Luggage?

[Damnitsjeff]

Yes, I have a question. I am looking to make a set of side hard bags for the FZ. Since Givi is super expensive for my taste I figured I try to weld up a frame and slap some water proof boxes on there. My question is has anyone dealt with this company before? Also does anyone have and dimensions of the Givi hard bags so I have something to work off of?

Seahorsecases.net - Your source for Seahorse Waterproof Cases

These are the boxes that I think I might try to conjure up.

Seahorse SE-540 - Waterproof Case

 

[LERecords]

love your avitar by the way ... as for hard bags.. i know thee is a cheaper version of the givi's out there somewhere.. i do not remember thier name though.. someone else will have to help on that one.

also, you might want to rethink the whole make your own hard case thing. the only reason i say that is, if you make it, and something happens (a weld or connection breaks, or the bag comes flying off due to wind preasures at speeds) and the bag flys off into a car, house, person.. you'll probably not really be caring what happened to everything in the bag, but more about what it did to someone else.. just a thought

edit: i just looked at that case.. i would probably be buying one for all my video equipment and would guess i would just buy a v42 or v52 from givi and use a bungie netting to hold that case on the passenger section of the seat. probably also somehow chain lock it to the bike so that i can still walk away and not have to worry.

 

[mstewar1]

Here are some pics of my recently acquired givi e21 side cases. The "e" is for economy, I think. They're not the burliest cases I've ever seen -- nowhere near as thick as the 36 liter top case that I have from givi. But they do feel nice and secure when they mount up and I've been able to get all three of my bags keyed alike.

I've run the top case alone for some time. I have to say, while it's only after one commute trip (~200 miles r/t) the bike takes a hit in the aerodynamics department with the side cases attached. My gas mileage suffered. Not sure what the figure is, but I noticed it.

Not sure if these pics are useful or not. Let me know if you'd like to see some other aspect. I tried to just capture their dimensions.

I hear you on the givi cost issue. Bloody things are not cheap. I paid more for the racks themselves than for the cases combined. Got the e21's at twisted throttle. Picked up the other from ebay.

I admire your industrious aspirations. But when it's all said and done, what's it going to save in terms of cash? Again, not trying to rain on the parade, it's just that, even if I had the skill and materials to weld something myself, I'd probably still opt to just buy a set-up such as mine.

Best of luck with the project. I'll be interested to see what you come up with.

 

[bmccrary]

http://www.600riders.com/forum/touring/10852-luggage-luggage-more-luggage.html

Might be some information in here to help. Also, if you do have some luggage that is not mentioned in here. Please feel free to do a write up in the product review section. Then PM me the link to it so I can add it to the list.

-bryan

 

[Damnitsjeff]

I have a full set of First Gear soft luggage. I was just looking for a little more durable option... Thanks to all........................:thumbup:

 

[bcityroller]

Usually when I see cases of that style on a bike they're Pelican (and on an adventure bike) although no reason why you couldn't try what you're suggesting. Dimension wise here's a link to a Pelican case that Twisted Throttle sells that includes dimensions and some photos of what a case that size looks like on a bike - they're less cubish than what you linked from Seahorse.

 

[D-Mac]

Pelican cases are usually used for this type of thing. They are nearly indestructable and come in lots of different sizes. They've been used by adventure motorcyclists for years as an alternative to aluminum panniers.

I happen to have 2 BRAND NEW Pelican 1550s and a new Pelican 1500 case sitting in my basement. They're still in the original shipping boxes (the 1500 also comes with foam that you could sculpt out for a nice top case). I bought all of them last year when I thought I was gonna get a KLR650 or a V-Strom (they are used all the time on these bikes and several companies make racks to mount them). Then I bought a FZ6 instead and ended up with Givis since I'm not very creative with making my own mounting racks.

I even bought soft bags that fit nicely inside the 1550 cases (for easy loading unloading).

If you're interested in any of these cases make me an offer. Otherwise I'll probably list them around the web soon.

If you google Pelican and KLR/V-strom you should find lots of pics of what they look like mounted. The 1550s are pretty big.