Looking for opinions re. the 1200 project bike.

[John Schmidt]

A little history first, I refer you to the pics below. I wanted a trunk and/or a carrier of some sort for my Valkyrie. I didn't want an I/S trunk since that would have it sitting waaaaay out in back beyond the fender and frankly didn't serve my purpose. So, after much thought, I bought a NOS GL1100 trunk mount and cut it down to mount over the rear axle(I've had to ride alone since about 2002 so no need of a corider seat). Then picked up 3 rather rough trunks for a few $$ each and made one good one out of them. After some additions/modifications, plus The Mountain Man's magic touch with paint, you see the finished product in the second picture. So here's the thing with that setup....with three bolts I can install/remove the rack in just minutes. If all I want is a solid carrier without the trunk, I simply leave the trunk off since it merely snaps into place via a locking apparatus and is easily removed. If I want to travel, slap the trunk on, pack & ride. It has about the same volume as the I/S trunk. With it sitting over the rear axle, it handles like a dream fully loaded.

Now to the 1200, first understand....I have set it up to be used as a solo bobber type bike. That didn't leave the rider with any method to carry anything or travel with luggage unless I did something similar to what I did with the Valk. With that in mind, I picked up a NOS trunk mount for a 1200 and it's flawless in appearance. I've cut down the length on it so it sits over the rear axle, and it can be used as a carrier of whatever you like or....mount either a 1200 or aftermarket trunk on it for extended travel. Adapting it so it can be easily installed/removed with just two nuts and two bolts is becoming a bit of a hassle, I'm beginning to wonder if it's even something I should consider adding to the bike. I'm at a point where I can finish it or leave it as is, for me....I hate leaving something undone but as I mentioned, I'm wondering if I'm carrying my work too far. It would certainly make the bike more versatile with the mount in place if needed, or if you're just looking for transportation....take it off until it's needed.

This picture gives you an idea of how I have the trunk mount adapted to the Valk. It's solid as a rock and has been used to just carry "stuff" when not traveling.


This picture shows the finished product. I hadn't planned to provide the trunk on the 1200, just the mount so the buyer can furnish a trunk of his own taste. Maybe I should so it would be complete.


So, am I doing too much for a future rider that may/may not have need of a carrier? Or, since I have only $54 invested so far and already have all the materials in my "stash" should I go ahead and finish it. It will involve some welding(don't look too close a my bead please), cutting, drilling, etc., but will look good when done. I had a professional painter do the side covers and rear fender, done to match the '99 Tourer tank I have mounted. It looks killer. If I were to find a good trunk, I'd probably have him do a repaint to match the rest of the bike. That would mean an additional investment of a couple hundred dollars. Is it worth it, I'll never get all my money back on what I have invested in the project so total spent has become moot. Besides, I got it as a basket case to have something to do when I couldn't leave the house for extended periods due to my wife's health. It has served that purpose quite well, but now has become a "love/hate" issue: I'd love to be done with the bike, and hate the fact that I'm not.  

[Colin]

John

I have followed this build with interest and am looking forward to seeing the final finished pictures.

My take on this is don't invest the hours in something that you will not benefit from, also your future purchaser may not need a trunk. Depending on how he uses the bike he may well only go for local rides and not need / want the trunk so all your hard work will be wasted.

Call this a finished project and move on to the next one 

My 2c FWIW.

[Jess from VA]

I'm with Colin.  I'd finish the bobber as a bobber.  I'd think most potential bobber buyers would not be interested in a trunk (but they might be interested in a general purpose rear rack, to bungee stuff to).  When they come to look, show them the trunk and offer it to them (as is) for some additional money (what you have in it).  If they love the trunk and wish it was mount ready, give them a price to make it mount ready.   

Also remember that a percentage of bike buyers have SO's to deal with, and some SO's are going to want to be able to ride on a back seat or are not going to give the blessing for the purchase at all.  (An easily removable back seat may be more of a selling feature than a trunk.) 

Put another way, I think the average bobber buyer is not going to be interested or appreciative of the time and effort necessary to make a truck work and mount and match the bike, and if bolted on at time of sale could actually hurt your chances of selling. 

Unless you're building this for yourself, then do what YOU want, not what your average buyer will want.

Also, I understand there is a certain amount of occupational therapy involved in such a project, so if the satisfaction from your efforts is worth the return in creative energy, do what you enjoy.

My 6-time used (new) Toro mower just stopped running.  After a half hour of chasing the usual suspects with no success, my fun meter is pegged (so is my anger meter). 

[Willow]

...
Unless you're building this for yourself, then do what YOU want, not what your average buyer will want.
...

My take on this is that John is (has been) building this for himself, not to ride but to provide.

John, do what will give you the most sense of accomplishment (pride?).  When you do sell it you will feel it is sold complete.  Go to some effort to sell it to someone who will appreciate it in the way you do.

Nice job.  When we do something to "keep ourselves busy" it's just doubly pleasurable when it turns out that well.

P.S.  (Sell it to someone from a distance so you won't see how he treats it after it's his.) 

[John Schmidt]

Thanks for the thoughts, all are appreciated and I understand fully the thinking behind them. One thing I forgot to add....this area is blessed(?) with three major institutions of higher(?) learning. One thing I've noticed is there are a lot of scooters and small bikes running around the area. Many, if not most, have no means of carrying anything other than in a backpack strapped to the rider, a dangerous practice at best. That is what was in the back of my alleged mind when I approached the idea of adding a trunk mount. As I stated, I can just set it up with the bare mount which can be used to carry whatever. Then if the new owner desires a trunk, let him be the deciding factor and I'll not even bring it up. I'd probably emphasize the fact I put it on there just to be used as a carrier and demonstrate how easy it is to remove. Then as an "afterthought" let them know it "probably would be easy to mount a trunk".....

Willow is correct in that this project has provided many hours of therapy, interspersed with some major frustration at times. 

[Roidfingers]

To make it easier to install and remove, instead of a hole in the mount, cut a notch out in the hole where all you have to do is loosen the nuts, remove and then retighten.

[John Schmidt]

To make it easier to install and remove, instead of a hole in the mount, cut a notch out in the hole where all you have to do is loosen the nuts, remove and then retighten.

Roid, that sounds like what you do to an I/S trunk mount to facilitate removal/installation. This application I'm talking about isn't anything like an I/S setup, and neither is the setup on my Valk. I have the standard fender side rails used on the Tourer and Std.(except mine are Cobras).