Rack on top of Bestem Top Box

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Sep 4, 2013
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I've seen steel racks mounted on top of Top Boxes. I wanted a place to carry my lunch and or other lightweight items so I went out and bought some stainless steel rod stock (3/8" dia) and sketched up a simple design to weld up a rack. I had intended to grind the ends of the 4 'feet' to match the slant of the top box but now I'm having second thoughts about what weight the thin plastic might carry.

Does anyone have one of these racks (either home made or aftermarket - for the Bestem or other box)? How do they distribute the load to the plastic?

I have seen the Hondaline racks in other posts here - one type seems to be a pressed steel rack with large 'feet' to distribute the load. The other type is a rod style with a very small footprint on the plastic. This latter is the type I am talking about.
 
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I went down that same road. I thought I could find a nice used one....ha..ha..from a recycle center. Most of what I could find were rusty and the measurements came no where close to what I needed.

So, I thought about making my own. What materials should I use? I had pretty well settled on using copper. Easy to assemble and the weight would be minimal. However, after long hours of contemplation, staring at bike, I gave up on that idea too.

So, what I ended up doing is this. My FIL, MANY years ago, had given me some SS tie downs, that he pillford from his factory job. I have had them on several pickups and jeeps over the years. I placed them (4) on top of the box, bolted them down, using large washers on the underside of the lid for resistance. So far, I have not had any problems. I place my 12 pack Polar Bear cooler on the lid (empty), strap it down.....off we go. It works out good, cause I can use the cooler for extra storage while traveling.

I'm not good at posting pictures on here. If you'll send me a PM, with a phone number, I'll take a couple pictures and send them to you. If you're interested.

Good luck.....OBTW.....my box came from EBay. It is an EXACT copy of a Saddleman, but I only paid $45.00 for it...new. It's been a great top/tail box.
 
OP
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You didn't mention what Bestem box you have but here is the rack sold for the 929 with pictures of the attaching hardware to give you idea of how it mounts;

http://www.bestemusa.com/Trunk-Rack-Kit-for-Bestem-T-box-929-Trunk-Aluminum-Black_p_1608.html
Andrew,
Thanks. I had no idea that Bestem beat me to the idea. And now that I see those plastic sleeves for the bolts I have a pretty good idea what to do. Though I might just do what SourKraut did and use a bath mat to protect the finish like another poster elsewhere on this site. Whatever I do will happen this winter during lay-up.
 

tjhiggin

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Since installing a Bestem 929 box last year, I've been wanting a rack for it. Seems Bestem no longer makes their 929 rack. Every so often I'd look around for a used one, without success. I didn't totally forget about the project, but it became a lower priority.


At the recent BRG I saw several folks with trunk racks, including one on a Bestem box like mine. The guy said he found a Givi rack that fit, but couldn't remember which one.


A little research brought me to a posting on a Burgman forum stating that the 929 is basically a clone of the Givi E460. So the Givi E81B rack should work. I found one at my local Cycle Gear; not the cheapest rack in the world but not outrageous either.


I installed it last night. It fit well and looks great. I did have to re-route the light wiring slightly, as one of the wiring clips was in the way of one of the rack screws. The clip popped right off without incident and a little Shoe-Goo affixed it to its new location.


Another farkle realized!

IMG_20171025_192408.jpgIMG_20171025_223628.jpg
 

John OoSTerhuis

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I installed a GIVI rack onto my Hondaline ST1100 Topcase before AlaskaSTOC back in ‘01. Rubber washers under the legs and large fender washers on the inside. Worked great, was still soldiering on thousands of hard miles and years later when I swapped the case with JimSTer for his SSM one. The only drawback with the GIVI was that it was quite heavy because of being constructed of solid rod stock. The plastic lids of the Bestems don’t look too heavy/thick...

Anyway, I’m not sure if I I’d do it again. I don’t have a rack on either of my current SSM Hondaline topcases (19/35 liters). As I ride solo full time these days any extras I might load go into waterproof Ortlieb bags back on the pillion seat. A thought I have these days is that any rack on top of a topcase makes an ST1100 look too much like a Goldwing. JMO :)

If I did put something on a topcase lid now, I’d probably install those rubber covered tie down rings and cut a nice rubber mat to fit between them and under whatever I was going to secure on top. I use a pad on my saddle under the Ortlieb to protect the vinyl.

FWIW

John
 
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SteveST1300

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I have the Givi E52 with their rack they use a rubber grommet under each foot. And after looking at mine its time to replace them they are pretty dried out. Best picture I could find at short notice I keep my cover attached to it and when we are two up I attach a waterproof rollbag for a little extra luggage space just keep it fairly light.
 

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SupraSabre

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I have the TT Limited Edition racks on my topcases. TurboTom made them for awhile, but got out of the ST1300 FARKLE making business years ago.

Same idea as you're looking at.

t_airdeflectors__2_.jpg

I got some large washers and put rubber washers between the larger washer. I've never had one crack a topcase!
 
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