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YZF600r Luggage Mounts
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"Once you go bags, you never go back!"

I recieve a couple of emails or forum private messages every year asking about the custom hard luggage mounts that I had on my Yamaha YZF600r (owned from May 2003 to November 2005).

My luggage mounting brackets were designed for use with a pair of Givi Wingracks (I lucked out and acquired a mismatched set from my local motorcycle accessories store for $90) and any Givi topcase with a generic mount plate made for use on an existing flat rear rack. I used the Givi E450 topcase (~$160), which came standard with an appropriate mount plate included and the E21 saddlbags (~$150/pair).  The brackets weren't the most beautiful, but I hardly ever removed the bags from the bike, so the casual observer couldn't tell that they were homemade.

Anyone with a weekend to spare and some basic tools can fabricate the brackets. Really, all you need is a bench vise and mallet for bending, hack saw for cutting, power drill, and some files to get rid of metal burrs. Safety glasses are probably a good idea as well.

I used a combination of heavy duty steel brackets, aluminum and steel bar stock, generic fender washers, and metric M8 and M6 allen key and hexhead hardware with nylon locking nuts. All of the bracket materials were purchased at Home Depot or Orchard Supply Hardware.

When I sold the YZF600r in November 2005, I removed the luggage mounts and tried to document how they went together, promising that I'd eventually post the pictures on my website. A year later, here they are (with comments beside each photo):

Please keep in mind that this isn't necessarily the BEST way to accomplish hard luggage on the YZF600r. It's just the way that one girl (with a whole lot of Givi-envy, not much money, and some rudimentary tools) did it.

	The wingrack is supported at 3 points. Two are shown here. The front mount is a heavy steel angle bracket. The bracket was slid in under the front mount for the grab bar and bolted down with a slightly longer metric bolt, purchased at a hardware store. No modifications were required to the bracket as purchased. The rear mount is part of the transverse bar across the back of the bike,
	Visible is the front  attachment point for the wingrack. A custom bracket was bent from steel bar stock in a vise and holes drilled for mounting. I used the rear mount point of the passenger pegs and the frontmost hole on the wingrack. The stock bolt on the passenger peg mount was more than thick enough to be used here.
	The whole apparatus from the rear. Not pretty, but functional. I gave all the parts a coat of truck bed liner paint at one point. If i did it all again, I'd probably just stick with basic black paint. You can see lots of wires running back and forth. I had the saddlebags wired with 3-wire running/signal lights for extra visibility as well as a brake light on the top case.
	More information on the top case bracket is visible here. There were two transverse brackets supporting the top case. The rear-most transverse bracket was two long pieces of steel bar bolted to two mount points on the wing rack and running to the rear of the bike, with a bent steel  transverse "bridge" going between them.
	Another side-rear view of the wingrack mounting. Here you can see the front transverse bridge. I probably should have trimmed it... but temporary things that just work are sometimes hard to work up the enthusiasm to mess with.
	Another side view. The lower part of the wingrack *just* clears the turn signal in stock position. I seem to recall needing to bend the front transverse bridge out a little more to make sure the whole wingrack cleared (this clearance issue is also visible in the shot right above)
	Clear view from the top. Don't mind my rat's nest... I'm kinda into electrical farkles and gadgetry.
	With the generic Givi mounting plate laid on top. It looks like I had already removed the mounting bolts for this picture.
	Aaaaand with the mounting plate removed. One thing important to notice here is that the front transverse bracket is actually two pieces. You have the main piece which goes all the way across and is bent down at each side to provide a mount point for the wingrack. The other piece is shorter and has 4 holes. It basically acts as a large washer for the two bolts that attach it to the bike. The other two holes have upside down bolts in them for attachment of the Givi mounting plate.
	A detail view of the front transverse bracket attachment to the bike. Again, I used the solid mounting points for the grab bars. The not so wonderful part of the install is shown here: you have to drill a hole in the small rear fairing piece that bridges the gap between the two rear side fairings. Then 2 extra long nuts act as spacers, elevating the transverse bracket above the grab bars. Once again, long metric bolts available at any hardware store screw down into the existing grab bar mount points. BTW - I replaced the fairing piece before selling the bike for no more than $30 shipped from a major online OEM parts provider.
	A view of the front transverse bracket with the top plate removed and laid on the fairing to see how it goes together. Fender washers were great as spacers. I think my original rear transverse bracket ended up being too low, so I shimmed the Givi mount plate up with a stack of fender washers - which left an impression visible on the black paint of the rear transverse bracket.

If these photos and commentary helped you put together a set of brackets for hard luggage for your YZF600r, please let me know or send me some pictures to post! Please don't hesitate to email me with any questions or comments you think might enhance this photo series.

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