GIVI PLX V35 bags and SW Motech rack.

Fred

M em b er e d
Joined
Nov 6, 2007
Messages
1,790
Reaction score
63
Points
0
Location
Austin, TX
www.robietech.com
I've been eyeballing the SW Motech rack for GIVI's new PLX style bags. Last week twistedthrottle.com confirmed that the racks are ready and orderable. So I ordered mine yesterday.

I have high hopes for this system. The bags are designed to hug the bike closely. From the pictures, it looks like they will fit perfectly around the Fizzer's tail. And the Motech rack is designed to come off of the bike in less than a minute, leaving the bike with a nice clean look when the bags aren't needed.

If you've been wondering about hard bags for your Fizzer, hang on a few weeks and I'll have a review posted in this thread.

Fred
 

Cloggy

Euro Mod
Elite Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2007
Messages
4,886
Reaction score
113
Points
63
Location
Alkmaar Netherlands
Visit site
I've been eyeballing the SW Motech rack for GIVI's new PLX style bags. Last week twistedthrottle.com confirmed that the racks are ready and orderable. So I ordered mine yesterday.

I have high hopes for this system. The bags are designed to hug the bike closely. From the pictures, it looks like they will fit perfectly around the Fizzer's tail. And the Motech rack is designed to come off of the bike in less than a minute, leaving the bike with a nice clean look when the bags aren't needed.

If you've been wondering about hard bags for your Fizzer, hang on a few weeks and I'll have a review posted in this thread.

Fred

Looking forward to your review, please post some pics too, the biggest problem with the fz6's exhaust is the availability of suitable rack/hard baggage systems.
 

Fred

M em b er e d
Joined
Nov 6, 2007
Messages
1,790
Reaction score
63
Points
0
Location
Austin, TX
www.robietech.com
I have been eyeballing the PLX cases for a while now. I know with the Givi racks, you need to buy the topcase rack or the fitting kit to install the sidecase racks. Is the same true for the SWMotech PLX racks?

I didn't know that about the GIVI racks.

In the case of the Motech system, no top rack is needed. I hadn't considered it and I got nervous thinking I'd made a bad purchase. So I checked it out.

Here's SW Motech's page on the rack with a link to the mounting instructions.
The PLX rack is independent of the top rack.
SW-MOTECH Motorradtechnik - Spezialkonstruktionen - Motorradzubehör
You can look at the instructions for the top rack also. The two racks use entirely different mounting points, so you can have either one or you can use both.

I don't know if you could combine a Motech saddlebag rack with a GIVI top rack or vice versa. I think that would be asking for trouble.

Fred
 

reiobard

Samurai FZ Soldier
Elite Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2007
Messages
7,614
Reaction score
67
Points
0
Location
Hillsborough, NH
Visit site
can't wait to see them and read your review. I like that they can come right off the bike since i would only use them 3-4 times a summer.
 

Fred

M em b er e d
Joined
Nov 6, 2007
Messages
1,790
Reaction score
63
Points
0
Location
Austin, TX
www.robietech.com
This could take a while. I got an email from twistedthrottle saying that my order was delayed until May 23. (That's not a typo.)
I've emailed them to find out why and am waiting to hear back.
 

kalli

In the middle of the pond
Joined
Oct 10, 2007
Messages
21
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Iceland
Visit site
I have a pair of these SW Motech racks on order from TT since beginning of January. It was supposed to be delivered early in March.
So I might have to give them a call as well.
 

Cloggy

Euro Mod
Elite Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2007
Messages
4,886
Reaction score
113
Points
63
Location
Alkmaar Netherlands
Visit site
After studying the pics I saw how far back the indicators are placed, I find it pretty ugly but I'm sure there are plenty of LED sets out there to do the job. I also think that with the side cases and the the top box (I have a passenger hand rest givi rack and box), that the rear light will be pretty much blocked out.
 

grommit

...M
Elite Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2007
Messages
2,401
Reaction score
28
Points
0
Location
Birmingham, UK
Visit site
I've been eyeballing the SW Motech rack for GIVI's new PLX style bags. Last week twistedthrottle.com confirmed that the racks are ready and orderable. So I ordered mine yesterday.

I have high hopes for this system. The bags are designed to hug the bike closely. From the pictures, it looks like they will fit perfectly around the Fizzer's tail. And the Motech rack is designed to come off of the bike in less than a minute, leaving the bike with a nice clean look when the bags aren't needed.

If you've been wondering about hard bags for your Fizzer, hang on a few weeks and I'll have a review posted in this thread.

Fred

Excellent, I have been thinking about panniers for some time. But as you say most of them leave the bike looking naff when you just go for a ride.
 

Fred

M em b er e d
Joined
Nov 6, 2007
Messages
1,790
Reaction score
63
Points
0
Location
Austin, TX
www.robietech.com
Finally, they arrived! I picked up the bags and rack this morning.

Installation took an hour and a half, mainly because I'd read the instructions ahead of time and knew exactly what had to be done.

The only ugly thing on this whole setup is the turn signal relocation, and I can live with it until I rig something better.

The rest of the setup looks damned fine, and gives insane amounts of storage. Call me a happy customer.

Fred
 

Fred

M em b er e d
Joined
Nov 6, 2007
Messages
1,790
Reaction score
63
Points
0
Location
Austin, TX
www.robietech.com
OK, finally I have some pictures as well as a proper review.

The delay in getting the bags was due to the racks themselves. They had to change the design for the 07+ Fizzers and then there was a delay in manufacturing/shipping/customs. The folks at Twistedthrottle.com did their best to get the gear to me. As soon as the order came in they pulled my parts off and shipped them.

The Motech rack is unique in that it can be quickly and easily removed from the bike, leaving the FZ6 looking almost stock. And the new GIVI V-35 PLX bags are much more aerodynamic and just plain better looking. Normal GIVI luggage looks like somebody bolted a couple of Sampsonite bags onto a motorcycle. PLX bags look like they were designed for the bike.

The bags mount in four places on each side of the bike. In the front, they mount to the passenger footpegs and the frame underneath the side pods. In the back, the upper mounting point is the rearmost muffler mounting bolts. The lower mount is all new. It bolts to the plastic fender in place of the stock license plate holder. This mount also holds the turn signals.

I was worried about this last mount because the plastic fender is not a part that can hold any weight. But it's not a problem. This mount is just a crossbrace. It provides sideways support for the bags without holding any actual weight. Motech does this on other racks (Vstrom 1000 for instance) and it works just fine.

This bracket has one problem, the slots aren't long enough to accommodate my Texas license plate's bolt holes. Easy solution, I drilled new holes in the license plate.

With all the brackets loosely installed, I mounted the racks and then tightened all the bracket mounting bolts, using red locktite to prevent any on the road mishaps.

The ride.

The bike rode perfectly with the bags in place. On some machines saddlebags can cause odd instabilities at speed. In this case, it was not a problem at all. And even better, my gas mileage was unaffected. I got 40mpg before the bags went on, and I got the same afterwards.

This is hard to believe. I didn't at first. But here's the thing. When riding, the front of the bike parts the oncoming air like a boat's wake. The bags are at the back of the motorcycle, where the wake is wider. I was able to reach down with my hand while riding and feel that the bags were not actually in the wind, at least not at highway speeds.

It's a bit different when you ride faster. I've been able to approach 150mph on the Fizzer before. With the bags fitted, the 600cc motor began to run out of steam as it approached 130mph in 6th gear. So as speed increases, the bags do start to catch the wind and slow the bike down.

The bike's ability to corner feels unchanged. Oh, who am I kidding? I was riding around Florida, there are no real curves. But the suspension feels stable and the bags are mounted high enough that the only way to drag them would be to lowside.

The bags do come off the rack as advertised, and the rack itself can be taken off in less than a minute. The only tool needed is a quarter or a flat bladed screwdriver.

I was worried about the rack and bags being stolen, so I also got a set of the locking fasteners. These work just fine, and I'm going to look into having them rekeyed to match the GIVI bags.

Conclusion. This is a great looking setup that bolts on easily, travels well and looks damned good. It's money well spent.

Oh yeah, pictures.

watermark.php


watermark.php


Fred
 

Cloggy

Euro Mod
Elite Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2007
Messages
4,886
Reaction score
113
Points
63
Location
Alkmaar Netherlands
Visit site
Nice set up Fred,
it looks really nice, Can you take a few pictures with just the rack, to give us an idea how it all fits together.
 

Botch

I.Y.A.A.Y.A.S!!
Elite Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
3,946
Reaction score
44
Points
0
Location
Ogden UT
Visit site
Thank you Fred, great write-up. And as a former Aernautical Engineering student, you're right on the money about the airflow.

I'm assuming those are reflectors on the bags themselves; wonder if there's a way to install turn signals there, which unplug as you remove the bags. Hmm...
 
Top