Effect of top box on handling

Wondering if top box affects handling to a significant degree?
Looking to install a Coocase S50 Astra. Comments appreciated.

I've got the big Bestem box that can hold two full face hemelts side by side. I've filled it up with groceries and even a truck battery once and didn't really notice a difference.

So maybe if filled it with gold bars or lead pipes or something you might notice something, but with normal stuff or empty it's not even noticeable.

imho i dont think you will notice a difference! I installed a bestem 2012 and there was no difference for me. That being said i havent loaded the bejeesus out of it yet. If i did maybe i could feel the difference. Maybe the guys here who load the cookstove, fuel, kitchen sink etc. will beg to differ!

Thanks for the info. Didn't expect to be laughing so much

Dom wrote:

Wondering if top box affects handling to a significant degree?

I've got the Givi E52 and E55 boxes and I've loaded both to capacity and it doesn't make the slightest bit of difference.

Thnx.

To those respondents above who have noticed no handling problems, have you fitted heavier bar end weights?

Colin B wrote:

To those respondents above who have noticed no handling problems, have you fitted heavier bar end weights?

No. I use heavier signal light bulbs ?!?!?!

Of course top box can have negative effect on Handling but "loaded to weight capacity" seems to work on SilverWing, my experience Givi E46.

If weight mounted high and to the rear improved handling----road racers would have them!!

It's the Silver Wing maxi scooter we're on about here, and you ride it like a maxi scooter not some super light, super fast sports bike, and I take all this "blastin' thru the twisties" nonsense with a pinch of salt.Part of the appeal of maxi scooters is the ability to carry stuff, lots of stuff, and not be stuck with a wallet size storage space and having to ride around with your rain gear in a Hello Kitty backpack.

If you've got a small Givi top box that has a 3kg maximum storage weight and you manage to get a heavy object in it that weighs 10kg, it's no different to riding round with a fully loaded 46, 52, or 55 litre box with a 10kg maximum.

Isn't it great to be able to send this post sitting in a café in the harbour at Whitby with Mrs M, after a morning of Goth watching and kipper buying, and send it via my iPad linked to my iPhone. Later back home in York, it's a nice pair of jugged kippers, poached duck egg, and bread and butter for tea.

Do you folks, that have a top box attached to your scoot while riding on the freeway going 70MPH or faster notice any extra wind buffeting with the box on as opposed the box off? Thanks, Old Hickory

I always ride with a top box fitted and I've spent hours at 70-80 mph+ from full tank to fill up, solo and with with a passenger and it's not even something I have to think about, even pushing through the turbulent air when overtaking heavy goods vehicles/ artics/ semis.

I have a E 52 top box and notice no difference in wind buffeting with box attached or not, even on windy days, get the largest box with brake light, you'll be glad you did. Ride Safe.

Meldrew wrote:

Later back home in York, it's a nice pair of jugged kippers, poached duck egg, and bread and butter for tea.

Off topic, but...
Uhhh, I'm just a dumb Colonial. What is a jugged kipper? Canned Herring packed in a glass jar??? Are duck eggs better tasting than chicken eggs?

I had biscuits and sausage gravy for breakfast and finished off with butter & jelly on a biscuit.

I see no difference. I keep my top case on all the time. I like having the storage space. You never know when you may need it while you are out riding. You may come across as great find you must have.

Just to go against the flow, when I removed the top box from my 400 Burger I found the cornering improved noticeably.

I can fit all the jugged kipper and picked (or poached) duck eggs I need under the seat.

This topic isn't about the effects of a top box on the handling on a 400 Burgman though is it? I had a Givi E55 on my 400 a few years ago and and the only time I rode it without a top box was from Cumbria over the Pennines to a dealers in the North East to swap it for the 650 Burgman. I can't say it felt any different from with a top box.

As for what you can fit under the seat, it's fine for everyday storage but you need more if you tour and I really don't give a toss what you keep there. If you haven't fitted a top box to your Silver Wing and your avatar photo show's you haven't even got a rack fitted, why comment about your Burgman. I had a 52 litre NonFango top box on my Helix for about 8 years with no ill effects but it's got nothing to do with riding with a top box on a Silver Wing.

Well, it's along the line of, the information is there and you can take it or leave it ... a bit like whether or not you are sat in a cafe in Whitby, and what you are having for tea, I suppose.

The original question didn't specify a Silver Wing - although by association I can see that would be the assumption.

It was a nice run over the North Yorkshire Moors and I don't need to drum up support from other riders to go somewhere. There were dozens of Goths in all their finery posing round the harbour and narrow streets of Whitby and going up and down the 199 steps to the ruins of Whitby Abbey.

Fortunes of Whitby have been smoking kippers the traditional way at their smokehouse just above the harbour for the last 132 years, so I bought a couple of pairs from them. Relaxing after lunch I dug my iPad out and had a look on here, as an afterthought and with the glow of a good meal inside me I added to my post that I was in Whitby.

It was a glorious sunny evening ride home too and I didn't have kippers for tea after all, we stopped at an American style diner just off the A64 and I had a chilli dog and fries while listening to REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, and Journey etc. So it's kippers tomorrow sometime instead.

Sounds like a good trip. Enjoy the kippers.

My GIVI 46V top box does not provide quite as smooth a ride at high speeds or cross winds up to 15mph; however, this does not adversely impact handling - but it is (to me) noticible. The benefit of having increased storage far outweights any ride smoothness issues. I have yet to ride much in crosswinds of 20mph+ with my GIVI 46V; however, the SWing handling (without the GIVI 46V) performance suffers (for me) in 30mph crosswinds - especially if they are gusty and not steady. I expect that the GIVI 46V will accerbate the situation in high cross winds - but I will just have to wait and see/feel.

Having a top box doesn't really affect regular riding and here is why.
When you go into a turn you are still centering all your weight and choosing a lean angle relative to your speed. Weight loaded high on the bike such as in a top box may cause you to choose a different lean angle relative to your speed, but it will be so natural a choice because with or without you are still balancing the bike, that you won't even notice it.

There are two places that you will notice it.
1. Extremely slow speeds such as parking, where the extra weight will change the way you lean and if you aren't expecting it you may tip the bike. I added a half inch to my kickstand to change the lean angle to compensate for the extra weight while parked.

2. Heavy crosswinds. I'm sure you can imagine how easy it is to push over your bike when it is on the kickstand. A simple nudge will do. Even more so with a loaded top box. Same principal in crosswinds. I've been on bridges with crosswinds so high I had to lean into the wind at a 25 degree angle to stay rubber side down. The point however is that superior riding skill can compensate for the few times when the extra weight comes into play.

Riding my SW with or without the Coocase 37V I can't detect any difference in crosswinds or at speeds above 90mph.

Has anyone looked at the weight capacities recommended for their top boxes and panniers.

Givi for the E450 top box state 3 kg (6.6 lbs). E21 panniers = 5 kg (11 lbs).

Obviously these weights reflect the fact that Givi don't want to be sued if someone has an accident whilst their top box was filled to the gunwhales with lead nicked off the church roof, (or several dozen kippers).

Cheers,

The Givi E52 and E55 both have a 10kg (22lb) weight capacity, so there's plenty of room for several dozen kippers.

Surely somebody remembers the ban on high top boxes on GoldWings a few years ago? The bikes had to be sold for a few years with real thin boxes.

I use top boxes, keep the real heavy loads out of them after 59 years of daily riding have a "feel" for how bike is behaving. Don't think a SilverWing with big load in high top box will feel real good in snow.

Considering the moaning that's still going on about lingering snow and the 'riding season' ending in October for a lot of the regulars on here, riding in the stuff is hardly an issue.

The only time I'd even consider thinking about the weight in the trunk or top box would be when riding two up. You aren't likely to affect the bike more than by riding double by a load in the top box. As for Goldwings I've ridden mine from the 1100, 1200, 1500 and now the 1800 with some pretty well stuffed saddlebags and trunk and sometimes also a wife on the back. It really doesn't affect the GW much except a full trunk and saddlebags can sure make it hard to get a GW up on the centerstand.