Top Case

[Indian Scout]

FYI, JC Whitney has motorcycle trunks on sale.

https://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product...190003756GC0307

 

[SAFJ-rider]

FYI, JC Whitney has motorcycle trunks on sale.
https://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product...190003756GC0307

being a cheap - might be worth a look ?? i will have to do a search to see who else had tried it.

 

[05fjrman]

Those are their regular prices.

 

[dean]

watch yourself with these. they look a _lot_ like givis, but obviously are not. i bought three to mount to my 2nd fj, two as side bags and one as a top case. they do the job, but they're not waterproof, and the locking mechanism on one of them came loose from two of the tiny little screws rattling loose. for ~$90 they're a pretty good deal as long as you're not gonna abuse them.

they do come in handy as bulbous tip-over guards. ( :

 

[FJRMaineiac]

-1

I bought one last year and on the maiden voyage with a pillion rider (my son, at about 75 lb.), one of the base tabs broke. If he hadn't been on the ball and noticed it right away, it would have become road flotsam. I can say that JC Whitney was good about taking it back (less the shipping, of course). I am saving my money for a GIVI. No more screwing around with cheap knock offs.

YMMV of course...

 

[dean]

-1
I bought one last year and on the maiden voyage with a pillion rider (my son, at about 75 lb.), one of the base tabs broke. If he hadn't been on the ball and noticed it right away, it would have become road flotsam. I can say that JC Whitney was good about taking it back (less the shipping, of course). I am saving my money for a GIVI. No more screwing around with cheap knock offs.

YMMV of course...

same thing happened to me (topcase broke loose), i thought it was my fault for tightening it too tight or something. i called, and they sent me a replacement.

then, about a month later, i received replacement plates for all three mounting plates. apparently the plastic ones were failing, the manufacturer was taking heat, and so designed and sent out metal plates. i believe they show the metal plates in the ad now.

they're still no givi, but the mating of bag to mount seems to be more secure.

 

[keithwinlouisiana]

While you can spend more for the Givi monokey system, I just bought the Givi E350N monolock 35 liter top box for $120 shipped (including universal mount that worked well on my 2005). It is sturdy and excellent quality, but since it attaches to the stock luggage rack I wouldn't put more than about 10 lbs in it.

It a good option if your looking at the JC Whitney box. A little more, but you get Givi quality. Good luck.

 

[DocFJR]

-1
I bought one last year and on the maiden voyage with a pillion rider (my son, at about 75 lb.), one of the base tabs broke. If he hadn't been on the ball and noticed it right away, it would have become road flotsam. I can say that JC Whitney was good about taking it back (less the shipping, of course). I am saving my money for a GIVI. No more screwing around with cheap knock offs.

YMMV of course...

same thing happened to me (topcase broke loose), i thought it was my fault for tightening it too tight or something. i called, and they sent me a replacement.

then, about a month later, i received replacement plates for all three mounting plates. apparently the plastic ones were failing, the manufacturer was taking heat, and so designed and sent out metal plates. i believe they show the metal plates in the ad now.

they're still no givi, but the mating of bag to mount seems to be more secure.

I bought the large one recently. After considering the Yamaha top box, mounting plate and backrest ($785.85 plus shipping!), I figured I could live with the risk. The mounts are metal on the one I received, and with a half hour of simple modification to the included mounting plate, I installed it on my 06A. I didn't have to modify the bike at all, and even the bolts that come with it are the perfect size. The black color matches the black plastic on the existing side cases and the rear structures. They're selling them now with no shipping costs, so for $89.95, I'm a happy camper. Even if it goes bad in a couple of years, I could buy nine of them for the price of the Yamaha. I just don't see Yamaha's logic. If they'd price theirs around $300-$400, they'd sell hundreds of them, and I'd bet they'd make a good bit of additional profit compared with selling the handful they're selling now at $800. The Givi is certainly worth the extra cash, but I can't help going for a deal.

 

[05fjrman]

Not sure why Yamaha's are so expensive. Only reason I have one is because it came on the bike. Actually one of the reasons I bought the bike. Givi's are only $350 or so, with the mounting plate and backrest. And that's for the 46.

 

[rockmurf]

I bought the jc whitneys due to the low price. It is not waterproof, fact. Other than the fact that you get what you pay for it wasn't a bad deal. I mounted it on the wife's sportster luggage rack and it actually looked good. However the nuts and bolts vibrated loose and by the time we got home there was only one of the four left in it. Luckily I had noticed the problem right off and strapped the trunk to the frame of the bike so even if it came loose it wasn't going anywhere. Good luck with your descision. Everett ps ( you never loose with good quality)

 

[DocFJR]

I bought the jc whitneys due to the low price. It is not waterproof, fact. Other than the fact that you get what you pay for it wasn't a bad deal. I mounted it on the wife's sportster luggage rack and it actually looked good. However the nuts and bolts vibrated loose and by the time we got home there was only one of the four left in it. Luckily I had noticed the problem right off and strapped the trunk to the frame of the bike so even if it came loose it wasn't going anywhere. Good luck with your descision. Everett ps ( you never loose with good quality)

Dean's earlier message indicates that the JC Whitney unit may have been updated, and I believe that's true. Mine has a metal mounting plate, and it came with large flat washers and locking washers. It's been on for over 1500 miles now and it is still rock solid. Also, I've been through quite a few Florida downpours with it and I haven't had any problems with leaks.

While I agree that high quality is generally the way to go, price has to be considered. At nine times the price, there's no way I'm buying the Yamaha. There's even some discussion on this board and elsewhere about problems with the Yamaha (see: https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?s...+case+warranty) and (https://www.fjrowners.ws/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=3879)

The Givi units look like great quality, and they're about half the price of the Yamaha. However, for me, the JC Whitney box is doing its job, looks decent (I've even color matched the top half to the bike), and costs so little, I won't care if it implodes tomorrow.

 

[ngarider]

Digging this one out of search, I gave this trunk a go myself. Some notes for the current box:

- The mounting brackets need to be painted in a bad way. I used a rubberized coating to try and ease the pain on the stock luggage rack

- The orange trim piece paints pretty well after a little sanding and some plastic paint. It's not perfect, but it looks ok.

- I bought a $4 reflector pack from Lowes that is made for mailboxes. The strips are adhesive-backed, and fit perfectly under the red trim at the back.

- The washer that holds the latch mechanism on is crap, and has to be replaced by something else. I fixed a temporary solution until I can get some aluminum in there (dang shears are broke)

- None of the screws were anything close to tight.

It seems really solidly mounted to the bike, and I think being careful, it'll last a good while.

I bought the jc whitneys due to the low price. It is not waterproof, fact. Other than the fact that you get what you pay for it wasn't a bad deal. I mounted it on the wife's sportster luggage rack and it actually looked good. However the nuts and bolts vibrated loose and by the time we got home there was only one of the four left in it. Luckily I had noticed the problem right off and strapped the trunk to the frame of the bike so even if it came loose it wasn't going anywhere. Good luck with your descision. Everett ps ( you never loose with good quality)

Dean's earlier message indicates that the JC Whitney unit may have been updated, and I believe that's true. Mine has a metal mounting plate, and it came with large flat washers and locking washers. It's been on for over 1500 miles now and it is still rock solid. Also, I've been through quite a few Florida downpours with it and I haven't had any problems with leaks.

While I agree that high quality is generally the way to go, price has to be considered. At nine times the price, there's no way I'm buying the Yamaha. There's even some discussion on this board and elsewhere about problems with the Yamaha (see: https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?s...+case+warranty) and (https://www.fjrowners.ws/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=3879)

The Givi units look like great quality, and they're about half the price of the Yamaha. However, for me, the JC Whitney box is doing its job, looks decent (I've even color matched the top half to the bike), and costs so little, I won't care if it implodes tomorrow.