elizilla
Guest
(posted on other forum, 8/9/2010)
I decided that rather than getting the larger lids and widening the bike, I'd get a larger topcase and pick up nearly as much space for a bit less money, I'd have something I could take off and carry into the motel more easily, and it would be easier to just leave it at home when I didn't need it. Today my Givi Maxia E55 Topcase arrived. With shipping, the cost was about $330.
They say that friends will help you move, and good friends will help you move bodies. Well, I'm not good enough friends with any of you, for that. But if I had to move bodies, this case is big enough, at least if the bodies are small. This thing is HUGE! Easily room for two XL full face helmets and more.
It's also considerably fancier and more complex than other Givi cases I have owned. It took me about a half an hour to figure out how to get the handle out - the instructions are obviously translated from the Italian using babelfish or something of that ilk. (The secret trick is to turn the key *hard*, a bit past the point where the case unlocks and the buttons become pushable.) The handle is a good size, much easier to use to carry the case, than those ridiculously thick handles on the E360s. It'll be easier to haul into hotels.
I had been starting to think that perhaps my sliding topcase rack was overkill. But with this huge case, sliding the rack forward all the way makes the bike look a lot better balanced. The case is also pretty wide - almost as wide as the bike with the standard sidecase lids. It's verging on ridiculously large for the bike, without the sliding rack to move it forward. I wouldn't want to carry this case and a passenger at the same time, not on the NT. Maybe on an ST or an FJR, it would be less ridiculous. Fortunately I almost never carry a passenger, and when I do I have smaller topcases already, so it should be fine.
The silver has a satin finish but it is a good color match for the NT's silver. The reflectors look good, stylistically, with the taillights of the bike. It is a pretty case and I am sure I will like it when I have had time to get used to the sheer size.
I did not order the Givi light kit because I have never seen one that lit up bright enough to be helpful, and I hear a lot of complaints about their poor reliability. Now it's true I have never seen this case lit up before, it could be an exception. But I have the hyperlights so I don't see a need to try the Givi taillights.
I decided that rather than getting the larger lids and widening the bike, I'd get a larger topcase and pick up nearly as much space for a bit less money, I'd have something I could take off and carry into the motel more easily, and it would be easier to just leave it at home when I didn't need it. Today my Givi Maxia E55 Topcase arrived. With shipping, the cost was about $330.
They say that friends will help you move, and good friends will help you move bodies. Well, I'm not good enough friends with any of you, for that. But if I had to move bodies, this case is big enough, at least if the bodies are small. This thing is HUGE! Easily room for two XL full face helmets and more.
It's also considerably fancier and more complex than other Givi cases I have owned. It took me about a half an hour to figure out how to get the handle out - the instructions are obviously translated from the Italian using babelfish or something of that ilk. (The secret trick is to turn the key *hard*, a bit past the point where the case unlocks and the buttons become pushable.) The handle is a good size, much easier to use to carry the case, than those ridiculously thick handles on the E360s. It'll be easier to haul into hotels.
I had been starting to think that perhaps my sliding topcase rack was overkill. But with this huge case, sliding the rack forward all the way makes the bike look a lot better balanced. The case is also pretty wide - almost as wide as the bike with the standard sidecase lids. It's verging on ridiculously large for the bike, without the sliding rack to move it forward. I wouldn't want to carry this case and a passenger at the same time, not on the NT. Maybe on an ST or an FJR, it would be less ridiculous. Fortunately I almost never carry a passenger, and when I do I have smaller topcases already, so it should be fine.
The silver has a satin finish but it is a good color match for the NT's silver. The reflectors look good, stylistically, with the taillights of the bike. It is a pretty case and I am sure I will like it when I have had time to get used to the sheer size.
I did not order the Givi light kit because I have never seen one that lit up bright enough to be helpful, and I hear a lot of complaints about their poor reliability. Now it's true I have never seen this case lit up before, it could be an exception. But I have the hyperlights so I don't see a need to try the Givi taillights.
