Top Case mounting bracket for free

Hi, If you wouldn't mind packaging it up for the UK I will gladly pay for the postage - and a little extra for your troubles. I have broken mine :-( Allan

Allan, I have already asked Larry what the postage would be to the UK and he very kindly visited the post office and came back with a cost of $33.55 USD (~£22) with no tracking or insurance. With insurance and tracking the price almost doubled to $66 USD.

Because of the distance involved, I was reluctant to risk postage without tracking etc. and ended up buying a brand new complete kit elsewhere for $45.75 (£30.92) including international tracking:

When you purchase an item through the Global Shipping Programme:
You pay any applicable import charges upfront. There are no additional charges at delivery.
You get international tracking at no additional charge.
Your purchase is eligible for coverage through the eBay Money Back Guarantee and PayPal Purchase Protection.

I have just checked the tracking and it should hopefully arrived very soon:

17/06/2015 09:06:00 Out for delivery NEWTON ABBOT HOME DELIVERY (YODEL)
17/06/2015 10:47:00 Parcel with courier for delivery NEWTON ABBOT HOME DELIVERY (YODEL)

When I looked at Larry's photo there appeared to be several missing bits compared to the complete kit that I ended up buying, but as you already have yours fitted, you must already have all the necessary bits.

How did yours break? Did it have anything to do with being overloaded and then thrashing it round the bumpy Isle of Mann TT course at 70mph?

Any chance you can post some picture of the breakage so I can see where additional support may be advantageous?

Alan

P.S.
Guess what just arrived?

I suggest you to reinforce it with https://vectrixpro.wordpress.com/top-case-holder/

... or just go for the complet set!
https://vectrixpro.wordpress.com/luggage-mounting/

Not trying to hijack the thread, but what is the failure of the mount? I just put one on the bike and don't want problems

Hi All, thanks for all the input. Judging by the advice given I might just buy a new kit. How did it break ? When I originally fitted it many years ago I overtightened one of the bolts and the plastic mounting frame split down the bolt hole (I'll put up a picture this weekend), I epoxied it back together and it has been fine ever since but it has always bugged me because I knew it was there. Bombing around the Isle Of Man was great fun, met some Vectrix riders and TheLaird, but that was not the reason for the break in the mounting plate :-) However, on a side note, I was carrying a pillion for a few days and something has 'cracked' under the grab handle/mounting plate area so I am going to have to disassemble it this weekend and see what has broken, I'll take pictures. Bikemad - where did you get the new mounting kit from ?

Bikemad - where did you get the new mounting kit from ?

I've sent you a PM.

Alan

As promised, here is a close up of the split on my top mount. It has happened to both the front mount holes so it is time to replace it now. So the cautionary tale here is not to over tighten the bolts or they will split the mount.

It's worse than I first thought :-(

Water has got into the mounting bolt sleeves - rusted them, they've expanded and split the plastic mounting frame. Definitely time for a new kit and this time I will use more copper lube to prevent water damage. To top it all off I am now going to have to replace the entire grab rail as it has snapped on both sides.

Do you know if with that kit I can still use the plastic cover that comes with the original kit, so the mounting hardware is hidden? Like with the original mounting hardware? All their photos show without the 4-hole plastic cover, leaving all nuts and bolts exposed.

Also, I wonder why they don't mount the brackets a couple of inches forward, so the case does not hand so far back... There is plenty of space, provided a backrest is not used. Would make the mount more sturdy.

I suggest you to reinforce it with https://vectrixpro.wordpress.com/top-case-holder/

... or just go for the complet set!
https://vectrixpro.wordpress.com/luggage-mounting/

Do you know if with that kit I can still use the plastic cover that comes with the original kit, so the mounting hardware is hidden? Like with the original mounting hardware? All their photos show without the 4-hole plastic cover, leaving all nuts and bolts exposed.

I was wondering the same thing, until I re-read the description on the Stage 1 kit:

You can replace old hardware with our new one and be sure nothing will be broken. At the same time you can leave plastic holder for top case plate and original passanger’s grab cover with holes.

I think that means the cover does still fit. Presumably the cover has been deliberately left off in the photos so you can see exactly how the brackets fit, as you would not be able to see any part of the brackets with the Vectrix cover fitted.

Alan

Do you know if with that kit I can still use the plastic cover that comes with the original kit, so the mounting hardware is hidden? Like with the original mounting hardware? All their photos show without the 4-hole plastic cover, leaving all nuts and bolts exposed.

I was wondering the same thing, until I re-read the description on the Stage 1 kit:

You can replace old hardware with our new one and be sure nothing will be broken. At the same time you can leave plastic holder for top case plate and original passanger’s grab cover with holes.

I think that means the cover does still fit. Presumably the cover has been deliberately left off in the photos so you can see exactly how the brackets fit, as you would not be able to see any part of the brackets with the Vectrix cover fitted.

Alan

Precisely!

I assure you that you can still mount the cover (cargo plate) with this kit, because I have the stage 2 kit mounted in my Vectrix.
I also advise to make small holes in the bottom, so the water can drain:

(picture taken from Vectrix Li+ com 60 Ah - jasmin bike)

Also, I wonder why they don't mount the brackets a couple of inches forward, so the case does not hand so far back... There is plenty of space, provided a backrest is not used. Would make the mount more sturdy.

I bought the stage 2 kit, which contains its own support for the mounting plate. Due to its design, it's possible to position the mounting plate almost where you want.

A coworker, who also has a Vectrix, ordered just the mounting plate support from the stage 2 kit, because the original support, although mounted with stage 1 kit, was starting to crack.
As you can see from the pictures, it can be home made.

I believe that the reason why they crack is because it where designed for Givi Monolock cases, capable of holding up to 3Kg of luggage. But the official case (Givi V46) is from the Monokey series, capable of holding up to 10kg of luggage!

Here is an explanation:
Difference between Givi Monolock & Monokey technology

And a video:
Givi Monokey and Monolock Systems

I cannot tell, did someone get the bracket? I am in Northern California and could pick it up

-Randy

Thanks for the explanation and photos! Now, if the place that sells them replies reasonably quickly to my "official" inquiry on how much shipping is to a certain country in Europe that I'll be visiting soon, and how to send payment, I'll buy the stage 2 kit :)

And to the original poster - sorry for hijacking your thread, but I think the information was helpful to several people.

Thanks for the explanation and photos! Now, if the place that sells them replies reasonably quickly to my "official" inquiry on how much shipping is to a certain country in Europe that I'll be visiting soon, and how to send payment, I'll buy the stage 2 kit :)

And to the original poster - sorry for hijacking your thread, but I think the information was helpful to several people.

To complete the information:
- Payment is done through PayPal or Bank Transfer;
- Answer was not immediate, but not very delayed;
- To Portugal, stage 2 + (stage 2 - stage 1) postage was 21€ (2014-09-02);

Thanks!

Thanks for the explanation and photos! Now, if the place that sells them replies reasonably quickly to my "official" inquiry on how much shipping is to a certain country in Europe that I'll be visiting soon, and how to send payment, I'll buy the stage 2 kit :)

And to the original poster - sorry for hijacking your thread, but I think the information was helpful to several people.

To complete the information:
- Payment is done through PayPal or Bank Transfer;
- Answer was not immediate, but not very delayed;
- To Portugal, stage 2 + (stage 2 - stage 1) postage was 21€ (2014-09-02);

To close the loop on the aftermarket bracket: installed it today and I'm very happy with how it turned out. Almost perfect.

Shipping from Poland to Bulgaria was very prompt and fairly inexpensive (under 20 Euro). The parts arrived in good order. I got the stage 2 kit. Installation was fairly easy for someone with a bit of mechanical inclination and a simple set of tools: like 10mm and 13mm open and socket wrenches, an assortment of metric hex wrenches, and a small screwdriver for the top sheet cover of the Givi case support plate (not needed if not installing the Givi plate).

Everything fit perfectly and installed much more solidly than the original kit.

Why did I say "almost perfect" above? Because the kit leaves some spaces open to dust and water. I'll post some photos later. I plugged the spaces around the 4 support bolts on top of the bike (under the two metal support beams for the box plate) with minicell foam. They were open on the original install too, but less wide. The space left open from removing a large rubber plug I also covered with minicell (or some weathersealing tape might do there), or the plug could be trimmed down to size and reused. The holes left open on the bottom would also be good to cover, probably with weathersealing tape.

The bolts used in the kit and the metal plates are sturdy, very good quality, and fit well, but I don't think they are stainless steel (not sure, they just don't look like top quality stainless steel hardware, but are not low end junk material either).

The instructions that came with the kit are not the best but with some guessing they worked. Once I figured out what some of the steps meant, it was clear on a second read, despite the slightly "broken" English translation from Polish.

My plastic handlebar to which the OEM cargo kit was attached was cracked in 3 places (not visible from the outside, without removing it). A few more trips with the cargo box and it would have broken off worse, probably. I glued it back together with superglue, since the cracks were small and the new kit does not rely on the plastic piece as much. The Givi bottom plate was not cracked like in the photos up on this thread, but I installed the stage 2 kit's rails instead of it - they are sturdier.

The kit is a bit heavier than the OEM kit but much sturdier.

I highly recommend anyone who carries anything in a cargo box to use this kit - you will develop cracks in the OEM hand rails otherwise, as shown in the photos above in this thread.

VECTRIXpro wrote:

You can replace old hardware with our new one and be sure nothing will be broken. At the same time you can leave plastic holder for top case plate and original passanger’s grab cover with holes.