New Honda Rebel 300 & 500

[anto]

10 hours ago, Ken said:

 

Chang Rai Saddle has some new tail racks for the Rebel.  I just bought one and it looks great IMHO.  At 1500 Baht it sure beats the Honda price for a tail rack of 11,500 Baht.  I want to believe that Honda has made a mistake in the pricing, but that's what they say they want.

 

I think he buys from China .(where else lol )  .Several years ago i bought chrome crash  bars from him for my Honda Phantom  ,which rusted to bits within a year .Maybe just bad luck though .

[Thailaw]

10 hours ago, Ken said:

 

Chang Rai Saddle has some new tail racks for the Rebel.  I just bought one and it looks great IMHO.  At 1500 Baht it sure beats the Honda price for a tail rack of 11,500 Baht.  I want to believe that Honda has made a mistake in the pricing, but that's what they say they want.

 

They want B15,000+ for the tiny back rest/rack combination for my CTX700, so I expect that the B11,500 is correct. Unfortunately, there isn't an aftermarket alternative available for the CTX.

[Richard-BKK]

9 hours ago, anto said:

I think he buys from China .(where else lol )  .Several years ago i bought chrome crash  bars from him for my Honda Phantom  ,which rusted to bits within a year .Maybe just bad luck though .

Chrome parts are not fully protected against corrosion (rust), it’s well known that parts which have powder coating are much more durable and need less maintenance… Chrome parts need at least once a month a treatment with a chrome polish or care product.

 

Yes, some people never use a chrome care product and the chrome parts still look good? It happens, because of environmental reasons it is possible that one motorcycle’s chrome parts show corrosion very quickly and the motorcycle parked next to it keep looking shiny… Things like touching the chrome after you eat some fruit or something else can already influence the chrome coating.

 

Chromium plating is porous. Anything that effectively blocks the pores helps. There have been many recipes, usually consisting of some sort of wax or grease and a solvent.

[watso63]

Well as I mused previously in this thread that fugly exhaust had to be consigned to the shed along with my standard Z300 silencer for company. Well I designed this myself and had it handmade. Man, the thing was too loud so removed the end cap and cut up an old silencer internals down, pressed them into a stainless steel sleeve which had to be lathed down to fit Sounds pretty good now I reckon.

[papa al]

Much better look.!

[Happy Grumpy]

Racks....

 

Be very careful with these backyard produced rear racks.

 

In fact, best to steer clear of them altogether.

 

Only go for racks that come from World reknown and accountable manufacturers. No nameless Chinese stuff or backyard Thai stuff.

 

A rear rack snapping with a box on the back is likely to cause a very ugly scene. If one side snaps it's likely to take out you and the bike.

 

 

[papa al]

Had one break right off with 30 L box

riding rough dirt road in Loas.

Village kids though it was hilarious..

 

 

[Happy Grumpy]

Probably not so hilarious doing 100kph on a main road with a family laden scooter right behind you. 

[watso63]

18 minutes ago, Happy Grumpy said:

Probably not so hilarious doing 100kph on a main road with a family laden scooter right behind you. 

Surely you're not condoning breaking the national speed limit of 90 km/h are you? ?

[papa al]

56 minutes ago, Happy Grumpy said:

Probably not so hilarious doing 100kph on a main road with a family laden scooter right behind you. 

This actually happen?

Maybe you just making it up?

 

[mikebike]

17 hours ago, Happy Grumpy said:

Racks....

 

Be very careful with these backyard produced rear racks.

 

In fact, best to steer clear of them altogether.

 

Only go for racks that come from World reknown and accountable manufacturers. No nameless Chinese stuff or backyard Thai stuff.

 

A rear rack snapping with a box on the back is likely to cause a very ugly scene. If one side snaps it's likely to take out you and the bike.

 

 

Hmmmm... there's a tried and true mechanical test for that. Give the rack a few tugs and have a look at it before you strap anything to it.

 

Can't say that I spend my time dodging all the stuff flying off Thai scooters with baskets and racks that look like they were recovered from 10 yrs in the sea.

[Happy Grumpy]

8 hours ago, papa al said:

This actually happen?

Maybe you just making it up?

I know two posters on this forum that it happened to.

 

One is BKK Tony when he bought his Ninja250 around 2008.

 

The rack lasted about 10km and came off on Sukhumvit. 

 

 

Can get nasty quite quickly with something like that happening - to you and others.

 

When it comes to racks, forget the local made no name stuff with no responsibility on the manufacturers, only go for big named manufacturers where such a thing would be a massive dent in their reputation and sales. 

[Thailaw]

59 minutes ago, Happy Grumpy said:

I know two posters on this forum that it happened to.

 

One is BKK Tony when he bought his Ninja250 around 2008.

 

The rack lasted about 10km and came off on Sukhumvit. 

 

 

Can get nasty quite quickly with something like that happening - to you and others.

 

When it comes to racks, forget the local made no name stuff with no responsibility on the manufacturers, only go for big named manufacturers where such a thing would be a massive dent in their reputation and sales. 

With all due respect, your post is absolute (I would use a stronger word if I know one) nonsense. I worry about tires and brakes, and important structural parts, but I give racks hanging off of the rear of my bike close to "0" thought or concern. I have used the mikebike test for safety -- "give the rack a few tugs and have a look at it before you strap anything to it" -- which is, I think, more than adequate.  I have had an aftermarket rack of the kind pictured that I also bought from Chiang Rai Saddlebags (nice folks) and, while it was not beautiful, it was more than strong enough to support the box bolted to it and everything I could fit inside. The major manufacturers sell rear racks made of heavy plastic, and are certainly not any more structurally sound than welded steel; probably much less. And in Thailand, liability for inadequate design, strength/support of any product is close to "0" -- a few hundred Baht will take care of any problem. And with all of the stuff, big and heavy, strapped to the rear of old bikes with a bungee cord or 2 just waiting to fall off on the first curve, riders have more to worry about than a rack collapsing. The biggest problem is likely overloading any box or rack with too much weight (most have a ridiculously low weight max, around 6 kg., which is how the big manufacturers protect themselves, to the extent that they need to) which will cause the best to fail. And how would the failure of a rack sold by Honda or Yamaha put "a massive dent in their reputation and sales"? Are you serious? Has the failure of a rack made by anyone gotten any news coverage of any kind? So, spend your precious time worrying about real problems rather than manufacturing illusory ones. Next.......

[Nickymaster]

With all due respect, your post is absolute (I would use a stronger word if I know one) nonsense. I worry about tires and brakes, and important structural parts, but I give racks hanging off of the rear of my bike close to "0" thought or concern. I have used the mikebike test for safety -- "give the rack a few tugs and have a look at it before you strap anything to it" -- which is, I think, more than adequate.  I have had an aftermarket rack of the kind pictured that I also bought from Chiang Rai Saddlebags (nice folks) and, while it was not beautiful, it was more than strong enough to support the box bolted to it and everything I could fit inside. The major manufacturers sell rear racks made of heavy plastic, and are certainly not any more structurally sound than welded steel; probably much less. And in Thailand, liability for inadequate design, strength/support of any product is close to "0" -- a few hundred Baht will take care of any problem. And with all of the stuff, big and heavy, strapped to the rear of old bikes with a bungee cord or 2 just waiting to fall off on the first curve, riders have more to worry about than a rack collapsing. The biggest problem is likely overloading any box or rack with too much weight (most have a ridiculously low weight max, around 6 kg., which is how the big manufacturers protect themselves, to the extent that they need to) which will cause the best to fail. And how would the failure of a rack sold by Honda or Yamaha put "a massive dent in their reputation and sales"? Are you serious? Has the failure of a rack made by anyone gotten any news coverage of any kind? So, spend your precious time worrying about real problems rather than manufacturing illusory ones. Next.......

I have been on trips where rear racks snapped and gut stuck between fender and wheel. Very dangerous. Not with my bike. I only use Givi stuff. Only happened with Thai crappy racks. Any serious biker will buy brand name.

 

We all pay attention to tyres, breaks etc. Some forget or don't know the risks of using low quality racks. That's all HG was trying to say. Therefor, in the future, please don't overreact if you read something that doesn't make sense to you.

[papa al]

 

Down the bumpy road

metal rack is over stressed

Givi box fall down.

;-)

Haiku

[Nickymaster]

Lucky it wasn't papa this time

 

 

[Happy Grumpy]

2 hours ago, Thailaw said:

I give racks hanging off of the rear of my bike close to "0" thought or concern.

You haven't a clue about bikes and bike safety then. 

[Happy Grumpy]

2 hours ago, Nickymaster said:

I have been on trips where rear racks snapped and gut stuck between fender and wheel. Very dangerous. Not with my bike. I only use Givi stuff. Only happened with Thai crappy racks. Any serious biker will buy brand name.

 

We all pay attention to tyres, breaks etc. Some forget or don't know the risks of using low quality racks.

Yes, very true.

 

As it happens, I only use Givi racks too. 

 

Crappy Thai racks can (and have) led to very nasty and avoidable accidents. 

 

Don't touch them, go for ones manufactured by World famous companies that will lose a lot by one of their products snapping and taking out family a on a scooter.

 

 

Anyway, back to the product. Saw the Givi side panniers for the new rebel, they look great.

[Nickymaster]

I know two posters on this forum that it happened to.
 
One is BKK Tony when he bought his Ninja250 around 2008.
 
The rack lasted about 10km and came off on Sukhumvit. 
 
 
Can get nasty quite quickly with something like that happening - to you and others.
 
When it comes to racks, forget the local made no name stuff with no responsibility on the manufacturers, only go for big named manufacturers where such a thing would be a massive dent in their reputation and sales. 

Good old Tony. I believe it happened on his er6n. With this set up.

[Richard-BKK]

Givi racks also crack, for example do a search and get overwhelmed with pictures and info. The best advice is to not overload the rear-rack, I have seen people looking so much on the back that it was just dangerous to ride...

 

Here a picture of a official Givi rack for a Yamaha FJR1300, and contacting the Thai distributor gets you not very far as they say it's clearly loaded over its capacity.... end of conversation

 

I have seen rear-racks with boxes that had stickers indicating maximum loads of 10 kilograms, but looking at the construction of the rack I would recommend not more than 2 kilogram. This for example for the Givi - Yamaha FJR1300 rear-rack and box... People have complained about rear-racks cracking and the sub-frame of the Yamaha producing cracks...

[Nickymaster]

Done some serious riding here in LOS with Givi stuff. Of course I follow the guidelines (maybe not always on speed) and don't tie bags on top.

 

 

 

 

[canthai55]

Don't want a wreck ? Preventive maintenance is the key. Cracks start small. Catastrophic failure rare.

[Thailaw]

10 hours ago, Richard-BKK said:

Givi racks also crack, for example do a search and get overwhelmed with pictures and info. The best advice is to not overload the rear-rack, I have seen people looking so much on the back that it was just dangerous to ride...

 

Here a picture of a official Givi rack for a Yamaha FJR1300, and contacting the Thai distributor gets you not very far as they say it's clearly loaded over its capacity.... end of conversation

 

I have seen rear-racks with boxes that had stickers indicating maximum loads of 10 kilograms, but looking at the construction of the rack I would recommend not more than 2 kilogram. This for example for the Givi - Yamaha FJR1300 rear-rack and box... People have complained about rear-racks cracking and the sub-frame of the Yamaha producing cracks...

Thanks, Richard. Your post is the perfect response to the nonsense alarmists.

 

But now that you have exposed the frailty of Givi (and Yamaha and perhaps other) "big named manufacturers" their reputations are ruined and their sales will plummet. Expect "going out of business sales" on all Givi products to follow in the weeks to come.  What a great public service and aid to the well being and safety of Thai motorcycle riders HG's alert has been by exposing this hidden hazard.  I have learned so much and feel so much better (and safer) as a result of this diversion from the purpose of this thread -- the new Honda Rebel 300/500.  If anyone wants to respond to or criticize my post or defend (to the extent, after Richard's post, you feel able) HG's post further, please open a new thread and do it there, so that the people that worry about cracking/collapsing rear racks (and pieces of the sky falling) can read and join in the discussion, which obviously will not include me. Nuff said.......

[canthai55]

Wow - 12 lines to say you will not discuss it. Well done.

[Ken]

Geesh.  All I was trying to do is pass on a possible alternative to the very expensive honda rear rack for the Rebel.  Had no intention to have this thread become  a thread about rear racks in general.

 

Anyway, I now have 10,000 km on my Rebel and still very happy with it.  I really like the "fat" tires on it, both front and rear.

[Nickymaster]

Ok back to the ugly Rebel. If I was forced to ride one it would be the 500 in grey. I really like Honda as a brand but this model looks really boring. Maybe steal some designers from Stallions?


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[mikebike]

FWIW - I have never been a fan of boot-boxes. Day to day I use a hump bag on the pillion; bigger stuff an expandable magnetic tank-bag; touring - the above plus saddle-bags. Not a fan of back-packs either - keep the weight on the bike, as centralized and as low as possible.

[Richard-BKK]

1 hour ago, Thailaw said:

Thanks, Richard. Your post is the perfect response to the nonsense alarmists.

 

But now that you have exposed the frailty of Givi (and Yamaha and perhaps other) "big named manufacturers" their reputations are ruined and their sales will plummet. Expect "going out of business sales" on all Givi products to follow in the weeks to come.  What a great public service and aid to the well being and safety of Thai motorcycle riders HG's alert has been by exposing this hidden hazard.  I have learned so much and feel so much better (and safer) as a result of this diversion from the purpose of this thread -- the new Honda Rebel 300/500.  If anyone wants to respond to or criticize my post or defend (to the extent, after Richard's post, you feel able) HG's post further, please open a new thread and do it there, so that the people that worry about cracking/collapsing rear racks (and pieces of the sky falling) can read and join in the discussion, which obviously will not include me. Nuff said.......

Thank you for your concern about Givi as a company, I’m pretty sure that anybody in this forum can use a Internet search engine to look if somebody else has problems with a product.

 

 

What I don’t like is that somebody sees a picture of a 1500 THB Honda Rebel Tail Rack, which looks like a solid construction, sold by a shop in Chang Rai and says it is rubbish, made in China and dangerous…

 

 

I’m deeply impressed that you worry about the reputation and income of a multinational, and seemingly have no problem about a small shop in Chang Mai (and by the way I only hear good things about Chang Rai Saddle Bag shop).

[DLang]

Overload any rack and topbox and it will be trouble.

 

The trouble with the untested and unregulated ones is that you have no idea how little that would be.

 

I personally would never, ever, ever buy some cheap unregulated rack from some backyard producer.

 

I can't really empathize with people that would, to be honest.

[DLang]

13 minutes ago, Richard-BKK said:

What I don’t like is that somebody sees a picture of a 1500 THB Honda Rebel Tail Rack, which looks like a solid construction, sold by a shop in Chang Rai and says it is rubbish, made in China and dangerous…

What testing has it been through and what regulations and standarts has it been manufactured to? 

 

Or is that unknown to the customer?

 

Screw that, you must be mad to trust a cheap, nameless Chinese rack with your life.