Givi top box...

Greetings, all...had a nice run into the Sierras Saturday with the church crew. Was quite fun flinging the SWing around the corners, except I was riding sweep and had to slow down...the Harleys in front of me were doing the best they could, but they were putting a hitch in my git along!

Anyway, I'm currently planning a three-day to the coast here (yes, the famous Highway 1 from Ft Bragg to Eureka and back on 36 or 299-yes, we'll hit Mattole Road, also).

The previous owner of my machine apparently had a Givi top box on it. He kept the box, but the mounting plate is still installed on the bike. I'd like to get a Givi top box, but I don't know if all Givi top boxes are compatible with all Givi mounting plates...there are, apparently, two different Givi mounting plates available for the SWing, but I can't tell which one I have.

Can anybody clue me in about the Givi top boxes and mounting plates?

Thanks, Wingers!

The Givi Monokey plate has one wedge-shaped mount at the back and two mounts at the front on to which the box slides.



The Monolock plate has a raised slot right across the front if my memory serves me correctly.



Front = towards the front of the bike.



The Monokey boxes are the more expensive range.

You'll probably need to post a picture of what you have to help sort out which mounting plate you have. Or contact the previous owner.

Givi makes two types of boxes, and they have incompatible mounting plates. One is the expensive line where you order ala carte. The other is the less expensive line, like I have that does all I want or need for about $100 less for the equivalent top box.

Whichever you get, I'd like to pass along a suggestion for ordering anything "Givi" within the USA. "Kiwi Dave" is a member of BurgmanUSA and he lives in New Zealand. He has somehow worked out a deal with Givi USA to order as a dealer from them. You order your Givi item...whether it be a top box, side cases or windshield, and he has the item shipped directly to your door from the Givi USA warehouse. He is fast, and offers great customer service. And...he will beat any price of anyone. His website is http://sites.google.com/site/suzukiburgmansidecaseracks/home

When I got my new Burgman 400, I contacted him to see what he could do for a Givi e470, the backrest and mounting plate. Kiwi Dave has a long record of excellent customer service amongst Burgman owners, so you're not dealing with a fly-by-night outfit.

Chris

Monokey:

http://www.solomotoparts.com/product.php?productid=38266&utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Froogle

Monolock:

http://www.solomotoparts.com/product.php?productid=38267&utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Froogle


I reckon my descriptions are pretty accurate.

This is why I pester you all with my incessant questions...there is always someone here who can straighten things out for me...

Thank you, Chris! Didn't think of posting a photo!

Here it is.

I'll run over to Kiwi Dave's as soon as I learn which boxes will fit this plate...

Kinda looks like a toilet seat in that photo....

Thanks, Mike...that clears it up...looks like I have a Monolock plate...

Indeed it does and it looks like that in real life, too!



As Chris said, the Monolock are the cheaper ones - still very good - and that range is more extensive than the Monokey one.



It looks to me as if the two little rubber 'bumpers' are missing at the rear.

I used to find that they sometimes stuck to the bottom of the box when I took it off.

I think you will need them or something in their stead - I don't know if Givi supply them as spares but it might be worth a phone-call to them.

FWIW, I looked at a Monolock (cheaper) and a Monokey top case (more $$) at the local motorcycle dealer. I really could not see a difference worth the extra money. The Monolock cases will come with that mounting plate. The Monokey cases don't; you have to buy a separate mounting plate which is extra $$ on top of the higher cost for the case itself.

IMHO, I'd go for the e450 or the e470. Both are very large and very well constructed. I had a Bestem 2012 case on my first Burgman and it held up well for 49,000 miles — and it wasn't as well made as the Givi Monolock products are.

One other tip: The red lens on almost all top cases is just that. A lens. It is not a red reflector. However, you can buy a sheet of white reflective tape off eBay for a few $$ and cut it to size to fit behind the red lens to make it a giant reflector.

Chris

Chris and my messages have crossed.

Please look back to my last post - I've noticed something in your picture - possible missing parts.

Yep, Mike, I see what you're referring to...the rubber blocks in the front are there, but the rear blocks are missing...went out and confirmed it.

If Givi won't cough up some replacement bumpers, I'll have to find a substitute at Lowe's...

Hey Chris, I had a look at the Givi website and it looks to me like you can run extra brake lights on the top cases...particularly the 450 or 470...did you do that? When I put the AirFlow on, I noticed that the instructions provided by Givi sucked on ice, so I kinda had to feel my way through that. I'd like to wire up extra brake lights, but I'm a little concerned about how good the instructions are from Givi...

I added the reflective tape to the underside of the red lens, instead of adding lights. I think if I were to add lights, I'd get an LED light bar instead that would fit under the top box somewhere. That way, if I removed the top box for some reason, I'd still have the additional brake lights.

I've also heard (not seen) that the switch Givi uses between the top box and the mounting plate is prone to getting just enough corrosion between the contacts to quit working. They may have improved it though.

Chris

Jinglebob wrote:

I'll run over to Kiwi Dave's as soon as I learn which boxes will fit this plate...

That is not an Givi SR-19 ( http://www.giviusa.com/attachfile/content/prodotti_regionali_usa_com/20921/0.0.1.man_sr19.pdf ). The SR-19 has two tabs that stick up ... yours has a raised bar that I expect the case would hook on to. I am thinking it is the older style mount.

I am sure Kiwi Dave will be be able to help answer your question of which boxes.

Daboo wrote:

I added the reflective tape to the underside of the red lens, instead of adding lights.

Added reflective tape both under the red lens and inside the red lens.

Daboo wrote:

I think if I were to add lights, I'd get an LED light bar instead that would fit under the top box somewhere. That way, if I removed the top box for some reason, I'd still have the additional brake lights.

Same exact reason why I mounted elsewhere.

Daboo wrote:

I've also heard (not seen) that the switch Givi uses between the top box and the mounting plate is prone to getting just enough corrosion between the contacts to quit working. They may have improved it though

The Givi lights and switch were horrible quality. Two incadenscent bulbs blew within four months, the switch had multiple problems ... I eventually replaced with the Admore Lighting LEDs.

Good to know about the Givi lights...won't bother with them, as the PO put in an auxiliary light bar already...so the reflective tape is probably a better bet.

I believe the plate is the SR19m, although it's slightly different in appearance and may be, as you suggest, an older version. I think it will work with the Monolock boxes, but should probably call Givi and verify it...

Cor blimey!
Jinglebob's rack is for Monolock boxes.
Anyone else want to throw in their two penn'th?

HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Blimey, indeed....

Got two others signing up for the Highway 1 run already-one Sportster, one Goldwing 1500. Probably first or second weekend in October...weather will still be good and my MONOLOCK top box will be filled with the essentials...

besides price, there is a difference. It may not matter to some but it did to me.

The Monolock boxes are thinner and less robust. They do not offer any GIVI racks with the Monolock line due to this. The closing/locking mechanism is also a little more awkward to operate vs. the Monokey line but easy enough to get use to it over time.

The Monokey line is made of thicker plastic and a little more robust. They do offer GIVI top case racks with this line. I personally find the closing/locking mechanism pretty easy to use over the Monolock set-up.

We had the E30 Touring Monolock top case on our Honda Reflex. While perfectly suited to carrying lighter things like a rain suit, extra gloves etc. a compatible GIVI rack was not available. So I ordered a H-D chrome rack and mounted it. The rack was definitely for light duty use only.

On the other hand, we have two other GIVI Monokey cases ... a V46 and an E45. Both can be fitted with a GIVI rack (the same one in fact). The cases and racks are noticably stronger and you can really load these puppies (racks) down.

Hope this helps. ~ sonuvabug ~

It does help-thank you...but at this juncture, I have the Monolock mounting plate already installed and don't care to incur additional expense by replacing it with the Monokey plate....that is, depending on where you shop, an additional $55-70 on top of the box itself.

I'll stick with the Monolock for now. If that proves unsatisfactory over time, I'll change up and do something else...the box won't be on most of the time, anyway, as I store most of my stuff under the seat...I'll only have it on for some additional storage room when touring...

I had a Monolock box on my first X9 - it served me well and I flogged it to a friend when I fitted the Piaggio box.

She had it for several years on her X9 and then sold it with the bike.

Givi has confirmed that it's a Monolock plate compatible with the current crop of Monolock boxes, so that's done. They also sell the rubber grommets.

Will go over to Loew's today to see if they have reflective tape which might work under the lenses...

I ended up buying sheets of reflective tape from eBay. It wasn't expensive.

Chris

Hey Chris, have you ridden with the 450 or 470 box on your B400? Did the bike's handling change much? Those are pretty big boxes...

I had the Givi e450 on my Kymco Bet&Win 250 and loved it. I actually think I liked it better for looks than the Givi e470 I currently have.

I haven't noticed any issues with wind. I rode back from a prison on the eastern side of the mountains on Saturday and hit some high winds going from Vantage through Ellensburg towards Snoqualmie Pass. I was blown around fairly well, but I don't think the top box had much effect one way or another.

Like any top box...or even without a top box, but just using a luggage rack...you want to consider the weight of what you're carrying and place heavier things under the seat if possible.

When I go camping, the heavier items go under the seat, or on the pillion portion of the seat. I'll leave the lighter things to store in the top box as much as possible. When I go to Costco...I'll put things like a case of soy milk or beer back there. But then it is only 5 miles to home and I can live with the weight being up high and behind very easily for that short a ride.

Chris

I''ve got a Givi E52 which I've loaded up on a Yamaha YP250 Majesty, Suzuki 400 and 650 Burgmans, and now my Silver Wing. I had a Non Fango 52 litre top case on a Honda Helix. I've also got the Givi E55 which lets me carry more gear, and I haven't had any problems in the 15 years I've been riding maxi scooters. The 10kg maximum load notice is on the all the Givi cases whatever the size. So fill 'em up and stop worrying about the 'handling, it's not a problem.

We went to Japan and Taiwan two summers ago. If you want to see how scooters can really be used, they can show us a few things.

Here are some of their "top boxes"




This picture didn't come out too clear. But look closely. The scooter on the sidewalk has the front area filled between the feet. Then the rear pillion seat has a pile of boxes probably 4 feet tall. And then...there is a beige bag of something that is partially obscured by the plywood box. That bag went over the rear of the bike and was about 6 inches from the ground!


And all these scooters were probably no larger than 150ccs.

Meldrew wrote:

...So fill 'em up and stop worrying about the 'handling, it's not a problem.

Chris

Yeah...was in the far East 30 years in the Navy and saw many tuk tuks and scooters carrying huge loads.

As you say...will just be a bit careful about distributing the weight and keeping the heavy stuff down low...