Attaching Shad 29 topcase

[NicoDuval]

Hey, everyone.  I have had my agility for about a year now.  I recently got a shad 29 topcase and I can't figure out a good way to attach it.  I've been searching the internet for ideas when I found this site.  I plan to spend a good amount of time on here since I love my agility.

As for the topcase, I can't use the brackets that come with it because you need 2 rails about 2 inches apart to use them.  I've read on other sites that you can drill holes into the existing luggage rack and bolt directly to it, but the plate is pretty small and all the attachment holes in the plate seem to be inside the outside rails and the inside rails seem to be too small to drill into.  My current idea is to bolt 2 flat metal rods to the rack and then bolt the plate to the rods.  Any ideas or advice on the matter would be appreciated.

[mookie]

post a pic of the rack so we can see what's what...

[jprestonian]

I don't recall doing anything special or unusual mounting my Shad 29 to my Agility 125. Of course, when I sold the Agility, I kept the Shad to put on the new People 250, so I'm pretty sure I don't have any photos of the underside... nope, just these.

The plate on mine has a grid, with red plastic spacers which can be placed anywhere in the grid for the placement of the mounting screws and nuts. So for me, it was just a matter of finding the right spots on the grid to attach the hardware. I think I used two on the outer, large bar, and two on one of the smaller crossbars.
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[NicoDuval]

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Here is the picture of the rack , the plate and one of the brackets that came with the case.  According to the directions, the bracket should be against 2 bars or you can not use the brackets if your rack already has holes for the bolts.  Jprestonian (a.k.a. kymco jones), did you just use the brackets and attach to only one bar?  I thought about that, but I really don't want to have the thing flying off while i'm riding down the road, especially if my fiance is leaning against the backrest.

[jprestonian]

I'm going from memory, but the following graphic shows the approximate placement of the mounting brackets when I installed the Shad case on my Agility.
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[jprestonian]

As a caution, I would advise a passenger to NOT lean against the topcase. I would not count on four bolts through plastic to be "load-bearing." Touching it would be fine, but I wouldn't depend on it to support even a reclining position.
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[NicoDuval]

Thanks, I attached it.  I might try to figure out a way to reinforce the plate before I put the backrest on.  Or maybe I wasted money by buying a backrest that is primarily just for show.

[jprestonian]

Well, the backrest will be more comfortable, no doubt... I'd just caution passengers not to lean back on it. Ideally, they should either be gripping you, or the rack, and ready to lean side-to-side, as you do, in turns... and NOT leaning back against the topcase. I don't think you can make that plastic secure enough to safely support an adult leaning back on it. It may not fail immediately, but it probably will, at some point. That's too risky for my tastes.

I'm sure you could find a "sissy bar" seat or rack attachment that would be all metal, and more capable of supporting a passenger's leaning against it, if that's what you need, though.
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