Hard Luggage Dilemma: Side Cases Without Top Rack?

So it looks like I'll be starting a job as a motorcycle courier this coming week, which means my dinky tailbag isn't going to cut it and I need some hard cases. I've looked up, down, left, and right on the Givi website, Twisted Throttle, Sporttour.com, and on here, and it looks like for what I'll be doing, the Givi E21 cases would be just about perfect. The problem is that as far as I can tell, I'll have to get both the top case mount and the side racks; I'm not a big fan of giant top cases, already have a tailbag, would almost certainly never use the top case, and don't really want to pay $150 for something I wouldn't use, so I'm wondering if there's a way to mount the Givi PL257 side racks without a top rack. I know absolutely nothing about welding/fabrication if that's what it would take, but could probably have someone local fab up an adapter if needed. Any advice/help would be much appreciated!

 

The larger the panniers and more weatherproof they are will get you more work. Lots of choices out there. Right now it kind of depends what you will be hauling around. Any purchase should also be a tax writeoff for you and not your employer.

 

If you were on twistedthrottle, did you see the sw-motech racks? They will give you the side rack only setup you are looking for. They are the racks holding my e21's to my 5th gen currently

SW-MOTECH Quick-Lock Sidecarrier (Honda VFR800 Interceptor, -'01) Original Style for Micatech, Givi, TraX, Krauser, & Hepco sidecases - KFT.01.064.100 : TwistedThrottle.com

 

Cool racks. It would be great if the install PDF were in English.

 

I sure wished that I had gotten the factory bags when I bought it. Might still look for some but being on fixed income now, that may have to wait. My soft bags are serving me OK now but not as good as hard bags. The soft bags came with a so called rain slip but that was useless as hell. I used white trash bags inside which worked well for my purpose, but seeing as what you will be doing, I think a quality hard bag is the answer.

Do you not think that you would sometime make use of the tail bag too? I agree with BB, the tax write-off is for you, not the employer. With our tax laws being what they are, it is hardly worth claiming such things unless your claims are in the tripple digits.

 

I did see the SW-Motech racks, the problem is that they're about as expensive as the Givi top rack and side case holders put together. Randy, I do already have a tailbag, but my problem with the large cases is that the one time I rode a bike with one, it felt very unbalanced because of how far the case stuck out. I suppose I might find a use for one in the future though, so maybe it would just be best to not scrimp and save up for the Givi combo. Also, it's a 1099/independent contractor-type job, so any tax write-off would be for myself.

 

If you really want to go for the cheap seats a couple of tow sacks and some wire ties might work. Function/form.

 

Just rode to the NC mountains with my E21's on SW-Motech's racks. Granted, it's pricey (for the racks, but $150 a pair for the bags wasn't bad). This set-up is awesome! It's kind of the first living off the bike I've done, and one thing I discovered about the E21's was how key it is that they open from the top. I popped them open all the time when I stopped. Clam shells would have just dumped my crap everywhere. The only drawback? I wish the bags were a little larger.

 

Can't do this with clamshell style...



Though the ice didn't last long

 

If the E21s were a bit larger, I'd have gone that route instead of an E35 top-box. The E21s just weren't big enough for a laptop in a padded case. I will say that I was very happy with how my laptop fared when I locked up the rear end slowing for a corner, stalled it, and finally pitched it hi-side at 15mph or so. A macbook pro in the right size "Brain Cell" from Tom Bihn. No damage to the laptop. I broke my toe, on the other hand. The Givi stuff held up great. Far better than the rest of my bike.

 

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On the way home from WalMart

 

I have the e36 side bags on my bike and love them. They are a little to big for day to day riding but I find that on long trips I do need a top case sometimes. Just not enough space. There are some pics in my gallery you can see them installed. As for the top mount I love having it gives me a place to strap a sweatshirt on, or most of the time on gas stops and what nots I will put my helmet there. Also a great please to eat lunch from on long road trips. And it is not that big with no case mounted. Just think of it as crash protection for the tail. Lol. Just my 2cents

 

I can't even imagine owning a motorcycle without a large top-case. The convenience it offers for quickly stashing your helmet/jacket and grabbing your bag, stowing a big bag of groceries, etc. etc. etc., turns my motorcycle into a legitimate mode of transportation (for the purposes of daily life). For something like a courier job, I really don't think any solution will be even vaguely as effective. Side cases are not as big and usually clamshell. Soft cases don't protect your shit. There's just no comparison. If you just don't like looking un-cool, well....

 

I agree. Life as we know it is not cool without a bigass topcase. I have one that is coated inside with silicone. I use it on day rides to do my laundry.