Modern Vespa

I've been looking at lots of rear racks for my P200. The BBQ rack is close to what would suit my needs till I saw oopsclunkthud's black one made by CSA. I especially like the rear supports being vertical and tieing in with the license plate bolts. My plan is to refine that design but keep it strong and easy to remove.

OK Patrick, I'm ready for some pics and dimensions. Let me know what else would make this better for you as well. I'm already thinking some tie down points.

some pictures of the construction and materials

The front and rear edges as well as the three cross bars and the two uprights are made from 1/2" square tubing with a .049 wall thickness

The two supports that run lengthwise are 5/8" square tubing with .049 thickness

the sides are channels that slide over the 1/2" tube.

Got a bulk of the reverse engineering of the rack done. Need to firm up some measurements and move onto the mounts and bolt holes before creating the drawings.

Looks very rugged and functional. And less blingy. Should be straightforward to make. The only thing I wouldn't be able to do is bend tubing, but there are ways around that. I have a BBQ rack with no backrest. Don't think the backrest is that useful unless riding 2 up.

I've been staring at the pics and noticed the tubing isn't connected on the sides underneath the channel. I don't see how the channel is fastened to the rack unless welded underneath. I like how the rack sits lower on the scoot than the BBQ style. Do these racks require a longer rear seat post?

Better shot of the channel with a flash.

I had always assumed it was spot welded in places but don't really see that. Could be silver soldered.

no need for a taller seat post, it mounts with a bit of sheet steel. I think the original was welded in an H shape but I made one from an old saw blade.

Would probably be good to narrow/widen the sides a bit so the rubber bumpers of the seat rest fully on the frame or the bracket. as is it's about half and half.

I just realized how massive your rack is. Think that's the biggest I've seen. Yours definitely needs the seat plate enlarged to pick up the rubber bumpers. Love the saw blade!

I like the idea of square tubing. It's easier bending round tubing but I'm on the hunt for a good square tubing bender. Kinky tubes are unexceptable.

Mine will also be used for holding the scoot down for transport in the plane. I've got a good idea for a stronger fender plate to support the rack as well.

scrapped the paint off one of the joints and first inspection makes me think it is silver soldered.

I finished the measurements, holes, and mounting bracket designs. the rack itself now matches the original.

so... do you want to tweak it?

* the uprights could be moved 1/2" closer together
* the rack could be made smaller in width or length (I was thinking it'd be cool to take one cross bar out and make it 4" shorter)
* Start over with round bar
* the way the uprights connect to the lower mounting bracket could be way cleaner
* other?

I think I have an old Ulma wide body rack in storage, I'll take a look tomorrow (just for inspiration)
The rack on the rear of my S2 TV is round bar and bolts together. I'll grab some pictures of that as well.

If the sides were kept as channel, you could make up two (or more) different size racks that slotted into the channel and bolted into position. The removable rack would include the three cross bars, the rear bar with rounded corners, and the "inner side" rails that slip into the channels.

Good one Ginch. I was thinking if someone needed a longer rack at times 5/8 tubing on the sides would interface with 1/2 tubing for a slide out end piece secured with pins. The convertible rack.

No turning back now, ordered a bender. Starting with square tubing. I can purchase another set of dies for round as well. Won't be at a lose either way. This bender will come in handy for my job too.

Mild steel tubing is really inexpensive and I'll start there first. I would really like to go stainless when production gets sorted. It will probably be a draw on price with steel without the added cost of painting. My boss is going to love seeing racks hanging in the paint booth! 🤣

what radius dies are you getting?

As is, inside radius is 1.5" but I could change it.

Great job on the illustration! I see now that your rubber seat bumpers should be on your frame and not on the bracket. Since we're crime partners on this rack I'm making you one to your specs so design yours the way you want. Mine will be a little different for the P but the same ballpark. That'll give me plans for both if someone wants one. The rack for my GS will be a one off.

The dies only come in 2 inch centerline radius for square and round tubing. Would that equal 1.5 inside radius?

You could also make different bolt on support brackets to carry different kinds of cargo.

Here's the drawing set for the standard CSA Rack.

The Seat Mount, Lower Mount, and Sides can all be laser cut and bent by SendCutSend and could be changed to allow fitting the rack to other bikes.

Figured it'd be best to get the default drawings done before making any modifications.

Wow, you're something else! No guessing now! Great job. If you need any mods for your needs let me know.

Now that I have the basic design done, I've started on a shorter version for what I think would be ideal for my Rally.

Amazing progress. Nice work.

Are you sticking with the same width but shorter? I think the support piece for the uprights needs more verticle surface area. It can be extended lower under the license plate and not be such a thick piece of material. Light is best but not in trade for strength. There was a couple other ideas I had, I'll remember them later.

Oh, here's one. Did you want a painted steel rack? Single stage black? Got plenty of that. I'm not a big fan of powder coating.

That's a lot nicer than I was thinking! Looks great.

This showed up yesterday. I'm excited to use it today. Build quality is excellent. Mittler Bros # 950.

Boom! This bender rocks. First 90. It doesn't look 90 in the pic cause the camera angle but smooth bend using 1/2" square .049 wall. Definitely getting the 1/2" round dies next.

Got the hang of the bender without scrapping any tubing.🤣 This one is 16x13.5. I picked up this plate for a Rally that used a BBQ rack. Your dimensions line up with this one so I have an easy pattern after I flatten out the rear bend. I like having the one piece top instead of bridging the sides with channel like the original. It was probably easier for them to make that way.

Right on Rob - looking great!

Thought I would have the top done and realized I mistakenly cut one cross bar the wrong way. Oh well, need to get some more tubing anyway. I'm liking your revised sized rack Patrick. Done for today.

That's fine work. Mittler bros make nice stuff. I remember coveting their bead roller, but still slumming it with my HF model.

Beautiful work so far! Next up?


Rob, have you heard of the very practical 'Madrid' rack?
Very sought after and repops are crap so it's apparently expensive & hard to find a good old one. Look here: Vespa Rally Madrid Rack

I love the look of a Madrid rack. Too bad they don't work with a tractor light. Maybe someone will start making them to fit a P?

That's a cool rack. Little bit more involved but totally doable. A couple here and there for my bros can be done. Only negative is the price of supplies and shipping. Getting outrageous these days. Selling one to make a profit is out of the question. I would just break even and settle for a buddy to be extremely happy with a quality custom rack as my payment. 😁 After this rack is dialed, going to make a custom stainless round tube one for the GS. That rack is integral to transporting places in the plane without scratching the paint!

Been researching the Madrid. It's definitely a sleek and sexy rack. Can't stand the suction cup pads resting on the frame. Would be much better and not difficult to incorporate downtubes that tie into the the license plate mount. I think one could be made to work with the tractor light.😉

If you decide to take this on I would LOVE be the beta tester, and gladly pay for it!

I never liked the suction cups either and think something to tie into the licence plate would be the way to go.

That's not a rack...

That's a truly impressive rack! I think that scoot can double as a hearse now!

Messed around a bit with it today.