Aftermarket trunks for SWINGS

Do you really have to spend big bucks for a fancy GIVI mounting bracket and large trunk for my 2004 SWING? 80 bucks for a rear mounting bracket? REALLY? And 1 to 300 clams for a trunk??? Any nice Chinese GIVI clones and or brackets for much less out there? I haven't seen any yet. I had a million options on my Helix for a lot less. Any help is appreciated here. Thanks, Michael.

It's all according; Givi stuff is expensive but very long-lasting.

If my new-to-me latest Silverwing hadn't come with an E52 I'd have kept the one which was on my previous 'Wing.

I'd had that box for more than ten years and it was as good as new.

Earlier in the year I lost one key so purchased for less than £10 a new Givi lock which came with two keys.

The 'new' box will probably see me out.

I have L cheap O's from off E-bay had never a problem, But if you roll your bike over 3 times at 60mph it will not hold up. Not going to pay big bucks to haul my junk around.

I bought one from ebay $60+/- ==put it on a 200 Aprilla then a 400 Majesty++then
on an 04 Swing and now on the 06 Swing and still using the same mounting bolts.
This past Tuesday the hook on top of the lid fastner broke on a trip on the big road.
Lucky to have a bungee cord -problem solved. When I got home I repaired it with a
piece of alumnium. Important thing it is tight again. No money involved. Anyone needs
a GIVI bracket I got one,

On this forum Givi stands supreme!!! Just saying. But their prices are very dear. I use an Emgo trunk on my SWing and have since 2012. Before that it was on my 2009 Kawasaki KLR. It is made of polyethylene instead of hard plastic on others. Cost me about 60 bucks years ago:

https://www.denniskirk.com/emgo/travel-trunk-72-32440.p493508.prd/493508.sku?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cse&gclid=CjwKCAjwkrrbBRB9EiwAhlN8_DEbplL_moTm9ZgompvCk8cRT4sBbag0AkX_WXlla3fRAVwGteJRZRoC1AwQAvD_BwE&ad=45713337637

It does not have a light kit but most people tell me that is the first trouble area on a Givi and they disconnect them. Never had one so don't know.

Good luck.

My wife and I have Bestem top cases on ours. We like them and they have lights. They been to Alaska and back so far, and to Sturgis this past week and back. And they're standing up just fine to the abuse on the road.

I have both Bestem and Givi box's-----Givi now 20 years old and over 500,000 miles on various bikes/scooters. Heavy/strong. When new some of the extra junk fails...lite/document holder/top retension cords. But they are strong, both my boxes have holes cut in the tops for dog to stick head out. Givi has been good investment for me.

My current CB300F has Bestem Box mounted on Hepco & Becker rack from Germany. Bolted solid. I use extra seccurity bolt with both. Paid $40 for the Bestem, Givi in the hundreds. I consider both good investment.

On SilverWing, box can be bolted direct to rear wing, even using the pre-cast starter holes!

I never make use of the quick on/off features of both boxes...my world, easy off/on means can also fall off! They are bolted solid.

Based on price Bestem is good deal.

Hepco & Becker also make top boxes----rode to North Cap in Norway with one----didn't break of fall off.

I agree with John.  Bolt on rather than using the mount.  In the past, I would put the mount on and never take the box off, so I have resorted to just bolting them on.

To store it?  It stores pretty well, right on the bike.

I looked at a display of Bestem top boxes in a motorcycle accessories store a few years ago simply because I'd read about them on here. I can't say I was impressed, and compared to the popular European brands they looked cheap and nasty, similar to the basic budget priced black plastic top boxes for sale on eBay.

I've been using a Givi E52 and E55 for years, I store my helmet in them off the scooter, load 'em up with bags of groceries, and keep my pack of overnight gear in them when using overnight ferries.

It's irrelevant saying a top box has been to various states and countries, so has the rest of the scooter and every thing else you take with you.

You may have had to drill holes and bolt on fibreglass top boxes onto rear racks and carriers donkeys years ago, so why butcher a perfectly serviceable Givi or similar when they clamp and lock onto a rear rack specifically made for them because you're concerned they 'might fall off'. They don't, there's a reassuring click as box latches onto the mounts on the rack and then lock them.

By not drilling unnecessary holes in them you can utilise your Givi top box on your next scooter simply by purchasing the specific mounting kit for it. Those 4 holes drilled specifically for the Silver Wing rear rack aren't going to work on a maxi scooter where you utilise the holes where a backrest has been to mount a rear rack, or have to drill through tupperware using a supplied template.

There is a company named Mutazu that sells aftermkt trunks & saddlebags. I had one on my 05 VTX & it lasted for the whole time I owned the bike. Was roughly 100 dollars.

I have a Bestem box.  Like it for the price, much cheaper than Givi.  Had to make some custom mounting bars out of Aluminum to adapt the curve on the rear rack mount.   And it came in a color that looks like it was painted to match the bike.  

Had a PCX 150 with the factory Honda box.  Can't say that box was head and shoulders above the bestem in terms of quality or sturdiness, but it had to have cost about 5x as much.

EvilTwin wrote:

I have a Bestem box.  Like it for the price, much cheaper than Givi.  Had to make some custom mounting bars out of Aluminum to adapt the curve on the rear rack mount.   And it came in a color that looks like it was painted to match the bike.  

Had a PCX 150 with the factory Honda box.  Can't say that box was head and shoulders above the bestem in terms of quality or sturdiness, but it had to have cost about 5x as much.

Photos of your custom mounting bars, please... please and thank you.

Tim

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

EvilTwin wrote:

I have a Bestem box.  Like it for the price, much cheaper than Givi.  Had to make some custom mounting bars out of Aluminum to adapt the curve on the rear rack mount.   And it came in a color that looks like it was painted to match the bike.  

Had a PCX 150 with the factory Honda box.  Can't say that box was head and shoulders above the bestem in terms of quality or sturdiness, but it had to have cost about 5x as much.

Photos of your custom mounting bars, please... please and thank you.

Tim

I didn't take as many pix as I usually do, but here's what I got. I used stainless hardware not the stuff supplied with the box and tapped the aluminum bar so I didn't have to worry about using nuts. Used an anti-seize on the threads.


Drilled underside of mount through



Test positioned bars



Shows some of the hand shaping of the underside to match the curve of the mount



Drilling second set of hole for the box mount plate



Tapping the bar for the screws



Mount plate for box installed

Many nice choices, but I need a removeable rear box like my Helix had so I can use it for travel accessories and remove it at night and take it in to the motel when I travel. Most are removable with the key bracket. If I didn't travel, I would bolt it to the bike directly as well. Nice job on the bracket fabrications above, gives me some great ideas. Wow, this forum is starting to pay off nicely with all the knowledgeable folks. Thanks!

The Bestem box is removable. Same lock that opens it, secures it to the base, you just dont push on the bar to unlock the base.

The box lets me store the helmet at work or carry home extra groceries from the store. I don't normally worry about it too much if I park the bike. If somebody wants to steal it or its contents, it will come off easily enough with a pry bar. Even the compartment under the seat would be short work with a cro bar. Locks generally keep honest people honest, if a thief wants it, they will get it.

SilverCellist wrote:

 Wow, this forum is starting to pay off nicely with all the knowledgeable folks.  Thanks!

Yep, worth twice the monthly fee!

I wasn’t able to find any Bestem box available?

Max Q wrote:

I wasn’t able to find any Bestem box available?

They were all over the place 8-9 months ago when I got mine, looks like they gone. No matter, there are a bunch of other chinese clone boxes to take their place.

SilverCellist wrote:

Many nice choices, but I need a removeable rear box like my Helix had so I can use it for travel accessories and remove it at night and take it in to the motel when I travel.  Most are removable with the key bracket.  If I didn't travel, I would bolt it to the bike directly as well.  Nice job on the bracket fabrications above, gives me some great ideas.  Wow, this forum is starting to pay off nicely with all the knowledgeable folks.  Thanks!

I used a Non Fango 52 litre removable top box on the Helix I had for 8 years, but I never felt the need to remove it and carry it into hotels, motels, or up to cabins on overnight ferries. It was simpler to have a fitted inner bag, holdall, or daysack packed with all my stuff inside the box and take that with me into my accomodation.

It's what I do no with my Givi E55 top box, I only remove it to occasionally clean the rear rack or need it to strap a luggage back on.

One thing I miss about the Helix is that long low tunnel. I've never been able to fit the large Chase Harper Europa tank bag I converted into a tunnel bag onto any other maxi scooter I've owned since.

The Bestem boxes we got came with an aluminum mount made specifically for the Silver Wing. That box was discontinued some time back. My bike came with one (slightly used 2012) and we found a matching one on eBay for my wife's new 2013 with the same polished aluminum inset in the lid and LED tail and brake lights on it. The whole light strip below the lid lights up and goes bright with the brakes on, including the one in the lid. The lid one only comes on with brakes.

We each carried probably 12-14 lbs of stuff in them on our Alaska trip and they stood up to sections of road that was 40-50 miles at a crack of washboard gravel in construction stretches on the Alcan that shakes your teeth out. Nothing ever loosened up on those boxes, they have nice liners in them with a X-style cargo strap - dust never got into them, rain never got into them, and they still look like new after 10,000 miles of less than ideal conditions touring in one month. I see absolutely nothing wrong with them as far as quality.