Hello all!

I have seen it over and over again, an overland bike with extra tires under or over a heap of bags, tents and other bits and pieces. And when you have packed up your gear after a good nights sleep ready to set of you remembers that the bike keys is in the pannier!

I've traveled with a tire rack for 6 months that I made myself. The rack is fixed to the bike but the tires can be swung away from the panniers and rear seat to easily access the panniers. The rack is very light and easy to use, just one strap to hold it in place.
I've been playing around with the thought of making and selling, but feel free to make your own. I just want to share what I like traveling with witch makes life easier.

My camera bag fits perfectly in the tires. (Lowepro drysone)

Cheers Tom

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That looks pretty nifty, well done, do you reckon it could fit with a top boxas well?

Cheers
TravellingStrom

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www.travellingstrom.com

It you travel 2-up, and need to carry spare tyres, I´d try to hang them on both sides of the fuel tank. Whether this will be possible, depends on the bike, the length of the rider, etc.

I know i could do it on a V-Strom (by modifying the crashbars a little with some welding). Carrying them like this was actually nowhere near the pain in the butt I thought it would be. My knees just touched them lightly, when riding, but I didnt feel it was a problem - but if I were any taller, it could be! We could ride motorway speeds, up to about 140 kms per hour, higher than that and you started to feel the front end vibrate, as the tyres started moving in the wind. May be if you ride serious off-road, you wouldnt want them this way, as they could be blocking you moving your legs freely. But you´re probably not doing that 2-up anyway. And we rode over 30.000 kms like this.

Besides, that way they´re a nice, soft, but durable ´extra protection´ for minor spills, I think the bike could be dropped to either side at walking speeds without a scratch. Plus we could also strap some of our heavy stuff, like tools, to the crashbars, that remained visible at the center of the spare tyres. We could even keep some extra water bottles, etc., inside the tyres!

This solution also shifted the weight forward a bit, which was good for the handling the bike (but I admit it wasnt 100% practical, as we ended up taking at least the tool bags off every evening, and strapping them back on every morning).

I put my spare wheel (with snow chains already fitted) in the sidecar. Does that count as a suggestion?

Andy

It is the way I carry my folding chair straight across the back of the bike over the tops of the saddlebags

TravellingStrom. Thanks for that! If I traveled with a top box I would mount some brackets onto the box itself to hold the tires. With vertical tires on my tire holder it would be a lot more strain on the hinge and the mounting on the bike.

Threewheelbonnie. That is like cheating isn't it! At least to us two wheelers!! Just pulling your leg!

Cheers Tom