Ventura Luggage

[donut]

Has anyone fitted Ventura luggage rails (and racks / grab rail) to their MT07 yet? If so how was the fitting process and did you have to cut anything to get it to fit. Having had Ventura kit on 3 previous bikes I'm keen to use it on the Yam as well but not sure how well it fits or looks so any advice / pics people would be appreciated.

 

[donut]

Well I've ordered the fitting rails today after looking at some pdf fitting instructions and it should just be a case of having to cut a little of the rear plastics away (maybe similar to how some racks are fitted).

Will update when I get them and have had a chance to try and fit in case anyone else wants to go down this route of luggage fitment.

 

[donut]

Right then, finally as promised here are some details and pics of what I had to do in order to fit my Ventura luggage bracket.

For those without a tail tidy it is a little easier and for those with an R&G (I think) tidy this was my solution.

Here is a pic of the easy to fit rails and the not so easy to fit bracket:

View attachment 1811

The front of the rails (out of view in the photo) should be easy to mount to the rear footpeg assembly.
The rear of the rails should also be easy to mount/bolt onto the bracket when it is in place.
Racks and grabrails are then a very simple/easy slot in/out into the rails in the holes at the bottom of the photo.

The 4 holes in the bracket mount to the same location as the original number plate holder / tail tidy bracket which are easy to find once the rear plastics / side panels are removed.

View attachment 1812

The rear plastics (both sides) then need a section to be cut out of them in order to fit the Ventura bracket. I ended up cutting a little more off then the photos show to make my life easier when fitting the bracket.

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On my bike the tube on the rear bracket fouled the tail tidy metalwork that supports the number plate and indicators.
To get it all to fit I had to bend out the legs of the tail tidy and then file the mounting holes into slots to re-align them.
I also had to cut and file a section out of the tail tidy metalwork so that the Ventura rear bracket would sit in the correct position. As the tail tidy only supports the number plate and indicators it doesn't need to be particularly strong as it's not supporting much weight (I hope).

View attachment 1815

I hope this makes sense and that I've not missed out anything important but it should be pretty easy to do if I can do it.
The cut plastics don't show - unless you are in the habit of looking under your bike and even then aren't particularly obvious.

Once done it is easy to remove the rails (and just leave the bracket in place) if you think the rails unsightly but does give a very good method of carrying luggage (in my opinion).

 

[donut]

Suddenly thought that it may be an idea to put up a couple of pics of the finished item. So, here you are, the Ventura rails mounted in place and with the grab-rail attached:

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[bypasser]

Hi Donut. I'm looking at luggage options. How have you found the Ventura setup?
Think it's worth the money?

 

[donut]

Hi Donut. I'm looking at luggage options. How have you found the Ventura setup?
Think it's worth the money?

Definitely worth the money. Probably not the cheapest option but very secure (well into 3 figure speeds) and easy to fit and remove the bags onto the rack and no messing with bungess etc - probably fit or remove the bag/s in under 30 seconds.

The fitting rails are pretty unique to each bike but the racks/grab rails have about 8 different fitments so you may be able to pick the right ones up cheaper on Ebay. The bags obviously fit every rack and again, you may be able to pick up one (or two as some bags zip together to give a larger carrying capacity) secondhand.

There's a ready market for these on Ebay so if you wanted to recoup some of the cost later then that's easy to do.

I'm on my 4th set of fitments having had them on a Firestorm, 955 Speed Triple, 1050 Speed Triple (and now the MT of course) and used them every year going to the Isle of Man TT since I first got them in 2001.

The bags are only shower proof so either buy the storm covers, use bin bags/garden rubbish bags or pack everything inside in plastic bags.

Throw overs are cheaper but this way the bike keeps it's narrow aspect and so quick and easy to use. They don't upset handling and feel a bit like having a light pillion on board.

Hope that helps and just ask if you want/need any other info.

 

[bypasser]

Thanks for the info Donut, appreciated. Especially regarding eBay, I hadn't thought of that stupidly.
I may come back with more questions later