ClassicMotorcycleMechanicsJune2020

(Jacob Rumans) #1

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Tall top-box tales!


I’m firmly of theopinion that every
bike needsatop-box fi tted as soon
as possible.Adding30-40 litresof
storagespace lets me carrycamera
gear,spare ri ding kit, locks,
emergencyshopping,and plenty of
other useful kit. It serves as asafety
backrest forwhen Itakethe kids
outonthe bike from time to time
–plus, Ilovedumping my lidand
jacketinsidewhenIparkup. So as
soon asIpickedupthe mighty FZS,
Iwas stra igh tontothe boxhunt,
as itwere.
Hepcoand Becker mightnot bean
instantlyrecognisable brand toUK
riders,but it’s actually theGerman
firm behindthelegendary Krauser
luggagebrand.Hepcoand Becker

(H&B)has dropped theKrausername,
butits kitretains thesamesolid
Teutonic qualit yand usability. The firm
makesthissport rack/boxcombo for
theFZS600, andit’sprobablythe
easiestone I’ve ever fitted.Remove the
fourbolts hold ingthe stockgrabrai lin
place, swap on theH&B rack,and bolt
on withthe suppliedAllen bolts:
literallyatwo-minutejob.
The boxusesacunning locking
attachmentset up underneath, which
look sstrange at fi rst. But it’s actually
genius, becauseitallowsthe rack to
look much sharperwhen thebox is off.
Somethinglikethe Givi Monokey
system isgreat,but themountin gplate
is pr etty ugly onitsown.This sports
rack,ontheotherhand,isaperfect
match forthe Fazer’s1990s style.
Having said that,Iexpect thebox
will be on forabout 90 percentof
thetime...
My only concernist he minimal weight
rating of therack–5kg is themarked
limit.Iguess th at’s thedownside of the
svelte four-boltmountin grathe rthana
massive triangula tedframework
attachedto thefootpegbracket sand
subframe.I’m happywiththattrade-
offatthe moment, but we’llsee how
things go withthe set up.
*The Hepco&BeckerUKsite is at
https://www.hepco-shop.uk

somedescription,andI’veclearlygota
heapofworkaheadtotidyherup.Having
saidthat,fromadistance(ifyousquinta
bit...)shedoesn’tlookhalfasbad,andI’m
firedupforthenextstage.She’snever
goingtobeaconcoursrenovation,butwe
cangetherlookingmuch,muchbetter
withouttoomuchgriefIreckon.
Cosmeticsapart,I’mkeentoworkona
fewotherareasaswegoalong.I’dliketo
sharpenupthesuspension–thereare
loadsoffirmsmakingcartridgefork


internalswhichareaneasybolt-onupgrade
overthestockdamperroddesign(andI’ll
tidyupthehorridouterstanchionsatthe
sametime).Anewrearshockisprobably
onthelist,too–again,plentyoffirmsoffer
replacements,eitheraperformanceunit
likeÖhlins,oragoodqualityOE-levelpart
fromsomeonelikeYSSorHagon.
I’malsolookingintosomeofthe
‘standard’Fazer 600 chassisupgrades
whichmostofthecognoscentiwillknow
about.Aslightlywiderfrontrim,froma

FZR 400 RREXUP,apparentlygoesstraight
onandletsyoufita 120 / 7017 fronttyre
insteadofthestock 110 / 7017 .Anda
Fazer 1000 rearcaliperfitswithminor
modding,replacingthefranklyrubbish
old-schoolOEcaliperwithaniceblue-spot
chappie(sadlythesearepriceyoneBayat
themoment).
So–alonglist.IfI’mgoingtohaveher
sortedforsummerIbestgeton!Butthe
factIcanridearoundonherforthe
momentisabigstepforward...cmm

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1/The originalrear grab-railneedsto comeoff first.It'seasy to do.2/The baserailsfor thenewsystemgoon: the kit is full of the bits
you needandthey're quality.3/When mounted,thebase sectiongivesyouagrab-rail...4/...and handyrack!5/Top-box fitted: handy
back-rest for pillions.6/Looks great: but stay within the fivekilolimit!

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