Thanks for all the positive responses to the styling of the racks.

Regarding the lip, most racks that have it are flimsy and cheaply made like the OEM rack which is cast in that shape (casting is why the chrome sucks and why you see polishing 'pulls' and imperfections in it, or the thin tubular steel racks which are just plain ugly IMO. These are going to be made from 6061-T6 aircraft billet which is not easily bendable. To do the bend(s) would require going to a bendable aluminum like 6063 which for a rack isn't something I'd prefer to do. There are other ways to protect paint, either by carefully loading it (with all the bungee points savailable on these it should be easy to do) or by applying a small piece of clear paint protection film to the hump.

I'm now working on calculating machining costs so as soon as all the pieces of the puzzle are ready I'll at least be able to give an idea of where the prices will fall. Stay tuned...

I do plan on setting the height an angle as such to minimizing the hump intererence, so onve I have a rack cut I can them alleviate that issue as much as possible.

Every operation has a cost involved. This said, just having to bend is one thing, but when you have to heat to a certain temp, and do so in a jig so that they're all identical, you're getting into a lot more than most realize as it takes 5-10 times longer per piece. The right angle combined with all the bungee points you have on both should make keeping your gear off the paint. Then too there is always the clear film some use on their tanks to protect the paint where their pants rub on the paint.

Travelin Man - 2010-03-08 9:19 PM Also, for my personal tastes I would choose number 4 in the drawings. The winged V is just a little too gaudy for me as I'm also not a fan of the winged V Victory logo either. Take number 4 and add a couple of curved bars to protect the curved top of the trunk and then price it around the $289 that Kury Akyn gets for the the Goldwing luggage rack pictured in my previous post and you will have something then. The rack doesn't have to be flat aluminum either, an aluminum rack like that is heavy, just ask anyone who has had one on their Goldwing (as I did), it could very easily be made of thin wall tubular steel that would be half the weight of a solid aluminum rack and you could more easily bend the tubular steel to match the contours of the trunk and allow easy mounting of flag poles and a trunk rack bag as shown in the picture below.

You want all that and for the price of cheap overseas made parts for your American bike? I'll bet you want good chrome too for that? I make top of the line, show quality parts, with chrome unlike any other. We treat each production part as it was a one off custom. No one does triple show chrome like ours. Triple chrome is one thing, triple show chrome is another. ALL of our parts are triple show chrome... first mirror polished, then copper plated AND BUFFED, then nickel plated AND  BUFFED, and then chromium plated, and then final buffed. If most others use copper at all, it is not buffed, nor is their nickel layer. That's called 1-2-3 plating, aka production plating. The difference is our show quality chrome looks silky smooth, as if chrome, like melted butter, was poured over it.

As for weight, quite the contrary. I'll have you know that these racks are extremely light and will likely stay near the 2 lb range.

Thanks Kevin, I'll do just that.

Anyone can make a utilitarian rack, but to truly make something unique, something that actually adds to your bike even when it's not being loaded with gear, to me, is something far greater.

We don't yet have all the final details and expenses in, but the preliminary indicators are they'll be in the mid/upper $400's or so. As In the next few days all the pieces of the puzzle will be complete and a hard price will be posted. I am doing my best to keep it as low as possibly of course, but will not cut corners or make sacrifices to do it.

Stay tuned...

Travelin Man - 2010-03-09 9:24 AM Point taken but in the goal of getting more people to purchase Visions we need economical and quality accessories, if the most useful of accessories is priced as a custom part where a custom quality part is not needed then people will not look to purchase the Vision or any other Victory motorcycles. Look at the Goldwing and Ultra Classic, the after market has tons of well made high quality accessories for the people who actually use their touring motorcycle to tour and not just for show. I am in manufacturing myself and although I manufacture cutting tools I have the same high end CNC machining centers, CNC lathes and wire edm machines from names like Mazak, Milltronics, and Agie. I have made one offs for myself and friends and I know that between set-up times the costs of beginning a production run, if you are selling direct you can manufacture a high quality product that is still economical. I didn't purchase my Victory Vision because it is American made, although that helped, I purchased it because it was the most comfortable motorcycle to do the job I required of it and with the factory options available that I desired.

You see, that's where our differences are. I am not making parts to lure people to buy a Vision, that's for the Vic marketing dept. Do I promote the brand, sure I do. As for bringing custom quality at a value, I think I do, as do my customers. As you've obviously never seen my goods in person I'll wait until you do and then we can have this conversation properly. Just my chroming costs alone would blow your mind, in most cases actually costing more than the part itself.

As you have all that equipment and it's so cheap to do, why don't you simply come out with a welded utilitarian tubular rack for yourself and others? I'll cover my demographic of customers who seek innovation, top quality, and craftsmanship before worrying about price when they're riding $20K plus motorcycles. I never claim my goods are for everyone,but I do have a niche and a style to what I do, and that said I do not I intend to go after every nook and cranny of the market, especially the low end goods like tubular racks. 

I'm not here to debate you on aluminum properties. I could cut and paste from an aluminum site too. The point is, every operation you add has a cost factor involved. Bending 6061 (never said can't), done properly requires heat. This added operation is a PITA and would raise the price more than its worth. Could I use 6063? Probably, and bending would be simpler with no need for heat. Then again if someone secures things too tightly it theoretically could bend, although not with normal use. As I try to eliminate potential problems in my designs, I am not taking the responsibility for someone overdoing the tie downs.  

As for 6061 being the cheapest alloy so don't be cute, as it is not... Maybe in the aircraft grades,  or maybe the types of parts you've done were for higher technical applications, but you and I well know that 6061-T6 is the standard for all practical purposes under such usage and an excellent material both strengthwise and for polishing and chroming. You and I also know there are many other alloys much cheaper. I'd run off a list for you but I don't need to as you already know them if you're a metal worker and machinist.

TM, starting with such a chunk of billet would be not only a waste of money with most of it going to the floor, but with the second waste being the added machining time itself it's just not workable. I appreciate your offer of help but I've got my longtime machinist already on it like a cougar on a crippled chicken. As for the lip, if I angle the rack only a couple of degrees higher in the front it will solve the same issue, as well as allow room to clean under the front, a complaint of many during the development. Bottom line? I have yet to bring a part to market that did not do as intended, and that is because I design them with all aspects in mind.  

VP, thanks for thinking along my lines!