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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Givi E55 Maxia Topcase

My Givi topcase finally arrived today from Twisted Throttle. Since I already had the Givi base plate installed, it was a breeze to attach. It clicks into place, and the Givi Monokey system makes it easy to open, shut, secure and remove.

It's a finely-made piece of equipment.... I'm quite happy with the fit and finish. I had thought about painting the lid red to match the bike but it doesn't look too bad in matte black. It matches the black seat and silver rear cowls. I also purchased the optional back rest, which at about sixty dollars seems pricey, but is nicely upholstered and fits well. I'm not keen on the leftover Chrysler Sebring "tail lights" but they're not as ugly as I expected.

As I gotit all together I began to feel I should be cautious not to overload the trunk. It's the biggest topcase on the market so it would be easy to cram a lot of stuff inside... but it's a big box hanging off the back of an adapter plate, which hangs off the back of the luggage rack, which hangs off the back of the subframe. The pieces are all strong but there is a lot of cantilevered leverage at play. The Givi manual states not to exceed 120Km/h, which I doubt I'll obey but I do wonder about the forces of turbulence pushing and pulling at it. I'm curious if it will cause a weave at high speed. I'll soon find out.

Here are some pictures:

The big case almost looks like it belongs.
From behind. Givi offers a kit to make the brake "lights" functional. I think it's a good idea for safety's sake, given the way the bike's tail lights are swallowed up by luggage.
Instructions and template for the backrest. Requires drilling.
Backrest installed in a couple minutes.
Cavernous. The red box is a little storage tray. This would be a good spot for a first aid or roadside emergency kit. An extra pair of metal hinges support the lid.
The E55 easily gulps 2 full-faced helmets as advertised... with room to spare.
Looks not half-bad I think. As I've stated many times, this is what I love about the VFR1200: It works and looks good as a sport bike or a touring bike.

16 comments:

  1. I´m from Portugal and I´ve been following this blog for a while. I´ve got since July a VFR DCT and would love to ride in those beautiful sights like you! Hope to see soon news in your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi...
    I have Vfr 1200f live in sweden..
    And have 3.krauser 47L...
    Bos exhause =more power.
    Corbin saddle and home made GPS holder.
    9000.km ride in 2010
    love the Vfr 1200f after have ride all vfr ..3,xx and 20.more bikes
    Jussi

    jussihej@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi I just bought VFR2010 just like yours !
    Can you tell me if the base you are using is also from Givi ??? (267FZ). Yours looks a lot better than the one shown in Givi site.
    Please let me know!
    Thank you.

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  4. yep, mine's a Givi universal base (E250) mounted to the Honda accessory platform.

    I recently upgraded my E55 case with some LED lighting. The standard Givi switch sucked so I wired it to a standard molex plug hardwired to the license plate light.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have the GIVI univeral base E250 but for it to work I need to buy the Honda accessory platform. I believe GIVI sells one now so you do not need the Honda accessory platform or univeral base E250. Givi Topcase Rack (Honda VFR1200F 2010)
      Item No: Givi FZ267 $162.00 at http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/5614
      Which one would be better to install?

      Delete
    2. The givi rack is less than half the price of the honda carrier so that looks like a good option but it doesn't look very strong to me. Purely a subjective viewpoint.

      The honda frame is very sturdy.

      Delete
    3. hello..just want to ask..where to get the vfr1200f maroon oem pannier with good price..tq..can drop email to me..brekmok@gmail.com..thanks in advance

      Delete
  5. Thanks for the info ! I ordered the same set up from online.

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  6. Hello everyone,
    I am writing from Luxembourg, also a proud owner of a new Seal Silver VFR1200F. I switched my 2003 VFR800VTEC for this new one and... what a difference!
    I gotta question for TSK: I am planning on buying an original Honda rack (same as yours) and I was wondering, I saw you've got the universal monokey plate, but would you happen to know if the 4 mounting holes on the original rack would fit the mounting holes on a Givi M5 plate?? I heard that all OEM Honda luggage accessories were made by GIVI, so it would be an easy assumption, but I'd like to make sure before I buy the rack.
    Thanks and regards,
    Emile

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for following Emile... hope you found the information useful.

    From what I can tell, the holes in the honda rack will only line up with their OEM top case. I had to get creative with the clamps to get the Givi E250 secure.

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  8. Indeed I find your posts very interesting. I like the hi-res pictures as well. :-) I got my bike in Oct 2011 and I've put only 600km on it, so I can't wait for some good weather to take it on the road again.
    Would it be too much trouble for you if I ask you to measure the distances between the four holes on the rack (without the diagonal distance)? It would help a lot! Let me know please. Thank you. Emile

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  9. Hi, im from Belgrade Serbia :) proud owner of vfr 2010 within one year more then 25k km ...

    Regarding this givi universal plate, is it possible to mange to use both honda org top case and this givi? Or i should changing plates each time before traveling? Because thisone is too big for city etc and i prefer using hondas but for trip more more space:)

    And what about stability @ higher speeds? When i travel alone full loaded with all thre cases on highway my speed is avg 180km/h... Also i managed to ride it until 220km/h anything more than that speed it come bit unstable... Thanks for replay in advance regards Nenad

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  10. Thanks for following in Serbia! I haven't used the Honda top case but I don't think it would be compatible with the e250 givi base plate. To my knowledge they use a completely different mounting system. Sometimes I think I would like to switch to the Honda case because the e55 is so damned big. Apparently Honda now has a 45L case... that's what I'd like mos t but I don't think it's available here. This is where I saw it:
    http://www.bikersoracle.com/vfr/forum/showthread.php?t=118352

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  11. Hi TSK,

    I'm following you from Turkey. I've got the same machine. And now i think i will buy same setup as you had.

    You wrote about overloading the trunk and speed limits. But you didn't update the blog after that. What can you say about these after using this topcase about 2 years?

    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for following in the Ottoman!

    I had my e55 trunk mounted for my USA tour in August last year. I never had an issue with speed and I rode it very fast for some short stretches. I don't like to put a lot of weight in the topcase. I learned to load my heavier items in the panniers and leave the trunk for things that I need quick access to, like a pair of street shoes to change into, a rainsuit, a couple bottles of water and different visors for the helmet. I leave quite a bit of space in the trunk so I can lock my helmet in there when I stop to eat.

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  13. Hello TSK..just want to ask..where to get the oem maroon pannier for vfr1200f with good price..can u share with me to my email brekmok@gmail.com.thanks in advance

    ReplyDelete