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Mounted GIVI E30 topcase to passenger seat. **PICTURES**

12K views 26 replies 16 participants last post by  JJaafar 
#1 · (Edited)
GIVI topcase mounted to passenger seat. **PICTURES**

Here's the story... love the bike but since I use it mainly for commuting, I needed a bit of storage space. I never have a passenger, and I thought the rack that GIVI makes for topcases puts the case really far back and high up. So I decided to try mounting it to the passenger seat. Since the seats are really inexpensive (you can buy a new one for something like $35), I can always get one to use if I have a passenger. The result? To me, looks GREAT... much cleaner and more balanced than having it hang off of the back. Here's what I did:

1. Pulled the staples on the back of the seat holding the fake leather cover on.
2. Shaved the foam using a bread knife (serrations are your friend for cutting foam). The goal is a flat surface to mount the mounting plate.
3. Found good places to put the bolts through and drilled those through the ABS shell.
4. Reattached the fake leather cover (I used industrial hot-melt glue). You'll have to stretch the cover as you go since it was formed for another shape than the one you have now)
5. Bolt the mounting plate to the seat (through holes you poke in the fake leather cover). You'll need some longer bolts and some fender washers to spread the force.

Done! I'll monitor the ABS plastic for stress cracks but I think it will be fine. Also going to buy the tail light kit for the E30 since I think it looks like it should light up when I'm braking even though it doesn't.
Also, in the pictures it looks like the box is super close to my seating position but there's plenty of room. Basically I can sit perfectly upright (as if I'm at a stoplight for a while) with a small backpack on and be fine.

Hope this helps someone! I realized another person on this forum had done a similar thing... no copying intended. Just figured the more info on the forums about this the better.

** UPDATE March 27th **
Thanks! Here's an update since I'd rather help people out than just gloat about a "flawless" mod. I decided when wearing a backpack that although there's room for me to sit in front of the case, I felt a bit cramped. So I've moved the case back about 2 inches. Still mounted to the seat but now the mounting plate slightly overlaps the cover for the tail light. I've added a picture to show where it sits now.
Also, I chose the GIVI E30 because it had a kit available to let it function as a taillight. I've now installed this kit and fitted the seat with a disconnect so that when I use a standard seat I don't have to cut the wires ;)
The connector I bought was a cr**py radio shack one so it doesn't even fit together properly... will have to replace it with a good one. Either way it works fine for now!
 

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#3 ·
richmaple - I think that's the cleanest "rack mounted to passenger seat" install I've seen anywhere. I've been thinking about doing the same thing. I ordered the seat a couple of weeks ago. Nice that you re-attached the seat cover. This not only looks more professional, but will hopefully hinder water from leaking in under the seat as well.

Mike
 
#4 ·
I was considering doing the same thing; I already have the extra seat. Do you have any difficulty latching the rear seat down now that the case is mounted to it? I was concerned that the seat's soft cushioning would make pushing to case down to latch a bit of a PITA.

Right now I have a soft tail bag mounted to it and to latch it down I have to put my hands underneath the back of the bag to push the seat down. not too bad once you get the hang of it.

nice job btw.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Do you have any difficulty latching the rear seat down now that the case is mounted to it? I was concerned that the seat's soft cushioning would make pushing to case down to latch a bit of a PITA.
Thanks for the compliments, everyone.

bcoli2674: Good question. I won't be removing the rear seat or reattaching it with the top case attached since it's so easy to snap off or on to the GIVI mounting plate and since it wouldn't be good for the case for me to be pushing down on it with a lot of force. However, the mounting plate itself has not made the seat any more difficult to latch. Because it's bolted through the seat, most of the foam is pre-compressed by the bolts so I can just push down on the mounting plate and the seat latches perfectly. So I guess to summarize, the seat's soft cushioning isn't preventing latching (since it's pre-compressed) although the flexibility of the top case probably would keep me from latching with it attached if I tried to do that. And pushing the case down onto the mounting plate is super easy (again, since the seat is pre-compressed by the bolts).
 
#10 ·
...One advantage for the rack mounted box is that you can still put your leg over easily without going over the box.
Very true, glred. It does make mounting the bike a bit more careful since your right leg can't swing as far back as it does ordinarily. That being said, thankfully the seat is so low on the CBR that I can lift it over the seat. But you're right that this is a compromise with this mounting position.
 
#8 ·
I'm thinking another advantage to this setup would be that it brings the weight lower onto the bike (lowering the center of mass) compared to the usual setup with the rear rack and case extended up higher and out behind the bike. This should improve handling a bit too, and contribute to more stability when climbing on and off the bike when the top case is loaded down. One disadvantage of course is that you can't carry a passenger with this setup. Then again, with these smaller bikes, it isn't as common to tour on them with two people (though it has been done) anyway. If two-up touring was a goal - the more conventional rear rack could be purchased.

This setup might also help with aerodynamics as well out on the highway by smoothing out the airflow behind the rider compared to the more conventional rack setup described above (or no case at all).

Mike
 
#20 ·
interesting set up. nice clean look to it. i too hated the rack positioning the case so high up and back. One thing i wonder tho. Looking at some of your pix, would there be a way to use a couple of the bolts that are showing under the seat? Get longer ones that go thru the seat and into the bike to secure everything down nice and tight. with the case you do not really need the under seat "storage" ...with the longer bolts you would not have to worry about plastic fatigue or the seat latch.
 
#21 ·
Skyway6- Very good question and I actually pondered it. The reason I didn't do it wasn't because I wanted to save the under-seat storage but because I wanted to be able to easily pop off the mounting seat and put on a stock seat to accommodate a passenger (without 20 minutes of unscrewing nuts). But it's all a compromise, right? :) Your way is absolutely stronger and probably less trouble-prone in the long-run.

That being said, I put very little in that E30... my helmet when I get somewhere or maybe my laptop. It's a super low amount of weight especially considering that seat is meant to hold a person (albeit it evenly distributed in compression, not in tension points.) Anyway, we'll see. If you try this mod and use through bolts, take some pics!
 
#25 ·
Glad it worked out CREEPUR! Those seats are so cheap, too (like $35?) that it's a no-brainer to at least try it!

I just (5 days ago) sold my CBR and bought a Street Triple R so I'm just starting the investigation on that front on what to do luggage wise! That seat is $250 :(
 
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