Paging the SO Airhead-isti

Shockingly, I appear to have almost done the deal on a bike.

Bloke selling is an olde-worlde specialist mechanic and dealer who
doesn't do 'new fangled digital photos' - so it's all down to the 35mm
camera shots winging their way through the post overnight.

Anyway - how do you adapt the BMW rear carrier to take a Givi top box? -
I don't really want to buy a BMW box, as I have 2 Kappa Monokey cases
and a Givi Wingrack (Monolock?) box in the garage.

Can't find any listing on the Givi website - but I've seen some photos
of airheads with Givi top boxes fitted.

(The bike is an R100RT Mono with BMW OEM panniers)

 

Givi sell (or did sell) a plate that you just bolt onto your existing
rack.
Be aware that there are 2 types of Givi mounts, I found out the hard way
when a top box I bought wouldnt fit the mono rack I already had.
Alan.

 

Not quite that simple - look at the angle of the BMW rack:

http://michaelmcbroom.com/bmwblog/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/r100rt1.jpg

You need a whole replacement rack, or a plate which levels it out.

Which is what I can't find.

I know of the 2 different mounts - as I fitted a monorack plate to a
monokey wingrack to get around this issue.

 

Problem you have there is that the little BMW rack that's usually fitted
to old airhead RTs and RSs (on top of the seat hump) actually slopes
backwards a bit, which is why you hardly *ever* see one of these bikes
with a top box.

You're going to have to do some serious hunting around, but really, your
best bet is simply to forget fitting a top box at all. Quite apart from
anything else, airhead boxers really don't like them, handling-wise.
Which is one reason why you hardly ever see them.

 

Katie wants the box as a backrest.

 

Let her drive and you can push her from behind

 

Thought so.

It's possible, but it'll be a lot of hassle, time and money.

Like I said, you hardly ever see an airhead boxer with a top box. This
is why.

 

Hmmm, I need to find a friendly local welder.

I have a Rentec rack in the garage from the TRX and one from a Divvy
600.

I reckon someone with welding skills could weld an adaption to the BMW
rack using one of those two.

I assume BMW never offered an option of an OEM box on the airheads,
then?

 

Oh yes.

Not on the twin-shockers, no. Factory luggage was always just panniers.

I *think* there was a small topbox available for the Monolevers, but it
was small - like the little one you sometimes see on Ks. But I've never,
ever seen one in the UK. Timo is really the bod to ask here, mind.

 

Exactly the same as the one you see on Ks.

And the same as the OEM one for the Mk 1 F650.

I've got one on the GarageQueen

 

(The Older Gentleman) wrote in

google images throws up some awful looking bodges. I'm sure WUN could knock
up something even more horrible!

 

Surely they slope backwards, though? - looking at photos of the F650.

 

On the R80RT, the BMW fitting kit removes the back half of the rack and
effectively suspends a K-series rack in mid air with a set of brackets
that go from the original top mounting points to the pannier rails.

I'm racking (he he) my brain to remember how it fitted to the Funduro. I
seem to recall a custom mount that went betwixt the top case and the
standard rack

 

I don't think that'll fit though :-(

 

I need to find someone with a K100/75/1100 and an airhead R Mono in the
same place at the same time, as there's a Givi kit for the K series to
mount a Givi box in place of the BMW rack.

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/ezimagecatalogue/catalogue/variations/413
0-500x600.jpg

 

My dad had one of those on his K. The angle (and the mounting points)
are different on the Boxer. The tail piece started to crack after a
while with an E45 on there without a pillion ever leaning against it. I
don't think the Boxer plastic would be up to supporting a wayward
pillion

You're welcome to have a look/measure/ponder at the rack on the GQ. As
an aside, I'm always amazed at the level of stock that's still available
for SOBoxers through BMW dealers, so you might find that the mounting
kit is still available if a K box would be enough to give Katie enough
confidence.

 

In communiqué <1iv1qot.1cuc3divu3il9N%>,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21676903@N06/2314380717/

Now that's what you call a SO Airhead, and that's what you call a top
box.

SWMBO#1 used to able to go to sleep wedged between me and that. Note it
also makes front wheel removal easy.


Lousy scan, though, as it is an ancient instamatic print behind a
yellowing with age album protective cover.


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I'll take you up on that offer once I have it.

I have found a Hepco and Becker rack that'll do the job - but it's
nearly £100. Price worth paying - maybe, if I get desperate.

As for the K-box kit - if you can fit a small K-box to it, surely you
can source one of the larger versions, too?

 

I've just seen this which is the same as mine

http://www.bmbikes.co.uk/photos/photophotos/R80RT Mono Gindre.JPG

This looks nicely non-factory

http://www.bmbikes.co.uk/photos/paintphotos/615 Yukon Blue.JPG

 

Yup - that's exactly what I need.

Fairly easy to find decent sized K-boxes - or I could use a universal
Givi tubular plate.