F800GS top cases

Hey Guys,

I am currently using the Touratech Top case. The small one, they have a larger one, the small one holds a full face helmet with room enough for a few other items. I had previously used this case on my 1200GS, and when I got the 800 I just moved it over to the new bike. Mounted it using the touratech locking base plate and a piece of aluminum plate I had in the spare parts bin. I mounted the aluminum plate to the 800 and then mounted the touratech base plate to it. It was pretty easy, but did take a bit of engineering. Has worked well so far. I use the top case because I don't have the side panniers yet, saving up for those, and when I get them I won't use the top case any more. I think the Jesse Panniers are the best ones for the 800, especially with the sliding mounts that they have, but I like the old school look of the Touratech panniers and will be buying those.

I was in Seattle a couple weeks ago on business and stopped Touratech HQ and tried to touch all their products. I got to look at the new Zega Pro cases and can say that they are better made and more robust than the old cases. They are riveted instead of welded and will take a hit better without busting at the seams. They are a lot like the BMW Panniers, and have the black trim on the corners, the trim can be removed if you don't like that look. They also have a real trick latching system, the top can be completely removed, or if you leave one side latched the other latch acts as a hinge, allowing you to swing the lid open-the lid stays attached on one side. it is pretty cool. I would still go with the old style cases myself, but the new ones are real slick, lots of cool features.

Here are a couple photos from a recent trip to west texas. It was a long distance 5 day trip. The tent, ground cloth, rain fly, poles, stakes, sleeping bag and air mattress are in the blue tarp, the topcase holds the Jetboil, packaged food and tools. I keep the rain gear in pouch that attaches to the lid of the topcase. I also carry a backpack for water and snack and misc. The black duffel bag holds clothes and all the misc crap I should have left at home. I over packed as usual, so repacked and eliminated the black duffel bag. The system worked well. I lash it down with d-ring straps and put a large bungee net over the whole rig, for added piece of mind and it is a great place to quickly stash a jacket or anything else you don't want to take time to pack properly.
Anyway here are the photos;

Thanks, also did you have any problems hooking up the auxiliary lighting with the Givi to the F800GS? I'm thinking of getting the same box you have with the lights on the Givi. Any hints on how you hooked it up?

Anyone try a backrest for the passenger?

I know corbin offers one: http://www.corbin.com/bmw/bmwf8gs.shtml and there is this one: http://www.ascycles.com/detail.aspx?ID=48324

Suggestions (other than no passenger)?

In keeping with my soft luggage theme... I ordered the BMW soft tail bag which is completely collapsible. My theory is that when I am traveling with full luggage I can compress it and store it. But when I have a base camp (tent or home) where I can keep my camping gear, I can load this bag with all my repair/survival/medical kit.

Here is a picture, I will upload a pictures of the real thing when it comes in on Thursday this week. And yes it does fit on the BMW vario luggage rack on the back (I did not put these on, they came from the previous owner and I will never own the vario cases).

HT rack and Pelican 1550.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=383693

Highly recommend you minimize the weight in a top box. 9,000 miles on a F800GS without a drop. Installed top box and 20 lbs of weight and dropped the bike on first 30 min ride. Jesse's are extremely light but top box content weight can be a hazard on F8.

About top cases....
I got the Kappa K53 , both for the looks and the space. It holds easily 2 full face helmets + much more. It can be used as backrest too.Top case is mounted on a Touratech stainless steel rack and on top of that is the E250 universal plate to mount the top case. Probably not for hardcore off road use , but i can take the whole thing away in under 2 Min's (secs for top only without plate) and just use the Touratech rack alone. K53 weighs 5Kg , TT rack has limit 10 kg , so it leaves 5 Kg loading limit. For commuting porpoise i need more space to store things when i stop , not while riding (like helmet , jacket), so this is perfect for me.








As you can see , the K53 does not have any red color on it.
Here is a photo without the case , just the E250 plate.




The touratech rack is compatible with the BMW side panniers , and ofc with the touratech ones. Probably with any side panniers , but not sure.

Be better here: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=505900

Storm IM2400 on a homemade rack. The rack is from an old piece of aluminum I had laying around, an old stop sign or something similar would work. I found some bronze bushings at a local TSC that worked perfect as spacers. The piece of aluminum served a different purpose in a previous life hence the odd shape of it. Added a few SS fender washers inside the case to distribute the stress a bit and drilled holes in the case and plate to line up with the existing holes on the bike. An inner plate could also be added for strength. I added some bunggie buddies and a cabinet lock with a bolt for it to latch onto. I just wanted something fairly secure and waterproof (yes it's still waterproof even with all the holes. You would be amazed at the sealing ability of rtv) to store some odds & ends, camera gear etc. It won't hold a helmet but if I put a helmet in my top case I don't have room for the stuff I really want in there. I just close the top on my helmet straps and lock it if I don't feel like lugging my helmet and I also have a long cable that I can snake through all my riding gear including helmet and pad lock the cable to the bike. Not 100% theft proof but nothing is.

PS This is my first storm case. i've had pelicans in the past and like the latch system of this storm but the pelicans are definitely better made.

I like the lock option. Did you add it after purchase or was it already installed at purchase?

I added it. It's just a cabinet lock that they sell at homedepot. It has a a hook for the latch that rotates when the key is turned. I just installed 1/4" ss bolt for the latch to grab onto. You can see the bolt directly above the lock. It's not the greatest setup but for a few dollars plus the cost of the case I'm happy with it.

am thinking about getting this for my bike, was thinking of just bolting it down directly through the bottom using the rear rack bolts as I won't need to take it off was wondering if anyone has done this and if this is a good idea/problems ?

Thats pretty much what I did with the storm case. I just used the bronze bushing as spacers in the back two holes to match up with the rear rack which will be the front two mounting points. The aluminum plate was just for extra stiffness in the bottom since the case is just plastic I didn't want the bolts pulling through. I don't take it off but it's only 4 bolts if i need to.

The bottom of that case is probably 1.5 or 2 mm thick. An additional plate to support and distribute the weight is a good idea. Using the rear rack bolts is fine.

can you post some pics from the front and from the back of the bike BUT from a distance? (3 metres)