Selecting a Top Case for my monoshock???

[Scoots]

When I purchased my '89 R100RS it came with a BMW expandable tank bag, the 2 Integral Side Cases (both are like new and have the keys), the luggage carrier set, #52 53 2 303 001, and the top case bracket set, #46 54 2 303 478. No 22L Top Case, mounting plate or the screw plug.


I've found a fellow who has a 22L Top Case and mounting plate for sale. They're in pretty good shape and he wants about $275 plus shipping for them. I don't know if that's a good deal or not.

The BMW shop near me hosts a "First Saturday of the Month" coffee and donuts get together. All of the fellows there this morning are older Airhead owners - all Korean War Vets ...... I'm only 58. Anyway, they told me to look at something other than the BMW 22L Top Case, such as something from Givi. What's YOUR opinion?

The BMW 22L Top Case also fits the K75, K100 and K1100 and Givi's Monokey series of Top Cases with an available mounting plate will fit this series of K bikes, so I'm thinking it should fit my R100RS.

Any suggestions or recommendations out there?
Is the BMW 22L Top Case something to avoid?
Is Givi preferable or do you recommend a different brand Top Case?
What about the size? Some of those Top Cases are big enough to pack a refrigerator!

Thanks for your input and recommendations!

[ME 109]

It depends what you need to carry.

I carry more than a camel can in the way of camping gear. A top box would be absolutely useless to me because it would seriously reduce my luggage capacity, especially two-up.

[khittner1]

I use a Givi E460 topcase on my RT. This bag is large, but was a minor step down in roominess from the enormous Luftmeister topcase that the PO had put on the bike previously. The standard Givi mounting plate was an easy bolt-on to the big, flat Reynolds folding rack that carried the Luftmeister. The Givi nicely matches the general style of the early 80s BMW factory "touring case" saddlebags, and it comes off/goes on just as quickly as the saddlebags do. It has enough room to securely stash a full Aerostich suit out of sight, and its size is a nice visual counter-balance to the bike's RT fairing. On an RS it might look incongruously large, though Givi does offer smaller ones.

The key for you will be finding a rack that will let you carry any topcase at a level attitude. The factory accessory racks look like they'd only work with the factory 22 liter topcase; trying to slap a Givi onto a BMW tailpiece carrier might be do-able, but I think it'd be riding along at a pretty weird angle. I don't know Givi's full product line well enough to know if they still offer any bracket kit to add one of their topcases to a monoshock airhead---I think they'd be reaching waay back into their old NOS inventory to find one. Used Reynolds racks do come up on IBMWR sometimes, and they do work well, even if they do look a bit industrial when not covered up with luggage.

[Scoots]

Thanks for the replies!

I did some measuring and figuring and I decided that the 22L Top Case was too small to bother with.
This same 22L Top Case fits the K75, K100 and K1100 bikes, so I'll have to do some further investigation into the Givi Monokey line of Top Cases and find out if the particular adapter plate for the K bikes will fit my luggage rack.

I did fail to mention that my bike did come with the Reynolds luggage rack for the monoshock airheads. It is HUUUUUGE and looks extremely industrial ...... that's why it's in the rafters above my airhead and I had completely forgotten about it!

[richard t]

I've has a Givi 52 top case on my K75, it has served me well, I can get 2 full face helments in it. I have a Givi mount that I bolted to the luggage rack on my R75/6 so I can use the case on that bike too. Givi is high priced IMHO but works well

[R100RTMark]

I have the 22L top case for my 1994 R100RT. It is small, but fits well, suits the bike and keys to the same pattern as the other locks. Being small means that you naturally tend to pack light. Always a good idea with a top case. The quick connect/disconnect feature is very useful, so much so that my case spends much more time in the garage than on the bike.

Most of my riding is solo and I think the optimum size for me would be a top case that could just hold one full face helmet. It would give me a secure dry storage option when taking a break on a trip.

[Major Softie]

You'd think that a small topcase would encourage you to only put the lighter stuff up there, but it doesn't really work out that way. Sleeping bags, tents, and textile jackets with armor in them are the bulkiest things I carry, and I can get all three into one of those Givi boxes, and it's less than 10 lbs.. With a small one, it ends up getting the beer. When I'm not camping, the Givi can take two full-face helmets.

Give me a giant topbox any day, and let me be the one who has to be smart enough to put the light stuff up there.

[ME 109]

Top box huh?
Maybe a Cadillac trunk
Edit, that's 2 up too

[Major Softie]

How many bodies can you get in that bag?