Nice rack!

Perhaps the greatest challenge for the scooterist, aside from avoiding crazy motorists, is carrying the things you wish to carry, in order to do the things you wish to do, whatever that may be and wherever that may take you.

For this reason, most modern scooters come with a back rack and underseat storage. Some scooter companies offer additional add-on options such as front baskets, hard bags, and so on. Such things are also available as after-market items as well. The downside of this is that these additional items cost money.

If you're like me, money is probably something you are currently trying to save rather than spend, so you may need to be creative. While it is equipped with a rear luggage rack, the People 150's rack is tiny compared to some others, and will not accomodate a crate or other contrivance, so I had to modify the rear rack myself.

I looked at several options. PVC pipe was a thought, but I could not find connectors that would work for my needs. Copper pipe was another option, but I didn't think I wanted that kind of temptation out there for copper scavengers, plus, the stuff is not cheap. So I turned to my basement where I found some 1X3 lumber from a previous project.


A few slices with a saw, a couple holes made with a drill, and several countersunk screws later, and I had my rack extender.


I secured it with some bolts, and then decided to look at my options for carrying devices.



A crate will fit nicely and can be bungeed or zip-tied in place. While it doesn't look elegant at all, a crate can be highly utilitarian.


Since I don't have a car, I was concerned about how I could get my shotgun to the range or the fields without alarming other motorists. A shotgun slung over the shoulder would likely raise too many eyebrows.

I have two Plano hard gun cases, so I used one for some experimentation. For the moment it is secured with screws, but I will be changing that to bolts and wingnuts eventually to enable relatively easy removal.

A test ride revealed that the balance and aerodynamics of the scoot have not been affected. I will have to be careful to balance the load inside the box, but while empty, it doesn't cause any ill effects.


As I was riding, I stopped in at Lee's house. I've been meaning to get over there, and since my afternoon was open, it was an excellent time to stop in. We talked over some iced tea, and he suggested that I attach some reflectors to the box to minimize raised eyebrows from those with badges.

We talked a little more before I hopped back on the scoot. Lee had pointed out one of his neighbors who rebuilds bikes as a hobby. Since I was passing by that gentleman's house, I stopped to admire his most recent accomplishment; a fully restored 1984 Kawasaki 454. While we were talking, he said he had some reflectors I could have, so they are now on either side of the hard case.

I suppose it's a bit unorthodox, but as I said, sometimes you just have to be creative when you don't have any extra funds to throw around. All told, my day's expenses total exactly $0.00. That's a number I can gladly accept.

**Edited to add:**

I rode around with the gun case on the back a little more and one of the nuts holding the rack on came loose. I replaced it and put it on with a lock-washer this time. Now it should hold.

All I need to do now is stain it and try to weatherproof it a bit.