My rack/carrier arrived today and so I fitted it thinking it would be easy - wrong! It was a devil of a job given the fixings have zero tolerance. Here’s What I did:
1. Remove the unwanted pillion seat. Next cover the mudguard/fender with clear adhesive film or similar to avoid getting any scratches on the paintwork.
2. Spend a lot of time cussing because the angled bracket will not slip under and in between the frame and the fender. Wiggle as much as you want and it will not go in without damaging your paintwork.
3. Solution: There is a small bracket that the seat screws fasten into when the seat is fitted. The bracket is held in by two hexagon headed set screws. There are also two rubber damping pads. Remove the two screws and the bracket will come away. Put the bracket and two screws to one side.
4. You are now ready to go to fit the rack to the fender/mudguard. Slide in the H&B bracket from the seat side. Line up the screw holes on the mudguard and screw in loosely - important you do not tighten them up at this point.
5. Next, refit the seat bracket using the two hexagon headed screws you removed - see 3.
6. When refitting make sure the two holes on the seat bracket align with the two holes on the Hepco Becker bracket. H&B provide two longer screws to fasten the seat down. Do not fit the seat yet!
7. Now tighten all the screws on the rack by going around each one and giving them a finger tight tightening - don’t just tighten one hard and then go on to the next screw. Once they are all finger tight you can tighten them hand tight.
8. Remove film or paper or whatever you used to cover your mudguard/fender.
9. Re-fit seat with the H&B socket caps screws which if you aligned the holes should be easy.
10. If you have the gloss black Rebel you will see some marks where the rubber anti-vibration pads sat. Give them a Polish and they will vanish.
11. Sit down and help yourself to a nice cup of tea and have a laugh at the impossible to understand H&B fitting instructions.
12. Afterthought. Might be worth using some temporary thread locking liquid just in case.
Be Good And Enjoy Life.
1. Remove the unwanted pillion seat. Next cover the mudguard/fender with clear adhesive film or similar to avoid getting any scratches on the paintwork.
2. Spend a lot of time cussing because the angled bracket will not slip under and in between the frame and the fender. Wiggle as much as you want and it will not go in without damaging your paintwork.
3. Solution: There is a small bracket that the seat screws fasten into when the seat is fitted. The bracket is held in by two hexagon headed set screws. There are also two rubber damping pads. Remove the two screws and the bracket will come away. Put the bracket and two screws to one side.
4. You are now ready to go to fit the rack to the fender/mudguard. Slide in the H&B bracket from the seat side. Line up the screw holes on the mudguard and screw in loosely - important you do not tighten them up at this point.
5. Next, refit the seat bracket using the two hexagon headed screws you removed - see 3.
6. When refitting make sure the two holes on the seat bracket align with the two holes on the Hepco Becker bracket. H&B provide two longer screws to fasten the seat down. Do not fit the seat yet!
7. Now tighten all the screws on the rack by going around each one and giving them a finger tight tightening - don’t just tighten one hard and then go on to the next screw. Once they are all finger tight you can tighten them hand tight.
8. Remove film or paper or whatever you used to cover your mudguard/fender.
9. Re-fit seat with the H&B socket caps screws which if you aligned the holes should be easy.
10. If you have the gloss black Rebel you will see some marks where the rubber anti-vibration pads sat. Give them a Polish and they will vanish.
11. Sit down and help yourself to a nice cup of tea and have a laugh at the impossible to understand H&B fitting instructions.
12. Afterthought. Might be worth using some temporary thread locking liquid just in case.
Be Good And Enjoy Life.
