I can second the part about taking off the tail piece not being a problem. I too was worried when I fitted my new exhaust, but it turned out that I couldn't really do anything wrong even if I tried. :)

http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?p=175449#post175449

it's official... the rack can handle a punch... :nod:

Finally got the Givi pannier racks ordered and attached(Trekker cases themselves out of stock and having to wait until the Italians have their month long holidays :))

Went on super easy to be honest, and yes the tail piece coming off was a doddle. Only tricky part was the 2 nuts on the inside of the electric bay under the seat - very fiddly with a few choice words ;) All in all, whole process took me about 40 mins tonight from start to finish.

Now that the whole assembly is on the bike it is rock solid!

However, after fitting them it occurred to me that is it advisable to have covered each thread in Loctite or equivalent to stop them ever coming loose - bearing in mind all the weight that`ll be clipped to them?

Anyone ever do this with pannier frames or do they just tighten as normal?

(to be fair, mine were rock solid once I tightened every bolt etc, but curious, as dont really want to start again from scratch lol)

Andy

(Pictures to follow if requested)

when I had first installed my SW Motech rack I had forgotten the loctite as well. After it came loose I did not forget anymore...

you might be right. The 2 main attachment bolts are nylock bolts so no need to loctite those, but the ones that connect to rear foot rest pegs and the rear cross bar are simply metal on metal so i`ll get some blue on them