Installing Shad SH58X top case (with backrest) on an original BMW luggage rack - BMW C400GT (2021)

Cervidae

New member
Installed the Shad SH58X topcase (with backrest) using the original luggage rack and the Shad mountingplate. I had it installed twice. Initially it was too close to the buddyseat leaving too little space for an adult passenger.
Picture 1 - slots used
Picture 2 - extended two frontside slots just a litte bit using a mill so they will match the slots of the luggage rack
Picture 3 - Shad mountingplate mounted.
Picture 4 - The backside of the Shad mountingplate is secured with M6 bolts to a stainless steel stip with hooks welded to it. Thread is tapped in the strip but to be extra secure nuts are used on top of that. The nuts are locked by the hooks so there is no change they will get loose by vibrations (picture 6)
Picture 5 - The hooks might be handy for securing luggage if the topcase is not used
 

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EvilTwin

Active member
Nice install. I put one of the smaller shad cases on mine but used the shad rack. BMW just too pricey. I like the quality vs price with Shad. Better than the old Bestem box I had on the Silverwing.
 

mgg

Member
Installed the Shad SH58X topcase (with backrest) using the original luggage rack and the Shad mountingplate. I had it installed twice. Initially it was too close to the buddyseat leaving too little space for an adult passenger.
Picture 1 - slots used
Picture 2 - extended two frontside slots just a litte bit using a mill so they will match the slots of the luggage rack
Picture 3 - Shad mountingplate mounted.
Picture 4 - The backside of the Shad mountingplate is secured with M6 bolts to a stainless steel stip with hooks welded to it. Thread is tapped in the strip but to be extra secure nuts are used on top of that. The nuts are locked by the hooks so there is no change they will get loose by vibrations (picture 6)
Picture 5 - The hooks might be handy for securing luggage if the topcase is not used
Very nice job! Glad I saw this as I should be getting my BMW mount this Friday and already have the Shad sh58x. With your instructions I should be good to go.

Thanks for posting.
 

wspollack

Active member
Very nice job! Glad I saw this as I should be getting my BMW mount this Friday and already have the Shad sh58x. With your instructions I should be good to go.

Thanks for posting.
And we will expect detailed pics and instructions from you, too.
 

mgg

Member
And we will expect detailed pics and instructions from you, too.
If I do anything different I will report back. I will not likely use the stainless steal with hook set up that you included but the insallation should be the same if I have the same BMW mount that you do. It does appear that the mounts may be slightly different from 2021 to 2022. Not suer but I have seen different pictures where the front wholes are actually open squars on the mount. I hope I get the one you have as the installation looks better to me.
 

wspollack

Active member
If I do anything different I will report back. I will not likely use the stainless steal with hook set up that you included but the insallation should be the same if I have the same BMW mount that you do. It does appear that the mounts may be slightly different from 2021 to 2022. Not suer but I have seen different pictures where the front wholes are actually open squars on the mount. I hope I get the one you have as the installation looks better to me.
mgg,

Bill here. I don't have any Shad products, but I'm considering the 58X (with the BMW rack that I already have) to replace my BMW 30L topcase. If I do that, I'll be mimicing what Scooteria did.

Still, I'm interested in any work that you or @Cervidae do or have done. I'm particularly curious regarding the fore/aft positioning of the Shad, so that its back pad is in about the same place as the back pad on the BMW case. Also, note the up/down height of the Shad back pad will vary, as that adjustable case is sized smaller or larger.
 
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mgg

Member
mgg,

Bill here. I don't have any Shad products, but I'm considering the 58X (with the BMW rack that I already have) to replace my BMW 30L topcase. If I do that, I'll be mimicing what Scooteria did.

Still, I'm interested in any work that you or @Cervidae do or have done. I'm particularly curious regarding the fore/aft positioning of the Shad, so that its back pad is in about the same place as the back pad on the BMW case. Also, note the up/down height of the Shad back pad will vary, as that adjustable case is sized smaller or larger.
It appears that the Scooteria instalation is maybe a little stronger with his drilled holes closer to the front of the BMW mount. ( better spacing ) it is also closer to the seat. That installation actually looks a little nicer to me, however it looks like the back pads on the Scooteria installation may be robbing some space from the passenger?

Does the stock BMW case location look closer to the Scooteria installation or Cervidae? Can you tell from the pictures? I am going back to see if I can find any pictures of yours with the BMW case to compair. I did not think about location until I read your post. I don't intend to carry a passenger on this bike but you never know what you will need to do. Best to make it as versitile as possible.

After looking at pictures of your bike with the BMW top case I would say that Cervidae's location is closer to stock in regard to the placement of the pads and case, than Scooteria's location and would likely be the better location to not crowd a passenger. Maybe Cervidae will chime in if he has had any experiance with carrying a passenger.

mgg
 
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wspollack

Active member
@mgg :

What I have in mind is taking some pics, for you and potentially for me. I thought I'd put a two-foot level, such that it's 0° and just touching the most forward (bottom, because of the slant) part of the backrest pad ... and see where that point is on the seat, or just behind the seat. That way, if I got the 58X with backrest, I could try to duplicate that. Follow me?

As bad luck would have it, my bike was picked up yesterday by the van from Max BMW. This is for my initial break-in service on the '23 C 400 GT (which I managed to get 400-something miles on before the end of the season). I expect that I'll get it dropped off back here in a week or two. But when I do get it, I'll be glad to post some pics of the BMW topcase and pad, trying to psych out the positioning in relation to the seat, if you're interested.
 
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mgg

Member
@mgg :

What I have in mind is taking some pics, for you and potentially for me. I thought I'd put a two-foot level, such that it's 0° and just touching the most forward (bottom, because of the slant) part of the backrest pad ... and see where that point is on the seat, or just behind the seat. That way, if I got the 58X with backrest, I could try to duplicate that. Follow me?

As bad luck would have it, my bike was picked up yesterday by the van from Max BMW. This is for my initial break-in service on the '23 C 400 GT (which I managed to get 400-something miles on before the end of the season). I expect that I'll get it dropped off back here in a week or two. But when I do get it, I'll be glad to post some pics of the BMW topcase and pad, trying to psych out the positioning in relation to the seat, if you're interested.
I get exactly what you mean and that is probably as close as we can get to duplicating the factory orientation. I had the 3 pictures pulled up on different screens and went back and forth between them and feel that Cervidae's installation is close. When I blew up the 2nd picture in your series of 99 and the last picture in Cervidae's post the orientation of the bikes looks almost identical. Unless I'm not seeing something it's uncanny the angles you took your pictures at. And too me the orinetation of the pads looks very close. Still nothing can match using a level to check where the intersection is and duplicating it.

mgg
 
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wspollack

Active member
Here are my pics, BMW luggage rack / topcase / topcase pad:

1) Vertical level against the bottom part of the backrest pad. The pad slopes forward at its bottom, compared to its top:

2023-12-07_17-45-41 2.jpeg

2) Here's a close-up crop of the above shot, showing the back of the passenger seat:

2023-12-07_17-45-41 3.jpeg

3) Not only does the pad slope toward the front of the bike at its bottom, but it is also a bit concave. Thus, where the level was placed in the center of the pad (pics 1 & 2) is about 3/8" rearward of the most-forward (i.e., outer) part of the pad (and that most forward part of the pad is slightly more forward than the outside edges of the plastic topcase itself):

2023-12-07_17-49-45 2.jpeg
 

mgg

Member
Have you installed the case differently? The box sure looks closer to the back of the seat (almost touching the seat) in the above photo. The Box looked like it was at least an inch or 1nch and a half away from the back of the seat in previous pictures. Or is this due to the angle of the photograph?
 

wspollack

Active member
Have you installed the case differently? The box sure looks closer to the back of the seat (almost touching the seat) in the above photo. The Box looked like it was at least an inch or 1nch and a half away from the back of the seat in previous pictures. Or is this due to the angle of the photograph?
Nah, it must be a parallax, camera-angle, thing.

The OEM topcase fits in the OEM rack only one way. Hooks molded into the bottom of the topcase snap into a pair of openings (near the bike) in the rack (see arrows) ...

2023-12-05_16-19-52.JPG

... while the other pair of molded-in hooks, um, hook around the back of the OEM rack: see this pic in my gallery ...


... which is looking from the back of the bike, forward.

You want some more pics, no charge, from some different angles?

EDIT: Here are a couple of additional pics that I just took:

2023-12-08_17-39-56 2.jpeg

2023-12-08_17-40-22 2.jpeg
 
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