Well here's what I came up with. I've been thinking about this for quite some time and couldn't come up with a solution I liked. I consider Ron Smith's pillion shelf but didn't really want to fork the cash for it. I may in the future for a fuel cell mount but for now I just wanted a level surface to carry a small cooler and my hydration system without having to constantly adjust things while I was riding. Plus anything I did seem to rub on something. It isn't a solid mount since it rests on the pillion but I hauled 30lbs of lawn treatment on it home from the hardware store so it holds more than I need it to. I don't think this is the final solution but I'll try it out on my Denver ride at the end of the week.
Luckily I had some of the things I used but I'll give a list of the materials here.
3: NDS composite plastic landscaping grates (24" x ~4") (Big home store, Menards)
10ft: 1/2" PVC piping (needed: ~78")
5ft: 2" PVC piping (needed: ~15", read article for sizing)
4: 1/2" corner pvc pieces
4: 1/2" T pvc pieces
15: 8" Cable Ties
2: 11" Cable Ties
2: 5" Cable Ties
4ft: 1" Web Strapping
1: 1" Web Strapping Buckle
1: 1" Web Strapping Slider
2: Brass Grommets
2: 1" D-Rings (with tabs on them if possible)
2: 3/4" x 4" strips of stainless steel (for D-Ring tabs if neccessary)
1ft: Wrap around type velcro (not sure of the official name of it)
Thick Non-Slip Padding (16" wide x 12" length) (Toolbox drawer type padding)
Tools:
Hacksaw
Allen wrenches
Socket Set
Sandpaper
Drill (may be optional)
Hammer (use for intended purposes)
Side cutters
Tape Measure
Grommet Kit
Lighter (to melt web strapping)
Scissors
Basically you can put the shelf together pretty easy just by looking at the pictures. Construct the 1/2" PVC tubing into a frame that will support the 3 composite pieces. I made the frame wide in the middle so it would be wider than the pillion so that I could later put the 2" PVC piece in between the framing supports to get the most stability across the pillion.
Framing: 1/2" PVC pieces
2: 15" pieces
4: 2" pieces
4: 10" pieces
After constructing the frame I cable tied the composite pieces to the framing. Before cable tieing the back of the frame I cut two strips of non-slip padding and wrapped them around the frame where it would rest on the passenger handles. I used 2 small 5" cable ties to secure strips to the framing. Then I finished cable tieing the back of the frame to the composite piece.
I then cut a 15", 2" PVC piece and wrapped it in non-slip padding. I used 2 11" cable ties to secure it to the front third of the shelf. Since the rear of the shelf is supported by the passenger handles I just needed something to support the front of the shelf to keep it somewhat level. You could play with a bigger piece of tubing if you don't have any extra padding on the pillion like I do. You could use a bigger tube or wrap more padding around it to give it more size.
Once the shelf was assembled I was still a little stumped on how to secure it to the bike. I don't think this battle is finished yet. I decided to run a 1" strap through the 2" PVC pipe with a buckle on it to fasten it down. I put a slider adjustment on one side to make it adjustable and I then also don't need to sew any of the strapping. The strap from the left side goes almost all the way through the tube and then I fasten the buckle then pull the strap on the right side to tighten up the strap. I had a brass grommet kit so I decided to put a grommet on each strap so that I could run the mounting bolts for the passenger handrail through the grommet and secure it under the seat. Now the strap can run out from under the seat without rubbing on the blue side covers. Also the straps can be stowed under the seat when the shelf is removed.
The last challenge was a way to secure the rear of the shelf. Not sure I have this one right either but what I have will work for now. I took two D-Rings and fashioned tabs for the D-Rings out of scrap pieces of stainless steel. I think you can find D-Rings with the tabs on them but I wasn't able to find the ones I was looking for so I improvised. The tabs have holes drilled in them big enough so the mounting bolts for the rear shelf can go through them and fasten them down to the rear shelf. Then I just used some of that velcro that you can wrap onto itself to secure the shelf to the D-Rings. Again it isn't the best but it does hold it tight enough that it won't be an issue for me. Those bolts are a pain to remove but a 1/4" ratchet and a 13mm socket seem to work. There is a bushing on the bolt that will fall out the bottom so lay a towel in there to catch them or you might end up having to remove the rear fender.
The nice thing about all this is that nothing is glued, nailed, or screwed together yet it will hold solid for what I need it for and I can modify it as needed in the future. It still allows full access to the saddlebag releases and can be easily removed. If you try this out and it doesn't work out you can cut the cable ties and return the composite grating pieces to get your money back. Then you're only out about $10-$15 for all the other stuff. You could probably put this whole thing together in about 2 hours if you have everything you need. The cost for me was about $40. If you have to buy everything you might be around $50. You could use a washer instead of grommets but beware it may not hold very well after a while.
Hope the pictures help clear some of this up.
Curt
Luckily I had some of the things I used but I'll give a list of the materials here.
3: NDS composite plastic landscaping grates (24" x ~4") (Big home store, Menards)
10ft: 1/2" PVC piping (needed: ~78")
5ft: 2" PVC piping (needed: ~15", read article for sizing)
4: 1/2" corner pvc pieces
4: 1/2" T pvc pieces
15: 8" Cable Ties
2: 11" Cable Ties
2: 5" Cable Ties
4ft: 1" Web Strapping
1: 1" Web Strapping Buckle
1: 1" Web Strapping Slider
2: Brass Grommets
2: 1" D-Rings (with tabs on them if possible)
2: 3/4" x 4" strips of stainless steel (for D-Ring tabs if neccessary)
1ft: Wrap around type velcro (not sure of the official name of it)
Thick Non-Slip Padding (16" wide x 12" length) (Toolbox drawer type padding)
Tools:
Hacksaw
Allen wrenches
Socket Set
Sandpaper
Drill (may be optional)
Hammer (use for intended purposes)
Side cutters
Tape Measure
Grommet Kit
Lighter (to melt web strapping)
Scissors
Basically you can put the shelf together pretty easy just by looking at the pictures. Construct the 1/2" PVC tubing into a frame that will support the 3 composite pieces. I made the frame wide in the middle so it would be wider than the pillion so that I could later put the 2" PVC piece in between the framing supports to get the most stability across the pillion.
Framing: 1/2" PVC pieces
2: 15" pieces
4: 2" pieces
4: 10" pieces
After constructing the frame I cable tied the composite pieces to the framing. Before cable tieing the back of the frame I cut two strips of non-slip padding and wrapped them around the frame where it would rest on the passenger handles. I used 2 small 5" cable ties to secure strips to the framing. Then I finished cable tieing the back of the frame to the composite piece.
I then cut a 15", 2" PVC piece and wrapped it in non-slip padding. I used 2 11" cable ties to secure it to the front third of the shelf. Since the rear of the shelf is supported by the passenger handles I just needed something to support the front of the shelf to keep it somewhat level. You could play with a bigger piece of tubing if you don't have any extra padding on the pillion like I do. You could use a bigger tube or wrap more padding around it to give it more size.
Once the shelf was assembled I was still a little stumped on how to secure it to the bike. I don't think this battle is finished yet. I decided to run a 1" strap through the 2" PVC pipe with a buckle on it to fasten it down. I put a slider adjustment on one side to make it adjustable and I then also don't need to sew any of the strapping. The strap from the left side goes almost all the way through the tube and then I fasten the buckle then pull the strap on the right side to tighten up the strap. I had a brass grommet kit so I decided to put a grommet on each strap so that I could run the mounting bolts for the passenger handrail through the grommet and secure it under the seat. Now the strap can run out from under the seat without rubbing on the blue side covers. Also the straps can be stowed under the seat when the shelf is removed.
The last challenge was a way to secure the rear of the shelf. Not sure I have this one right either but what I have will work for now. I took two D-Rings and fashioned tabs for the D-Rings out of scrap pieces of stainless steel. I think you can find D-Rings with the tabs on them but I wasn't able to find the ones I was looking for so I improvised. The tabs have holes drilled in them big enough so the mounting bolts for the rear shelf can go through them and fasten them down to the rear shelf. Then I just used some of that velcro that you can wrap onto itself to secure the shelf to the D-Rings. Again it isn't the best but it does hold it tight enough that it won't be an issue for me. Those bolts are a pain to remove but a 1/4" ratchet and a 13mm socket seem to work. There is a bushing on the bolt that will fall out the bottom so lay a towel in there to catch them or you might end up having to remove the rear fender.
The nice thing about all this is that nothing is glued, nailed, or screwed together yet it will hold solid for what I need it for and I can modify it as needed in the future. It still allows full access to the saddlebag releases and can be easily removed. If you try this out and it doesn't work out you can cut the cable ties and return the composite grating pieces to get your money back. Then you're only out about $10-$15 for all the other stuff. You could probably put this whole thing together in about 2 hours if you have everything you need. The cost for me was about $40. If you have to buy everything you might be around $50. You could use a washer instead of grommets but beware it may not hold very well after a while.
Hope the pictures help clear some of this up.
Curt
Attachments
Last edited:
