Shad Top Case Mounting Plate Failure!

Advertise with us!
Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum

Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
T

tesla

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 26, 2009
Messages
339
Reaction score
8
Location
Garland, TX
I've been bitching about the Shad SH50 topcase bouncing from day one. The top case is mounted with a Shad Top Master mounting plate and it was purchased with the topcase in May of 2010. Bouncing was still bugging me so I took off the Top Master mounting plate and discovered 3 out of 4 welds were completely sheered off and only one weld was still intact. Most likely the case would have come off completely the next time I rode 2 up with the wife leaning against it. I've ridden approximately 2000 miles with this case and 60% of that was with wife on board who is average size and barely puts any pressure on it. It's rarely filled close to maximum weight and was only filled up when wife and I took a 1000 mile trip. FJR guy has the same setup and no problems at all but he may not be riding 2-up as much as I am. The topcase is very good quality and have no issues with it. I contacted Claudio at Adventure Moto USA who quickly forwarded my e-mail to Shad and now are awaiting their response.

Below are images.

11%206%3A47%3A19%20PM.jpg


11%206%3A46%3A32%20PM.jpg


11%206%3A50%3A15%20PM.jpg


 
Yikes, had to go out and check mine when I saw that! :eek:

I've had the SH46 on the Top Master mount for 2 seasons, 66% two up and I always have the top case on the bike. It's normally just carrying extra gloves and a tire kit, but I have loaded it up on occasion. Mine is still rock solid. I bought mine from AdventureMotoUSA as well, will be interested to hear how Shad responds. If it has been bouncing since day 1, perhaps it was defective from the start.

Good luck, Dan

 
I have the SH45, and I did not use this mounting plate. I removed a Givi plate from the Givi rack and bolted the SHAD plate to that. The rack is very sturdy, and I've no issues in...I dunno, several miles. I understand how you'd want to get SHAD to fix the problem, but if that doesn't work out, perhaps give a Givi rack a try?

 
kolonial72 said:
I have the SH45, and I did not use this mounting plate. I removed a Givi plate from the Givi rack and bolted the SHAD plate to that. The rack is very sturdy, and I've no issues in...I dunno, several miles. I understand how you'd want to get SHAD to fix the problem, but if that doesn't work out, perhaps give a Givi rack a try?
Click to expand...
Kolonial, can you give me the details of the Givi rack? I've requested that Shad give Adventure Moto USA a credit that I can apply to a new rack like a Givi. Possible I got a defective one but I have lost all confidence in the Shad rack. I hope I can find this rack that I had on my previous V-Strom. This is what a luggage rack should be.

AMS_Luggage_mk_tn.jpg


 
Last edited by a moderator:
Givi rack on a GenI. The Gen-II is pretty much the same, but the exact shape is different since the Gen-II is different back there.

Steel tubing rather than the plastic of the stock, otherwise mounts to the exact same points. Rated by Givi for 13 pounds, where the stock is rated for 7. (Of course, that's different companies with different sets of lawyers doing the rating . . .)

Givi-3.jpg


Givi-1.jpg


 
tesla said:
Kolonial, can you give me the details of the Givi rack? I've requested that Shad give Adventure Moto USA a credit that I can apply to a new rack like a Givi. Possible I got a defective one but I have lost all confidence in the Shad rack. I hope I can find this rack that I had on my previous V-Strom. This is what a luggage rack should be.
Click to expand...
wfooshe has been kind enough to list some specs. The Givi rack and plate came bundled when I bought mine second-hand. All I had to do was pry off the fastener covers (little plastic circles in the plate, looks like six total), unfasten the bolts, and remove the plate. I was then able to mount the SHAD plate that came with my SH45 onto the Givi rack using the SHAD-supplied mounting kit. Voila!

On a related note that has been covered elsewhere on this forum, I fear that my rear subframe cracks are at least partially due to mounting my top case on a rack that did not provide the support that the Givi does. Note the two arms of the Givi rack that come out to the spot next to the side cases. Those arms provide a good bit of support. The cracked subframe was starting to give a bit, but with the Givi rack in place, the whole thing (case, rack, subframe) feels much more sturdy. Now I've just got to take the bike out of service and remove the subframe for a permanent repair, but that's another story.

 
I'm no welder, but the welds on that busted rack look like they were done by a beginner. Or to use the technical term, they look like "crap."

Regardless of what Shad does about this problem, I think I'd look to a different brand next time.

pete

 
na1g said:
I'm no welder, but the welds on that busted rack look like they were done by a beginner. Or to use the technical term, they look like "crap."

Regardless of what Shad does about this problem, I think I'd look to a different brand next time.

pete
Click to expand...
Dan mentioned that it might have been defective from the start which may be correct since it was bouncing so much. There are lemons among high quality products and this may be the case since I can't find a single incident of failure like mine but this experience has soured me to this rack no matter how good it is. Claudio at Adventure Moto USA said I might want to sell the replacement rack on this site or ebay and get what I want. Would any of you buy this rack based on my experience? Claudio said this rack would fit the Shad. Made out of aluminum and looks secure and durable. I'll either go with that or the Givi.

8091-425x350.jpg


 
Last edited by a moderator:
tesla said:
I've been bitching about the Shad SH50 topcase bouncing from day one. The top case is mounted with a Shad Top Master mounting plate and it was purchased with the topcase in May of 2010. Bouncing was still bugging me so I took off the Top Master mounting plate and discovered 3 out of 4 welds were completely sheered off and only one weld was still intact. Most likely the case would have come off completely the next time I rode 2 up with the wife leaning against it. I've ridden approximately 2000 miles with this case and 60% of that was with wife on board who is average size and barely puts any pressure on it. It's rarely filled close to maximum weight and was only filled up when wife and I took a 1000 mile trip. FJR guy has the same setup and no problems at all but he may not be riding 2-up as much as I am. The topcase is very good quality and have no issues with it. I contacted Claudio at Adventure Moto USA who quickly forwarded my e-mail to Shad and now are awaiting their response.

Below are images.

11%206%3A47%3A19%20PM.jpg


I have 5800 miles on my SHAD50 topcase and custom SHAD mounting plate designed for my '05 FJR. 1800 miles of that was two up. The case was stuffed pretty good on both trips, but mainly with bulky not weighty things. Purchased it from Adventure Moto in April 2010. I have had no issues at all. I inspected the underside of the rack this morning with a flashlight after reading this thread, because it concerned me. Upon visual inspection, I detected no cracking or peeling of the metal at the junction of the weld to the plate. Not sure what else to say. I will be following this carefully. I suspect it is a one-off thing but who knows.

11%206%3A46%3A32%20PM.jpg


11%206%3A50%3A15%20PM.jpg
Click to expand...
 
I have that rack. Since I use my feej to get groceries, I've loaded a ton of crap in it (like a Givi E45 full of canned goods) repeatedly with no problems so far. I have about 17k miles on mine so far.

That has 3 large Dzus fasteners, and TwistedThrottle sells adapter plates for like 5 or 6 brands of luggage. I got mine in black so when I take the adapter plate off, it's pretty much invisible.

Edit: E45, not E46

 
Last edited by a moderator:
The twisted throttle rack looks similar to what I was designing to extend and stiffen the support for the Shad50 mounting bracket when I first mounted the Shad and riders behind me commented on it "bouncing". As previously discussed with Barry, after some discussions with knowledgeable people (although I couldn't get a hold of a Shad engineer) and pondering, I came to the conclusion that enlarging the mounting plate, although it would reduce the "bouncing", would just transfer the energy absorbed by the "bouncing" to other areas increasing the stress in other connections or the box itself.

I suspect that the "bouncing" Barry experienced was much more severe than what I experience and that his bouncing was due to a early failure of an NFG mount and that lead to further failure of the mount welds. I suspect that, in this case, had the mount been longer, the failure may have happened even sooner. :-(

I've stayed with the Shad mount, traveled to NAFO#1 2up with the topcase overloaded and a tailbag on top of it, have used the case as a cooler full of ice and beer (way overloaded!) and otherwise abused it. I have never had a problem with the mount.

Although, IMHO, Barry's issue does not warrant running out to replace good Shad mounts, it does reinforce the need for regular inspection of even proven parts. Bad sh!t can happen to good people! :-(

Barry, hope you have better luck with whatever solution you choose.

 
That rack from Twisted Throttle is a SW-MOTECH Alu-Rack. I have one on my FJR1300 and one on my CBR1100XX. I have a Givi Adaptor Plate that I use on whichever bike I want to put the Givi E460 on

 
Talked to Claudio at Adventure Moto USA and he feels that the Top Master rack is rock solid and has never heard of a failure until now. I also searched the net and could not find anything negative about it. Shad replied to the claim stating that they were "alarmed and astonished" when they saw the pictures. They requested that I send them the unit. Stay tuned...........

I believe that I just got a lemon and that the replacement will be trouble free but I would like a rack that doesn't bounce the top box. Any bouncing with the SW-Motech or the Givi?

 
Got the replacement rack. It looks like they made a design change since it appears to be more narrow. Can't compare them side to side since I no longer have the defective one but judging by the pictures, there was a design change.

Question for you welders out there. Judging by the pictures, are these welds sufficient to prevent another failure? The welds are one side of the bars and only about an inch long. Why wouldn't they include more welds or is it a case of more is overkill.

11%204%3A28%3A18%20PM.jpg
11%204%3A28%3A25%20PM.jpg


 
It is difficult to tell from the photos, and because it look like the finished rack has been powder coated, which tends to hide some things.

The first rack definately lacked adequate penetration of the welds. They were basically peanut butter (or chicken shit) applied along the joint, with no meaningful penetration of the parent metal.

It looks to me like the welder is using too much wire feed speed and not enough heat to get the penetration needed... but as I say, I can't be sure from here! A excellent weld should basically be CONCAVE in appearance with a definite visable penetration of the parent metal on both pieces being welded. Those welds are CONVEX, showing too much filler and no noticable penetration line at the parent metal/weld enterfaces.

It it were mine, and it was MY wife leaning against it, I'd take the rack to a welding shop and ask them to add welds on the opposite sides of each of those support leg joints. Won't cost you much, and will give you a definite increase in security. JMHO as an old MIG/TIG welder.

Don

 
dsmack said:
It it were mine, and it was MY wife leaning against it, I'd take the rack to a welding shop and ask them to add welds on the opposite sides of each of those support leg joints. Won't cost you much, and will give you a definite increase in security. JMHO as an old MIG/TIG welder.

Don
Click to expand...
Good idea. If nothing else, I can get a pro to inspect it in person and let me know if it was done right.

 

Similar threads

Phil Jones
Sold Shad SH50 Topcase with Mount (Gen 2) - $357 (Asheville, NC)
Replies
0
Views
335
Phil Jones
Phil Jones
SurvivorGuy
Motorcycle For Sale 2007 Yamaha FRJ 1300 Meticulously maintained! $3900
Replies
0
Views
570
SurvivorGuy
SurvivorGuy
F
  • Locked
Sold ((SOLD)) Shad Mounting Plate D1B591PA.
Replies
2
Views
384
Fishin VA
F
Hudson
Parts For Sale Gen 2 seat, bags, tank and more
2
Replies
28
Views
4K
TheCrazyBird
T
J
1K Miles - An honest review !
Replies
17
Views
3K
Gleaming Alloy Air Car
Gleaming Alloy Air Car

Latest posts

Top