Top box, top case, feeling old...

[dogshome]

My friend has the 800 twin with huge expanding top boxes. Very practical but (Shhh!) fug uglee  That and being priced the same as a Range Rover   

I have the pretty little Kruaser 25L panniers and they take a can of coke, pair of shoes, bank card, that sort of thing. Well, a bit more, but a 15" laptop in a bag is a struggle. I also tend to take the panniers off to fight past the cars parked recklessly around and on my drive! Missus, lad and sometimes me.

I just ordered a top box and no longer feel 18, but 90 (I am 58). The one I've picked is a Shad SH37. Better quality than the Oxford and chinese carp below it and not so huge as to look like a blimp (I hope). Some of the boxes for sports bikes look like the house from "Up!" being towed. I hope this one doesn't  I feel like purchasing a leather waistcoat to offset the top box, but that will make me feel even older 


Thoughts on top boxes / top cases  / biker shopping (old lady) bags?


https://shad.co.uk/products/shad-sh37-top-box-d0b37100

[Justin B.]

Nice looking top box.  I have a small BMW top box I can put on my R100RT if I need one but haven't used it in years.

[dogshome]

It's what comes with it! The urge to put a tartan rug and packet of tissues on the back shelf, and the Werthers Original in the glove box of the car. You have bead mats and 'I slow down for horses' stickers over there?

When I started biking, if you had a top box, you were either a despatch rider; rode a CX500; or were very, very old 

[wilcom]

When I started biking, if you had a top box, you were either a despatch rider; rode a CX500; or were very, very old 

True then & true now.  At some point in one's life practicality will trump your sense of style....................you just arrived

[dogshome]

I'm feeling a little better after watching this (music) 
https://youtu.be/jMxl2XDAc70

Then I saw this (men's watch and red nail polish)   
https://youtu.be/JVDbI7lx3Ig

Then this (the house from Up!) 
https://youtu.be/DPSm8UHnaGc

It's a pandora's (top) box, a whole sub-culture!!! It wasn't like this when I was a lad 

[wilcom]

I thought your lil top box was kinda nice not too big, just right. Then I looked at the last video with the box mounted on that blue BMW. It appeared to be a Gargoyle not a top box. Talk about a wart on a crystal ball, for sure. You should have stopped at the first vid. Black Box plus hip music and called it a day 

[dogshome]

I'll get used to it 

[georgesgiralt]

Dogshome,
You are lucky. Long time ago, every time I put some weight on the rear Krauser platform on my RT R65, handling was terrible above 90 km/h....
So I thought top boxes where a no go for Airheads.
Now, the RT fairing is gone and the bike returned to it's naked glory, the Krauser frame and panniers are gone, replaced with the period correct BMW Touring cases and I do not have a top box....

[dogshome]

Hiya, I've been on the A1 (dual carriageway, runs almost the length of the country) with a hefty laptop in it at 70-80 MPH (indicated) and it's fine. I don't go any faster. I have the 25L Krauser panniers and they have a similar effect i.e. you know they are there (just) at motorway speed in amongst the lorries and side winds, but nothing near terrible with either. I have not tried the ensemble yet.

It is quite a modest size top case (marketed for motorbikes or scooters) and egg-shaped (aerodynamically better than a box), so maybe that makes the difference. I do have fresh suspension, bearings, modern tyres and frame braces. I'm also 1.9M tall and 140kg. I guess that might stabilise anything, in the way of a bag of cement 

On the B roads (50 and 60MPH) I have to check my shadow on the road to see if the topbox is still there!


I do like the RT fairing, cage drivers definitely notice me, flying pests generally get deflected and it is a rain-shelter as long as you keep moving. I also like the look. It's all personal taste though.

Hey, what do the 'period correct BMW Touring cases' look like and how do they attach? Did you keep the Krauser lower frames?

[georgesgiralt]

No, I did not kept any part of the Krauser frame. HEre is how the bike looks, just before I rebuild the engine. She is more gorgeous now  !
The newspaper is to prove the date of the day ....

[dogshome]

 

[dogshome]

Nice choice of colour Georges 
Keith.

[dogshome]

DIY LED Hi level brake light and Nissan blue top.

[dogshome]

An update. We had some particulalry nasty 20+MPH gusts last night. Nothing too fierce, but all over the place. I've had some wood stacked in a corner for about 3 years and it shifted that across the back yard. Several named storms didn't manage to do that...

On the way to work, I felt someone tugging at my collar and sleeves occasionally (spooky!) but nothing serious. 70MPH between the lorries on the A1 in open and shrouded areas no issue. On the way home, however, it all went a bit Pete Tong. I was nearly home and came to a really open spot, lorry in front, cars in the outside lane all up each otheres rear being dicks - so I thought I'll let this lot go past then get back up to speed. But! I got a bit of a fishtail going - obviously from the heavy laptop in the top box out on the flexi Krauser plastic frames. Not enough to be scary, but enough to make me pull in at the next petrol station and check the rear tyre 

So yes top boxes on airheads are not ideal. But VERY handy and no problem for me 95% of the time. 


Looking to put a simple bracket or plastic part to stop the flex in the pannier frame now. It's always been quite obvious when the bike is on the centre stand and I'm giving her a shove front or rear when I want to get by.

[Burt]

I've been considering using a Pelican style of top box as an alternative to the barn door you have fitted there.  Although I realise that size is ideal for securing a helmet, to me they look more useful for delivering pizzas. 

To me it all depends what you wish to carry, as I have never been a real fan of tank bags and use a top box to throw odd bits into.  A flat top one also allows a rack to be mounted as well.