good top rack and top case

[hank]

I'm looking for a good top rack that wont break the bank, but won't look awful when the top case isn't on. I've poked around a few sites and forums and really am having a hard time picking out a quality setup that looks good, but wont break the bank. so far I've noticed a few top-rack systems are just as expensive if not more expensive than the cases they are holding.

In particular I'm pretty fond of the Shad SH 40 case because of its rack on top of the case and it doesn't appear to be huge, but will still fit a helmet and a few other odds and ends. As far as the top rack mount, I'm not sure where to go with that as price and how it'll look without the case are both important. (I'd rather not have this massive plate hanging off the rear of the bike, that looks dumb, but rather a clean looking add on.


anyone have any ideas? Gas is supposed to top $5/gal this summer and i gotta make a way to get more use out out of my fz6.... btw mine is an 08

 

[Erci]

It's kind of like wanting a full-on sport car which can also carry 8 passengers and enough gear for a weekend trip :BLAA:

There are several racks to choose from and they do look somewhat different, but in the end, there is no getting around having a relatively big plate sticking out the back if you want a top case.

The 2 most popular options are Givi and SW-Motech. Cost is roughly the same.. neither are cheap.

Personally I have Givi and I absolutely love it. Could not care less if it takes away from the look of the bike.. it's worth it for amazing functionality it adds to my machine.

 

[SirIsaac]

This thread:
http://www.600riders.com/forum/bikes-parts-sale/17024-fs-shad-sh33-top-case-rack.html

shows some pictures of just the shad rack (scroll down to the second post.) The pictured mounting plate is for the smaller cases, I think the SH40 would take a bigger plate, but I expect it would look similar.

FYI, the SH33 will fit a helmet and some odds and ends. I like the shad rack, have recommended it many times.

Gas is supposed to top $5/gal this summer...

That's what the speculators want us to believe. But it probably will. If it does, maybe everyone will cut back a bit on their driving. If the US market cut back 10%, that would probably cause the price to crash, and hopefully leave a lot of speculators holding the bag with some expensive futures contracts. But I digress.

 

[hank]

that's a pretty decent pic of what i'm more or less looking for, and I see it'll most likely fit with my scorpions... i think i'm sold on shad case and rack

 

[tcmalker]

I've seen picture of shad rack on fz6 and I think it would be easiest to mount with Leo Vince since it will not involve the mounting point that required changing the spacer. Erci knows what I'm talking about. I also thinks it look the best without the top box.

 

[expatmanxman]

try the givi M11, looks much better than a big ugly plate
I'm amazed more people don;t use these, maybe it's because they're hard to find on Givi's own web site. Got mine off ebay for £20 including mounting rails

 

[CCHOUSEKY]

try the givi M11, looks much better than a big ugly plate
I'm amazed more people don;t use these, maybe it's because they're hard to find on Givi's own web site. Got mine off ebay for £20 including mounting rails

More people don't use that M11 plate because, like me, they didn't know it existed until you posted this! :thumbup:

I've got the standard Givi Monokey plate, and it looks fine for my tastes, but I wouldn't mind seeing how this one looks on the bike. Thanks for posting this!

 

[jrevans]

Yamaha part is nice

I really like my Yamaha tail rack. I think that it looks good without the tail box on there. It's all plastic and mounts to the passenger grab rails.

And with the Givi 46 liter box on there, I can fix a good bit of stuff inside.

 

[t1j2f3]

I have the Shad SH-40 topcase on my bike with the Shad mounting kit direct from Yamaha.

Since there are two current threads on the same topic I will post my thoughts on both threads...

The mount was a pain in the ass to install because there are nuts welded to the frame that don't line up. After what felt like several hours trying to thread the last nut the threads stripped and the nut broke off at the weld. A quick trip to HomeDepot fixed the nut problem and the install was complete.

The case holds my helmet with some room to spare, enough for gloves+ but not enough for the helmet and jacket. It is a little wider than a standard dry cleaning hanger and my dry cleaning will fit folded inside.

In my opinion the rack and base plate look fine on the bike without the topcase mounted. Most of the time the topcase is on the bike and the wife says I look like a dork but don't care.