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125 Top Box...Re-Sorted!
Blog Date - 11 August 2012
When I first got the CLR 125 it came with a rack. It looked the part so I bolted my 36 litre battered Givi top box onto it. You know, a few holes drilled, a few bolts and washers and job done. It was fine for a while then one day I went shopping and returned with 6 litres of milk, 4 litres of apple juice and 2 litres of Vimto. That's about 12 kilos of fluids, it all fits in no worries. Of course the sign on the rack suggests no more than 5 kilos, but we all know how careful these manufacturers are.
When I got off the bike at home I wondered why the top box was hanging at a jaunty angle off the bike. The rack was not ally, as it looked and even felt, it was plastic and had expired under the strain of so much fluid. This lead to an afternoon with a hacksaw, hammer, drill and cups of tea making, no bodging, bits of metal such that I could re-attach that absolute essential, a top box.
It surely was a bodge. It meant that the seat could only be removed by the removal of a top box. It also meant the bike could not be used two-up as I'd moved it forward over the rear seat a little. But, but but but, it worked, it stayed in place and apart from one bolt rattling loose it never gave me cause for concern. It's been like that for a couple of years now. I kept on looking at it and thinking how could I improve it, but it was not broken so I did not fix it. Just wished I could get that damn seat off from time to time.
The original bodge, note how the rear seat is partially covered, and the exhaust too...
This week I spied a 45 litre Givi top box, of a similar vintage to the current 36 litre that graces my 125. Oooooohhh...bigger...hmmmm. If I had my way I'd have a 500 litre steel trunk fitted but I'm not sure that's legal or if the 125 would pull it. My friend the shopkeeper (Ian, not Mr Ben) said I could buy it at a knockdown price. I offered £5, he said £50, we settled at £40. It still seems a lot but compared to the £200 price for a shiny new one I thought fair enough, I mean, it even has both keys! Much to my pleasant surprise it also has...wait for it...the genuine Givi Monokey baseplate too!
Like a small child with a new toy I ran (drove the car) home to play. In a blur or cigarettes, hacksaws, drills, bolts and bloody fingers I created a MONSTER to hold the baseplate. Like any monster it's not pretty, but pretty is for posers and girls. It's high up so I can get my seat off, it's secure and most of all, it's satisfactory. It's not left me thinking there's more to do.
Oh I KNOW you won't like it. It's not factory finish, the drill holes are not precise, it looks "odd" and the 45 litre box is huge, but I'm it's creator and as such I love it.
OK, ok it's high but it means I can get the seat off. The other option is to move it further back, but that would lift the front more and stress the mountings.
Check out the top box mounts AND AND AND the bodged DIY exhaust pipe. If I don't win some sort of eco-recycling prize...or rat bike prize then the world's an unfair place.
Reader's Comments
Dave said :-
You're quite right...it's a MONSTER!
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
John said :-
wonder if that back pad will fit on my Givi?
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
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