i've considered doing something like this. i was actually planning on sticking a bit 20"x20"x20" pelican case back there, since they're bullet and waterproof. but then i decided it wasn't worth reinventing the wheel. i have a set of nelson-rigg luggage coming in the mail; $200 from chaparral for saddlebags, tank bag, and tail bag. over 100 liters in there, and i'm pretty sure i can rig up some cable or something for anti-theft to keep people from walking off with it. the tougher part will be figuring how to mount the tail bag without covering the pillion seat since i'll be riding two up.

i agree with what some other people have said: it doens't look great to have a giant trunk. it will also kill your handling and aerodynamics. my 2c

Ah~! Another Seattle person. Well, will it really kill handling / aerodynamics? I mean, If you add 50lbs to the bike, then it should be just like a 50lb heaver person was riding; and that isn't an issue with me. Or is it because of where the weight is? Too high, or too far back? As for aerodynamics, well, this bike isnt that aerodynamic in the first place. No windshield. The wind hits me full on. Plus the box would be behind me, not down to the sides like side cases would be. Do you think it would still pose a problem after all? (I mean, sure it would make things worse, but would it be noticeable?. There are huge busses that have fully flat fronts.. I always figured that was dumb, but maybe they know something I don't. Or they don't care.)

There's a good question, would side cases be better or worse in handling and/or aerodynamics?

As for your 100 liter bags, I am scared of soft bags because I think it would be very easy to take a knife to them, plus locking their opening isn't usually setup nice. It usually is a padlock or something small that could be cut. Actually I'm just taking out my .. I mean, I haven't actually looked at the locks on soft bags, but would think they would be that way. The other reason I don't think soft bags would work is because the plastic on my bike isn't supported on the back. If I hung something over it (like throw over style side bags) I know it would crack and break into many parts.


Anyway- if you think this is no good, I am open to other designs. Maybe side cases are the way to go. How about two 18" Long x 12"x12" cases? Although, then I would be 24" wider. Or maybe not, I guess the handle bars stick out a bit. Maybe only 12" wider (6" per side).. thoughts?

About the saddlebags, yea they do make a big difference when your on the highway. The wind is slip streaming over cars and vehicles such as the bike and i know you dont have a screen but the air is still traveling around you as was designed for the bike. On my dads BMW tourer it has hard plastic panniers (saddlebags/throwover bags) Under the seat it warns not to go over 80mph with fully laden panniers because they upset the airflow on the bike. He also said when hes riding o the motorway (highway) that it can cause the bike to buffet around thus he takes them off unless hes actually carry full luguage. He just uses a Givi top bos on the back. Can you not get a Givi for your bike, they make racks to fit most and the one on the back of the beemer can hold 2 helmets and a fully armouer motorcyle jacket on the top its a large thing but fits in the stream line of the rider.

what i meant regarding aerodynamics and handling for a top box vs a side box is that, with the top box, everything is high up. so the drag is up on the bike and to the rear, which may tend to lift up the front a bit. a bigger issue may be crosswinds, since the side area of the bike would be increased, and the cross wind on the top box would have much leverage over the bike.

like kasumi said, though, side bags also affect the bike. how big the difference between the two setups is, i don't know.

Huh, so either way, I have problems. Great.   

• Door #1: a large helping of doing nothing, easy now, but alot of trouble everytime I get somewhere, and can't carry much of anything.
• Door #2: saddlebags, good looks, but carries smaller items, have to think/design, and buffeting at high speeds.
• Door #3: a top box, mostly designed, that can carry any item I currently think I would want to, but with looks that would impress a shipping crate, and with crosswind hell.

[/tt]
Sweet. All we need are 2 more options and a revolver and we can play russian roulette.

Edit: as for the Givi box, I am not sure it would be the right size. Might be too small for all the gear. I know it's big, but I measured and I seem to think I need ~70litters. It is a ton, but it's all gear w/ armor, not just a jacket. I just don't like bending the armor I guess.

i have figured out the best solution to your problem.  go buy a new honda fit an you get fuel economy plus lots more trunk space than your gs, haha.  really tho the box idea doesn't look like the greatest invention for the gs.  you would be better off chaining a piece of luggage on( an its gonna look just as ghetto) an moving on

I saw a BMW with two METAL Saddlebags, I'd say each one was about the size of an ATX mini-tower. (Not Micro ATX, full ATX)

They had little locky bits and said rather loudly "Don't even TRY to get in here." They would be easy to fab up and keep your center of gravity low. Aerodynamic? NO. (That could be worked on though) Pretty-boy? NO. Bad-Azz and functional? YES.

I wasn't so much saying it was too much, just wow, you're not messing around on this. Rock on 

/starthijack

Honda fit will never beat my 70mpg, period. Hybrids don't even get that.

/endhijack

Personally though I really don't like that much weight going that far behind the rear axle.

how many people on here get 70 mpg out of their gs's??  I get around 43-46 on mine, not that far off from a fit

Yeah, thoes BMW's with metal side bags are the shaZam!. In a good-awsome way. Well, I'm sure 7² people will think otherwise, but yea, that was kinda the look I was going for. If they wern't so frigin expensive I would have gotten one of the BMW's instead of the GS.

Ha, CirclesCenter, I thought about getting two old full atx cases and sealing them up and mounting them.

I would have to get a different pipe though. Maybe a dual stacked type to keep it really skinny. Hmm..

To make it more aerodynamic What about angles on the outside edges?

Example, top view

/||
|||
|||
\||


Side view still a square
__________
|                 |
|                 |
|__________|


Back/rear view
_______
|           |
|           |
\______|



Hmm, well I just Went out an measured, If i added 12x12x18 or so boxes to the sides of my bike, it would be over 40 inches wide. That doesn't even take into account the pipe..   3.3 feet! That's almost a car! In fact I bet there are cars that thin. I would want it 12 wide so I could fit my helmet and or backpack inside. ARGGGG. There has got to be a good solution. Good I said, buying a car is not a good solution. Doing nothing is not a good solution. There is always a good solution, it is just hard to figure out sometimes I guess. Well, maybe 40 inches isn't that bad. This Link Here Says they end up at 100cm, that is about 40 inches.

I really do think one of the large givi top boxes would be fine, two helmets comfortably with armoured jacket, armoured trousers, gloves, the only thing i didnt have in their was boots but im sure it would fit, i only stuffed stuff in not proper packed. If you smooth all edges of your pizza boy box i dont think wind would be such a problem from the front at all, crosswind maybe a bit but not enough to be a hazard.

ps those metal cases they fit to the BMW GS, as seen in The Long Way Round. Theyre meant to be much more hardwearing for the BMW off roader, you can drop the bike on them and they wont mishape etc. . . great things. Well tested by Ewen McGreggor (sp?) with all the falls on the rocks they had.

My givi-top-case can hold one helmet, gloves inside the helmet, and one of the following:  Textile Pants (with hard knees), Tex-Jacket (Soft armor), Short Boots (haven't tried the tall ones yet), change of closes and shoes, 6-pack.


My advice is to go to a moto store that has a lot of cases with all your gear...  Then start trying them out.  If you find one (or two) that work, there ya' go...

Like others have said, the larger cases hold a lot...  Givi has a 52-liter case: E52 Maxia AND you can get a rack for the top of it (and brake-lights)...  You'll still have your rear seat for a tail bag (or backpack room) and crap loads of storage in the trunk.

If it's STILL not enough room, you still have the options for side-cases (although, give doesn't have a 3-Case mount specific to the GS) and/or a tank bag.

Well, I stoped by a motorcycle used parts place, and they wanted $60 for a set of clipons.. used no less. Holyfreaking cow! Then I stoped by Cycle Barn in Lynnwood today. I looked at their Givi cases and some 7/8" bars. They wanted $18 for ONE bar. Oh, btw, it was for the clipons for my '89. I told them I'd think it over . So then I was looking at the givi cases and chatted the guy up about them. Apparently he is of the same mind that RVertigo is, you can get a helmet and one other main thing, but not much else. He said the big 52liter was really not that much larger. He said it was no taller and only a few inches wider and longer. They didn't have one on display. I looked at the next step down, and am fairly sure it nor the larger one would be large enough to fit all I wanted. Plus they are tons of money plus tons more for the mount.

We chatted some more about side bags vs. a top case. He thought that a top case would cause more buffeting then side cases, and would probably pull the front end up more because it is farther up & back. I am about 95% sure I want to make my own stuff at this point, mostly because I will proably save $3-800. Then there is the attraction I have toward meta functional (vs looks) boxes. Plus there is always the 'I made it myself'/or whatever, feeling. If I decided to do the Givi (or similar) route, I would probably just make smaller boxes in their place.

Quote from: KasumiTheyre meant to be much more hardwearing for the BMW off roader, you can drop the bike on them

Yea! My kind of side bag! I would want mine to be like that. (well atleast somewhat) It would suck to make these things then drop the bike and have them crunch into a ball of worthless. I will cross that idea over my head when I get to it.

Quote from: KasumiI really do think one of the large givi top boxes would be fine, two helmets comfortably with armoured jacket, armoured trousers, gloves, the only thing i didnt have in their was boots but im sure it would fit, i only stuffed stuff in not proper packed. If you smooth all edges of your pizza boy box i dont think wind would be such a problem from the front at all, crosswind maybe a bit but not enough to be a hazard.

Hmm, well what you and what RVertigo say contradict. I might take all my stuff down to a place with the Big Givi Box (tm) but looking at the smaller one, I'm thinking no. Which Givi Box do you have? When you say, smooth the edges on my pizza box, what do you mean? I also don't think wind from the front would be too bad, but am still thinking it might be better with some minor (major even) tweaking.


EDIT: woah, I just thought of something. Maybe a size adjustable, waterproof box could be made. Well, waterproof as far as spraying it with a hose. Doesn't need to be 'dropped-it-in-the-ocean' water proof. HMMMMMM

As a note about helmets...  I think the helmet itself makes a difference...  I have a Scorpion EXO400 in a Large (which is the same size as an extra large)...  The exo400 uses a pretty damn big shell.

The guy I bought my bike from said two helmets will fit in the top case no problem...  But, I have to get my EXO400 in juuuuuust right for the lid to close.  But, I have room for more crap when it's in there...  Just not too much crap (as noted before).

Without a helmet, the top case will hold pants + boots + jacket...

I think the biggest one they have will hold a helmet and all tex gear...  Dunno 'bout leathers though...  And tall boots might be a complication.



I saw this parked behind my building and thought of you:




Although.......  You could probably use something like that as a frame and weld plates on the outside of it to make it solid.

Cool - check out that shaft drive! 

oh noo.. The Great Kerry comes in and all he can say is,

Quote from: Kerry..check out that shaft..

Damn, I saw that kerry had posted and was like,
", Yay kerry must have something good to say!"
Then saw the post and was like,
" , all he commented on was RVertigo's shaft he took a picture of.."

what?

Ha ha!  Sorry to let you down - you must take me more seriously than I do!

But don't get me wrong ... I have enjoyed the thread so far, and I admire your creativity and skills and persistence, but when it comes to luggage and racks I can only "boast" of being a "purchaser of pre-fab parts". 

EDIT: OK, I guess that's not strictly true.  But I assumed you had already seen my Fabricating Luggage Racks [...] page ... and it isn't all that informative anyway, and ... and ... sigh.

Now for my "contribution".    Cal Price has mentioned buying a (Givi?) top box that holds 2 full face helmets.  I'm not sure whether that was on the board or in an email to me ... I'll see if I can track it down.

Found it!

(I'm still laughing over your post - it was as unexpected for me as mine must have been for you.  Sorry about that.  )

Cal Price did mention his new Givi E460 bag, in this post.  But he hasn't posted a picture of it as far as I know.

I hope he won't mind if I post this photo from an email.  It isn't your standard 3/4 view of the Givi bag, but it may actually be more useful from this angle...?



Doesn't Cal look svelte in that riding suit?

BTW, the bike is strapped down because it's making a ferry crossing during Cal's recent ride from Dover, England to parts of France and Belgium.

Thats very similar to the one ive got maybe even the same if it had built in tail lights, it fits two helmets comfortable with tonnes of space above for jacket and pants, so if you only have one helmet you could do helmet and boots side by side then jacket and pants ontop.

That's that one, two full-face helmets side-by-side, 46l but seems sooo much bigger than my 36l model.

Kerry! SVELT ? ?   C R U S T Y is rather more the type of adjective I am used to !
By way of explanation the bike is facing the "wrong way" as at that point the deck slopes towards upwards towards the stern, it was a very windy day with a lot of white water and swell so the bikes are turned to face up the slope so that the stand works for you if the ship takes a big forward lurch, you can put it in gear too but the strapping is excellent, never moved an inch. The "svelte" jacket is a Spada rather than the "Buffalo" in my avatar.

Quote from: Kerry on June 05, 2006, 10:05:38 PMCool - check out that shaft drive! 

I KNOW!!!  I was blown away by that...  That thing also has inverted shocks on the front.

50cc 2-Stroke...  $500 

[/thread jack]

Seriously though NightRyder...  Something like that (but bigger) might work for a frame...