Luggage Bobbins...

I wanted to add some attachment points for bungees on my Speed Twin 900 because the slant of the Triumph grab rail on it tends to make the hooks want to slide together. I noticed the Honda GB350S, in particular, has some little bungee bobbins on the top shock mounts, so I went looking for some for my Triumph. Digging deep on Google I did find a couple of brands advertised as dedicated luggage bobbins, but they ranged from over $30 to $50. Wow! Waaaay too much.

It occurred to me that I might be able to repurpose some paddock stand bobbins for the job, on the cheap. And, sure enough, that's exactly what I did. Like the expensive ones, they're beefier than the little spindles on the Honda, but that's a good thing.



These were about $5 on AliExpress. They're the type with separate plastic collars. Lots of colors and lots of vendors. You can probably find them on Amazon and/or eBay too, albeit likely priced a little higher.

Make sure to get M8's (6mm & 10mm for some other bike brands also available). Remove the plastic collar and replace your top shock bolts with these alloy bobbins and... VOILA!... $5 luggage bobbins! Included bolts were just the right length. So no additional cost or fuss involved, other than a little dab of blue Locktite.