Anyway, I was lamenting these problems out loud to our own Dean Hunter a few weeks ago while trying to figure out how I was going to carry my stuff with me to Laguna Seca for the A.M.A. National, when he told me about the new Ventura Rack Systems. As he understood it, these rack and pack system are designed for a multitude of motorcycles, including sport bikes, require no permanent modification, and here's the best part, they are intended to keep your gear from scratching things up! Make that call!

A week later I'm looking at a pretty, hum, uh, LARGE rack and pack. "Did you tell them this was for an F2?" If I'd wanted something this thing would look good on, I would have bought the Venture Royale! You see the Ventura Bike-Pack System offers a few different configurations and "what we have here is a failure to communicate!" Being a modular system with the basic component being the L-Brackets, one has a choice of either the Pack-Rack (tall and large and necessary to accommodate the Spada Pack), or the Sport-Rack (smaller, and I think more appropriate on an F2). Guess which one I was looking at.

While I was waiting for the smaller rack to arrive I mounted the L-Brackets on the bike and was pleasantly surprised at the ease of installation and the quality of the fit. Once the L-Brackets are in place, one can then mount either rack, depending on intended use. There are two particularly cool benefits of this system. One is that you can still remove the seat cowls with a little bit of hassle, thus allowing access to the took kit. The other advantage being that the racks are reversible on their mounts. I choose to use the Sport-Rack with the rack section over the rear of the seat where a passenger would sit to keep my gear closer to the centre of the bike.

Because the L-Brackets and rack are three separate pieces that slip and bolt together, I initially had concerns about their strength. After riding 1000 miles with about 15 pounds in a weekend bag strapped to the rack I can tell you the thing is solid. Even with the rack facing forward, nothing touches the bike. Whatever you strap on is suspended about an inch over the seat behind you, kind of like having a very light passenger on board.

The Aero-Spada Pack has a large 44 liter capacity and has a pocket sewn in that slips over the "sissy bar" of the Pack-Rack and is secured with a Fastex quick release buckle. Pretty slick. For those who have yet to learn the value of travelling light, the Delta Pack (30 liters) and Spada Pack can be zipped together for a total capacity of 74 liters! That's a lot of stuff. One problem I have with these packs is that they do not have any compression straps or other system of reducing their size. I can't keep myself from wanting to full it up to keep things from flopping around. Another minor dilemma is that with the tall rack/pack in place there is only one way on and off the saddle, straight from the side.

All components are made in New Zealand (I have a vision of Maori tribesman bringing their kiwi harvest to the village for trade on ZX11s) and are of good quality. The finish appears to be powder coated paint, and is your basic black. I never really warmed up to the Pack-Rack and Spada on my little F2, but the Sport-Rack looks and functions great, and it's staying on. On the ride to Laguna I was able to solicit many comments from other riders and they pretty much all dug it. A few said they were going to buy one for their own bike, and as we know, that is the true measure of anything worthwhile! Good going Ventura!

The retail prices for the above items are as follows: L-Brackets $76.95, Pack-Rack (required if either of the packs are to be used) $39.95, Sport-Rack $34.95, Aero Delta $89.95, Aero Spada $105.95. While not a bargain, these all seem reasonable to me. To mount a Sport-Rack on your bike will cost you $76.95 (L-Brackets) plus $35.95 (Sport-Rack) or $111.90.

For more information on these hot new rack and pack systems contact: HSI Inc, Box 336, Edmonds, WA 98020 (800) 688-6439

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