|
|
|
Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 18th April 2007 15:13
Posts: 7,
Visits: 29
|
|
On the recommencement of a daily commute I decided to to a rack and top box fitted to the Fazer.
Yup I know, about as cool as a Porsche 911 towing a caravan... but hey, in go shoes, trousers and the all important lunch box, as well as always being able to carry spare socks, neck warmer and thermal layer etc.
The other half loves it as she's no longer paranoid about falling off the stern, and when not commuting it's a great place to store the lid and gloves and then fill up with a bit of shopping. And, when not needed, the Givi mono-lock system means a quarter turn of the key, push a button and it's off.
So I've not quite reached the age where cardigans and slippers seem necessary, but perhaps I'm getting there. But, I don't care.
Keep safe ;0
ps - oh, and it's a useful place to put the UK Bike sticker!
|
|
|
|
|
Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 21st May 2009 15:43
Posts: 445,
Visits: 814
|
|
| I don't think having a Top Box makes you old. I might get one for my bike (when I upgrade from my 125) and I'm 22! It's practical, like having a boot in a car... only no room for the golf clubs. Plus the bonus of not having your pillion fall off makes it safer too. I know Roadhoover won't agree... creates too much drag for hm 
Yamaha FZS 600 Fazer ... in gold! Ride safe, and look out for the Rainbow of Death! There're only 3 kinds of people in the world, those who can count, and those that can't. Roses are red, Violets are Blue, I'm a schizophrenic ..... and so am I! Take pity on the man who invented the drawing board, when he screwed up, he had nothing to fall back on. Stuff everything, I've always got my bike.
|
|
|
|
|
Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 23rd August 2010 20:19
Posts: 1,002,
Visits: 1,795
|
|
| Shame to admit it, but I am considering a topbox for the Bandit, and for pretty much the reasons given above. I can get my normal workday stuff in a rucksack, but for anything else it's a pain. Also, my Mrs isn't the most confident of passengers (I wonder why ???) and something behind her might persuade her that she won't shoot straight off the back when I apply a little bit of right wrist. The only bike she ever said she would like to ride on was a huge full-dress Wing we saw on the ferry last year, with a sculptured, tailored, black leather pillion seat with arms and a headrest. I must admit it looked comfy - to have in front of the telly! Perhaps a topbox will be the appropriate compromise. I can't get over the fact that they look so crap, though.
--
2003 ST1300 Pan Euro
1995 Yam XT600E
http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/
|
|
|
|
|
Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 27th April 2009 13:10
Posts: 137,
Visits: 199
|
|
| I have one on my bike and use it every time my daughter goes on the back, she loves it especially when mum pulls a wheelie (not intentional I can tell you). But as you say fab for storing stuff when you are out and about, (said daughters helmet for one as she has a habit of dropping her lids) I would rather look like a twerp than have to carry her lid everywhere and worry that she is off the back when as you say BD a little twist of the ole right hand....
.............................................................................................. Its not the years of your life but the life in your years...or thanks to Black Dog, Its not the men in your life but the life in your men"....
www.yam-xt.com
|
|
|
|
|
Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 23rd August 2010 20:19
Posts: 1,002,
Visits: 1,795
|
|
| OK, done it. Givi V46 top box and monorack. Waaaaaaaaaaaay expensive, but extremely good quality. The rack fitted to the bike like it was made for it (which is was, but you know what I mean) and is very solid. The box is good too - positive closing and apparently watertight. On the bike it looks OK. It's very tall, as the Bandit is quite high at the back and the box is almost at my shoulder level. But it sort of goes with the bike, and doesn't look too clumsy. And it is removeable if I want to return to the naked look. The rack and plate on their own aren't too obtrusive - in fact they look quite cool. Two problems. 1. You can't take the key out of the lock unless the box is locked. This means that for local/casual journeys where security isn't an issue, you can't ride around with the box unlocked and just pop stuff in and out as you please. Small inconvenience, I suppose, but if you keep the box key on the bike keyring (and I would forget it otherwise) you have to stop the engine and take the keys out if you want to get into the box, and faff around with the keys when all you want to do is stuff your shopping in there. 2. I ordered a backrest at the same time as I ordered the box, thinking the better half would prefer it. When I got the thing mounted and the SO on the back, it hits her just in the wrong part of her back, so it's useless. Trouble is, I had already drilled the lid to take the backrest screws. So the rest is going on eBay - not a problem - and I have to find something the plug the holes, which is an irritation. Doubly irritating is that I had a week's wait to get the mounting plate. The box had a slight scratch on it, which I reported to the dealer but as it was the only one he had I decided to keep it. On the day I mounted it all and decided that I didn't want the backrest, the dealer phoned to say he had a brand new topbox in, and would I like to swap it. As I had already drilled the lid, this offer was withdrawn. On the good side, the supplier decided that, as I had had to wait so long for the plate (their fault) they gave me it FOC, which has saved me about 30 squids. Upside is that it is great to ride to work without a rucksack on, and it doesn't seem to affect handling at all - well, not up to the ton, anyways. 
--
2003 ST1300 Pan Euro
1995 Yam XT600E
http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/
|
|
|
|
|
Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 27th April 2009 13:10
Posts: 137,
Visits: 199
|
|
Ere BD mines a ham pineapple and mushroom please 12" ta......
..............................................................................................Its not the years of your life but the life in your years...or thanks to Black Dog, Its not the men in your life but the life in your men"....
www.yam-xt.com
|
|
|
|
|
Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 23rd August 2010 20:19
Posts: 1,002,
Visits: 1,795
|
|
lady p (13/06/2007)
Ere BD mines a ham pineapple and mushroom please 12" ta...... Oi, don't be cheeky. anyway, we don't have ham, pineaple and mushroom in that size. The only 12" we have here is pure beef. Fnarr.
--
2003 ST1300 Pan Euro
1995 Yam XT600E
http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/
|
|
|
|
|
Supreme Being
Group: Administrators
Last Login: 15th July 2009 14:41
Posts: 377,
Visits: 2,187
|
|
| No such thing as 100% beef anymore, apthovirus and assorted canine and ovine charnel back at the turn of the century sorted that one out, I should imagine the poor things are innoculated up to the eyeballs so as not to return to the dark days. this is the age of bio mechanix don't yer know. Nothing like the taste of an utter filth burger with cheese, onions and relish though!!
Sideways through time
|
|
|
|
|
Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 23rd August 2010 20:19
Posts: 1,002,
Visits: 1,795
|
|
| I was merely assuring the esteemed Lady that any products from Dog Mansions were indeed pure beef - especially the 12" ones. OK, that's an exaggeration - 11.5". 
She'll know what I mean.
--
2003 ST1300 Pan Euro
1995 Yam XT600E
http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/
|
|
|
|
|
Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 23rd August 2010 20:19
Posts: 1,002,
Visits: 1,795
|
|
To return to the TOPIC -  I've been having a think about the topbox/backrest thing. When correctly mounted, the box forms quite a nice backrest in itself, as Mrs Dog can verify after 200 miles of hooning on Sunday. When the backrest is fitted, it hits her back just under the shoulder-blades and pushes her forward by 2-3", enough to make it very uncomfortable. There isn't enough fore-and-aft movement in the mounting plate for the box to allow it to sit far enough back, and in any case, the support you want for a long day in the saddle is for your lower back, not your shoulder-blades. So have Givi got it completely wrong? Maybe the design hasn't been re-thought for modern bikes. Looking at the whole kit from the side, the backrest position would make perfect sense if the bike were a 1960s tourer with a flat dual-seat and a rack above the rear mudguard. The topbox would sit horizontal with its base in a line with the seat or slightly below, and the rest would hit your back around the kidney area - ideal. The problem is with modern bike design, where the **** of the bike sits high in the air. There is a tail-piece high above the rear wheel, often with a grab-handle on top of that, and the box has to be mounted higher than that (I would guess that the side-rails need to be high too, so that if panniers are fitted they clear a modern rising exhaust - unlike, say, a 60s Triumph twin with silencers parallel to the ground). The mounting plate between rack and box, to allow for the QD fitting, raises the whole plot another inch or so, and the angle of the whole thing pitches the box forward at the top. This is a bit of musing about nothing at all, really. But if someone wanted to fit a backrest to a topcase, I would recommend looking at a picture for the position of the box and rest, and then try it out with a rolled-up towel first, before committing any money. I wish I'd done this - it would have saved me some hassle and avoided unnecessarily drilling holes in my new topbox, which let a few drops in during yesterday's downpour. The rest has been sold on eBay for almost as much as I paid for it, so no harm done. And the box is well worth the slight damage to the old biker image, for picking up shopping and stuff on the way to work. Oh, and A40, Whitland bypass, Saturday morning, 0830 hrs. Topbox does not affect stability up to 130mph. (Or so a friend told me.)
--
2003 ST1300 Pan Euro
1995 Yam XT600E
http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/
|
|
|
|