Please point me toward symmetrical racks. I had Happy Trails on my '07, and may do that again, but I want to know what other choices I have.

Greywolf said, "The SW-Motech Evo luggage rack just isn't right". If there are issues with other mounts, please say so. On my HT mounts, I had to tweak (bend) nearly every component slightly to get the holes to line up and still have the boxes hang straight and true. My guess is that it was due to weld shrinkage during construction.

I've looked through the "show us your luggage" threads, but most of those shots are from the side and don't help with this question.

Thanks.

Pelican Cases!!!
1500 is the smallest side load I have used.
1550 is nice for long hauls.
1440 is top load, I never liked my HT top loaders so I went to the 1500

I smashed the heck out of them, contacted a rep and they said they will issue me a warranty replacement on Monday when that department opens.

You can fit them to any frame, use a wood chisel to flatten the contact points.

I was not aware the Happy Trails racks were symmetrical. There is no reason for a bike with a high muffler on one side only to have a symmetrical rack. It makes the luggage needlessly wide. Most are a compromise between wider than necessary and close to both sides funny looking. I've done a little mileage with only one side case mounted and it's not a problem. The old Hepco & Becker junior bags with a 40L left and 30L right took advantage of the space difference. Some people have run Givi E36 on the right and E45 on the left to get the outside of the bags pretty equal from center.

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Pat- 2007 DL650A was ridden to all 48 contiguous states. 2012 DL650A is just getting started.
Nicknames for posting ease on my part, Vee = all DL1000s. Wee = 2004-2011 DL650s. Glee = 2012+ DL650s

"Symmetrical racks" you want a massive gap on the left-hand side so you can fit two boxes that are the same size.

Or, you'll end up when the panniers on with the width from the centre line being equal on the left and right-hand sides?

FYI: The Hepco Becker are not symmetrical, but are close. I'd say they are off by about half the width of the muffler.

They have some minor installation issues. Do a search.

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Delhi-Dehra Dun-Utarkashi-Shimla-Manali-Pavarti-Leh-Kargil-Padum-Sringhar-Daramsala, 3months (twice)
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Toured about Nepal 4 days
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Toured about Peru 3 months
N Chile - Medellin, CO 3 months
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While the "assymetrical" luggage makes good use of available space, I too did not like the looks. Function is usually beauty to me, but considering spending hundreds on hardware and luggage left me wanting to do it another way. I also wanted to make use of tool tubes for extra tools, chain lube, etc. So, I took the symmetrical racks off my '03 Vee with factory luggage and fitted it to the new Wee II. There will be no lane splitting with the luggage on, but that will be a fairly small percentage of my riding.

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Thanks Realshelby. I feel the same way, hence the question. Here's my '07 with symmetrical HT racks:



Same ones, a year or so earlier:



I liked them just fine and may choose that route again. But some of the resin/plastic luggage is nice looking. The Suzuki website lists other touring luggage, but there aren't enough photos for me to know what they'll look like. There is a slight advantage to buying accessories at the time of purchase (of the bike) in the form of discounts, etc. I'm weighing my options. I'll try to contact someone from Canada with the adventure model and the Suzuki touring bags to get a rear-view picture.

I looked at the U.S. adventure (trax) luggage and it's just not my style. They might be better if the racks hugged the muffler and frame a bit better, or if the bags hung at a more appealing angle, or both. Thankfully there are many choices.

That's the good part, right? If one person got to choose all of the options, there would be no options. No one else needs to be happy with my choice but me.

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Please don't post just to criticize the question. Either you have an answer or you don't.

Even with non symmetrical racks, there is room for a tube. In this pic, you can see the left bag is closer in. There is still room for a tube. Since this pic was taken, I have actually installed one. One difference from the old bike is the seat lock on the side. That requires the tube to be shorter if the seat is to be removed without taking the rack with tube off.

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Pat- 2007 DL650A was ridden to all 48 contiguous states. 2012 DL650A is just getting started.
Nicknames for posting ease on my part, Vee = all DL1000s. Wee = 2004-2011 DL650s. Glee = 2012+ DL650s

I just installed the Givi removal racks (PLR3101 for the 2012) and the Trekker 33 cases....I like them a lot........not too expensive and they went on like a charm......TD

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2004 Polaris Sportsman 500 ATV green
N1ATF

Givi PLX and V35 from the rear, stick out a bit more on the right, but still have room for a tool tube.

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2007 DL1000 Black (crashed, totaled)
2008 DL650 (wife's sold)
DL650AL2 (Orange) it's Home.....
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