Forum

[Andy C]

Gunnar - that is very nice.

You have made a really good job.

Well done.

[Gunnar]

Thank you!

[Rattlebattle]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I suppose. To me it all depends what you want from a bike. There are some truly stunning custom creations out there, built by really skilled people. Most are largely unrideable in any meaningful sense. Personally I prefer to modify for function. I have a Triumph Thruxton that, to a casual observer, looks bog standard. It isn’t. The brakes have been improved front and rear. The air intake has been derestricted as has the exhaust. The suspension has been upgraded front and rear. It has been remapped to suit and now goes, stops and handles very well and is massively better than standard.
On the specifics of the mods in the pictures, they do appear to have been well executed but really it’s form over function. The C5 frame is bad enough as it is without making it worse by lengthening the swinging arm and fitting a ridiculously oversize rear wheel and tyre. I’m not surprised you now find it handles well; it’s one of the few good things about these bikes....

[Gunnar]

I fully agree with you Rattlebattle! Whilst I knew all this in theory (me being in the car industry and all...), it has been a surprisingly clear awakening to actually experience it IRL so so speak.

The two major functional improvements I have made are:

1. Replaced the original sprag clutch. It started to fail and I realized that RE actually improved it just after my bike was produced. I bought the improved version from our host.

2. I installed a lithium battery to save some weight. Ha-ha-ha, just kidding! However excellent starting performance now.

Best regards,
Gunnar

[windmill john]

I've already been told off by someone at work for having a top box and rack.

Wait until my Givi panniers racks arrive and then muffs for the winter


John

[Gunnar]

Nice, go for it! After all, isn´t the soul of a Classic to be something of a "Utility Vehicle" (I leave out the "S"...)?

Since I already have excellent bags for my bicycle (Ortlieb), I came up with a very simple solution to attach them to the RE Classic as well. I think it is very well in tune with the soul of RE Classic, but when I showed it in a RE forum, I was met with silcence. So, I guess I was pretty alone seeing the beauty in hanging Ortlieb Classic bags on my RE Classic.

[windmill john]

I made brackets which allow me to attach my Nonfango luggage to Givi frames.
Has worked well for years including trips to Portugal, Germany , Belgium and commuting.
Barney Bodgit is here.....

[Gunnar]

I have to admit that I had to google "Barney Bodgit". I still don´t fully understand it, but if the meaning is to devalue your homemade bracket in any way, I definitely don´t agree! I think that luggage bag providers possibly compete with price on the bags, but will catch up (and some!) on the accessories that you realise you need.

I have attached pictures on my Ortlieb "bracket".

[Rattlebattle]

That's very nice. It looks very much as if it were a genuine RE part! I like Ortleib stuff; I have a roll bag that I have used across the pillion seat on various touring bikes I've had over the years. It has never leaked and is still in amazing condition.

[windmill john]

Yes, nice bags those Ortliebs.

Barney Bodgit, is not strictly correct in my case. They are home made brackets that work absolutely perfectly. I think true Barney Bodgit would be something that is bodge and goes wrong.
So I take it back... look at my superb brackets I’ve made

If I were doing more off road, then soft bags might be considered. But we used to go abroad each year and I preferred the hard cases for security. Well not quite security, but I didn’t want someone cutting a soft bag.

Yours is neater because you can remove all of it, whilst obviously in my case, the brackets stay on the bike.