Happy Trails Blog

Happy Trails SU Racks & Panniers are the best choice for your Adventure Bike Ken Hunter Packing Seminar Happy Trails Racks & Panniers Our friend Ken Hunter has put many miles on Happy Trails SU Racks & Panniers since we first met. Ken’s video Packing A Dual Sport Motorcycle For An Adventure Ride - Ken Hunter Seminar has helped many a rider with their packing. After you have watched his video you will see how Ken has become a strategic packer with his Happy Trails Panniers to make multiple day trips a pleasure. Ken Hunter Happy Trails Panniers 101 Blog Post was created because riders had questions on the features and construction of the Panniers. Continue reading →

Happy Trails BMW F850 SU Rack is just what you are looking for.  Happy Trails BMW F850 SU Rack & Top Plate Happy Trails has the BMW F750 & F850 has the SU Rack with the Point1 pressed insert design which adds to the ease and functionality you've come to expect from our pannier systems. Details HERE.   The SU Rack should be a thirty minute install!   The design of the SU Rack is a symmetrical design.  The total width of the racks is 23”. Continue reading →

Happy Trails has the KTM790 luggage options you need. The KTM790 SU Rack has the Happy Trails Point1 pressed insert design which adds to the ease and functionality you've come to expect from our pannier systems. Details HERE.   The SU Rack should be a fifteen to  thirty minute install!   The design of the SU Rack is an asymmetrical design. The total width of the racks is 22” therefore the offset is about 2 3/16”. Weight: 11-12 lbs with hardware Finish: black powder coat paint only Using the Happy Trails Clif Cut Pannier design we decrease the offset to  1 1/2” which leaves 11/16” difference, so the offset is really not that noticeable of an offset with the panniers on the bike. The Teton Panniers come in three widths, 71/2”, 9” and 10 1/2”. Continue reading →

Customers have had a lot of questions on the capability of carrying extra fuel on the Honda Africa Twin. A long time customer, Billy Ray, stopped at Happy Trails and showed us his "Honda Africa Twin One Gallon Rotopax". Billy Ray had used the the Inner Tool Plate mount on the Happy Trails SU rack to mount his one gallon Rotopax container. The Happy Trails SU Rack for the Africa Twin design uses a plate welded into the left side SU Rack to mount the Inner Tool Tray. Using the Rotopax Standard Mount and the Rotopax One Gallon Fuel Pack the combination worked very well to pack the extra fuel. The Pannier Kit that was used on the African Twin was the Teton 7 1/2" Clif Cut  with the Powder Coat Black option. The Teton 7 1/2 Clif Cut has 7 1/2" Lid with a 6" body, so this combination gives you a 36" width of the panniers with a total capacity of 52 liters.  One of the recent comments we received on the installation of the Africa Twin Pannier kit was; "this was the easiest installation I have on any bike so far." Continue reading →

We received an email from a customer telling us the Happy Trails PD Nerf Engine Guards for his 2017 Suzuki DL650 XT were interfering with stock mud guard on the engine. "I got my Happy Trails PD Nerf Engine Guards for my 2017 Suzuki DL650 XT and they  didn't fit over the plastic engine mud guard. So like all inventive people I made...

Happy Trails Products is proud to announce the 2018 Heart of Idaho Rally. The dates for the event are September 6-9 2018. The 2018 Heart of Idaho Rally will be just out of Cambridge Idaho at Mundo Hot Springs. Mundo Hot Springs offers tent camping, RV Spaces, a Hostel, one Cabin and a rental house. The 2018 Heart of Idaho Rally...

Happy Trails Product is proud to announce Kawasaki Versys 300 SU Rack Luggage Rack. With Kawasaki’s introduction of the Versys 300 in 2017 it left some wondering what the bike would be like. We keep hearing “entry level”, “low price” and “beginner” terms tossed around describing the Versys 296cc parallel twin. Don Canet in a Cycle World article had a comment that stuck with me. “ Kawasaki has delivered a bike that’s destined to become a top-seller in its line.” It has been proven to me over and over that a Dual Sport bike (current term Adventure Bike) does not have to bust the bank to be meet your needs. As a matter of fact my motto is “don’t out ride your deductible”. Bottom line is you want something that will perform on the weekend and take you on a multi day trip also. In my opinion the KLR has set the benchmark that ALL of the Dual Sport Bikes are judged by. Will the Versys 300 replace the KLR? No way, they each meet a need and I have been assured the only thing left after WWIII will be cockroaches and the KLR. Continue reading →

What Child is this? What Child is this? What a great question! Did you know that the song “What Child is this” was written in 1865 by William Chatterton Dix. At the time he was recovering from the illness he underwent a spiritual renewal. How is it that at times when we think we are down and out we are on the edge of greatness, if we would only persist a bit longer. This year for Christmas Sherry and Jen talked about volunteering somewhere and through Jen’s work at ACOSTA an opportunity came about through the Idaho Youth Ranch and Hayes House. Supplying Christmas Eve dinner for Hayes House and Hands of Promise along with gifts and necessities was the mission. Mike, Jen, The employees at ACOSTA would furnish the food, gifts, blankets, necessities and Gift Cards for the teen residents. WOW is all I can say about the contributions that came out of this. Sherry immediately started networking through Boise Basin Quilters to supply a quilt for each of the teen residents. Through Sherry’s efforts twenty five quilts were supplied! Some of the quilts were complete and some were not, this prompted more networking and the whirr of the sewing machines were persistent until all twenty five of the precious quilts were completed. Continue reading →

Video Transcript: Today we'll be visiting Birds of Prey motorsports and Caldwell Idaho where my friend Ken Hunter will be doing a seminar on how he packs his dual sport for adventure rides. In the last 10 years, Ken has stacked up an impressive 200,000 miles of adventure including: The Transamerica Trail Tennessee to the Oregon coast. The Continental Divide Trail The Pony Express route At least four trips to Alaska And has even fit in some overseas adventure in Thailand ...so needless to say he has some experience packing a bike for adventure. Continue reading →

Robert Runyard used to be a test rider for Yamaha Motors (and Yamaha Parts Distributors) back in the 1970s.  In 1977 he borrowed an XS650 and rode it to Tierra del Fuego.   He decided back then that he really liked southern Patagonia and that one day he’d return and stay there.   He made good on that in 2008 when he...