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!
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!
