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Modified mounts for SHAD side cases

fred_jb

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I decided to fit SHAD panniers to my new NC750X DCT, primarily because I prefer the minimalist look of the mounting frames compared with those for the Givi panniers I used on my previous bike (Honda CrossRunner). Apart from long trips I will mostly be riding the bike without the panniers attached, so this was important to me. I also think the shape of the panniers is a little sleeker than the Givi items.

I was aware from this post: http://nc700-forum.com/forum/nc700-mods/7305-shad-sh-36-side-cases.html that the SHAD panniers are a bit wide (approx 45") when fitted to the NC700X/750X, so many thanks to itlives for posting this, especially the pictures, as these were very helpful in convincing me that there was scope to mount the SHAD panniers closer to the bike, and to use the Givi rack mount brackets as a basis for this, as I also wanted replace the SHAD rack arms I had initially bought to mount my top box. On my previous bike I had a Givi rack and panniers, and I had used the Givi rack to mount a Coocase top box using Coocase mounting plates which bolt onto the Givi rack. I prefer the Coocase top box looks, and I got one with electronic locking, built-in alarm, and LED brake lights, so as part of this I wanted to keep the Coocase on my new NC750X.

However, I had found that the Shad rack arms were too far apart to take my Coocase adapter plates, so inspired by the pictures in the above post of the Givi rack arms co-existing with the Shad pannier mounting brackets I decided to get the Givi arms so that I could fit my top box without needing to make a wider adapter plate, with the worst case being that the Shad panniers would still mount in their standard position. However I had hopes that I would be able to ditch the Shad mounts and find a way to mount the panniers further inboard by attaching to the same brackets that hold the Givi rack arms.

After a lot of trying out alternative positions, using the exhaust side pannier as this is more constrained due to the exhaust, I found that I could mount the L shaped pannier mounting bars using some relatively simple brackets made from flat steel bars bolted on to the Givi rack mount brackets under the Givi rack arms. The only problem was that this left the forward mount brackets which attach to the passenger foot rest way out of position, being too far inboard and lower than originally due to a slight change of angle and being mounted considerably lower than standard. I was originally just going to cut these brackets off at the welds and replace them with custom made replacements, but decided to have a go at bending the original brackets. This was fairly complex in order to clear the swing arm and correct the downwards angle, but I eventually got a good fit despite having very limited equipment to do this (basically a vice and brute strength!)

The end result is that the total width is now less than 41", which I am very pleased with. I had my brackets powder coated before final assembly, and also had the L-shaped SHAD mount rails stripped and powder coated as I had done some damage to the paint in bending the brackets which attach to the footrest mount. The following are some before and after pictures, including some detailed close-ups of how the new mounts attach, interspersed with some further comments.

I hope this is useful, or at least interesting to others.

Fred


Bike before any mods:

A6K-3047129-1252-X2.jpg



Initial fitting and adjustment of new brackets:

A6K-3047129-1261-X2.jpg


A6K-3047129-1264-X2.jpg


A6K-3047129-1266-X2.jpg


A6K-3047129-1271-X2.jpg


A6K-3047129-1273-X2.jpg



Brackets made from stainless steel wall tie rod from Wickes builders merchants/DIY depot:

A6K-3047129-1278-X2.jpg



Detailed views of final fitting after powder coating. I replaced the bolts with stainless steel items.

A6K-3047129-1285-X2.jpg


A6K-3047129-1288-X2.jpg


A6K-3047129-1290-X2.jpg


This is the critical point for the panniers to fit. The front new bracket, unlike the rear one, is fitted behind the Givi rack mounting bracket. This to put the rack arm as close to the bike as possible as this determines how far out the pannier fits. There has to be enough room for the U shaped hooks on the back of the panniers to drop vertically past the rack arm onto the SHAD L-shaped mounting bar. I moved this bar outwards just enough to allow the panniers to be fitted by putting some washers as spacers between the new front bracket and the front mounting point on the SHAD bar, as can be seen in the picture above.

A6K-3047129-1295-X2.jpg



Views of bike after final fitting:

A6K-3047129-1282-X2.jpg


A6K-3047129-1284-X2.jpg


This one shows the minimalist look of the mounting bars which I was after:

A6K-3047129-1287-X2.jpg


A6K-3047129-1294-X2.jpg


A6K-3047129-1297-X2.jpg


A6K-3047129-1300-X2.jpg
 
Continued from above:

Here is a picture showing the standard mount on an NC700 (picture used by permission) compared with my modified mounts on my NC750X DCT:

composite3-X3.jpg


Here is a side view showing the panniers about 1" further back compared with the standard mount:

A6K-3047129-1301-X2.jpg


Fred
 
Awesome job, Fred! Your system looks way better than Shad's. Maybe they will take note and come out with their own "Shad Brackets V2.0".
 
Awesome job, Fred! Your system looks way better than Shad's. Maybe they will take note and come out with their own "Shad Brackets V2.0".

Thanks Greg.

I think the problem with the Shad system is that it is all designed around their rack mounting arms which fit further out than most other makes and include mounting points for the SH-36 side case mount arms (their 3P system mount). I don't know why the Shad rack arms are so widely mounted, unless it is to suit the rather wide top box mounting plate they make, but I'm sure they could modify this to allow it to fix to narrower rack arms fitted closer to the body of the bike.

This results in the panniers being mounted a lot higher and wider than necessary. Although you don't need to use the Shad rack arms to mount the side cases, the side case only brackets they provide as an alternative simply emulate the fixing positions provided by the rack arms, with the same end result regarding poor positioning.

These problems are compounded by the fact that these cases have to drop down more or less vertically onto the 3P mounting bars, meaning that these bars cannot be recessed under the rack arms to bring them closer to the bodywork of the bike. This is unlike the Givi system where the cases click in horizontally to the top locking points, giving more scope for closer positioning.

It is a shame that the SH-36 panniers and the innovative 3P system mount are so compromised by the rest of the mounting hardware, so hopefully Shad will look again at this, particularly as the NC series seem to be big sellers for Honda globally.

I think they could also do with some work on refining the way the panniers lock onto the 3P arms. This currently uses a friction fit to the rubber liners in the three mounting slots making putting the panniers on and off quite difficult - and I always feel like I have to put so much force on the locking lever that it is going to break sooner rather than later. This contrasts rather badly with the Givi system with its easy to use over-centre type click locking system.

Fred
 
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