[Psp501]

Love the new bike. It is everything that i wanted. My wife would like a passenger back rest. After looking at the prices, I am thinking that maybe a top case would suffice as a backrest as well as providing needed storage.
I am looking at several options.
Givi E460
JC Whitney / Bestem.

I am making a cardboard mock up for position purposes to see how it feels for her.

I have several questions for those that may have either of these

1. When mounted, where is the front of the box in relation to the rear edge of the seat?

2. I see that Adventure Motostuff makes a mounting plate for the Wee-Strom that allows the Givi box to be moved back 2". Has anyone used this plate with another brand of box and if so, how much modification was necessary?

with the major difference in price (approx. $180 with the Givi backrest pad). I am just trying to get ideas as I have many farkles to buy

Thanks for any input

 

[Voltar]

I have the Ad Moto mounting plate and a Givi Maxima50 (they don't make 'em anymore). My wife uses the bag as a backrest and it works great. At first I had the bag shifted all the way back. She asked me to move it forward and the Ad Moto plate allowed that. I could move it more forward it she wanted. Pic on my set up:

 

[larolco]

I've got a Kappa/Givi topbox setup. They sell a backrest that attaches to the box, but my passenger (having used one on a smaller box) finds it unecessary on the 48-litre. This allows me to move the box further forward than I could with the backrest in use (for better weight distribution). Maybe if she wasn't already wearing a leather jacket she might find the backrest more comfortable but the jacket alone seems plenty of padding.

You're doing the right thing, mocking up the location, but each box will fit the small of her back differently, so you really need the box itself to position it correctly. I used a couple little z shaped bits of angle bracket to adjust the positioning of the top case mounting plate forward/backward a couple inches until she felt it was comfortable. She's gone a few multi-thousand km trips without complaint (about the box positioning, anyway).

Hope this helps.

 

[jokermtb]

I have the Bestem box on my bike. I mounted it about 2" back from the stock rack's edge, as you can see from the photo. Another hot tip was to insert a foam rubbery mouse pad piece between the top box and the Bestem mounting plate. It takes up all the slack, so you don't get any top case "jiggles". There's some how-to's for mounting Bestem top cases out there on the web, where I found out how to butcher the Bestem mount plate to work with the Vstrom's stock rack. It's easy, but you will have to get the drill + Dremel's cutting wheel out! Since I never really take the top box off, I'm not concerned with the questionable quality of my surgery!

The Bestem box is way nicer than it's somewhat ridiculous low price would suggest. It's sturdy and well made and will take a full case of beer lyin' down in the case, and then some! The Bestem has a backrest, but it's really nothing more than a stylized backrest molded into the plastic. My wife doesn't mind it, since her jacket has a knox back protector in it anyway, which acts as a back pad all in itself!

 

[eye.surgeon]

I would recommend the Givi V46 or 52 without the back pad. I've ridden 2 up with it and it's comfortable, especially when the pillion is wearing a protective jacket that already has padding in the back...the Givi back pad pushes the pillion forward too much. Having said that when I ride serious two-up I take the goldwing.

 

[SeattleStromGuy]

Givi Trekker + Adventure Moto plate

I just got my Givi Trekker E46 and am really enjoying it. I’ll be posting a more comprehensive review soon but I’ll give you the short version. I also got the Adventure Moto plate as well since I do a lot of 2+ riding.

Givi Trekker: Typical Givi quality. Works solid, waterproof (ridden in light rain, sprayed the heck out of it with the hose looking for leaks. Not a drop.) Since I mounted the optional luggage rack on top of it I can’t use the “quick access” door but it doesn’t bother me since it never peaked my interest anyways. The latching mechanism is really handy. Turn the key and hit a button. Couldn’t be easier. Interior space fits my large laptop messenger bag + lunch, or as you can see from the photo below, a week’s worth of grocers’ for a guy living alone with a roommate. Exterior feels rugged enough as a top box but I wouldn’t trust these cases being water tight after a tip over since there are multiple openings and seals. I have a Happy Trail Teton setup for that. The aluminum trim adds some nice esthetics to the Strom but doesn’t really serve a purpose. I’ve heard a lot of people calling it like “tin-foil” but it’s actually somewhat ridged. Shortly after unboxing it I dropped it (3’ fall) on one of the aluminum corners and it only left a tiny scratch with no dent…Not one of my shining moments but at least I got that test out of the way early.

Adventure Moto plate: After seeing the stock Givi plate I thought there was no way in hell I was going to be putting $1000+ computers and equipment in a top case held with a flimsy piece of plastic. The Adventure Moto plate was exactly what I was looking for. Rigid all metal construction. The adjustability is great but now that I have it setup where my Fiancee likes it I don’t think it will ever shift forward or back again. Currently it’s about ½” back from where it would ride with the stock plate. Not a big difference but she definably noticed it as she can now sit up straight without worrying about putting a lot of pressure up against the case. A feature I didn’t realize (until it was on my doorstep) was the strap/tie down points which run all around the outside of the plate. It’s going to be perfect for firewood runs or anything awkwardly sized that I can strap up without the case.

Some pic’s during my 160 mile day trip to Hurricane Ridge last weekend:

 

[OZ STROM]

Hi psp501, i've used an RJAYS 45 litre top box on my wee , i had used it on my Hayabusa ,sold the Busa and had the top box sitting in the shed (that is why men never throw anything away) ,the RJAYS box uses a metal base which i had acid cleaned and powder coated at work then i removed the rubber mat from the rear rack and drilled my mounting holes in an area where the mat would cover if i decided to remove the box ,*ensure the box is positioned back enough so you can still remove the seat without having to take off the box* ,i secured the front of the box to the base plate with a Tec screw to stop any excess movement as i don't intend removing the box if staying overnight somewhere as i use Honda Goldwing box and pannier liner bags to store my gear in .Cheers Paul.

 

[Byronw]

I went with the Givi E450, and mounted it a couple inches back of the luggage rack edge. I bought and installed the backrest pad after this picture, but I don't think it added much to comfort, with her riding gear, the backrest pad almost gets in the way more than adding comfort.

 

[Psp501]

Thanks to all who replied. As usual, this forum is full of great information. On a number of other subjects, i have tried using the search function and gotten more responses than i could have imagined. You guys/ & gals are great

 

[notacop]

I have both of the JC Whitney boxes, large and small. Both work well, light weight and sturdy enough. I put the new bigger box on the Wee. Simple bolt on mount. Great price at $75 delivered for the new big one. Only bother is that they have different mounts. Woulda been nice if they were interchangeable.

 

[squash]

For the money I don't think you can beat the Bestem. You can spend the savings vs another brand on something else, I recommend the center stand!