I am going to mount my jc whitney trunk today and have never had one before so do you mount the base plate of the trunk to the factory rack or remove the factory rack and make a mounting bracket? I looked through some pictures and it didnt look like they were mounted to the factory plate.

I suppose you could just mount it to the stock rack but I would not as the stock rack isn't made for much more than a small bag. See if someone makes a rack that the JC Whitney mounts too. Phil's rack or an aftermarket rack would be preferable.

Personally, I've always been partial to Givi luggage and anyone who makes a rack almost always provides a Givi mounting set-up. Just an opinion.

I suppose you could just mount it to the stock rack but I would not as the stock rack isn't made for much more than a small bag. See if someone makes a rack that the JC Whitney mounts too. Phil's rack or an aftermarket rack would be preferable.

Personally, I've always been partial to Givi luggage and anyone who makes a rack almost always provides a Givi mounting set-up. Just an opinion.

Not to hijack the thread, but I have a Givi rack available to sell. Never installed. Got it with my Givi, but also had an aftermarket rack already on the bike, so didn't need it. PM me if interested.

Looks like I am going to have to bolt it to the factory rack. I am leaving monday so dont really have time to buy anything and have it shipped.

I have the Bestem 929 top box which supposedly is the same as the JC Whitney one.  I mounted the plate directly to my stock rack and it works fine.  I first lined up where i wanted the plate and marked with a marker and then I took the rack off and drilled my holes and bolted it together.  Just make sure when you bolt it all together you have room for the metal sleeves to go in the bolt holes or just be sure to leave the sleeves and bolts in when you attach the plate to save a little annoyance later. 

Check out this thread: http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=1816.0

Just ran out and took a pic.  Two things to note: 1) mine is a little far forward, but my wife is very small and wanted the backrest pretty far forward (she rides with her car seat all the way forward - she's weird) 2) note how I ended up drilling two sets of front holes.  Be sure to pay attention where the back supports line up compared to where you want your plate.  You may have to make your own holes to clear them and still have support. 

I pretty much mangled this rack aesthetically so if you ever plan on getting rid of the top box, plan on buying a new rack.  I bought a spare stock one or consider eventually buying one of Phil's racks.

Thanks for the info. My mounting plate looks a little bigger than yours, I bought the biggest one and 1 problem I see is I am going to have to take off the factory rack and mount the jc whitney one to it but the jc bracket is sitting over half of the mounting bolts for the factory rack. I may have to dremel out around them a bit.

How much stuff have you carried in yours? Mine is going to be packed with clothes.

I chucked the hideous plate that came with JCW box and used this.
http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/5670/602/
Looks fine on my black beauty.

I took the idea in the link above from jiffy. I went to lowes and they had stanely 1"x12" flat bar with 6 holes drilled in it(hardware dept). I removed the stock rack and measured the length. Took the bars to the grinder and had to remove 1/4" from each side on the rear bar and just round the edges of the front bar. The 2 out side holes in the bar matched perfectly to the stock mounting holes. I had to widen the hole a little so the collars would fit in. I then marked the holes for the rack and drilled them. Now the rack is mounted on 1/4 steel flat bar so its not going anywhere.

I chucked the hideous plate that came with JCW box and used this.
http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/5670/602/
Looks fine on my black beauty.

That's the one I have and it's rock solid. It also comes with many predrilled holes so just about any topbox can be mounted to it.

I got the large rack from Premier cycle accessories with the Givi mounting kit and have no problem attaching the JC Whitney box to it!