While I was riding home from work today, I noticed my Givi rack was making more noise than usual. It shouldn’t be making any noise! Noise means something is loose. Not good.
Last year, on the way up to Alaska, I had trouble with the topcase mount wiggling loose on the rough Canadian roads. I was tightening it, and the rest of the rack, every few days. After I got home, I put some new thread locker on, and the problem went away until today.
The problem isn’t helped by the rack design. It’s a Givi rack on my 2001 SV650. There are only two mounting bolts for the topcase mount, and they are lined up. This causes the topcase to eventually wiggle back and forth along the line of the two bolts. Time to fix it for good. Bring on the power tools!
Two more bolts should add enough strength to keep it from wiggling. I decided to remove the rubber bumper and drilled a 1/4” hole through the rack.
A quick dig in my pile-o-spare-parts, and I found two bolts, washers, and lock nuts that fit just perfectly.
A little blue thread locker and it they were ready to tighten up.
With four bolts, things were much more solid. The bolts were about the same height as the rubber stoppers, so the top case went on snuggly.
All put back together and no more movement or wiggling. Nice.
I use the topcase constantly; it is super handy to have locking waterproof storage. Other than the wiggling loose occasionally, I’ve never had a problem with it. I’ve ridden with it on the bike for over 40,000 miles. I’m not fond of wearing a backpack while riding either. The sidecases don’t see as much use, but they are very handy for stashing all my riding gear or Costco trips.
During my trip last summer, I got very used to the top box though I'm thinking of getting one large enough to hold my helmet. The Nolan doesn't have "D" rings so I can't just hang it on the hook and lock the seat anymore.
ReplyDeleteDo you have to use the Givi rack with their cases? It looks like it's designed to hook into the bottom of the case...
i love my top box. I use it all the time. One big enough to hold a helmet is very nice. My side bags usually get my helmet though as it is easier to get my roadcrafter in the top box than the sides.
DeleteNope, there are several other brands that use the same style mount. My side boxes are JC whitney knockoffs of givi ($60/piece) and work on the givi rack just fine.
Have you put some rubber back on near the new bolts? You need something a bit squishy so the top case can push down on it a bit when you put it on but not wobble on the rack.
ReplyDeleteIf there is any wobble the bolt on the lock and possible the pyramid clamp will get flogged out and you can lose a top box - trust me...
With the new mount for my topbox on the Concours there are two quite long strips of rubber stuck to the bottom of the topbox which do the job.
The topcase doesn't wobble anymore. It's on pretty solid. There is rubber still on the mount at the rear. I also check the case/mounts bolts (and the bike) regularly for excessive wobble and tighten as necessary.
Deletesorry about your lost top box
Good to know in case my Givi ever wiggles loose.
ReplyDeletethey like to wiggle loose over time. Just keep an eye on them like the rest of the fasteners on the bike.
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