JC Whitney top box

[firefox111]

Ebay has two NT top boxes for $534.95 each. GIVI will also take half a thousand dollars, if you are so inclined. Me? I'm cheap. Five years ago, I bought a top box from JC Whitney for $79.95 for my 2005 Kawasaki Vulcan 500. The mount is INCLUDED in that price. I kept the box when I bought the NT.
Click on this link to see how it fits on the NT:

https://picasaweb.google.com/102466557271682855730/NTTopBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCLqHtfHD2a_HKA

If you click on the leftmost picture it will enlarge. Put your mouse on the space to the left or right of each pic and a grey arrow will take you to the next picture.

If you enter 61304-165-013 in google, you will find numerous sources for the square nuts that fit under the passenger grab handles. I got two of them from a Honda BOAT parts website. Cost around $5. The four 8mm by 65mm bolts (I think 55mm bolts would also work) and the four bushings came from my local Ace Hardware. $10 for the lot. You just have to remove the two bolts (and their bushings) and two phillips screws from the tail cover, drill two holes in the plastic tail cover, remove the grab handles and put the square nuts in (TAPE THEM IN PLACE!!!!!) (Check other posts on the forum about this.) Remove the bushings for the two bolts that hold the tail piece on. The hardware store bushings are a PERFECT fit in the grab handle holes. The 65 mm bolts replace the stock bolts in the bolts and screw into the two new square bolts in front. Just put the new longer bushings in, put a washer on top of them, put the box mount plate on and screw in the 65mm bolts. Could it be any easier? Total cost, $95 for the box and hardware.

OR, you could lay out over $500+ for a GIVI (guess that weird name is worth the extra $400) or a Genuine Hondaline box.

Comments welcomed.

I received my JC Whitney medium top box today. It looks different from what is shown on your picture and as described by other posters here. It does not have the orange/red strip and reflector around the box. The reflector is 6" x 4" trapezoidal shape on the top cover of the box. The plate looks different than yours. There are several pre-drilled holes and no slots like yours that will allow perfect fit for the two plastic tail cover bolts. I think I'm going to return this. I can't post pictures yet so you won't be able to see what the box and the plates look like.

 

[charlie b]

Probably because some of us bought the large version.

That reflector probably has a screw holding it on or is stuck on with double sided tape.

I could use two of the screw holes, but, had to drill the other two. Would not have bothered me to drill all four, but, was just lucky. I would NOT use it with just two bolts holding it on.

 

[suvcw04]

firefox111, sounds like you bought the EMGO that is also on their web site. You need to swap them for the GARAGE PRO. It's bigger and has a better mounting system (and that big orange plastic stripe).

 

[firefox111]

Probably because some of us bought the large version.

That reflector probably has a screw holding it on or is stuck on with double sided tape.

I could use two of the screw holes, but, had to drill the other two. Would not have bothered me to drill all four, but, was just lucky. I would NOT use it with just two bolts holding it on.

The one I ordered from their website looks exactly the same as in pictures from suvcw04's original post. I ordered the medium one not the large. The shape of the plate looks different from that in suvcw04's picture, and the box itself is very different. I returned it!

 

[firefox111]

Nice trunk. Rider7767, is the base plate compatible with the NT? Was the install easy enough?

 

[suvcw04]

7767, NICE!!!!! Much better looking than my JCW. That price is killer. Really appeals to my cheapskate side.

 

[firefox111]

The installation took a few washers and home made spacers. I will try to put some pics on when I get home.

Great. I see this in Amazon. The picture also says T-Box. It is Bestem T-Box TBOX-929-BLK Black 12" X 22" X 16". Is this the size you have?
Does the base plate have slots for the two bolts on the plastic tail cover?

 

[firefox111]

Rider,

What are the dimensions of your box?

 

[firefox111]

Rider, I think you have the Bestem T-Box 2012, right? Is it lockable? It comes with two keys but I think I read somewhere that the keys is only for the quick release lock.

 

[firefox111]

Mine was the red one with the rear LEDs. (close to the same size) The black one did not have the LEDs on Amazon. I painted the top of mine with truck bed liner. It makes the box even more durable. The two slots on the bike match the base plates main slots.

Thank you. I ordered mine yesterday. This is Amazon's description: Bestem T-Box TBOX-2012-BLK Black 20" X 16" X 10.5" . It has the LED too.

 

[firefox111]

The installation took a few washers and home made spacers. I will try to put some pics on when I get home.

My Bestem TBox 2012 is on its way. It's scheduled to arrive on Friday. I will install it after my first maintenance schedule (after the break-in period) which I have an appointment to drop off the bike on Monday afternoon. Service needs the bike cold for the maintenance job because they said the valves need to be adjusted. SOP, I guess for the first maintenance of a brand new bike after the break-in period.

 

[charlie b]

That's SOP for many of the services. I think valve adjustments are called for every 8000mi. That means a cold motor and about $400.

 

[firefox111]

Rider, I think you have the Bestem T-Box 2012, right? Is it lockable? It comes with two keys but I think I read somewhere that the keys is only for the quick release lock.

I received the top box yesterday. Opened it today and removed the base plate from the packaging. Big problem! The plate is curved at the end (the forward end of the bike towards the seat). The plate is not flat. The curved part is where the holes for the two bolts for the grab bar would have been drilled. I wish I can post a picture. But I'm returning it. Looks like the design of the plate has changed compared to the plate that you have on your Bestem. The plate that Rider7767 has is flat all the way.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I think that is ridiculous to require the first adjustment at 600 miles.

Not really, Tony. That early adjustment catches any production line mistakes, plus there is probably more wear in the first 600 miles than there is in the next 16,000 miles. A valve check is standard in the first 600-or-so miles on every bike I've known about with adjustable valves.

After we got 40-50,000 miles on our Concours, we'd find that it was OK to go from the recommende 6,000 mile intervals out to 10-15, even 20,000 miles between valve adjustments. Wear on valve train components doesn't seem to happen at a constant rate through the life of the bike.

I have a friend who rode an '89 Concours. He'd checked the valves every 10,000 miles after he pased about 60,000 miles and there hadn't always been a need to adjust any. Then on his way to the 2002 COG Rally in Montrose, CO, a ride of about 400 miles from his house, he had to adjust them 3 times on the way... just to keep the bike running! The parkerizing (I think that's the name for the hardening treatment Kawasaki uses on the rocker arm/cam contact point) had worn off and he could barely keep the bike running long enough to get to Montrose.

Fortunately, there was a Concours rider Rick know who lived in town and had cams and rockers off of an 86 that he loaned to Rick for a month. Rick did a cam/rocker arm change and valve adjustment in the hotel parking lot -- with the puny stock tool kit -- in 2 hours, 20 minutes!

He's a better mechanic than I am!

 

[firefox111]

Hello again! Yesterday, I received the Bestem TBOX-929 I ordered from Amazon. I returned it right away after opening it and see the mounting plate. There are no holes that will perfectly line up with the two tail cover bolts.

I'm thinking of maybe purchasing a SHAD SH40 and purchasing with it a base plate for the "Deauville". Or maybe the OEM Honday base plate?

 

[Chuck 500]

I had the same with the JC Whitney. Just marked and drilled the two holes for the front mounting bolts. Sold as a rock. The plate is actually designed to clamp to a luggage rack. Since the NT does not have one, we have it improvise. The "product modification" in this case was easy (and I am allergic to most tools).

 

[firefox111]

I had the same with the JC Whitney. Just marked and drilled the two holes for the front mounting bolts. Sold as a rock. The plate is actually designed to clamp to a luggage rack. Since the NT does not have one, we have it improvise. The "product modification" in this case was easy (and I am allergic to most tools).

The JC Whitney box that I returned had different plate than suvcw04's plate shown on his picture here https://picasaweb.google.com/102466557271682855730/NTTopBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCLqHtfHD2a_HKA#5623321504507541650
No holes or slots that would have perfect location for the two rear bolts! The seat side of suvcw04's plate is NOT curved upwards. I thought I ordered the wrong one but the top box looked exactly the same as suvcw04's picture of the box. It just that it came with a different plate and mounting style.

 

[Chuck 500]

I guess the difference is having a "genuine" J C Whitney. LOL Which is, of course, a "real" copy of a Givi E360.

I have some posts earlier in the thread detailing the parts I used.

 

[firefox111]

I ordered a Shad SH46 and the mounting kit for the NT700V. I hope this is going to be the end of my quest for a perfect top case for my NT.

 

[charlie b]

I'd just drill four holes in the plate and then mount it on the rack.

Or, if you wanted to be fancy you could get an Al plate and make an adapter A bit overkill.