See, now wasn't that fun

I figured using the Ventura bag would be easier. You must have done OK with the frame pieces.

 

Funny, I was thinking last night about searching for threads about a rack and here I come, seeing this. Thanks for the discussion guys.

 

FYI- From Ninjabird's post above, Diagram #1, Part #3 is a spacer that may be required if turning the box or bag 180 degrees to sit above the pillion seat. Stock should be OK, but the Corbin pillion seat will require it.

 

Finally some more detailed photos. A couple other notes:
Changed the rear side arm bolts from M8-45mm to M8-50mm. Gives more bite in the mounting hole. Should have been part of the kit. Wish they supplied black washers, pending. Overall very happy so far.

Overall look

Actually pretty slim side to side which did not seem to be the case from their online photos, and one of the initial reasons I didn't prefer. They need better marketing photos.

Showing the mounting underneath and the extra hole drilled to match the Givi top case mounting plate.

Side profile. Will replace that silver washer...

Passenger peg spacers. Will replace these with black as well. Spaced to match opposite side.

Under body.

Mount bolt. I added the spacer and lock washer with a M8-50mm bolt as well. Gives more material. The stock M8-45 only sets about 5mm into the threads. Seems like they should be providing a 50mm standard. And in black please!

A bit tight for a passenger, but doable. More importantly, great position for one up riding. Gives easy leg over room and back rest at stop lights without being too tight to the rider.

Close up of the mounting bolts. I also spaced the front up a few mm to help with the angle of the box.

 

Nice write up. You could also buy some glossy black paint at a model and hobby shop instead of replacing the shiny silver bits.

Have you tried riding with it loaded? I'm curious how having weight that high up and back from the rear axle affects the performance.

 

Loaded, but not fully. Maybe 10 lbs of stuff in it. Even a fully loaded top box has never felt bad on the N400. I would call it nit picking. The bonus lockable storage far outweighs any percieved performance perspective someone might project. Would I use it on the track? 🤣🤣

 

I'm glad it's working out for you. My bolt/washer setup does look different. Here's the result of instructions and included parts. Original Kawasaki rear peg mount bolts were used. The rear silver headed bolts mounting under the fender threaded in quite deeply for a sturdy mount.

 

And there it goes. The Ventura just failed. The dual washer mount, #2 in the diagram, failed. It clearly is the weakest point as only a small amount of material on either side of the mount bolts holds the entire case and mount plate. Pending a reply from Ventura.

Ideally a much wider washer plate wothout the cone inserts would be ideal. Might have to fabricate those...

 

That is what you call a "failure" of this design? More like when you unload the front, due to weight on the rear of the bike, and you crash it. That is the failure to be concerned about.

 

I had been wondering how the setup was working for you.
That would definitely be the weakest point.
At least the frame itself is holding up.

 

The problem for most bikes and side panniers is the up swept exhaust muffler. I never want panniers to be wider than my handlebars. This makes it easy to judge space for line splitting. My first attempt was to make a new cross over pipe from 3 sections of tubing and still use the standard exhaust. Later I decide for a smaller muffler and a cross over pipe that I found on Lazada. Loud but looks great. No matter what bike I have ever owned I have always used it for touring thus the demand for easily removable hard luggage. Sure it is not as beautiful as a pure sports bike but beautiful is in the eyes of the beholder. I build to suit me and not to please a crowd. The z400 is the perfect bike here in the Philippines. Big enough for the express ways with plenty of power for passing even two up and small and light enough for an old man to handle.
One BIG benefit of panniers is that in a fall they take the blow with hardly a scratch, no need for the extra weight and expense of crash bars. I have dropped mine on several occasions at a stop or low speed with never a scratch on anything other than one bar end weight.

 

Ok, took a look at the bits that are left and reworked the connection. It is actually much sturdier. I completely removed the double washer. Mounted the thick L bracket direct to the tube inserts. Only had to drill one hole in the L brackets to get the givi plate bolt holes to line up. I think this will now last.

 

That looks good.

Keep us posted on how this works. I sometimes like working out mounting puzzles ... especially when they work out well.

 

Update on the rack: In order to mount it so a passenger could use the back seat, I adjusted further. The "L" bracket plates that are used to attach to the rack plate are still used, however I replaced the cone bolts with hex head bolts. The cone bolts loosen, the hex bolts do not. Then just drilled a couple more holes to match up with the mounting plate front two holes. Voila! It is now super solid and has room for a passenger. Yay!

Besides the niggly bits, the Ventura rack is holding up well.

 

Yay, more good info there. Congratulations

I've been thinking about making a change to my Ventura setup too. My wife hasn't ridden with me since she broke her wrist last winter. While it's healed well, she's never felt comfortable swinging her leg over the tall tail bag. Since Ventura has lots of options for combinations of pieces, there's an add on rack with a curved rail just a few inches high that would provide a support at the back of the pillion seat to prevent sliding off during acceleration. With that and a very low bag, maybe, just maybe she might try riding with me again.

 

Update on the ventura rack: yup, broke this one as well. Loaded case with about 20lbs, hit a large speed bump too fast, broke one side and bent the other. Just the l brackets that bolt to the tube frame attachments. Got some new L brackets, added some washers, rotated around back to one person ride mode to more evenly distribute the weight on the mounting arm points. yes, apparently I am exceptionally hard on racks for the 40p. Ugh.

 

I think you're doing great with your setup. Some parts are doomed to fail eventually whether man or machine. You found the weakest link. Now you've just got to keep spares