say NO to the TOP BOX!

[Skutorr]

I know, some of you are like my BROTHER, who put top boxes on his Majesty/Burgman650/Silverwing600/Tmax500. At least the Tmax CAME with the factory adapter arm assembly. Which he GRAFTED a CooCase mounting plate to...sort of like the afterthought BMW mount...

I SHUDDER to think of what it does to the minimalist lines of the Tmax and the C600!!!

But, I like to take LONGER road trips, which is why I put the GIVI soft bag supports on my ride and fixed hard cases to them. Two minute install and I DON"T have to drag it around with me all the time!

Do the SAME on your C600! Here are pics of the supports alone, and with the bags installed (with the TOP BOX Photo Shopped OUT...)

 

[Oldscoot]

I don't mind my Givi 37 liter top case. It holds the stuff that I take every time I ride and affords me the ability to stop, shop, have a beer or whatever and not worry about things. I always try to strike a balance between aesthetics and function and Givi did a nice job of making the lines of the mounting bracket look as good as they could. Please don't lose any sleep on my account - the bike still looks good to me.

 

[JaimeC]

Top box doesn't look like an afterthought to me. At least, not the one I had the dealer install on my C650GT. Looks like it belongs there.

 

[davidh]

I have the Shad SH48 (reviewed here) but only keep it on the bike when I absolutely need it. I definitely like the lines without it but it's an insane amount of storage and has come in very useful!

 

[FloridianRobert]

I am not a big fan of the top case either. I am curious as to which soft bags you are utilizing in the second photo. I have the C650GT, but I would imagine the size of the bag would be about the same either way. I really like the look in that second photo. Clean appearance and plenty of storage.

 

[justscootin]

I am with Jaime.
I love my top box I blends into the style and color of the scooter, it is also a back rest for the girl friend it is solid and you can take it off in a second if you do not need it.

 

[Catbird]

Since I don't have either the c600 Sport or the c650 GT (yet), I suppose I'm not really qualified to respond except from an aesthetic point of view.

I don't think a top box looks quite right on the c600; IMHO, it would detract from the overall appeal of the sporty appearance. The soft bags (both saddlebags and rear bag), when needed, are just fine. OTOH, a top box on the c650GT looks right at home.

Some people detest a top box on a Vespa scooter, but I have one anyway...








Although I have a top box for my BMW R1200RT, I never attach it...

 

[Oldscoot]

Some people detest a top box on a Vespa scooter, but I have one anyway...

The motto of my scooter club, "Sons of Belial", is, "De gustibus non est disputandum" which roughly translates to, "there is no disputing of tastes." Obviously you were able to overcome the derision of others to make your (really great looking) Vespa more functional. If I worried too much about what others think I might not be riding a scooter - or even a PTW at all. So, good for you. Now, stop dawdling and get yourself a BMW - a REAL scooter. Just adding a little humor there or just entertaining myself.

 

[Edumakated]

I'm not a top box fan. I think it messes up the lines. However, I do like the Givi saddle bag option in the picture and have been considering purchasing them for more storage. My co-worker bought the top case for his Silver c600. You know what they say about opinions...

I do want a better option for the bag to go in the tunnel though.

 

[Catbird]

... Now, stop dawdling and get yourself a BMW - a REAL scooter. Just adding a little humor there or just entertaining myself.

I'm not intentionally "dawdling" . I'm trying to time the purchase so that the transaction is most favorable for me. The BMW salesman is supposed to get back to me with some financial incentives/promotions from BMW... it seems that last month there was a $1K discount on both the c600 and the c650. As much as I hate to, I want to sell my '05 BMW R1200RT first so that I don't have a garage full of PTWs and no room to park my car. I also have this 2013 Royal Enfield taking up space -

 

[JaimeC]

The biggest advantage I see to the scooter is the fact that you can carry so much "stuff" without the added width of saddlebags. The majority of the heavy stuff goes under the seat (PERFECT for centralized mass balance) and the lightweight stuff (or quick helmet storage) goes in the top box. Adding saddlebags would increase the width of the scooter and eliminate its main advantage over a regular sport or luxury touring bike.

I realize "lane sharing" is only legal in California, but that doesn't mean we don't take it upon ourselves to do it from time to time where it ISN'T legal...

 

[justscootin]

The biggest advantage I see to the scooter is the fact that you can carry so much "stuff" without the added width of saddlebags. The majority of the heavy stuff goes under the seat (PERFECT for centralized mass balance) and the lightweight stuff (or quick helmet storage) goes in the top box. Adding saddlebags would increase the width of the scooter and eliminate its main advantage over a regular sport or luxury touring bike.

As Jaime said you can carry a lot of stuff. I went to the finger Lakes rally and a couple of others, personal belongings under the seat sleeping gear (tent, sleeping bag and thermal rest) in a dry bag on the back seat and whatever else in the top box all with room to spare. At the rally the top box comes off for ice and beer. You can carry a 24 under the seat. All this on a GT (maybe not a sport)

 

[Oldscoot]

If the Royal Enfield is taking up too much space you can keep it my garage. I'll just ride it every once in awhile to keep the battery charged. I'll do this for free - because we are fellow forum buddies. Oh - by the way - I might put a top box on it - but it will be camo.

 

[Catbird]

... I might put a top box on it - but it will be camo.

Absolutely not!
It must be OD green or nothing.

 

[Oldscoot]

Absolutely not!
It must be OD green or nothing.

But if it's a really good camo - you won't be able to see it.

 

[bill steele]

I have saddle bags on my MP3 500 which work OK but I like the top case better that I have on the 650 GT (shad 29 litre) you can get in and out of it much faster than the saddle bags and find what you want with out the hassle of pulling most of the stuff from the bags

 

[Skutorr]

Yamaha addressed the issue of the typical "grafted-on" adapter from GIVI or SHAD, by incorporating the mount INTO an assembly that replaced the two original pillion grab handles ("Oh Shit" bars...)

The OEM (GIVI) boxes then snapped down onto the assembly...no need for an adapter plate! But, the latch stuck up into the air and COULD have looked better.


With the 530 they hired an outside design firm who re-did the entire thing, with a different, lighter-looking artistic mount, with the latches internalized INSIDE the bottoms of the new top boxes. Very Cool! And fits the EARLIER bikes, also!


This is what I had HOPED to see from BMW, not some aftermarket/OEM (SHAD) adapter assembly that you installed after pulling the visible rubber plugs out of the top of the grab bars. Cheesy. And the bolts sheared-off...

IF enough people REQUESTED/COMPLAINED maybe BMW would spend the Euros and do it first-class...

I keep waiting for BMW to give me an IRRESISTABLE upgrade...

 

[Oldscoot]

Perhaps in your opinion Yamaha does it better - however Yamaha isn't selling the T-Max in the U.S. whereas BMW is selling the C class successfully and there are still 2009 Tmax bikes for sale in the US. So .... all things being equal, this is a BMW forum and in IMHO the Givi mount looks good and works very well on the C 600.

 

[JaimeC]

The BMW/Shad mount looks just fine to me on the C650GT. Fills in a big gap that looks rather empty without it, actually. My TMAX had the older design Yamaha/GIVI mount (not the one in your photographs above). That thing really did look TACKY and it was best to leave the trunk ON just so the rack didn't look so oddly out of place.

The redesign they came out in subsequent years definitely looked better. What I DID like about the TMAX rack I had, though, was that you could use it with the backrest whether or not the trunk was mounted. That is a definite advantage over the current BMW/Shad design.

 

[Xian Forbes]

Those saddlebags in the GIVI picture are cool...but... I looked into them and discovered that those are not the ones that are meant to go with the side racks. Those are the silver line of standard saddlebag that are attached to each other and go under the seat just like any old fashioned bag we've seen before. I worry that it might compromise the soft rubber seal under the seat. That did bum me out as i love the way they look.

Those racks are designed to go with a semi hard bag that has the quick release type of attachment. The proper ones are very plain black and are a bit more expensive. I think I figured it would be 125.00 for the rack and something like 300+ for the bags. Not too terribly bad but more expensive than the BMW soft bag I put on, which also gave the Missus some sense of comfort early on during her riding. She was worried that she might fall off the back and a top box or semi rigid bag helps pillions feel more secure.

Like many have said before, I do not think that the top box spoils the look of my C6Sport. When I take it off to wash/wax the bike I think it looks like its missing something.

I will be putting side bags on the bike for sure...unless I manage to get the R100gs Paris Dakar I have my eye on... now that sucker has some Saddle Bags.

-Christian