch with an electric guitar or bass in my back pack. No problems with the action yet. just zipped it up to the neck. Just watch the helmet clearance and the Jam when goin through doors. Could try to modify a soft case maybe.

 

i'm no guitarist, but maybe buy a cheap hard case, drill two holes in the back of it put a plate over each hole with holes drilled through the matching spot, then make some kind of bracket that attaches to the frame where you can then put bolts through the case and the bracket, and use wing nuts and lock washers... it would be like a saddle bag.. there was a post on here where someone had a guitar on their bike..

 

I saw what looked like a top end guitar case attached to the side of a large cruiser some years back. He was on the road so I didn't try to flag him down to ask about it. The body was beside the rear wheel and the neck was angled like 45 deg skyward.

Your idea would work Schooter but I need to be able to bring the case inside with me. Gotta protect the instrument from all the groupies...

 

Also been working on this idea....
Some gigbags come with should straps and can be backpacked, fun thing is finding one that sits high enough, still a bit of a wind resistance issue though..

 

lol, there's nothing better than going to the range and shooting at targets as stress relief...besides, haven't you seen desperado, its not us gun toting americans that you have to worry about, its the crazy A$$ mexicans that turn their guitars into gun cases

 

My opinion is that a backpack will be much safer for the instrument.
The back end of that XJ bounces a LOT (at least on the rough roads of PA)and the guitar may not appreciate the major abuse.
Just try to carry a 12-pack of beer cans in your trunk (It don't work so good) DAHMHIT

My air shock have GREATLY improved that situation though!

 

My opinion is that a backpack will be much safer for the instrument.
The back end of that XJ bounces a LOT (at least on the rough roads of PA)and the guitar may not appreciate the major abuse.
Just try to carry a 12-pack of beer cans in your trunk (It don't work so good) DAHMHIT

My air shock have GREATLY improved that situation though!

 

This looks awesome:



Or just build it into the bike:

 

Hey Mike, Do we even want to bring up the time last May when I brought the tires, backrest, and footpegs down to you at the same time I had my tuba strapped to the seat? It all fit.....only took a god length of clothesline to strap the pair of tires to the top of the tuba. I got more bewildered/amused/disbelief looks coming down 81 and 380. I gotta admit, it was kinda funny looking at it in the driveway before I left.

Dave Fox

 

Yes but the banjo is lethal in the right hands...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ-NhyctOho

 

Shnuffy, that first one, that's the case! That's the type I remembered seeing!

Maybe a tad low to the ground for cornering but if that comes off the bike & you can carry it... that's a winner.

 

Yep Dave. It wasn't hard to pick you out of the crowd with that load on the back.
I think Rea has had some interesting lumber hauling experiences too.

 

I love the hard case mounted by the rear wheel it looks pretty sweet. That would come in handy for me going back and forth to rehearsal but I don't know if I would want it on all the time. If you are going to a gig, you would still need your amp (If you're an electric player) Something easily removable or something you wear might be the way to go. Just a thought from the new guy.....

 

Haha, KA1J that clip is hillarious!

I would think the black case in the picture before would be the best option, if you could find one slightly larger than your guitar you might be able to fit your guitar with a soft case inside the other. that's what it looked like in the picture at least.

 

I ride with a soft shell guitar case with backpack straps all the time and it's no big deal. You have a guitar on your back so you ride a bit more cautiously but as far as wind I find no big hindrence.

 

I have a carbon fiber dragon boat paddle, think fancy canoe paddle, here: paddle

I bungie it to the bike when I go to practice, one cord attached to frame down by my right foot, the other over the seat and around paddle, so the blade is angled up at like 30 degrees and sticks out behind me.

I have been thinking though, seems like there must be some kind of clamps, like that screw to the pipes of the frame on one side and have padded clamps on the other, like on a gun rack or something, that I could mount on there more permanently.

 

Found a back pack like gigbag. http://www.dobrology.com/forums/sponsor ... g-bags-amt

 

ive considered using my backpack gig bag, but man, id' be crushed if the straps came undone...

i like the idea of the guitar case mounted to the back wheel pointing backward. i would go hardshell too - that way if it does snap off, then your guitar is more protected than a soft gig bag.

you've seen those front mounted rifle bags on ww2 bikes, i wonder if you can come up with something like that? heh.

 

I've considered using a gig bag but really need the protection a solid case offers. When I want to play fiddle or mandolin I have cases like these where they're with two shoulder straps and both of them are solid cases. A guitar though would stand up higher. Not sure I'd want to deal with the wind resistance pulling on the straps. A smaller instrument would be protected by not being over my head.

Besides, I often want to take two instruments and if I can have the guitar lying flat & secured, I could bring the mandolin or fiddle in their case & wear it like a backpack.

Maybe I do need to make a long flat extension, I'm just not sure how to attach it without altering the bike & I don't want to mess with the beautiful condition this bike is in just to add on a homemade rack.

Decisions decisions...

 

What about http://www.surferpeg.com/ - seems like it can be cheaply made at home and adapted to strap down a guitar case quite easily.

 

I don't think the increased wind resistance would be a big deal. Tie an appropriate length of 2x4 to your back and give it a try.

For the upright bass? Switch to upright ukulele and start a new trend!