In our on-going challenge to prepare our Honda ADV 150 scooters for the 2021 Scooter Cannonball Run in July of '21 and simply for traveling and touring for more than day rides we have explored many options and looked at countless web sites. Many times we have queried vendors with questions about their products and gotten various responses from silence to instant answers or better, answers and questions about our needs. I often use the 'contact us' link on a brand's web page to get more info and share the adventure we are preparing for to help explain our needs.
Recently I contacted several motorcycle luggage companies and got a diversity of responses. Part of the problem is that the Honda ADV 150 is not available in all markets. Some companies simply told me they had no plans to offer products for the Honda ADV 150 scooter because they did not have access to one. Others did not respond at all. Some offered suggestions or clarified fitment.
When I contacted SHAD USA with a short explanation of our plans and a link to my wife's blog I did not know what response I would get. I was quite surprised when Michael Schuiten from SHAD USA responded that one of his associates had forwarded my contact to him and he was excited to help us prepare for our adventures! He asked for more information on our scooters and our needs. SHAD USA wanted to know what we thought would best meet our needs and we discussed options and availability. While SHAD does have some pannier brackets for the Honda ADV 150, they are not yet available in the US. SHAD USA ordered a set to have on hand and helped us decide on top boxes that would best meet our needs.
Since one of our needs for the Scooter Cannonball Run is to mount a 1 gallon fuel jug on each scooter to handle some of the longer stretches w/o easy access to fuel on the route, the SHAD Terra line of boxes seemed ideal for us. The potential to mount a jug on the top of the sturdy aluminum top box would simplify things and keep the weight centered on the scooter. SHAD offers an aluminum mounting plate option as well as a plastic mounting plate. To be able to solidly mount the aluminum mounting plate to our existing aftermarket luggage racks seemed ideal. SHAD USA asked for pictures of our luggage racks to ensure the SHAD mounting plates could be securely mounted w/o additional fitment kits.
My wife and I are thrilled to team up with SHAD USA for our adventures! Michael was amazing in his questions, positive attitude and follow up communication. He let me know the boxes were out of stock, but should be available in a couple of weeks and asked if I would like the mounting plates shipped right away so I could install them. I responded yes to that, hoping to have them ready to go when the boxes were available.
Only a few days later Santa Brown, (UPS), showed up at our home in Tupelo and placed THREE large boxes on our doorstep.
We were super excited to open the boxes and see the SHAD products! They were extremely well packed to avoid damage with cardboard and foam, plus each top box was inside it's own foam bag. Even the liner bags were inside a cloth bag, which was inside a plastic bag. The mounting plates were individually boxed, each inside a plastic bag, and both boxes were carefully packed inside a larger box with ample packing materials to prevent any shipping damage.
Before I go into more details about the SHAD products I want to mention some background. SHAD has been making products since 1973. They have a diverse background and much experience has been gained over the years of production of motorcycle products.
I have owned SHAD top boxes in the past, decades ago. Back then they were well known as a lower cost option to more well known brands like Givi or Touratech, etc, but were not considered a top tier brand of motorcycle luggage. Both my wife and I have owned and extensively used various brands of top tier motor cycle luggage over hundreds of thousands of miles of riding. Some were better than others, some leaked water or had other issues. Some were easier to live with than others. We have experienced quality products and sadly, seen & used poor quality products too.
SHAD offers a wide range of products today. When we opened the boxes and explored the SHAD Terra top boxes and the aluminum mounting plates we were stunned by the quality of design, craftsmanship and attention to detail. These are not the SHAD products of yesterday, these are top tier products, rival to anything else on the market and superior to many as well. The level of thought and detail that has gone into these is incredible. Everywhere you look you see effort has been made on the smallest details to make a product that will last, and work well, be easy to use and provide the function and protection of your gear.
The aluminum mounting plates - P/N - D1BTRPA
Complete with hardware and installation instructions.
These are 5mm thick aluminum that has been laser cut. All the attachment points are well designed, heavy duty plastic and better still, bolted to the plate and easily replaceable in the event of damage.
Installing the mounting plate to our scooter's one piece aluminum racks was super easy with the included stainless steel bolts, spacers, washers and nylock nuts.
NEW!! SHAD USA has given us a promo code to share with readers - C&EADV20 will get you 20% off at checkout. https://www.shadusa.com/
EricV
Thank-you for your continued Honda 150 ADV information sharing. Since I have not purchased a rear rack yet, I am going to be patient and try to get one of the SHAD racks coming from Indonesia. Do you know if the SHAD 'Top Master Rack' also replaces the existing grab rails or does it co-exist? The 4 additional pieces in the center of the picture on the box leads me to believe it co-exists. Also, one final question, do you believe if you were using the SHAD rack you could use the plastic versus aluminum mounting plate? I'm just curious given the significant difference in price, what is gained by the aluminum besides the added strength. I am just wondering if the plastic mounting plate is sufficient / strong enough. I plan on reaching out to SHAD but greatly value your opinions.
ReplyDeleteYour thinking is correct. The SHAD Top Master rack retains the OEM grab rails. The smaller four brackets you see in the picture bolt to the same locations as the grab rails, with the grab rail on top, the brackets fit so they go over the side plastic, and down vertically where the main rack can then bolt to them.
ReplyDeleteThe plastic top case mount is also quite sturdy. Because I chose the Terra top case, I decided to use the aluminum mounting plate. If I had chosen one of the plastic top cases, I would have gone with the plastic mounting plate, which is much more comfortably priced.