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@dchernikoff avatar
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Vintage Red 2007 GTS, 2022 Mazda Miata soft-top (4-wheel MC)!
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@dchernikoff avatar
Vintage Red 2007 GTS, 2022 Mazda Miata soft-top (4-wheel MC)!
Joined: UTC
Posts: 2162
Location: Palo Alto, CA
UTC quote
Has anyone installed the Vespa non-folding rear rack on their GTS and gotten the OEM top box to fit with it? I ordered one from ScooterWest and got it yesterday. Their website does say "You may have to file or cut down two small protruding holes on the bottom of your original Vespa top case to work with this rack. " But there's no "might" about it, and they aren't "small protruding holes", they're bloody big with a metal insert.

I can grind them down, I guess -- doesn't seem to be any alternative (the Vespa folding rear rack costs more than twice as much!). But I'm wondering if that's going to affect the structural integrity of the box. Plus it looks like the only way to attach the box, once you can get it to fit on the rack, is by drilling a hole in the middle above where there is a threaded hole in the rack. But that section of the box doesn't seem to have any reinforcement to it -- I'm worried the box will flex and fail at that point.

Anyone done this? Am I being a sissy worry-wart here and should just shut up and do it?

Thanks.

-Dan
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@msprygada avatar
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1979 P125x, 2018 GTS Super
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Location: Bay City, MI
 
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@msprygada avatar
1979 P125x, 2018 GTS Super
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Posts: 629
Location: Bay City, MI
UTC quote
Re: GTS non-folding rear rack and TopBox fit
dchernikoff wrote:
Has anyone installed the Vespa non-folding rear rack on their GTS and gotten the OEM top box to fit with it? I ordered one from ScooterWest and got it yesterday. Their website does say "You may have to file or cut down two small protruding holes on the bottom of your original Vespa top case to work with this rack. " But there's no "might" about it, and they aren't "small protruding holes", they're bloody big with a metal insert.

I can grind them down, I guess -- doesn't seem to be any alternative (the Vespa folding rear rack costs more than twice as much!). But I'm wondering if that's going to affect the structural integrity of the box. Plus it looks like the only way to attach the box, once you can get it to fit on the rack, is by drilling a hole in the middle above where there is a threaded hole in the rack. But that section of the box doesn't seem to have any reinforcement to it -- I'm worried the box will flex and fail at that point.

Anyone done this? Am I being a sissy worry-wart here and should just shut up and do it?

Thanks.

-Dan
this is interesting. That rack (which I has seen when looking for a rack for my 300) looks like my S150 rack but the box you have only looks like half of it is correct to fit this rack. So you don't have the center hole to lock the box to the rack? I would just cut them off. I don't think you are going to affect the strength of the box. There is not that much stress on it unless you were loading it with gold bricks.
@gtdespatchcourier avatar
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Molto Verboso
Xevo 250 ie
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Location: Sunshine Coast, Australia
 
Molto Verboso
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Xevo 250 ie
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UTC quote
Maybe if you had this part. It bolts together around the oem gts rack and then you screw the box onto the plastic bit.
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Vintage Red 2007 GTS, 2022 Mazda Miata soft-top (4-wheel MC)!
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@dchernikoff avatar
Vintage Red 2007 GTS, 2022 Mazda Miata soft-top (4-wheel MC)!
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Posts: 2162
Location: Palo Alto, CA
UTC quote
GTdespatchcourier wrote:
Maybe if you had this part. It bolts together around the oem gts rack and then you screw the box onto the plastic bit.
Actually I do have that part -- I have the original folding rear rack, but I'm replacing it because it got bent. It's worth a try to see if I can adapt it -- thanks for the suggestion. But the new rack has tabs that insert into the slots on the topbox, so it may not work with that plastic adaptor. I'll give it a try!

-Dan
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Vintage Red 2007 GTS, 2022 Mazda Miata soft-top (4-wheel MC)!
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@dchernikoff avatar
Vintage Red 2007 GTS, 2022 Mazda Miata soft-top (4-wheel MC)!
Joined: UTC
Posts: 2162
Location: Palo Alto, CA
UTC quote
Re: GTS non-folding rear rack and TopBox fit
msprygada wrote:
this is interesting. That rack (which I has seen when looking for a rack for my 300) looks like my S150 rack but the box you have only looks like half of it is correct to fit this rack. So you don't have the center hole to lock the box to the rack? I would just cut them off. I don't think you are going to affect the strength of the box. There is not that much stress on it unless you were loading it with gold bricks.
There's a flat place in the center of the box that seems to line up with the hole, so it looks like it was put there to enable this. But no hole actually drilled thru, and the plastic is thin there, not reinforced like for the two holes that are there.

Gold bricks? No, alas. Just my wife leaning against the topbox backrest when she rides pillion -- so I'm obligated to say "much more valuable than gold bricks" and NOT to say "and heavier, too"! Razz emoticon

-Dan
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Veni, Vidi, Posti
GT 2.4
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UTC quote
I have no problems mounting the OEM topbox to my FA Italia rack, which looks just like that one. Hope you get it to fit.
@alexbv200 avatar
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2015 Sprint 150 ABS Yellow. 1974 Vespa Rally 200 White, non battery model.
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@alexbv200 avatar
2015 Sprint 150 ABS Yellow. 1974 Vespa Rally 200 White, non battery model.
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UTC quote
Yup.... you are going to have to do some major shaving to make it closest to the seat. it's the only way the plastic Top Case tabs will fit onto the rack while at the same time clearing the cross bar.

I have a client that did it and took some pics.
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@dchernikoff avatar
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Vintage Red 2007 GTS, 2022 Mazda Miata soft-top (4-wheel MC)!
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Vintage Red 2007 GTS, 2022 Mazda Miata soft-top (4-wheel MC)!
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Posts: 2162
Location: Palo Alto, CA
UTC quote
AlexBv200 wrote:
Yup.... you are going to have to do some major shaving to make it closest to the seat. it's the only way the plastic Top Case tabs will fit onto the rack while at the same time clearing the cross bar.

I have a client that did it and took some pics.
Thanks for the pics! So it looks like it's not too bad. I was just going to put the original mounting bolts back in to seal up the holes once I got it on the rack -- what did your client do?

-Dan
@alexbv200 avatar
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2015 Sprint 150 ABS Yellow. 1974 Vespa Rally 200 White, non battery model.
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Posts: 2304
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@alexbv200 avatar
2015 Sprint 150 ABS Yellow. 1974 Vespa Rally 200 White, non battery model.
Joined: UTC
Posts: 2304
Location: Austin, Tx
UTC quote
dchernikoff wrote:
AlexBv200 wrote:
Yup.... you are going to have to do some major shaving to make it closest to the seat. it's the only way the plastic Top Case tabs will fit onto the rack while at the same time clearing the cross bar.

I have a client that did it and took some pics.
Thanks for the pics! So it looks like it's not too bad. I was just going to put the original mounting bolts back in to seal up the holes once I got it on the rack -- what did your client do?

-Dan
Most welcome!
He never drilled holes as he bought the case and the rack new.
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Vintage Red 2007 GTS, 2022 Mazda Miata soft-top (4-wheel MC)!
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Got it installed!
Well I bit the bullet and went ahead and used a cutoff-wheel to remove the "small holes" protruding from the bottom of the top case. The friction of cutting thru the metal inset heated up the metal enough that it melted the plastic around it, and I was able to just pull out the metal insert whole with a pair of needle nose pliers. Then I finished cutting away the plastic, and was able to install the case very easily. To fill the plastic holes (to keep water out), I used this neat stuff called "Sugru". It's "Self-setting rubber" that comes in little packets. You open the packet, knead the playdo-like rubber, form it however you want, and in 24 hours it turns into firm rubber. So I taped over the outside of all the holes, pushed the Sugru in and formed it flush with the inside of the topbox. The next day it had turned into a nice rubber filler that should seal it up nicely. Pics below of how it turned out.

-Dan
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