A rack for going places, after a big trip to Norwich

Tim sent me a rack that was surplus to his requirements. Cool. I'd been on a big trip with my son earlier in the summer. We went to Norfolk for a weekend; a 500 mile round-trip from Somerset. It was wet but lots of fun, including a stop at an american diner. I'm guessing it was a relic or tribute to the American airmen of the Mighty Eighth in World War II.

Although I'm pleased to say Ruby revelled in the journey, easily settling into fast cruise mode, it was a bit of a squeeze for us. 

We managed with throw-overs and a tank bag. He was sandwiched between a tent on one side (blue package in the pictures above) and our roll mats (black package) on the other. The throwovers were OK but did rub on the rear indicators and it wasn't easy to secure the bungees for the bags without catching the paintwork. So I was really pleased when Tim said he had a rack going spare. 

The rack fixes to four sturdy points on the Triumph's rear subframe. These are all to M8 captive nuts: two intended for the grab rail and two for the tubular steel exhaust/pillion peg hanger.

I'd already made use of the right-hand exhaust hanger to mount my Scott Oiler so wasn't sure if I'd have to relocate it. No problem, as it turned out, because there is actually quite  a lot of space available behind the Mark 1 rear panels. 

Unfortunately, it was not easy to bolt the rack in place because it had to fit over the rear panels, but the rear panels restrict access to the bolt for the exhaust hanger. Nothing that patience couldn't solve but still, it was a fiddly business. 

Access to the retaining bolts was very tight

The rack is now firmly in place and I think it makes a tidy addition to the bike. As ever, beauty is in the eye of the beholder so your opinion may differ.