Poor top box design

[GTRTONY]

Hi All

just thought i would let people know the problems I have been having with my reasonably new bike. I purchased her on April 1st (Yeah I know  :-[) and when i went on a recent trip to Switzerland I discovered that the top box could be opened from a locked position... very easily.
On my return to the UK i reported this to the local dealer where i purchased bike and box. they said theyu hadnt seen such flimsy workmanship. the locking mechanism is made of plastic and just bends. any how i was wondering if anyone else had any trouble with the lock. BTW the panniers seem to be a better design.

i am also having a warranty replacement of the heat shield that is sited at the bottom of the exhaust shield (2011 model) as the powder coating is flaking off. Other than this love the bike and she was a pleasure to  ride in Europe

tony

[mecki]

That's what you get when you buy the cheapest Givi top box (E470) available and re-brand it.
I reckon it's a disgrace and wish Kawasaki would offer a top box of a similar quality as the panniers instead.
After all this is their flagship bike and at least I expected to get a top quality box and not this piece of junk when I ordered it.
After all they charged over £200 for it!
I don't know who makes the panniers but by the look of it they have been designed especially for the GTR and are really good quality too.

Can you actually get it open without using a tool or do you need a screwdriver, knife or something like that?
I guess with a screwdriver and a bit of force it should be as easy as taking candy from a baby.
I don't want to break it, but I won't leave my helmet in it any longer.

[cpettifer]

I was surprised their standard box was a cheap Givi one. I'm sticking my own existing cheap Givi box on to start with (just got my bike) with a view to getting one of the more expensive Givi boxes in the future.

[Lonewolf]

I bought a second hand, (but new) £35 Givi cheap and nasty box from Ebay and it works a treat. I used it on my tour of Scotland recently.More than adequate for a few maps, spare gloves, first aid kit, that sort of stuff.  It doesn't look as flash as the Kawasaki ones but it was perfectly functional. I think a lot of folk on here have just been unlucky.

[mecki]

I think a lot of folk on here have just been unlucky.

What do you mean, unlucky?
I don't own a car, I don't use my bike for commuting or only for ride-outs on the weekend.
I do at least 2 trips to the South of France a year and also use the bike to do my shopping.
That's why I bought the best touring bike on the market and paid a handsome sum for it!
So I expected a good top box that is capable of transporting more than a 4 pint bottle of milk and a loaf of bread.
I expected a top box that you can't just open with a sharpened stick.
What I don't need is this piece of crap Kawasaki are selling as the only accessory available for the GTR while they put a good Givi Monokey on the Z1000 or the Versys for the same price.

[Lonewolf]

Mecki, at the risk of sounding disrespectful, you are starting to bore me. In a nutshell some GTR owners appear to be having problems with their top boxes & some dont. Perhaps the latter are the lucky ones. I cannot offer an explanation as to why this may be the case. I do not work in the design and development of top boxes for Givi.
I consider the amount  I paid for my used GTR  to still be a handsome sum and it was certainly the most I have ever paid for a motor bike. If you are not happy with your top box and have no confidence in it then I suggest you either stop using it, remove it and throw it away, (preferably send it to me) or alternatively return it to Kawasaki and demonstrate to them your observations in respect of how dissatisfied you are with having paid so much for what you consider to be a sub standard box.
I personally would not describe the Kawasaki top box as a piece of junk. There may be issues but as we can see from all the very helpful threads on here there are fixes.

[mecki]

LW if I bore you, why do you read and even worse reply to my posts?
I find most of your posts are a total waste of bandwidth too, but I haven't complained about it so far.
And what do you know if the KAWASAKI box is a piece of crap or not if you haven't even got one?
You paid £35 for yours and are happy - I paid over £200 and I am not and by the look of it I'm not the only one!

[cpettifer]

MEOW!  :o

BMW charge over £500 for the box for their R1200RT. It's a lot better than the rebranded Givi Monolock one Kawasaki sell for the GTR, but it's a lot of money too. Kawasaki are a bit daft putting this box on one of their flagship bike, but there you go. Incidentally, I think BMW's box for their new 1600 tourers is something like £1000... although it does have central locking!

I think my Simply E470 box is what Kawasaki have rebranded as their own for the GTR? What the daftest thing about it is, is that they've removed the red reflective panel that you can have converted into a brake light. The box itself was always a bit wobbly, perhaps, on my Versys, but it's had my work laptop in the back every week for 2.5 years. Not fallen out yet!

[BigAlan]

I paid a lot of my hard earnt cash for a new bike on the 1st Sep, including the fitting of the 47L top box, which i have had a moan about to the dealer regarding the wobble, in fact if you read my posts i have cured it myself with some help from a friend who works for a large Engineering company, i also reckon the mounting is not as good as it could be and will keep the pressure on the dealer to talk to Kawasaki.

I dont care who makes it, it (used to) wobble, and now it does not.

Alan

[100milesaway]

Whilst  not wishing to argue the fact that maybe the Kawasaki branded Givi box is not the best quality on offer in the market today  I dont think it warrants the term" a piece of crap"" :o as is Meckis opinion, and yes I have got one. Does it really matter if it wobbles on its mounting slightly? I have had a good look at mine and have come to the conclusion that it is safe, and there is no way it could ever fall of the bike!!!!!! has anyone had this happen?. Moving on to the box itself whilst agreeing that it is not the most substantial box on the market- it after all is just a box and whilst being the first to agree they are expensive this one is nearer to the lower end of the market. As Mecki states you can probably break into this box with a sharpened stick  :-[  : BUT there will not be a top box ever made that someone could not break into with the use of just a screwdriver. Overall  I'm happy with mine -if it wobbles I cant see it whilst riding the bike, and as yet the box has managed to keep my underpants  :-[ and trainers etc etc safely cocooned inside its rather flimsy structure.  :)

[Rusty]

I have to say 100, that I agree with you .... not had a problem with mine, even loaded and flying through France a while back it was fine. I hear what everyone is saying but I am quite happy with my box  ;D

[mecki]

OK you guys are happy with the box, fine.
So what do you think about the maximum load of 3kg then?
You put 4 pints of milk (2,3kg) and a loaf of bread (800g) in a 47l box and it's already overloaded?
The equivalent Givi Monokey boxes (which cost about the same as the Kawa box, have a decent base plate and don't wobble) all have a maximum load of 10kg.
Mine hasn't fallen off yet either and it seems to be reasonably water tight too.
Nevertheless for a 13.5K bike I expect something more substantial, even if it costs 50 quid more, and that's why I will keep calling it a piece of crap.

[cpettifer]

My Givi Simply box has always had more than the recommended 3kg in it (unless it's empty). No problems. Pity it's rated as such though.

Weirdly, Kawasaki rate the rack as having a max load capacity of 10kg, so I do still find it odd they chose to rebrand the cheaper Givi box for their purposes. I'm with you there, but don't think it's a piece of crap, just not as good as it should be!

[100milesaway]

Mecki I have owned lots of top boxes and side panniers in my time and never took any notice of what the manufacturers recommend as a maximum weight and have never has one break open ,or the bottom fall out, or any other malfunction whatsoever. In saying that I dont go to shop for my daily provisions on my bike as you do. I use mine for clothing ,ie shirts, trousers, underclothes, trainers, and lightweight jacket etc etc, and I pile those items in until it's full and I have never bothered to weigh the total items as I just know that if the lid shuts all will be fine. As I have stated before this box is not top quality BUT it does do the job for me.  cheers Geoff ;D

[pembsgtr]

Is the top box designed to wobble? The oem top box fittings on a triumph sprint st 1050 were on a sliding rack, this was according to the man at Hincley a designed feature that ensured stability of the motorcycle at speed  :)