Well I know that there are going to be few of you who think that this is crazy or stupid, but if I can inspire at least one other person to do the same (crazy) thing that I did, I know that he/ she will reap the benefits that I did.

We all know the ideal personal collection of bikes would include a super bike, a tourer, a cruiser and a dual purpose bike. But for the majority of us who can not be that fortunate to afford this list, we need to make do with what we have, and this is usually our most favourite of the bunch. In my case obviously a 1000 Gixxer.

I love the bike’s performance and handling, but I only really get to enjoy this over weekends. Other than that, I use my bike to comute to work and back. I always need to carry whatever I need to tag along to work in a back pack, wich also has it’s limitations. For the odd rally that I go to, the same problem occurs.

I asked myself the question: “How do you solve this problem, without permanently spoiling the good looks of my bike?” I have seen top boxes on blades and Kawas, but these had elaborate fixing systems, which needed a complete tool kit to remove or re-fit.

What did I do?

1. I removed the rear seat cowl and stripped the latching mechanism from it.
2. I bought a Givi 30 liter top-box with mounting base plate.
3. I fixed the latching mechanism direcly on to the base plate as it would normaly fix to a tail rack etc.
4. I had to space the rubber spacers to get more rigidity and less play.
5. Top-box obviously latches to the base plate.

So now I can fit the top box in less than 30 seconds. It removes in less than that, and all I do is put the stock rear seat back in its place. The base plate of the top-box removes the same way as would the seat or cowl by using the key.

I know drive to work with whatever I need to take along in the box. When parked, I clip it off and put the rear seat on, so that passers by can still admire the “art” of the bike in it’s standard form.

It does not affect the handling of the bike (unless you load the box with 30 liters of water). There is little to no wind drag on it, but I would think that you will feel it on the back in a cross wind.
If I realy want to go flying around town, it obviously comes off.

Let me know what you think…