Luggage racks for Featherbeds and Commandos

Previously wrote:

There was an earlier thread which didn'tanswer this. If you get Old Bike Mart you'll find an advert on the back page of April's editionwith tubular stainless ones for featherbeds (picture shows a wideline) and Commandos for - I think- a very reasonable £65 including all fittings. It incorporates a grab rail. I've been in correspondece with them and had an email todayconfirming they'll be at next week's Stafford Classic bike show, Main Hall-Stand 122. If you look at the pic, like it and want to order one for collection, I suggest you phone John on the advertised number - 07742 611811 - and ask him to bring one along for you.

Cheers, Lionel

yours anna j

Hello Lionel are craven carries still on the go , I have one of there carriers and it fit my bike OK , But I go to fit some side bars on it for two nice Rickman hard panniers too fit too it , and a top box at takes off like suit case , I going too paint them to match the colour of my bike ,

Cravens long gone, bits do turn up though.

Previously wrote:

Cravens long gone, bits do turn up though.

Hiya, Cravens as was, ceased trading in the mid 80s, I bought one of, if not the last craven Comet top-boxes to come out of the factory. Someone from the factory included a little note with the box telling me their bad news......... The good news, is that Draganfly motorcycles have bought the name etc. and plan to start remanufacturing both luggage and fitting kits shortly. They already have a web-site which if I remember correctly is www.cravens.org.uk I dont know if they have anything to buy yet but if enough people show interest it may convince them that there is sufficient demand to get serious about it.

Cheers Alan, Shenstone branch

The Cravens "Business" has been passed around a fair bit but has not prooved viable ,up to now. I wish the owners luck, I have a very rare set with orriginal fittings on a DL dommy so am well aquainted with them.

Robert Tuck previously wrote on Monday April 23rd at 21.18hrs:

The Cravens "Business" has been passed around a fair bit but has not prooved viable ,up to now. I wish the owners luck, I have a very rare set with orriginal fittings on a DL dommy so am well aquainted with them.

Hello,

I have done a bit of snooping for the latest on the Craven luggage situation. Unfortunately, it only confirms Robert Tuckâs comments in his earlier posts.

The following post has been on the Vincent website for quite some time:

Ken Craven died some time ago. Here is what happened, to the best of my knowledge: First; things went to: sales@cfgsiteservices.co.uk You may have found them unresponsive and you might have found a website for Craven stuff, and found it also unresponsive.

Nash Morgan; Lightmoor Works, Speech House Road, Cinderford, Glos,

GL14 3HU England Tel. +44-1594-827649 was the contact. All Craven items were next sold to Phil Primmer: http://www.westcountrysidecars.co.ukOn 13th Jan 2009, I received the following information, which I have edited for clarity....so these are not Roger's exact wordsWe acquired the Craven Equipment business from Phil Primmer of West Country Sidecars who retired. It is taking us some time to sort out all the drawings, moulds and tooling but we hope to be in a position to start production late in 2009. We will start by making the more popular top boxes, panniers, racks and fittings and hope to eventually have most of the Craven range in stock. We will supply individual parts to repair or complete old sets of luggage and carriers but in the meantime we are not able to help with any spares as there was very little stock. We also will be producing Phil Primmer's own panniers and rack that were designed principally for Vincents and we hope to finish of the moulds he was making in order to produce Rodark Panniers. We welcome enquiries in the meantime. At the moment we do not even have any permanent premises and the preferred method of contact is by email contact@CravenS.org.ukRoger Gwynnesales@draganfly.co.ukCraven EquipmentLong Beren, Upper Oakley, DISS, IP21 4AXStrictly no callers, mail order only.Telephones (01986) 894 798 or 892 826 Facsimile (01986) 894 799contact@CravenS.org.uk www.CravenS.org.uk

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I send a message through the CravenS.org.uk website last evening (23rd April 2012), asking whether any products are now available. This is the reply, received 07.53hrs this morning.

So here is the latest news on Craven luggage:

Draganfly MotorcyclesBroad Street, BUNGAY, Suffolk, NR35 1EE Telephones (01986) 894 798 or 892 826 Facsimile (01986) 894 799spares@draganfly.co.uk www.draganfly.co.ukOpening hours: - Monday-Friday 9.30 to 5.00Please use only spares@draganfly.co.uk to send messages as all otheraddresses are blocked to reduce Spam.Hello,Draganfly has taken over the craven business now as is looking into gettingthings underway soon, we have a guy who can make racks etc . So hopefully itwont be too long now. Sorry for the delay.RegardsJanet

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I have attached a photo of a well used 4-pipe Ariel Sq4. The owner fitted a Craven bracing bar to the lower backs of the panniers, which prevented them from waving about. It meant they were no longer QD, but this chap thought nothing of riding from Somerset to Edinburgh, or around the continent, receiving long distance awards along the way and said that bar was well worth fitting.

Paul

I have the same brace on my bike, Its a standard fitting and was also fitted to my 88 back in the day. They were QD as well , but i can't remember how the brace allowed the QD to work.

Robert Tuck previously wrote on Tuesday April 24th 2012 at 19.04hrs:

.....................................but i can't remember how the brace allowed the QD to work.

Hello Robert,

No, I meant that fixing the brace to both panniers like that ensured that they were no longer Quickly-Detachable, until you'd fiddled around for a few seconds unscrewing it.

Paul

I have seen some very poorly designed carriers (Luggage racks) on Commandos, and I've seem some good ones. The important thing is that there must be braces from the carrier to the rear footrest mounts, if the carrier is just attached to the rear loop of the frame, the loop will fatigue and break off. I have seen Commando frames missing the rear loop on several occasions.

Colin.

My rear loop was bent up by about 7 degrees after a fall many years ago. these loops are frail. I'm just in the process of welding on some gusset plates similar to those sold by Old Britts in the USA. Any luggage fitted to a Commando must have the rear loop supported. Shout "Come on you rear loop"

Since my last posting about the rear frame gusset, I have added a further lug beneath the rear loop and the craven rack now bolts direct to this lug and the gusset. No more Meccano set with crappy nuts and bolts gouging up the paintwork. Two more lugs on the rack itself now mean the support struts are slightly shorter and again, bin the clamp plates and surplus nuts and bolts. I have however committed the ultimate sin and fitted metric stainless socket head screws and nylocks from screwfix. Now where did I put that tube of red Hermatite?

My panniers were QD with a lever operated turnbuckle and the alloy tie at the back was fixed with wing nuts.The boxes were made on the slant like those on the square four, not many were slanted ,most were made straight. The set on my current 99 are the same but without the qd levers.I recently fitted new locks which are a little larger than the orriginal fittings ,Made by Cheney and very hard to find.

I am sure others have found fitting panniers and racks to featherbed frames to be trouble free. However, the rear frame loop on the DeLuxe frameis tragically under engineered and cannot be considered a load-bearing structure. The same applies to the rear mudguard support on other featherbeds. Any rack which puts a load on the frame loop or rear mudguard will result on a split mudguard. I fitted a Craven rack and the correct Craven supports which attach to the footrest mounts. The supports provided minimal support - being L shaped they would flex quite readily. The whole setup was really a lash-up or at least the best of a bad job and only really suitable for very light loads - a sleeping bag for spending a night on the moors beside a dead Norton for instance. Any weight (tools, spare parts, the usual) goes on a stout holdall on the back seat.