Top Boxes

Stovepipes · 3 Feb 2015 at 10:45

For my scooter I bought a cheap top box and given the weight I load & speeds I do it's fine & seems secure but I notice that Givi/Kappa do 2 ranges a monolock mainly for scooters and a more secure monokey aimed at motorbikes. With a bit of luck I'll have done my DAS in a few weeks and have bought a 600cc bike but don't fancy spending £200+ quid on a top box and mount, are there cheaper options or is Monolock really necessary?

Monkey Puzzle · 4 Feb 2015 at 01:28

I got a givi e55, mainly as it's the biggest I could find, looks as nice as top-boxes go, and you can wire up accessory lights to it for greater rear visibility. But the big cheapy 50 quid topbox I have on my 125 is actually probably more secure (as it has a metal lock rather than plastic for the retaining hooks), and is quicker to close (unless really overfilled and then the halves of the topbox can need to be wiggled a bit as the structure of it isn't as robust as the givi).

ElliorR · 4 Feb 2015 at 10:28

Whatever you get make sure you get the monokey, or equivalent, as for some reason it really annoys me when I see full licence motorbikes with a monolock topbox. It actually stopped me buying a bike several years ago.

dangermouse425 · 4 Feb 2015 at 12:46

Depending on what bike you're getting, it might be worth keeping an eye out for ones with luggage. What kind of bike did you have your eyes on?

TallPaul_S · 4 Feb 2015 at 13:10

Yeah there's quite a few bikes with OEM luggage (I like the look of the BMW panniers, never used them though) which are always an option.

phil675 · 4 Feb 2015 at 13:24

While we're on the subject I just bought a bike and it came with a Givi top box but I don't know what sort it is. It looks like its just bolted onto the luggage rack with no adaptor thing inbetween, is this how its supposed to be?

Pics:

.one. · 4 Feb 2015 at 15:25

Here is one of my 12s fully loaded the Givi top box can hold 2 * lids

Stovepipes · 4 Feb 2015 at 19:37

The thing is if a lot of people have been using Monolock on their motorbikes without issue then is it worth spending the additional on cash on Monokey? Although saying that I would like the option of putting loading it with more than 3kg.
I'm also looking at other top box manufacturers to see what they do. I may be wrong but Shad don't seem to have different adapters neither do Coocase and as their top boxes are quality branded products and still a fair bit cheaper than Givi/Kappa I may go with them. I think Givi's options have me sufficiently worried that my top box may fly off my bike when I hit 70mph but I'm probably being paranoid.

dangermouse425 said:
Depending on what bike you're getting, it might be worth keeping an eye out for ones with luggage. What kind of bike did you have your eyes on?

Realistically a used, low mileage Kawasaki ER-6 or Yamaha MT-03 but I may go nuts and buy a brand new bike if I miraculously find a better job in the next couple of months

phil675 said:
While we're on the subject I just bought a bike and it came with a Givi top box but I don't know what sort it is. It looks like its just bolted onto the luggage rack with no adaptor thing inbetween, is this how its supposed to be?

Pics:
http://i.imgur.com/E2577gh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/W6naZpf.jpg

Looks like Monolock to me. The universal plate is connected to the rack on your bike and the Top box locks onto that.

.one. · 4 Feb 2015 at 19:48

Mine is a MonoKey and the quality is very nice and BIG like a tartis I carry much more than the recommended weight and have done for many years with out problems but you go on your own judgement.

The box was £200 ish at the time and the rack £80 ish but when doing rallies and shopping I would not be with out.

The Monolock fitting just look nasty in comparison.

.one. · 4 Feb 2015 at 19:54

Stovepipes said:
Th I think Givi's options have me sufficiently worried that my top box may fly off my bike when I hit 70mph but I'm probably being paranoid.

Are you saying a givi top box may come off at 70 ?

The above set up in my pic travels at 90+ and with just the top box loaded I would have no problems and do regularly 140+

Stovepipes · 4 Feb 2015 at 20:14

.one. said:
Are you saying a givi top box may come off at 70 ?

The above set up in my pic travels at 90+ and with just the top box loaded I would have no problems and do 140+

I'm not but I think Givi are or suggesting it with Monolock and thus they want you to go with Monokey for big bikes.

I think I'll send an e-mail to Coocase just to reassure me that their cases are safe for big bikes cause I quite fancy their Coocase V50 Reflex Luxury which comes with brake lights, an alarm and remote opening for £150.

phil675 · 4 Feb 2015 at 23:26

Stovepipes said:
Looks like Monolock to me. The universal plate is connected to the rack on your bike and the Top box locks onto that.

Oh ok thanks, I'm just getting into biking so I want to know everything that's going on with my bike

Stovepipes · 5 Feb 2015 at 11:07

phil675 said:
Oh ok thanks, I'm just getting into biking so I want to know everything that's going on with my bike

You and me both. If it's a genuine Givi plate and you decide you want a bigger Top box you can simply buy any monolock one and replace it, I think it's as simple as turning the key one way, pressing the release button and lifting it off.

I too have recently got into biking, I've only had my scooter for a couple of months and as much as it scares me it's so bloody convenient especially when there's bus strikes and trains aren't stopping at Charring cross for some reason. Still I feel the need to move up now and am kinda regretting buying a brand new scooter, oh the depreciation.

atpbx · 5 Feb 2015 at 15:10

No manufacturer option?

TripleT · 5 Feb 2015 at 16:10

The 3kg limit on monokey is bull. I've got a monokey on my 125 which I regularly fill with a laptop, a bag, waterproofs, it's heavy and I've done that for two years without issue.

ElliorR · 5 Feb 2015 at 16:33

It's not a limit it's a challenge.

Stovepipes · 6 Feb 2015 at 09:46

atpbx said:
No manufacturer option?

I don't know if there is for a Kawasaki ER6 but even if there is surely it's bound to be expensive?
I mean the Givi rack is about half the price of the official Yamaha one for my scooter and the official top box is 3 times more expensive than the cheap one I bought and around £40 more than the same sized Givi one.

NooBish AbbZ · 11 Feb 2015 at 20:35

whatever you get be careful. I had a topbox on my SV650S for a few weeks and immediately removed once I noticed that it has cracked my tail fairing on both sides

Make sure you get one that attaches to the frame/footpegs or something like that. Mine was just a small rack that used the same 2 bolts as the standard grab rail for the passenger.

Stovepipes · 12 Feb 2015 at 18:44

NooBish AbbZ said:
whatever you get be careful. I had a topbox on my SV650S for a few weeks and immediately removed once I noticed that it has cracked my tail fairing on both sides Make sure you get one that attaches to the frame/footpegs or something like that. Mine was just a small rack that used the same 2 bolts as the standard grab rail for the passenger.

I'm happy to spend the money on the rear rack it's just I wasn't sure if it was worth spending the money on the actual top box, I'm still not sure it's worth it but after googling I found the Coocase mentioned earlier and I think I'll go with that.