Stupid question- with or without top box?
- Thread starter Don
- Start date
In my opinion the NT700V looks best with the factory Honda color matching rear trunk that was a big draw for me when the bike came out , now I didn't buy the NT until 8 years after it came out and the bike I bought did not have the Honda rear trunk , but I learn to live without it and just installed the top box I used on my last bike, it don't look as nice and don't look as to be a matching part of the bike but it works as well. Yes looks best with Honda rear trunk is the answer to the question.
Any bike looks better without a top box. but like a person that can't cook, they are not as practical as having one.
For me, the big lids were the deal maker. I would sit on the NT at the EAA convention in Oshkosh in the Honda pavillion 2 years in a row and say, boy, this is a great sized bike but those tiny panniers are a deal breaker for touring. Then I found this forum and discovered you could order real lids from Portmouth UK. Voila!
Phil Tarman
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The best source of big lids these days is www.davidsilverspares.com.
If they don't have the color you need, they'll get them before too long. Right now they've got black and white(?) lids for $335 a pair, plus a right hand black lid for $145.
ST1100Y
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Well, I for one cannot befriend myself with the looks of those totally oversized Givi Maxia ulcers... ony any motorcycle... (like towing a U-Haul with a Countach...)
The OEM case on my GF's NT with the lid in the same color as the fairing OTOH looks rather smooth and completed though...
And where else would I'd placed this insignia upon her request? :LOL:
Unless I'm on a longer trip I leave the TC at home, and if its used I pack only very lightweight stuff there: thermo liners, spare gloves, Balaclava, etc...
The OEM case on my GF's NT with the lid in the same color as the fairing OTOH looks rather smooth and completed though...
And where else would I'd placed this insignia upon her request? :LOL:
Unless I'm on a longer trip I leave the TC at home, and if its used I pack only very lightweight stuff there: thermo liners, spare gloves, Balaclava, etc...
For me a convincing argument for keeping the TC on is the fragile lid lock mechanism on the NT700. The less you are using it the better.
To replace the lock on a TC is easy, contrary to fix lid lock mechanism issues.
To replace the lock on a TC is easy, contrary to fix lid lock mechanism issues.
You cannot fix poor engineering from the get-go, probably do to production budgets. Saving a few pennies here and there may help their production cost, but not the end user years down the road. Plastics are designed to degrade over time.
The screw bosses on many of Honda’s molded plastic parts have been at the minimal levels for probably close to the last 25 years or so. As these parts age, the plastics become brittle and those screw bosses become marginal holding their items in place at best. At that point their structure strength has diminished significantly. Part failure rates have gone up exponentially.
The type of plastics used will determine those degradation rates. I see that there are several different types of plastics used on various NT components. So, the rates of failures will vary significantly.
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I commuted for 10 years on my NT and the top box was my go to for carrying what I needed to work and back home. I didn’t really care for the looks of it and it made a top heavy motorcycle even worse but it was just so easy to use. I seldom used the side cases and the locking mechanisms eventually broke anyway. I think age and vibration did the trick.
I almost always have my top case on, and when I had my FJR1300 before this I was usually using my top case more than the panniers. It's just way more convenient to pop a top case open than a pannier.
If you care that much what your bike looks like versus something like its fun factor or utility you're probably weird in other ways I don't want to know you for too.
If you care that much what your bike looks like versus something like its fun factor or utility you're probably weird in other ways I don't want to know you for too.
There's a good reason for that. To quote myself...
In your case use was not a contributing factor to your latch failures. It was the choice of the choosen materials that set you and may others to fail.
I purposely got a top case on my NC700X back in 2014. I do not regret that decision as it is my goto for all my commuting gear and lunch. When I first got NaTalie (Now DIVA) I pursued getting a top case for this bike too. I went the Givi route to save some $$$. I also bought a demo box from Revzilla and saved over $100 on that top case due to some minor blemishes.
JQL
Growing old disgracefully
I got the lighting package from AdMoreLighting which adds running, brake and indictator lights to the topbox so it looks OEM.
I personally like the look with a top box on. I had some kind of top case on all three of my bikes. On the NT I had "genuine" JC Whitney case that worked very well.
Keep the shiny side up.
Keep the shiny side up.
Well today was the day I installed my Honda rear trunk, I really thought I would just let it sit on the shelf because I liked the top box I had and installing the Honda box would require a new mounting base plate and the carrier mount. The Honda carrier and base plate mount is a bit complex just to mount a top box in my opinion.
Phil Tarman
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LOL! There are a lot of things (think pannier latches!) that are a "bit" complex!
ST1100Y
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Well, buffeting damping requires a few more parts then the fixed setups of the aftermarket brackets... :sneaky:
And the featured (2nd) holder for the U-lock increases height
BTW even workshops often fail to assemble the kit properly... :unsure:
On the used '07 NT I'd gotten for my GF the two forward "headlight nuts" where missing (had to order those), the whole assy dangled on the two aft ones
...Also the connection between the plates where assorted wrong, blocking the intended site to side movement, one nylon washer plus the rubber shock absorbers were missing...
(the ST1100 carrier stay has the same design...)
I believe the side to side movement on the Honda top box is unique to Honda. I am not sure how well it worked as I never noticed any benefit or detriment in its use.