Stella Bike Rack Mod

The original 2-stroke Genuine scooter and its 4-stroke manual and automatic offspring

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jamisfoes
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Stella Bike Rack Mod

Post by jamisfoes »

I fashioned a bike rack after Shane Kullman's bike rack http://whoridesavespa.com/2007/12/18/is ... n-a-vespa/ .
Mtb is a passion of mine. I live at the base of a hill and getting to the trailhead requires climbing this hill on pavement. I hate climbing it on my bike and feel guilty driving my car there. After getting the Stella 4T I searched the web for the best ways to attach a bike rack to it. Shane Kullman's method seems to work the best.

Tools you will need:
1. An electric drill
2. Two socket wrenches

Materials you will need:
1. Two metal pipes at least 1 inch in diameter (I used the pump body from a broken JoeBlow bike pump and some scrap pipe I have around the house but you can also buy metal pipes from Homedept or Lowes)
2. 4 stainless steel bolts, nuts and lock washers ($6 total from Lowes)
3. 1 Yakima CopperHead Fork Mount Rooftop Bike Rack ($89.10 from Amazon.com)

The hardest part of this project is drilling holes through the fender, floorboard and the pipes and have all these holes line up. Measure twice and drill once. Be patient and you will do just fine.

I deviate from Shane's in that I didn't "form" the front pipe to go under the sito and across the floorboard (see last picture). It's not obvious what he did as you can't tell from the two pictures he has but I assume he went across the floorboard thus required custom flattening the pipe to go through the sito. I simply drill two holes on the right floorboard and mount the pipe on one side (see last picture). Have the pipe go across the floorboard will make the the attachment stronger. However, the way I have it seems to hold up ok. Where you drill the holes on the floor board is important, you don't want the pipe to interfere with the working of the center stand. If you retrieve the center stand, you will notice a space between the legs of the stand and the floor board, this is where you want drill and attach the pipes. See the pictures to get a better idea.

Another thing to mention is after you attach the pipes to the bike, the bike rack mounts to the pipes easily without drilling (the rack has for and aft adjustment). The scooter handles very nicely with a 35lb mountain bike on the rack. I left enough room to put a leg down on the right side and enough room to kick start the bike (Stella kick starts very easy). Since I mounted the rack on the right side where the engine is, the scooter feels a little right side heavy but I quickly get used to the feel and was able to compensate for it when turning and riding.

Update 12/3/2012...After riding the last few weeks with the rack on the right side, I am convinced that mounting it on the right side is the correct decision. The weight balance issue is not realy that noticeable. And you do most of your high speed turning to the left so you don't want the rack to scrape the ground as you lean to the left. On the right hand turns, you just have to slow down and take it easy so that the rack doesn't scrape the ground.

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Last edited by jamisfoes on Mon Dec 03, 2012 4:42 pm, edited 9 times in total.
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skully93
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Post by skully93 »

Very cool mod.
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sippin.fnordies
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Post by sippin.fnordies »

that is an awesome mod! bike carrying is on my short list, though I may be building a multi-purpose trailer for bikes, camping gear, groceries, etc.
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ericalm
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Post by ericalm »

This is GREAT. I've thought of trying to do a rear rack bike carrier mod, but this is better in so many ways.

Kudos!
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
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Tack One.
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Post by Tack One. »

I dig it. good thinking mate.
jamisfoes
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Location: southern california

Post by jamisfoes »

Additional information:
The yellow tube is cut to 21 inches long
The silver tube is cut to 14 inches long.
The bolts I used to bolt the tubes to the footboard and rear fender are 1/4-20 x 2 inches long and stainless steel.

With these dimensions, I am still able to put both feet down after the bike rack is installed.
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JohnKiniston
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Post by JohnKiniston »

That's really cool.

Do you have to bumpstart the bike now? I don't see how you can get your foot to the kicker.
jamisfoes
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Location: southern california

Post by jamisfoes »

I can still put my right foot down and have enough room to kick start the bike.
Last edited by jamisfoes on Mon Dec 03, 2012 4:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Timaeus
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Nice...

Post by Timaeus »

Turn the bike around and beef up the attachment so you can add a passenger! Seriously, this is a really cool mod.
jamisfoes
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Post by jamisfoes »

Thanks. But the handlebar has to face the rear because having the bicycle handle bar in the front interferes with the scooter turning.
Last edited by jamisfoes on Mon Dec 03, 2012 4:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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avonpirate
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Post by avonpirate »

Awsome!!!!
She with the most 'used' toys wins.

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jamisfoes
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Post by jamisfoes »

I am sad to say that this scooter is for sale. Call or text me if you are interested in buying it. Selling it locally only.
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