You're welcome. Always happy to save someone a few hundred bucks. Enjoy.
JC Whitney top box
- Thread starter suvcw04
- Start date
I am another who has finally admitted a top box is a good idea. The JCW one is the least of evils so I have one to install. I would pay Givi prices if there was one that looked like it belonged on the bike.
FWIW, I was convinced to get one when my brother got one for his beemer. The JCW version actually feels as well made as the beemer options.
FWIW, I was convinced to get one when my brother got one for his beemer. The JCW version actually feels as well made as the beemer options.
Kebmo
Guest
Yes, I'm bringing back an old thread but thought I'd relay that the JCW case prices in this thread for are still the same now. I've used JCW in the past and they were worthwhile then, figure they will be now as well. I'm hoping to have the JCW case arrive/installed in the next week or so. Will post pics if I do a fair job of it.
After you get the mount done dont forget to take the orange panle off and paint it 
It looks nice and I am definitely for saving as much money as possible. But I also can't forget things like 'you get what you pay for' and 'if it seems to good to be true it probably is.' Having not seen or handled one of these in person I can't afford to throw away and gamble even a 'small' amount of my money on something trying to pinch pennies. Fact is that if price was the absolute most important factor above all else I wouldn't be riding a NT700. I am really happy for you guys who have them and love them but for every person here raving about them I can go out on the wider web and find incredibly negative reviews by people who bought them. Since I have waited this long without a top box I can wait till I can afford something I trust. Or maybe I'll find one in real life to touch and decide it's worth the risk..... Have a great day y'all. Gotta go work to earn some gas money.
I agree. Except thsat for every negative i have read there are many more positives.
I know seveeral guys who use them as SIDE cases with no issues, including one on an adv bike who runs dirt roads.
And the one cas i know of the latch "failing" was clearly a case of not locking it properly.
But is you want to spend your money on the expensive stuff it is ok with me after all io was cheap enough to buy the NT instead of a beemer
I know seveeral guys who use them as SIDE cases with no issues, including one on an adv bike who runs dirt roads.
And the one cas i know of the latch "failing" was clearly a case of not locking it properly.
But is you want to spend your money on the expensive stuff it is ok with me
after all io was cheap enough to buy the NT instead of a beemer If you're worried that they won't last long, buy FIVE of the JCW's. That's how many you can get for the price of ONE Honda or Givi. Mine is 6 years old and I have not had a single problem with it.
LOL! That's almost the line I used years ago with a friend who had a $30,000 Harley Road King Classic w/ Screaming Eagle Stage 2 performance enhancements.
When Harley shipped the bike (it was a special order), the dealer called him and told him they had it and would have it ready for him to pick up on Saturday (this was on a Wednesday). Then on Thursday, they called him back and told him that Harley had told them to put the bike back in the box and send it back to Milwaukee. They'd send him a replacement, but it would be two weeks. No explanation for the recall.
He got the bike. The 2nd time he rode it, it came to a screeching halt because the front brakes would get hot and slowly squeeze the discs, bringing the bike to a halt. He went back to Thunder Mountain HD three times with that problem. Bike had to be trailered back.
He had it back and was pumping gas into it one day when he realized gas was pouring all over the (hot!) engine. He just started it up and rode it home, then trailered it back to Thunder Mountain HD.
When he told me about it, I suggested he buy three Kawasak Concours like I was riding at the time -- one of them would always have gas in the tank and since that was the only thing that seemed to ever stop them, he'd always have a bike to ride.
When all those issues were finally straightened out, he and his wife were stopped at a red light about six miles from Thunder Mountain Harley one day. They were number 2 in line behind a trash truck. When the light changed, the trash truck didn't move but the woman behind them did. She rear-ended them, giving them both whiplash and really dinging up the back end of their lovely Harley. It was a Saturday afternoon and TM's service department was closed. AND TM wouldn't let them park their crashed HD that had been purchased from Thunder Mountain and "maintained? by Thunder Mountain at Thunder Mountain till Tuesday when Thunder Mountain would get to start fixing it after the wreck. They had to have it trailered to a friend's house in Loveland and then go back to Loveland from here (75 miles) to get it to a dealer.
Oddly enough, he didn't take it to Thunder Mountain. There's just no customer loyalty these days.
elizilla
Guest
I have seen and touched several of those JCW cases. Some were good. Others had strange problems, in particular, a really foul smell that I associate with cheap chinese plastic items. I don't know why some plastic things smell like that but they do. (The smell I'm talking about? Go to Target and go to the plastic aisle. Find any "Sterlite" brand plastic storage box, open it up. That's the smell. Yuck. Apparently, though, some people don't notice it or aren't bothered.)
If I hadn't bought the first few Givis way back when, before the JCW stuff was available, I'd probably have bought the JCW cases too. But I have had stellar luck with my Givis. They've survived a lot of rough use without any problems. Givi has provided good support with spare parts and additional items to extend my setup for a very reasonable price. I love being able to buy cases in all different configuration and attach them to the same racks, and get racks for different bikes. I like that I can key a bunch of cases alike. Givi does a good job and I'm in this for the long haul, so I'll carry on with them.
If I hadn't bought the first few Givis way back when, before the JCW stuff was available, I'd probably have bought the JCW cases too. But I have had stellar luck with my Givis. They've survived a lot of rough use without any problems. Givi has provided good support with spare parts and additional items to extend my setup for a very reasonable price. I love being able to buy cases in all different configuration and attach them to the same racks, and get racks for different bikes. I like that I can key a bunch of cases alike. Givi does a good job and I'm in this for the long haul, so I'll carry on with them.
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Yes on the smell. Mine is odor free now. I have a Pelican case (not cheap) that has the same smell.
I guess to me it's like buying a Ford, a Mercury or a Lincoln. Or buying a Caddy, a Buick or a Chevy. Underneath the sheet metal, the Ford products and the GM products ARE ALL THE SAME.
The Caddy and Lincoln have more foam in the seats, sound deadening in the floor and trunk and softer springs than do the Chevy or the Ford. But, the engine, tranny and running gear are all alike. My point? If you like to impress the neighbors, the Caddy, Lincoln and Givi are the way to go.
If you want the same cubic inches (engine or top box space), made from the same petroleum based product (plastic), and the same thickness sheet metal, BUT at a much reduced price, get the Chevy, Ford or JCW.
The Caddy and Lincoln have more foam in the seats, sound deadening in the floor and trunk and softer springs than do the Chevy or the Ford. But, the engine, tranny and running gear are all alike. My point? If you like to impress the neighbors, the Caddy, Lincoln and Givi are the way to go.
If you want the same cubic inches (engine or top box space), made from the same petroleum based product (plastic), and the same thickness sheet metal, BUT at a much reduced price, get the Chevy, Ford or JCW.
suvcw04 I agree with you in principle up to a point. However, I don't believe that anyone has shown that the Givi and JCW are identical in quality, workmanship or material. If you happen to know that they are made on the same assembly line by the same workers with the same components and materials like cars and then just badged differently please show us. And again, I do not have either and don't plan on getting either any time soon. And I truly am happy that you love yours so much. But I hardly think it is fair to suggest that anyone who decides to go with Givi or Hondaline is throwing away their money just trying to impress people. Heck, when you get right down to it, all of us could accomplish the same goal with some bungees, a couple of milk crates and some contractor bags. Which would make your JCW look ostentatious.
You forgot one. ALL top boxes are ugly At least the ones for most bikes.
The only decent looking ones are on Gold Wings and the HD hard bags.
At least the ones for most bikes.The only decent looking ones are on Gold Wings and the HD hard bags.
Quality, my son, quality. Real? Perceived?
Your choice.
Your choice.
1TRAK
Guest
Form, function, fashion: which are most important to you and how much are you willing to pay???
Oh, tons! That's why I've farkled my bike within an inch of its life.
1) Function 2) Form 3) Fashion. Which may partially explain why my entire list of farkles is a 12V DC socket, a Crampbuster and an AMA sticker.
Good for you. 1) Function; 2) Form; 3) Fashion
Which explains why I farkled my NT to make it fit me and work the way I wanted it to for long-distance riding as well as for commuting, and everything in between for about 340-350 days a year.
It may also explain why I haven't gotten around to repainting my stylishly scraped big pannier lids.
To each his own. With no judgments about the choices others make.
Which explains why I farkled my NT to make it fit me and work the way I wanted it to for long-distance riding as well as for commuting, and everything in between for about 340-350 days a year.
It may also explain why I haven't gotten around to repainting my stylishly scraped big pannier lids.
To each his own. With no judgments about the choices others make.
Phil,
Some of us are waiting for you to buy new large pannier lids so us cheap folk can buy the old ones from you (yes, I know you are resisting, but, some are still hoping)
I wonder how many more NT's might have been sold if the big lids were an option.
Some of us are waiting for you to buy new large pannier lids so us cheap folk can buy the old ones from you
(yes, I know you are resisting, but, some are still hoping)I wonder how many more NT's might have been sold if the big lids were an option.