Homemade XJ Ski Rack?

So this may sound crazy to most of you, but i'm thinking about making a SKI RACK for my 750 Maxim. (I do as much skiing in the spring and summer as in the winter.)

If this:
http://www.cafemotos.com/CustomerPage.html
is possible...then surely skis are doable.

I'm still not quite sure HOW to do this effectively. My Main concern is the amount of profile drag i would get from having two long, thick planks sticking out. My guess is that having them laying horizontally on either side of the bike, and sticking out the back, would be best.

Have any of you ever ridden your XJ with a bike or anything large and wind-prone? Was it hard to handle?

Any other suggestions?

 

LOL

 

http://www.surferpeg.com/
Might give you some ideas.I'd prefer a trailer myself[God cant believe I said that].It's taken me 20yrs to concede that a top box or panniers might be of enough use to make up for how bad they look.

 

would that be legal?

 

Ok, nobody freak out, but I once carried a rifle on the side of my bike when I was moving a few years back. I straped it to the side, in a case and unloaded, and did not have any problems at all.

 

you could wake up with a crowd around you doing that.

 

Yeah, don't think I will do that one again. Didn't think anything about it at the time. Guess I have grown up a bit.

 

Legality well thats a whole other question.Heard they just made it illegal to let your dog ride on the tank or pillion anyone under 8 in New South Wales.Had a dog used to ride with me many years ago and she loved it!If I had photos I would add them to your xj bitches thread wizard.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117195
http://www.carversurfracks.com/
Couple more that might be useful just to keep it on topic.
Let us know how you go,be a lot of people interested I think.

 

Sorry double post

 

When I hit the road ... I strap on the Leather Saddlebags.

If it don't fit in the Saddlebags; it ain't coming!
And, ... I can really stuff those Saddlebags!

 

wow, that surfboard stuff is crazy...
that gives me enough confidence to give it a try....it may take at least a few weeks, but i'll let you guys know if i do it!
Thanks!

 

My family laughed when I read them this initial post because, Yes, I once did this. I believe it was on my 80 440 LTD. I used a PVC pipe that I affixed to the sissybar using clamps.

The onnoying part of the setup was the moving around the skis did during turns. Because of this I had some problems with fatigue on the clamps. They broke acouple of times.

This setup did last for one spring skiing season in New Hampshire making several trips to Pinkham Notch for a hike to Tuckerman Ravine and even a trip over to Mount Mansfield in Vermont.

I think if I were to do it again I would fabricate a rack that would start in the area of the rear foot peg and angle back to afix to the cargo rack. This would mean that the skis would hang over the back some what but wouldn't be hanging in the breeze quite so much.

I think this is an easy do. A little imagination and a little "how to" would have you heading to Loveland Pass in no time.

The Buff

 

I'm a gigging musician (Baroque bass trombone, of all the obscure), and my case is about 120cm / 42 inches long x 15cm / 6" maximum square (tapers to about 8cm / 3" at one end), and weighs about 8 kg / 20lb.

I'm trying to figure out a safe and straightforward way of carrying it on my '82 750 Seca.

I do have full luggage racks with hardshell side and top cases. Wonder if I could mount my case at a 45-degree back-slanting angle on the right side or some such...

SUGGESTIONS?

 

For the musician take one side bag off and find some way to make a new bracket to hold the case and tie into the existing bag mounts.

 

If y'all are worried about sticking skis on the back of an XJ, there's an outfit down near San Diego that's been spamming the local Craigslist page... and they're advertising surfboard racks for scooters. That's right... scooters.

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/mcy/1962264416.html