Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hi Guys,

Pretty new to all this. Got my licence a few weeks ago and just picked up an 06 ZZR 250. Wanted to know where I go and how much I'm looking at to put some sort of rack onto the back of the bike. I was looking a the top boxes but I need to carry about 15KG and they don't seem to hold the weight.

Any information on different racks, locations and pricing greatly appreciated.

hey mate!!

ur best bet is a ventura rack... i believe they come in at around 370 bux no matter what your bike... and that includes a fairly large soft bag that fits onto it...

thereare also gearsack racks, but i havnt looked into them...

cheers

Owen

I had a Ventura rack on my old 250. If you're keeping it awhile make the investment in the Ventura, otherwise look at the soft (oxford) sports panniers. Personally I don't like the Givi systems, think they look ugly.

We've got a Ventura on the 250 and a GearSack on the 1100. The GS kills the V in every way. Just my humble opinion.

Tiger wrote:Hi Guys,

but I need to carry about 15KG and they don't seem to hold the weight.

If you're carrying more than 10kg, it's worth following the instructions and carrying the bag backwards (pointing forwards, if you know what I mean), so the seat carries most of the weight. Plus it's carried forward, which helps handling.

Try wreckers for racks - way cheaper. You may struggle to get a matching bag but once you've got the rack you can compromise with backpacks etc.

And you can't go past the Aldi Tank bag currently on sale.

If 15 kgs is the regular weight you will be carrying and it can be divided evenly then panniers should be considered. The Oxford soft panniers are excellent and ideal. The reasoning behind this is to keep that weight low and close to the centre of the bike. Placing that amount of weight towards the rear of the bike on a rack will affect stability and handling - not by a great deal but will affect it none the less. By reversing the rack so as the bag / rack faces towards the front is only a compromise in something that is a poor design Soft panniers are definitely the solution you are looking for as they will cater to your needs in commuting and will be easily removable on the weekend.
Gearsack type racks place the weight high and rearward of the rear axle. Defeating all that the all engineers have attempted to overcome in designing a motorcycle - Harley's excluded
I dislike Gearsacks / Ventura racks. My 2c

Just another opinion , Ventura type racks are great . Sure the weight is up high but 15kg when turned around and sitting like a pillion is nothing . I have the large Ventura bag that has the expanding top section and it has been great . There have been no rub marks on the paintwork and never had an issue with worrying about something being loose . Side pockets are easily accessed for small stuff like house keys , phone , wallet etc .
The Ventura bag removes easily when you want to and is great at the supermarket , beats the shit out of those green enviro bags .
I have had way more than 15kg in mine for long trips and know of a certain KSRC chick who takes that amount in just makeup and hair product
Throw over saddle bags suck And tank bags annoy me when riding with the extra worry of scratching the paint . When you update bikes you can just change the rack , and if you are lucky may have to only get the side rails if the centers are the same . ZZR 250 centers are the same as 01 ZX9 .

Wobbly and the Kid got me thinking. Commuting to work I'll chuck the bag on back to front. The Eastern freeway isn't the best riding to be had in Melbourne so the influence on the GPz's dynamics isn't that noticeable, and the convenience of grabbing the bag, putting the shoulder strap on and carrying it around is good. If I'm going anywhere more interesting I'll use the throw over panniers; I've put on some of the clear paint protector film (Skinz?) from Autobarn to stop the flanks getting scuffed by the bags. If I'm going away for a week, and we have to use both (2 adults, 2 children, 2 bikes = excess crap to carry) we'll put light stuff (shoes and coffee plunger) in the bag, and heavier stuff in the panniers. It's all a compromise, I suppose.

If you're looking at going away and taking lots of stuff you could also look at bags from Andystraps. They're a small aussie company and the guy is a bike rider himself.

As for carrying lots of stuff on your 250, I have had 2 35L ventura bags and a (small) tankbag on my old 250 on a trip from Penrith to Newcastle via the Putty road, and also from here to Gulgong. Handling was not too badly affected from normal, but it was noticable. As long as you remember the extra weight, and ride accordingly, its fine. You may also need to adjust your tyre pressures too.

Bear in mind if you source your rack from a wrecker, that most bike accidents involve a side impact of some sort (car hits bike, bike hits road etc) and this may affect the structural strength of the side brackets.

Just take what your wearing every where. And if you have to take a bag use hocky straps. Thats what the clips are for. Putting a rack on your bike is degrading to the machine. First thing I did when got my ZZR250 was get clips from the wreckers and took the damnd venture rack off.