Not quite an Enclosure question, but relevant to a Series D Comet (replica) naked, does anyone have any experience of fitting Craven Pannier boxes to a D rear frame, I pretty much constantly carry a pillion passenger who probably would reject soft throw over pannier bags whereby she would have to sit on the central connecting strap, also the boxes would need to sit clear of her legs when bent in the sitting position, it looks like a complicated welding job to me, attached to the rear frame, although I would prefer a bolted on arrangement, any previous experience or suggestions would be much appreciated.
SL: Series 'D' Enclosures Craven Panniers
- Thread starter Peter Holmes
- Start date
Thinking aloud here Peter, rather than speaking from experience but if I was to do this my method would be to braze or weld two short lengths of thick walled steel tube to the rear of the 'D' rear down tubes. The panniers would have two spikes, one longer than the other, on the front of the pannier from which would slot into the two tubes. The reason for the spikes being of different lengths would be to allow one spike to enter before the other so that one was not struggling to get four spikes to enter four tubes at the same time. This would give plenty of for and aft stability but one would have to ensure that the top of the pannier frame was rigid enough to prevent lozenging. The whole thing could be taken off or put on in one piece and if there was any danger of loss or theft then something could be designed into the spikes that would prevent removal without tools.
I have in reading old MPH come across references to 'original D panniers' the main clue I have is
"Evidently ex VOC secretary Gerry Malin had the original ex works set (and perhaps the only set)"
I guess someone on here knows more, (Did Phil Primmer make some? were they copies of the works ones?)
"Evidently ex VOC secretary Gerry Malin had the original ex works set (and perhaps the only set)"
I guess someone on here knows more, (Did Phil Primmer make some? were they copies of the works ones?)
PR: Proprietary Items - Craven rack dimensions and drawings
I am sure the small link, at A, is designed to allow fitment to the variations in seat dimensions. Altho pretty close, the seats we fit have all got to be a little different. Along that same line of question or fact finding - The bolted joints at "A" are snugged down tight for no rotation or...
www.vincentownersclub.co.uk
If you don’t want to weld or modify the original frame you might try something like these clamps I used for my Buco bag fitting. They come in various tube sizes, are vibration isolated, and require making a simple backing plate but have worked quite well for me even in my articulated application which tests them severely on rough roads. Admittedly not as neat and pretty as a welded bracket.
I am tending towards the view that whatever one wants to do has already been done by someone else. This came fitted to my big Comet and I suspect that it was made by John Stainton. Only this morning I sorted it out with a view to putting it back on the bike. The bits holding the back up are Craven side arms with Dzus fasteners which I found with it today and whose position will, I assume, become obvious once it’s on the bike. I think that they bolt to my C pillion plates and clamp to the lower Craven side rails.
With Laney Thornton monoshock rear the mudguard or lifting handle bounces up virtually to the underside of the rack.
With Laney Thornton monoshock rear the mudguard or lifting handle bounces up virtually to the underside of the rack.
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Keep this going please as I'm very interested wheater to my sons Rapide or "D" Comet that I'm interested in but do have a set of Black Knight enclosures to fit a single or twin depending on the work involved.
bananaman.
bananaman.
I think it is essential to have the carrying capacity so if the enclosures are fitted I'd go, Neville Higgins, design as someone no doubt still has the moulds. Anyone know who?
Marcus, My own feeling is that different systems are required for the open and enclosed models. On the open models then I think that a man of your talents could do what I suggested above and use two tubes behind each rear tube to take spigots on the pannier frame. However, the enclosed system is able to take a much more streamlined system, more in keeping with the curves of the rear end itself. There are mounting lugs on the inner steel frame which, if I remember correctly have a 1/2" BSF internal thread. On my own bike I drilled through the fibreglass to get access to the top two (one each side) and then made a top carrier that used angled spacers to mount the carrier on those two bolts and it was stopped from rotating backwards by a flat piece on the carrier which sat in front of the fibreglass where the rear of the seat sits. If I was to design full panniers then I would still use the same top mount but use the two lower mounting holes, each side, behind the fibreglass. Rather than drilling through the GRP to get access to these two threaded holes I would make a bracket with a 'U' section. It would have to be curved and about a foot long. This would bolt into the two threaded holes, curve under the lower edge of the GRP. go down under the GRP and then upwards and protrude about half an inch out from the GRP. This would fit into a rubber insulated groove in the base of the pannier. To fit the panier one would just have to lower it onto the curved lower bracket and then put a bolt through the inside of the pannier to screw into the top hole. The GRP could be angled at that spot to ensure that the spacer to distance the pannier off from the GRP was only a tube with parallel ends.
Marcus posted while I was writing the above. I think Dick Sherwin might have the Neville Higgins pannier moulds but to me they could be larger.
I run a pair of black craven golden arrows on my "c" on a bespoke carrier. I recently had an opportunity to get a set of white concorde cravens along with a stelvio topbox, and the mounting locations on the concordes are completely differently located, so its not a simple swap over. Presumably why craven did bolt on clamps as none of their products were naturally interchangeable. While the golden arrow panniers mounts are symetrical so can mount either side, the concordes are asymmetric and differing spacing from the arrows. not even close.