6.6 Pounds--what goes in these top cases, cotton candy?

Folks,

As I continue to review GIVI top cases, chortling with glee and washing my hands in the best Disney villain style, I notice that many list "6.6 pounds" as their max load.

So with volumes up to about 47 or so liters, the most weight that's supposed to go in one of these top cases is 6.6 pounds???

I'm betting what follows is a chorus of "Nah, man, they hold more."

If that's really all they hold, I'm better off buying a 50 dollar dry bag and some bungee cords and lashing it behind me when I do some touring....

Nah, man, they hold more! Sorry, I couldn't help myself...
I'm betting that weight you mentioned is the weight of the top box and not how much it will hold. I've put 25 or so pounds into mine with no problems.

I believe the problem is not how much weight the box carrys but what is the effect on the handling? Too much weight will definitely change handling, especially if the box is behind you... I use an EMGO trunk and when on a trip I load it with LIGHT stuff. Energy bars, bottle of water, rain gear and a couple of tools. Windbreaker, that kind of thing. Store any heavy items under the seat. Hope this helps.

I've never subscribed to the often spouted 'top boxes ruin handling' nonsense whether it was in my biking years, or since I started riding maxi's back in the Nineties

I think it’s to avoid overloading the rear shelf, but 25 lbs is relatively nothing in terms of weight in a top box- I would agree you don’t want the bike top heavy but that level of weight isn’t going to do it (versus a pillion on that beack seat- a second person will definitely affect handling if they don’t know how to lean with you). 25 lbs in a top box would pack it pretty tightly (unless you were carrying weight plates for the gym), so if stocked with clothes and the like, you’re probably no where near that limit and more likely closer to 10 lbs.

I would suspect the 6.6 lbs is how much it weighs, except the example I'm looking at says it weighs 9 something pounds and 6.6 lbs is the "max weight" -- but as I suspected, people put more than 6.6 lbs into these (hard to avoid doing that, unless one carries...cotton candy) and there doesn't seem to be a problem reported here.

Of course, it would be foolish to put a lot of weight into a top case, but 25lbs seems fine. As a backpacker, I usually carry about that much in a backpack, and that includes all the things one needs to camp out overnight--food, clothing, shelter, sleep system, water.

Next question: why does Givi put such an obviously inadequate weight limit on these top cases? One of those "don't insert ear swabs into your ear canal" lawyer-generated stupidities, maybe?

Thanks, everyone!

I think they put that weight limit on to reduce liability in case someone says their top box caused an accident. If I was a manufacturer, that's what I would do.

I've put 6x2 litre bottles of water (plus some lighter stuff) in my topbox and it definitely affects handling.

BTW, I was told to make sure that there is some small amount of movement between the box and the rackmount. If it's totally 'solid' it could break free on rough surfaces.

1 Liter is 1kg. So that's 12kg plus the weight of the bottle and other stuff. 12 kg is 25.2lbs. So you probably had close to 30lbs in there. That's quite a bit more weight than most people could fit in there without it being liquids.

Meanwhile ordinary guys like myself load up a Givi 55 litre top box to capacity on a regular basis with groceries, bottles, packs of canned drinks, and whatever else I can get in there, lock the lid and think nothing of it.  

I'm also riding a smaller maxi scooter than the Silver Wing I originally bought the Givi E55 for  It's 10 litres larger than the one Honda sells for the Forza, and also less expensive and a lot more practical. I've never experienced any handling and stability problems since fitting it.

Of course there's a load of old Silver Wings out there that are using the Honda colour matched 45 litre top box with the Honda rear rack and fixing plate.

The same top box rear rack and plate that were Genuine Honda Accessories for other Honda models of that time, like the Deaville, and the Transalp.

Take a look online at motorcycle sales sites and there's plenty of used Honda models of that era with them fitted. They were thrown in as a freebie around winter time to boost sales

Maybe these top boxes with the strange rear rack and fixing plate aren't as stable fully loaded as Givi products.

That's interesting Meldrew. The only identification on my top box is '2012'. It does match the SW colour. It has the space for an LED strip which I installed. Can't find much info on t'interweb.

Do I have an original optional Honda fitting?

(I don't mean to go too far 'off-topic').

I lost my top case once and it got nicely rashed but that had more to do with the 8 point buck that I hit at 25-30mph. We both walked away, and no crashing involved in that one. Riding FJR on a nice Fall Day in crazy rut season when deer are more suicidal than usual.

20lb not that much on a well fastened case usually just keep my cooler and small stuff back there much easier to access.

Loosemarbles wrote:

I've put 6x2 litre bottles of water (plus some lighter stuff) in my topbox and it definitely affects handling.

BTW, I was told to make sure that there is some small amount of movement between the box and the rackmount. If it's totally 'solid' it could break free on rough surfaces.

Unrelated thread drift: On my 94 ST, there is a little play between the Givi plate and the Maxia case (E52 I believe)- on the SWing, I have the Givi SR19 with the same E52 case (Monokey) as I move them bike to bike when needed- no play at all with the Swing. Not really anything I can adjust as far as I can tell. Any reason for concern?

Does your case have rubber feet that sit on the plate?

africa1228 wrote:

Does your case have rubber feet that sit on the plate?

I believe it does- I’m not out in the garage right now to say for sure

I would imagine the rubber feet should provide shock absorbtion. Not sure if it's enough if squashed on too tight though.

I just fitted the Givi luggage rack to my 47 liter for one purpose and that’s to carry my DJI Phantom4Pro case to it,I had no idea Givi made one till about a month ago ,,, I usually load up the top box with a gallon of milk,soda and a couple pounds of fruit among other things which will weigh closer to 15-20 lbs when running to the market but I always looked at the Givi removable top box as enough room for a weekend getaway which would probably come in closer to the 6 lbs then a run to the market ..

^^ Interesting pic- where in Jersey City is that? I used to live on Clinton Avenue (street next to Communipaw)- is that downtown or in the same region as Clinton (I’m sure you don’t want to divulge the exact street and that’s fine)?

Erdoc48 wrote:

^^ Interesting pic- where in Jersey City is that? I used to live on Clinton Avenue (street next to Communipaw)- is that downtown or in the same region as Clinton (I’m sure you don’t want to divulge the exact street and that’s fine)?

I’m in the heights by Pershing Field, (Zabriski Street),My father had a house on Union Street which is a few blocks down from Clinton Ave, it’s ok during the daytime but you gotta be careful at night around there. Lotsa dirtbags roaming at night.There’s a methadone clinic on Harrison and Monticello that brings a certain charm to the area.q

The Heights is the only area that’s both affordable and safe to live in besides downtown which I’m priced out of ,the New Yorkers and Hoboken crowd among others making 6 figures priced the original residents out of downtown,the city gave tax breaks to all the developers of the hi-rises but raised taxes so much on the one-two family homes that the owners were forced to sell and multi family building were build in there place. I’ve been in the same studio for 14+ yrs and plan on finally leaving to the Space Coast area of Florida for (1) I’m retired now, (2) the last of my family’s gone so there’s no reason to stay here any longer..I love Jersey City but it’s time to move on and start a new chapter ,Florida has no state income tax and I’ll be looking at getting a singlewide or maybe doublewide as long as I have room for a workshop area and a deep carport I’ll be happy.

I was down there for a shuttle launch and when it returned on a 747 a few weeks later both of those times I was like WOW, I have a friend that’s on Merritt Island and right across the street from the Banana River and I believe there’s a few huge Wildlife Sanctuary’s nearby ,I’m into wildlife photography as well as other types,boudoir,macro,landscapes so I’ll have plenty to do to keep myself busy… I won’t even mention the fishing,

Yup, you have every reason to leave - I left NJ now about 8 years ago (we were down by exit 5 of the NJ Turnpike)- I liked that area (lots of farms) but I don’t regret the move to SC at all. Nice to be retired…I hope to join your ranks in the next few years.

Erdoc48 wrote:

Yup, you have every reason to leave - I left NJ now about 8 years ago (we were down by exit 5 of the NJ Turnpike)- I liked that area (lots of farms) but I don’t regret the move to SC at all. Nice to be retired…I hope to join your ranks in the next few years.

I found that time starts moving quicker than I like the older I get and if you’re able to financially call it quits at 62 I’d say go for it and enjoy yourself…

I've gone through two double helmet GIVI Boxes in 10 years and the breaking point was the same in both, a small piece of plastic broke somewhere in the latch mechanism and no amount of tinkering would get the latch to work again.

My third box has less mechanical parts for the latch, but only fits one helmet. I took the old stop light from my last box and fit it to this one. I'm hoping for 10 or more years out of this box to take my scooter to its glorious finish in the sunset of Silverwing cruising.

winged warrior wrote:

I've gone through two double helmet GIVI Boxes in 10 years and the breaking point was the same in both, a small piece of plastic broke somewhere in the latch mechanism and no amount of tinkering would get the latch to work again.

My third box has less mechanical parts for the latch, but only fits one helmet.  I took the old stop light from my last box and fit it to this one.  I'm hoping for 10 or more years out of this box to take my scooter to its glorious finish in the sunset of Silverwing cruising.

Just a thought ,if you know you’ll be picking someone up at another destination you can toss their helmet in the Givi case while wearing yours ,or pick up a luggage rack and a couple of cargo net type bungee cords to strap it down with and if you stop somewhere on your trip and would like to leave both helmets on the bike securely you can put one in the Givi case and attach one to the helmet clip under the seat located by your left foot,locking the seat secures the helmet to the bike ,just be careful of scratching either,helmet or bike .

Givi luggage racks

https://tourandride.com/collections/luggage-racks

Cargo net bungee

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/trackside-cargo-net?
gclid=EAIaIQobChMIi_jbq9msgQMVl0hHAR3a5gHDEAQYCCABEgIQs_D_BwE&sku_id=1127320

I've had my Givi E55 top case for 11 years now, six on a Silver Wing and five on the Forza. It's gave me no trouble at all and I've loaded up with groceries and assorted junk from day one.

It looks great on the Forza, far better than the overpriced smaller colour matched box Honda had as an accessory for it.

Another thing about Givi that is either overlooked, or not widely known is that Givi dealers have a comprehensive replacement and spare parts catalogue for their products.

Meldrew wrote:

I've had my Givi E55 top case for 11 years now, six on a Silver Wing and five on the Forza. It's gave me no trouble at all and I've loaded up with groceries and assorted junk from day one.

It looks great on the Forza, far better than the overpriced smaller colour matched box Honda had as an accessory for it.

Another thing about Givi that is either overlooked, or not widely known is that Givi dealers have a comprehensive replacement and spare parts catalogue for their products.

I buy my Give stuff thru Tour and Ride here in the states,would you mind sharing a link on who you buy thru ?

They have a “Closeout” section on their page which if it’s something that you can use you can save quite a few bucks…

Johnbil09 wrote:

I buy my Give stuff thru Tour and Ride here in the states,would you mind sharing a link on who you buy thru

I'm sorry I can't, the online accessories store I bought my Givi top case and my Airflow screen from seemed to have ceased trading a few years ago.

If you want to buy motorcycle accessories from the UK, sportsbikeshop.co.uk are pretty good and ship to the US.

Meldrew wrote:

Johnbil09 wrote:

I buy my Give stuff thru Tour and Ride here in the states,would you mind sharing a link on who you buy thru

I'm sorry I can't, the online accessories store I bought my Givi top case and my Airflow screen from seemed to have ceased trading a few years ago.

If you want to buy motorcycle accessories from the UK, sportsbikeshop.co.uk are pretty good and ship to the US.

That’s fine,so far I’ve ordered parts from Europe twice simply because I couldn’t locate them here in the states,just doing a quick comparison on my top box that that came with my bike but I added a few accessories that I needed to order ,,,the 47 liter Monokey box that I have is $100 cheaper than the place I shop at ,I may add hard side cases to it but I’m still not sure. I’ll just make a note of the shop you named and jot it down in the back of the service manual for next time I’m looking for something.l

Here’s the name of the shops I’ve purchased items from in Europe which may come in handy for you in the future

SIP Performance.- Malossi products. I think they were in Germany

MotardInn - for the City Grip2 rear tire. Located in Spain. I couldn’t locate the rear tire nowhere in the states