I never liked top boxes... (Givi TOPCASE/PANNIER - E360)

Member Name: Jonny_L

Product:	Givi TOPCASE/PANNIER - E360
Date:	16/03/09 (189 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to put on, great quality box, very practical

Disadvantages: not as easy to take off, you need an ugly rack on the bike, not quite enough room for 2 helmets.

In fact I hated top boxes. I always thought that no matter how good they look, you end up looking like a courier. Then I found myself doing a bit of touring, and one of these happened to be going cheap on ebay so I ended up giving in.

The Givi is really well made, nearly as well made as some of the BMW stuff I've seen which is definitely saying something. It's made from tough plastic, which is more likely to scuff and dent as opposed to break if you drop it. It has a red reflective strip built in which is not only a safety feature, it also breaks up the monotonous black case and makes it look quite nice.

Givi's mounting systems are good too, allowing single handed attachment to the bike. Detaching is just as easy, though if you've not got huge hands you'll need 2 for this, as the release button is quite far from the handle. Once locked, it's locked onto the bike as well, very handy indeed.

The lock mechanism good, but it does take some getting used to, again you can't really open it with one hand. It's also worth noting that if the key turns to lock a little bit while the case is still open, you can end up scratching the release button quite badly. It's not a huge issue as the button's pretty tough but it's something to remember.

The case is extremely practical. I used it to carry all of my camping gear, tent, sleeping bag etc. it's nice and wide so fitting a tent in there's no problem, but it's not so wide that it looks daft. It would've been nice to be able to squeeze two helmets in there, but I just couldn't for some reason, perhaps my helmets were the wrong shape as I've heard you could put two in there. You can fit one in quite easily though, and personally I'd rather just do that than have to have one of these massive boxes on the bike. This is 36 litres, which is plenty really.

You'll need to remove the document holder that's attached to the lid to put a helmet in. That's quite a nice feature too, though pointless for me as I carry all my documents either in my pocket or in a tank bag generally.

You can use this box as a pannier or a top box, and the keys can be matched up so you only have 1 key for all three boxes (hence the term Monokey).

My only issue is that the mounts very rarely look good on the bike. They're these big black curvy things, that I suppose can look alright on the right bike, but they tend to look a bit daft. It's not normally that easy to remove all the time either, some mounts can take an hour to fit, though they're quite easy to put on it must be said. Trouble is, if you need the top box, you're not going to remove the rack all the time. Still, if you use it all the time you can put up with the looks. As I said it can look quite smart of the right bike.

Backrests are available too, for your pillion or yourself. These are £25 ish.

I only paid £40 for the box second hand, and it's worth more than every penny to me. New they're £99, which is cheap for a hardcase anyway. Then you'll need a rack which can range from £30 to £80, so best to check that out first. All in all then, it's pretty useful, and decent quality. I'm converted, I don't care if I look like a courier, I love this thing!

Summary: There might be better boxes out there, but for a combination of looks and practicality, it's superb.