Considering the Sears Travel Trunk

[Pale Rider 07]

Thanks Jay...this is good info to have. I guess I'll need to figure out how I'm going to use the trunk before deciding.

Dave

 

[Hudson]

Some folks at work also concluded the Sears special was nothing special when you accounted for the low quality. Maybe passable as a scooter top case, but nothing you'd want to place anything valuable in.

I bought a used Givi 460 on Craigslist for $75 so there are other options than going the low-rent special. If you add up the expense of the sears plus LED lighting plus mounting gear, it won't be too long before you are close to a Shad, Coocase, or Givi. Since I carry a work computer on commutes or other objects I don't want to risk damage or loss, the Sears is not a viable option.

 

[FJRGuy]

I used zinc plated steel spacers that I bought at Lowe's and just spray painted them black. I really doubt that you could bend or crumple these things they are fairly short and very strong. I had originally thought of welding the spacers to the bottom of the plate but because of the zinc coating I decided not too, its not really a big deal that they are not welded but it would have been nicer to not have to line up the angle every time I mount it.

I assume the spacers you bought didn't already have that angle. Assuming not, what did you use to cut the angle, and what degree is it?

I do not really know what the exact angle is but I cut it free handed with a cut off wheel in a grinder. The spacers were 1.5" long and I basically cut from nothing to about a 1/8" to make the angle. If I were to guess it is more then 5 degrees but less than 15 so maybe around 10?? :dribble: If i were to do it again I would put the bike on the center stand and then block the front tire up in order to get the bike sitting level. I would then set a spacer in place and mark it with a level. This would be about the only way to get it exact, maybe I just got lucky but all my angles seem to match up perfectly.

6.5!

 

[phroenips]

I used zinc plated steel spacers that I bought at Lowe's and just spray painted them black. I really doubt that you could bend or crumple these things they are fairly short and very strong. I had originally thought of welding the spacers to the bottom of the plate but because of the zinc coating I decided not too, its not really a big deal that they are not welded but it would have been nicer to not have to line up the angle every time I mount it.

I assume the spacers you bought didn't already have that angle. Assuming not, what did you use to cut the angle, and what degree is it?

I do not really know what the exact angle is but I cut it free handed with a cut off wheel in a grinder. The spacers were 1.5" long and I basically cut from nothing to about a 1/8" to make the angle. If I were to guess it is more then 5 degrees but less than 15 so maybe around 10?? :dribble: If i were to do it again I would put the bike on the center stand and then block the front tire up in order to get the bike sitting level. I would then set a spacer in place and mark it with a level. This would be about the only way to get it exact, maybe I just got lucky but all my angles seem to match up perfectly.

sweet! Thanks!

 

[weekend rider]

Ive got this rack on my bike....

anyone know if this will have to be modified to install?

That platr you have onyour bike came from Premiere Cycles no it does not have to be modified it is made to accept a Givi box. Check out their web site, they are in Ohio and great people to do business with. I have one on my bike. Made of

Aluminum.

 

[mferriter]

The Sears top case came in today. Compared to the OEM Yamaha case, this thing is VERY FLIMSY! The plastic is thin and cheap, and the mounting plate seems too thin. The mouting hardware is very generic-cheap-universal. After looking at this thing for a while, and trying to figure out how to mount it to the aftermarket luggage rack I have on the FJR, decided to mount it directly to the rack with a bolt that is included in the kit and fits the (3) OEM holes. The plate is super solid being flat agains the luggage rack. Clipping the topcase into the mount, it seems as though it should stay put.

****************************

****************************

I will only be using the topcase for multi day trips a few times a year, so hopefully it will last for a while without falling apart. Again, this thing seems very cheap, so buyer beware.

Hard to tell from the picture, but is there only one bolt holding the Sears plate on top of your other plate?

 

[Duezzer]

Thanks for the info and the Pics

 

[Harald]

Sears trunk (exactly the same as the JCWhitney trunk) mounted on a custom plate

Nice looking setup you created there!

I did something similar using the factory trunk mount plate in order to move it back a couple inches for more room for the wife and I on the bike. I was concerned about the excessive unsupported overhang of the rear part of the mount/trunk. This could especially be a problem under rapid acceleration where the wife is forced back against the trunk and subsequently putting heavy side loads on the spacers/mount bolts. I minimized this bolt side loading by adding some stiff rubber bumpers on the back of the mount plate so that it contacts the stock bike rack. Pictures are posted in THIS thread. Something to consider for anyone doing this type of mod.

 

[SouthernCruizer]

<<<Hard to tell from the picture, but is there only one bolt holding the Sears plate on top of your other plate?>>>

Yes, only the one bolt, torqued down to the max, and very solid. The problem will be the flimsy construction of the topbox. The plastic is VERY thin. Also, the plate is very thin. I wouldnt mount this in any other way other than right down against my existing luggage rack. I am leaving this afternoon for the Texas hill country, and will be putting about 900 miles with the box in place..will report back as to how it worked.

 

[BSReyn8]

Sears trunk (exactly the same as the JCWhitney trunk) mounted on a custom plate

Nice looking setup you created there!

I did something similar using the factory trunk mount plate in order to move it back a couple inches for more room for the wife and I on the bike. I was concerned about the excessive unsupported overhang of the rear part of the mount/trunk. This could especially be a problem under rapid acceleration where the wife is forced back against the trunk and subsequently putting heavy side loads on the spacers/mount bolts. I minimized this bolt side loading by adding some stiff rubber bumpers on the back of the mount plate so that it contacts the stock bike rack. Pictures are posted in THIS thread. Something to consider for anyone doing this type of mod.

I considered doing this also but worried about the "bumpers" rubbing the paint..... how has yours held up? I might have to reconsider this idea if you have had no problems with it.

 

[BSReyn8]

Yes, only the one bolt, torqued down to the max, and very solid. The problem will be the flimsy construction of the topbox. The plastic is VERY thin. Also, the plate is very thin. I wouldnt mount this in any other way other than right down against my existing luggage rack. I am leaving this afternoon for the Texas hill country, and will be putting about 900 miles with the box in place..will report back as to how it worked.

I don't think the box itself is flimsy at all, sure the latch and lock mechanism for opening the trunk is a little cheesy but it works. As for saying the plastic is thin I don't know what you are looking at but its a double walled case and seems overall pretty sturdy to me.(the lid is only single wall). The mounting plate is very flimsy but that can be cured by bolting it to a thicker plate of steel like you have done. My biggest concern for you is the single bolt that is supposed to hold everything together. Unless I don't understand what you did, couldn't enough force be applied to the case and spin the entire case/plate around that single bolt ??

 

[RadioHowie]

The Sears top case came in today. Compared to the OEM Yamaha case, this thing is VERY FLIMSY! The plastic is thin and cheap, and the mounting plate seems too thin.
I will only be using the topcase for multi day trips a few times a year, so hopefully it will last for a while without falling apart. Again, this thing seems very cheap, so buyer beware.

Dayum!!! Is that Grade 6 cardboard???

 

[Big-D]

Ive got this rack on my bike....

anyone know if this will have to be modified to install?

This trunk is the exact same as what JC Whitney sells for about $80. I have this same trunk and it serves my propose perfectly. It's water tight, stays firmly on, locks are secure and operate good and is easy to carry into a hotel room with all of your stuff inside. I went to my local marine shop and bought several stainless steel attachment brackets that are made to fit straps. Mounted four on top and two larger brackets on the front to hook bungee cords for when I strap something to the rear seat, with the top being used to strap a sleeping bag or other stuff like that.

For mounting the trunk; I didn't like the two steel brackets it came with, so I ordered the OEM trunk plate from a Yamaha dealer. Once it arrived, I measured where I want the Sears style mounted so as not to be too far forward where it might interfere with a rear passenger. Then I used four carriage bolts by lining up the mounting bracket that came with it and drilling four holes through the OEM plate. With the nut side facing up, I ground the excess bolt off with a mini grinder. It is very secure and removes easily.

To answer SouthernCrusiers question, if you don't mind drilling holes in your custom rack plate, it'll work.

You can also go to Wal-Mart and buy a black cutting board made from nylon and make your own oem rack cover by using your oem rack as a template. If you own a router and prosess minimal skills, cutting neat little grooves is possible also.

 

[Harald]

I considered doing this also but worried about the "bumpers" rubbing the paint..... how has yours held up? I might have to reconsider this idea if you have had no problems with it.

It's been almost 2 years since I made that mount and it's still holding up great. My son (150 lbs) and my wife (more than my son, but I'm not saying her weight in the interest of self preservation) ride with me regularly and I often have weight in the trunk also. No signs of anything cracking or falling off. :yahoo:

I haven't pulled it off, so I'm not sure if any paint is getting rubbed off but I doubt it. The rubber bumpers only press straight against the factory paint and whatever minor wiggling there is will be absorbed by the rubber. I'd be surprised to find paint worn off. I do know that there would be a lot of side loading on the mounting bolts without my bumpers, so there's no way I would leave them off.

 

[SouthernCruizer]

Just got back from a 1350 mile Texas Hill Country ride with the trunk. I left it on the entire time. It was fully loaded for about 900 miles of the trip, and lightly loaded for the remainder. Also, it POURED down rain most of the time. Unbelievably, (to me), the damn thing worked as advertised! No problems. Watertight. Didn't fall apart. Locking mechanism stayed secure. Single bolt holding the mounting plate to the luggage rack was not a problem.

In short...2 thumbs up, definitely worth the price and I have full faith in it.

Picture of the trunk mounted (taken after my HD buddy took out an Axis on the Bandera highway) Notice his left saddlbag was obliterated from the impact. Axis died immediately. Blood splatter on road was a sight to behold.

***************************************

 

[tibbia]

I ordered the large one last week and installed it on Friday - the same day my cam chain tensioner arrived. I bought the bike 3 weeks ago with the "marbles in a can" noise, and after having read through all the CCT horror stories on here I ordered the new CCT and waited to ride the bike until after it was installed. So my first real ride was this past Saturday - I drove to work. I was having more fun than one should be allowed to have on their ride to work! About halfway a car cut into my lane without signaling and I hit the brakes - wasn't really a big deal until I look in the mirror and see the new Sears trunk bouncing down the freeway at 65. I got off the next exit and went back to retrieve what I thought would be nothing more than remnants. Much to my surprise the case was still locked and fully intact aside from some scuffs! I did not have anything in the trunk at the time. It certainly helped that I was in the right lane and it ended up on the shoulder and not in the traffic lanes. Obvously I did not check to make sure the trunk lock engaged the mount - dumb ass! Oh well, it gives it a little character. This trunk is well worth the money.

 

[Fred W]

In looking for a place to post this, I found this (not too old) thread about the Sears Trunks, which are completely identical to the one sold by JC Whitney.

I had already mounted a GIVI mono-key trunk adapter plate onto the rear luggage rack of my Man-strom, and had purchased a GIVI E46 to use as the top box, along with the pair of E36's I am using as side cases on that bike. I like the "utilitarian" looks (and price) of the E36's for the V-strom, but dayum... That E46 is humongous . So I decided to order one of the Large JC Whitney trunks as an alternative.

The Large JC Whitney mounts to any GIVI mono-key rack (note: the Medium size trunks will NOT), but I found that latching the trunk onto the GIVI rack is a bit different than when using a real GIVI box. The real GIVIs can just be positioned over the bottom two pins and then slammed over the spring loaded latch/catch, even with the key "locked".

Because of the looser latch mechanism internals of the JCW trunk, you need to unlock the box with the key and push in on the latch button first, then lower the box down over the catch before releasing the push-button to make it secure on the mount. Not a real big deal, IMO considering how much cheaper these trunks are. If you'll be carrying valuables, or traveling over rough terrain, you'll probably want to drill and pin the trunk in place anyway.

As others have said, these trucks are really not all that flimsy. The "fit and finish" is a bit on the crude side, but the box itself is actually pretty rugged, very comparable to the box it is a clone of. OTOH, the steel mounting plates that they come with are crappy, and it's worth spending the extra money to get a real GIVI mount IMO.

I used some Rustoleum brand, "Made for Plastic" spray paint from Home Despot to black out that ugly orange center trim piece, then made up a V-strom logo to go underneath the clear red trim piece that faces rearward as a finishing touch. Under the clear red lens there is just a strip of white shiney paper. I just taped my logo printed on plain white paper onto that. Haven't figured out what I'll do with the ultra chic "iron cross" emblem just yet...

Looks pretty darned good for a trunk "on the cheap", eh?

The white lines in this picture are dog hairs, not scratches (yet). Yeah, that plastic is static city!!

 

[FJR Flyer]

I've got the Bestem trunk, similar Givi knockoff. Been using it every day for over a year or more and its holding up well. I have the PCA rack and I drilled and screwed the trunk mount directly to the rack. I painted the ugly orange band, tho.

 

[Fred W]

I've got the Bestem trunk, similar Givi knockoff. Been using it every day for over a year or more and its holding up well. I have the PCA rack and I drilled and screwed the trunk mount directly to the rack. I painted the ugly orange band, tho.

I actually considered one of those. The Bestem is even a touch nicer trunk than the Sears / JCW, IMO. I had one previously on my VFR (since sold-off). The downside to the Bestem trunk is that they reversed the latch mechanism as compared to the GIVI, (maybe to avoid lawsuits?) so it will not fit right on a GIVI monokey mount plate without some modification of the GIVI mount (mill a hole through it) which may weaken the latch tang.

The steel plate that they ship with the Bestem is also nicer than the crude one that comes with the JCW, but I wanted to be able to switch between the el-cheapo and one of my other GIVI boxes, so didn't want to use the (reversed) Bestem plate.

 

[fastpappy]

I fabed up my own mounting plate and moved the box back some so I fit it with the back rest(more comfy for the wife)

Havn't had any problems with the box but at these prices you can replace it numerous time for the price of the others.