Picked up this pair a month or so ago, for the 919.
Got the rack first, and wandered around town strapping stuff (like my knapsack) to it, rather than the seat. This worked fairly well, and I didn't have to worry about scuffing up the seat with stuff I was carrying. Then finally bit the bullet and had Scona order the case for me.
The plan is that I will get some closed cell foam to fit it, and make a custom case out of it for my camera gear when we're traveling. Yay! No more tripod in the small of the back when stopping!
Rack Installation:Others have said it, I'll echo it:
What a honking piece of crap the instructions are!!!
I can't say as I was particularly impressed with the fit of the rack to the 919. It's got proper spacing on the left side, but it sits a little to close to the body on the right for my liking. Upon discussing it with the Service Manager at Scona, the best route seems to be adding a small piece of 3M plastic under the rack to avoid any marks from the tail fairing movement.
Install would likely take about 30 mins, if I hadn't been trying to get it straight. On the 919, this required removal of the tail fairing, I believe that when I spoke with 06 Greyhound, he said he hadn't had to do that for the Bandit.
With the exception of the small clearance issue on the one side, it seemed a good tight fit. I was able to retain the grab handle on the back, which from the reading I've done with Givi's bolts, is a good thing, since it would appear that the rack should not be trusted for stabilization while helping the bike onto a rear stand for instance.
The rack looks decent, for what it is. It's a nice metallic dark grey, and floats just below the tail fairing until after the seat. Then it rises up to sit above the tail light.
The mount plate is plastic, and I wonder how well it will age. The bike is stored in a shed when not being ridden, so it doesn't spend much time in the sun uncovered. I think I'll remove it for the winter though. I doubt Italian plastic was ever designed to withstand a Canadian winter, covered or not.
Case With no real frame of reference, I chose the V46 top case. I ordered it -virtually- sight unseen.
I had seen it twice before, but never with a proper reference.
- Once on A Bergman, which threw me off, because I tend to think of scooters as "small", so the case looking like it "fit" the bergman, seemed like it might be a nice medium sized case for the 919.
- The other time I saw it, it was mounted to a board in another Dealership. In a huge shop, and mounted vertically, at head height, I couldn't really judge its size.
Its selling point was the weight it would carry, and the shape of it. It seemed to "fit" the look of the bike better than the square styles that Givi has (i.e. the E360)
Givi states that the V46 will hold 2 helmets, and is rated for carrying 22lbs.
In practice, our 2 Zox helmets did not fit in the case. They have some sort or protrusion on the backside that prevented them both fitting in the case.
That aside though: That thing is HUGE!!
Needless to say, when I picked up the package from Scona, I was almost knocked over! They promised me that if I found it just way too big, that I could take it back. I haven't done that though. A top case, it would appear, is somewhat like a purse. Once you get used to the carrying capacity, it's amazing what you'll find yourself carrying in it.
The mounting system for the Monolock cases is somewhat unique, and takes a little bit of getting used to. To do anything with the case, you must have the key in the lock. This means opening, installing, removing and closing the case. I suppose the last one is so that you can't lock the keys inside. The only real time I find this a hindrance is when I'm trying to warm the bike up and load or mount the case, because I keep both bike and case key on the same ring.
The case slides onto the mount plate toward the back of the bike. It catches 2 protrusions, and then once centered over the lock portion of the plate, is pushed down (quite hard) until an audible click is heard, and the case is solidly mounted.
I found that to remove the case, if it's not carrying a great deal of weight, that to release it from the mounting plate, a push down from the top helps it to release. This may loosen a little over time, but for now I actually like how tight the fit is.
Note: when loading, installing, or removing the case, I would recommend that you ensure that the bike is stable. More than once I've found that the case is able to wag the bike in a disconcerting way, making one rush to try to make sure the bike doesn't tip.
We've overloaded the case, and ridden in windy weather, and it seems to handle both quite well.
I loaded the case with 29.5lb of frozen beef, and my purse (moderately loaded), and the case and mount plate seemed to be fine with this. (Mostly because I hadn't weighed the meat, and had forgotten what the carrying weight was of the case, r_outsider had said he thought it was about 30lbs that day.) The case was full to the brim that day, so there was no risk of the load shifting suddenly. It was noticeably top heavy, so standing the bike up, with me on it (and unable to flatfoot the bike) was an adventure. Add to that, the first "movement" with the bike was a slow speed u-turn in a cul-de-sac. I wouldn't go out of my way to do that again.
The same day, there were moderate cross winds with some gusting. The bike caught the cross winds perhaps a little more than it usually would without the case, but the only really noticeable time that the case affected the bike was at a stop light, when I got hit directly to the side with the cross wind. Then I felt the bike tip to the opposite side, and found myself having to compensate a little bit. With the exception of crosswinds, I don't even notice the case on the back of the bike. Presumably this would be because my body breaks up the wind before it gets to the case. This is much easier to ride with than a passenger, and I would say that it hits the wind better too.
Another day, I had the case half loaded (laptop, client harddrive, tools, purse, etc), and while riding, at no time did I notice a load shift. The interior of the case has elastic cords to hold the bottom half of the cargo in place (think the restraint system inside a suitcase)
The only thing I've noticed that seems to take some getting used to is that I can see the case in the mirrors. At times, ie a really fast glance, it will look like someone's tailgating really close.
Til you realise it's the case.
All in all, I must say that I do like the two of these pieces better than my first Givi Purchase, a windscreen for the 919 (universal fit, should fit any round headlight bike). At least I don't have to ride with one finger on the rack to stop it from vibrating. I also haven't noticed the fuel mileage hit from the case as I did from the windscreen.
While the parts were expensive, I would definitely do this again. In fact, if I find myself changing to another bike, I will buy the rack for it in a heartbeat. This beats riding with a knapsack any day. The added bonus is that I don't have to carry my helmet and gloves into stores, clients, work, etc with me. (leaving it hooked on the side of the bike has never made me comfortable, because I've seen too many bikes knocked over. If your helmet's on that side, kiss your helmet goodbye too.
Topic: Givi MonoKey Rack and Top Case (V46) Review (Read 17616 times)