Alternatives to GIVI top boxes?
- Thread starter MMDC
- Start date
karl
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Get over your aversion. Had the same one myself. Been kicking myself for it since I got over it.
When I bought my 1st '99 Kawasaki Concours, I ordered a top box, figuring that I'd either leave it on the bike and take the panniers off, or vice-versa, except for when I was on a trip. I quickly learned that the versatility of having options for carrying things made both the top box and the panniers attractive at times. I've never taken the top box off any of my bikes since. Sometimes people talk about top boxes affecting handling when loaded or making the bike more sensitive to cross winds. I've never noticed any affect from their presence.
I saw where a guy riding the length of South America gave up on top boxes and mounted a good sturdy cutting board to his top box plate. After that he could place almost any size bag on there he wanted and stopped worrying that it would fail
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2019
- Messages
- 3
Thanks. Where there is a will, there is a way.
I've been thinking I might take that stock plate base above the lights, drill some holes in it, and put in a few heavy duty zip tie loops to which I could attach bungies as needed. Does the seat have to come off to remove that stock black plastic cover? My seat is an after market Sargent seat.
I've been thinking I might take that stock plate base above the lights, drill some holes in it, and put in a few heavy duty zip tie loops to which I could attach bungies as needed. Does the seat have to come off to remove that stock black plastic cover? My seat is an after market Sargent seat.
Been awhile since I owned an NT, but I kind of remember a couple of bolts that are only accessible with the seat removed.
If your still looking for options....I ran a Seahorse case on my DR650 for awhile. Seahorse is essentially a different brand of Pelikan case, but significantly cheaper. You might find the size you like and be able to rig up something to attach it to the NT. I am actually a Givi fan. I have two of their topboxes now. I have used the V46 I bought on the NT on every bike I have owned since, including the DR650 after I took off the seahorse. I still use it on my Tenere when I don't have the panniers on. The panniers are top loading and the v46 is just wide enough to block them. So I had to get a smaller top box for touring with the panniers, but prefer the V46 when the top box is the only luggage on the bike.
The thing I like about Givi is that they make plates for almost every bike. So It is super easy to move the cases, between bikes, or buy it once and just buy a new rack for the different bikes. The Givi branded "racks" worked better than the SW Motech aluminum rack with givi adapter I had on my NT. All the other bikes got Givi branded racks and were a more solid mount.
If your still looking for options....I ran a Seahorse case on my DR650 for awhile. Seahorse is essentially a different brand of Pelikan case, but significantly cheaper. You might find the size you like and be able to rig up something to attach it to the NT. I am actually a Givi fan. I have two of their topboxes now. I have used the V46 I bought on the NT on every bike I have owned since, including the DR650 after I took off the seahorse. I still use it on my Tenere when I don't have the panniers on. The panniers are top loading and the v46 is just wide enough to block them. So I had to get a smaller top box for touring with the panniers, but prefer the V46 when the top box is the only luggage on the bike.
The thing I like about Givi is that they make plates for almost every bike. So It is super easy to move the cases, between bikes, or buy it once and just buy a new rack for the different bikes. The Givi branded "racks" worked better than the SW Motech aluminum rack with givi adapter I had on my NT. All the other bikes got Givi branded racks and were a more solid mount.
The seat does need to come off to remove the plastic cover. There are 2 mounting screws under there.
You might search under top box/luggage.
Here are a couple ideas:
https://www.nt-owners.org/forums/threads/simple-solution-to-get-some-use-of-the-nt-carrier-luggage-plastics.3316/
or
Brad
You might search under top box/luggage.
Here are a couple ideas:
https://www.nt-owners.org/forums/threads/simple-solution-to-get-some-use-of-the-nt-carrier-luggage-plastics.3316/
or
No tie downs on the NT luggage rack. | Top Box / Luggage
This is the way I addressed the problem on no tie downs on the NT luggage rack. My primary intent was to carry my camping gear, sleeping bag, tent and air mattress in a small duffel on the luggage rack. I almost always carry either a small or large tail bag on the passenger seat. The logical...
www.nt-owners.org
Brad