location of Givi MonoKEY top case with PHILS FARKELS rack

[bigfraid]

Here's mine,I made my own rack since I have the givi 55 it would cause the Corbin seat with backrest to be angled forward.so with the rack I made I moved the e55 back 2 inches and now my wife loves it.i used black bedliner spray to make it match.

[B.D.F.]

I can give it a shot but the photo is lousy:



The first thing is that my rack is considerably longer than stock, so it not only projects more at the back of the bike but it projects forward toward the saddle also. It is in the front projection where I added two more screws by drilling holes right through the grab bars and using screws and nuts (technically I guess they were bolts and nuts but I digress....).

There is a well where the rack is supposed to mount to the bike (Easy Ted!). In front of that well, the grab rails get thicker so where my rack projects, it must be thinned on the bottom to fit. You might be able to (barely) see the milled areas under the rack where I relieved it to fit all the way down into the original rack wells. This is no doubt why Givi chose to use external 'outriggers' to provide additional support to their -55 mount; there is just nothing that can really be done with the stock bike otherwise to really increase the strength of either the rack or the grab rails where the rack mounts.

Again, the thing is that this rack is thicker but also quite a bit longer than a stock rack; the front was lengthened to add those to additional fasteners as the stock screw locations are so close together. A Givi 55 is a big box (Boys!) to begin with, and while I would never do so, I have heard that <some> people overload even those things (I have had trouble carrying that top box into hotel rooms  ). Given that, I would just not trust the original four screws to fasten the box, even with the thicker plate. Please bear in mind that the grab rails are not aluminum as they appear to be but are in fact plastic, though a very strong plastic but still.... With the larger rack shown, along with the additional screws, I calculated over 1,000 lbs. of force required to deform it (not actually have it outright fail) although of course I do not know the strength of the grab rails in the first place.

Brian

I agree. Brian can you give some insight on the holes you added?

Also in previous note you said; By the way, the bottom of that plate is not flat; it must be stepped or cut at an angle to lay flat on the forward grab rails. If left flat, it will not seat in the well provided for the luggage rack.

Are you saying the flat bottomed Aluminum plates (that are comercially available) are not correct as they are flat bottomed?

Ride safe, Ted

[lather]

The first plate I made for my Maxia 50 was .375 " and it required grinding to fit flush. When I upgraded to the Maxia 55 I made a new, larger plate so I could move it back 1.75" because it was pushing my wife forward uncomfortabley. I actually bought a 9"x12"x.375" plate but when I got it I decided it would be too heavy. I replaced it with one .3125" thick. This plate did not require any modification to fit flat. I think the thinner plate is plenty stiff enough (Whoa broncos!) The givi does move up and down with road bumps considerably as did the smaller givi with the thicker plate but I am convinced the movement is in the slightly flexible plastic rails and compression of the rubber bumpers. The topcase moves only slightly more than the OEM saddlebags.

Here are pictures of both plates. Note that I already had an actual givi mounting plate so the plates I made are just to attach that to the Kawasaki rails. This may not be the best solution but the easiest and least expensive. I also added the two extra mounting points.
   

[connie_rider]

Thanks Brian/Lather. I see where the rack is making contact. Good point!

I tightened and loosened the mounting bolts several times while watching closely.
  (When tightening, Either the rack (Phil's Rack) flexes slightly or the rails do).
I think I'm ok, so I'm going to leave mine as is. (no notching or extra bolts)
explanation;
   I suspect that most/all commercial racks are flat bottomed;
   I don't have the oversized Trunk; (I have the Kawi Trunk)
   I moved my trunk back only 1";
   I lowered my trunk 3/4".

I do want to bring up a concern/thought though for consideration..
Those of you with the big trunks and long racks are adding load (moment) thru the extra setback.
  I suspect that; the additional setback increases the stress on the grab rails.
                        Any weight you put in the bag, has to be multiplied (by some factor) because of the distance.

That being said, I think a simpler solution would be a brace from below the rack. (at the rear)
We have a smart group here. Please reply to my thought.
Has anyone developed braces to mount from below the rack?

Ride safe, Ted

[gPink]

givi has

[lather]

Thanks Brian/Lather. I see where the rack is making contact. Good point!

I tightened and loosened the mounting bolts several times while watching closely.
  (When tightening, Either the rack (Phil's Rack) flexes slightly or the rails do).
I think I'm ok, so I'm going to leave mine as is. (no notching or extra bolts)
explanation;
   I suspect that most/all commercial racks are flat bottomed;
   I don't have the oversized Trunk; (I have the Kawi Trunk)
   I moved my trunk back only 1";
   I lowered my trunk 3/4".

I do want to bring up a concern/thought though for consideration..
Those of you with the big trunks and long racks are adding load (moment) thru the extra setback.
  I suspect that; the additional setback increases the stress on the grab rails.
                        Any weight you put in the bag, has to be multiplied (by some factor) because of the distance.

That being said, I think a simpler solution would be a brace from below the rack. (at the rear)
We have a smart group here. Please reply to my thought.
Has anyone developed braces to mount from below the rack?

Ride safe, Ted

I reckon your concerns are justified. I just went out to the garage and had a close look. As I mentioned, my case does move a bit but most is in the rubber bumpers and the rest seems to actually be some play where the rails attached to the frame. I can't see any other play or movement anywhere else. Also I don't see any simple way to install any braces from underneath. I have seen pictures of Givi's solution and it looks far from simple, not to mention hideous.

Anyway, I am concerned about stress on my rails and my solution will be to move some heavy items from my topcase to my side bags and tank bag.

[B.D.F.]

Yep, as Gary said, Givi has a mounting system that is external to the rack; it is behind and below the rack and mounts to the bike's frame well under the original rack position.

As far as the grab rails, I believe they are more than strong enough to carry 100 lbs. safely, and probably more. The problem with the original mounting system is the distance between the two screws: they are much too close to each other. That, coupled with the fact that the grab rails are much shorter where the rack mounts, create a pretty weak setup. Adding fasteners, and especially spreading them out (increasing the moment), along with bolting the front pair through the entire grab rail, very close to where the grab rails mount to the bike, makes the whole system much, much stronger.

Mounting, screws, 'behind and below', etc...... that whole thing is gonna' need some Easy Boys! to be safe to read. Please insert them (Easy!) where you think they should go. This post is in kit form, some assembly required. This is a list of suggested safeties (example, insert one here(and here)).

Easy Boys!
Easy Boys!
Boys!!
'You cannot put that, there.

Brian

Thanks Brian/Lather. I see where the rack is making contact. Good point!

I tightened and loosened the mounting bolts several times while watching closely.
  (When tightening, Either the rack (Phil's Rack) flexes slightly or the rails do).
I think I'm ok, so I'm going to leave mine as is. (no notching or extra bolts)
explanation;
   I suspect that most/all commercial racks are flat bottomed;
   I don't have the oversized Trunk; (I have the Kawi Trunk)
   I moved my trunk back only 1";
   I lowered my trunk 3/4".

I do want to bring up a concern/thought though for consideration..
Those of you with the big trunks and long racks are adding load (moment) thru the extra setback.
  I suspect that; the additional setback increases the stress on the grab rails.
                        Any weight you put in the bag, has to be multiplied (by some factor) because of the distance.

That being said, I think a simpler solution would be a brace from below the rack. (at the rear)
We have a smart group here. Please reply to my thought.
Has anyone developed braces to mount from below the rack?

Ride safe, Ted

[TonyR]

I think Givi has some kind of bracket that attaches under to help support the trunk.

Tony

Has anyone developed braces to mount from below the rack?

Ride safe, Ted

[TonyR]

I guess I should have read page 4 before replying to a post on page 3

Tony

[B.D.F.]

Maybe, maybe not. I usually vote on the second Tuesday of November rather than on the first one like everybody else. I find the lines are much shorter and my voting accuracy approaches 100%....

 

Brian

I guess I should have read page 4 before replying to a post on page 3

Tony

[TonyR]

I'm just thinking, if he rails are not that strong, and it's not a good idea to over load the trunk and have the significant other use it as a backrest... How does Corbin get away with it with their huge monstrosity of a trunk and backrest?
Isn't that a liability for them?

Tony

[gPink]

Not if there's no one alive to bring suit.