Bestem Top Box
- Thread starter Mileater1950
- Start date
I got my Tbox on the ST in time for the run down to Moonshine. (Same one that Blrfl posted pics of) It worked great. It held a full face helmet and a buunch of my stuff.
I had to drill a couple holes in the mounting plate and fab a couple spacers. But I'm far from a mechanic and this was an easy mount. I've yet to wire up the brake light that will be the project for next weekend.
This is a heck of a good deal for $80.
I had to drill a couple holes in the mounting plate and fab a couple spacers. But I'm far from a mechanic and this was an easy mount. I've yet to wire up the brake light that will be the project for next weekend.
This is a heck of a good deal for $80.
Bighaeb,
if you look in the for sale area "HD at heart" has some nice pics with that color matched box on his '05 that he has for sale ......
if you look in the for sale area "HD at heart" has some nice pics with that color matched box on his '05 that he has for sale ......
tdeboeser
that's not me!
Anyone seen the silver? From the photos it seems too bright for my 2003. How's black look on a 03?
Thanks,
Tom de
Thanks,
Tom de
Ok I ordered one of these for my 2005 ST1300. I will let you know how it is.
Sounds like a good box for the money $80 on Ebay
Sounds like a good box for the money $80 on Ebay
I purchased one of the smaller 2012 models for my 05 ST. Two issues immediately apparent...
1) the red is not an exact match, more candy-apple red versus the ST's dark cherry. It misses by a couple of shades imho.
2) The liners come with the larger 929 model, not with the 2012...
I had planned to return the 2012 and go with the black 929, and, since the company is local to me, I was able to save the shipping costs by just swinging by the warehouse. The people at Bestem Powersports (aka Cruiser Backrest) are very easy to deal with.
While there, I got to talking to the guys and they were very interested in how I planned to mount the bracket to the ST. Apparently, they had previously had some difficulties with this. They can have the brackets modified for the ST, but need to get dimensions and a bike to test it on (have I got a deal for them!).
I swapped out the red 2012 and was surprised to find they had some 929's that they had sent out for painting... they had a red one that is a close match to the 05 color (see attached pics). So, I took that one and modified the bracket to fit...
I had to elongate 2 holes near the rear (they were about 2mm too far apart); A couple of minutes of work with the Dremel grinder bit and they line up fine. Also, I had to drill 2 new holes near the seat (on either side of the "ADLO 929" on the bracket). Underneath those holes, I placed spacers between the bracket and platform so I could get the bolts tightened down snug without deforming the metal too much. I found the supplied bolts were a bit too high to allow them to fit underneath the box, so I went to Home Depot and picked up a coupled of rounded over bolts and self-locking nuts for security. They fit just right and the bracket is mounted solidly!
I'm not a machinist, nor do I play one on tv (yet another computer geek here!), but it was very simple and quick to do.
I'll be sending pictures of my mods to Bestem. We'll see if they can have the standard brackets modified, so they will fit the ST1300 right out of the box.
Time will tell if this is a good buy or not. From what I can tell, they appear fairly well made... and the 929 is a good size; accommodates my gym bag and laptop. Some scrimping on the fit and finish, but I expect that with the cost. The paint job is "ok" and matches the ST color fairly well, but it needs another clearcoat layer to make it really shine. The backrest is pretty meager, so the next thing is to fabricate something more substantial.
In any case, I think it will do the job for me... and I just couldn't beat the cost!
I also did some researching and found the original manufacturer of these boxes that Bestem/CB and others (Mutazu, etc...) are selling. They are made by the plastics division of Adlo Group, in China. Their website shows they have a pretty extensive product line... everything from motorcycle carriers to barbecue accessories!
http://www.adlo.net/en/
Whit
:biker:
1) the red is not an exact match, more candy-apple red versus the ST's dark cherry. It misses by a couple of shades imho.
2) The liners come with the larger 929 model, not with the 2012...
I had planned to return the 2012 and go with the black 929, and, since the company is local to me, I was able to save the shipping costs by just swinging by the warehouse. The people at Bestem Powersports (aka Cruiser Backrest) are very easy to deal with.
While there, I got to talking to the guys and they were very interested in how I planned to mount the bracket to the ST. Apparently, they had previously had some difficulties with this. They can have the brackets modified for the ST, but need to get dimensions and a bike to test it on (have I got a deal for them!).
I swapped out the red 2012 and was surprised to find they had some 929's that they had sent out for painting... they had a red one that is a close match to the 05 color (see attached pics). So, I took that one and modified the bracket to fit...
I had to elongate 2 holes near the rear (they were about 2mm too far apart); A couple of minutes of work with the Dremel grinder bit and they line up fine. Also, I had to drill 2 new holes near the seat (on either side of the "ADLO 929" on the bracket). Underneath those holes, I placed spacers between the bracket and platform so I could get the bolts tightened down snug without deforming the metal too much. I found the supplied bolts were a bit too high to allow them to fit underneath the box, so I went to Home Depot and picked up a coupled of rounded over bolts and self-locking nuts for security. They fit just right and the bracket is mounted solidly!
I'm not a machinist, nor do I play one on tv (yet another computer geek here!), but it was very simple and quick to do.
I'll be sending pictures of my mods to Bestem. We'll see if they can have the standard brackets modified, so they will fit the ST1300 right out of the box.
Time will tell if this is a good buy or not. From what I can tell, they appear fairly well made... and the 929 is a good size; accommodates my gym bag and laptop. Some scrimping on the fit and finish, but I expect that with the cost. The paint job is "ok" and matches the ST color fairly well, but it needs another clearcoat layer to make it really shine. The backrest is pretty meager, so the next thing is to fabricate something more substantial.
In any case, I think it will do the job for me... and I just couldn't beat the cost!
I also did some researching and found the original manufacturer of these boxes that Bestem/CB and others (Mutazu, etc...) are selling. They are made by the plastics division of Adlo Group, in China. Their website shows they have a pretty extensive product line... everything from motorcycle carriers to barbecue accessories!
http://www.adlo.net/en/
Whit
:biker:
Attachments
RTETR
Craig Clark
You're right; pretty similar in size and appearance... so far, I 'm very pleased. Actually, the liner that was included is very good quality and I figure I'm ahead of the game at the start...
I picked up a card from one of the guys at Bestem while I was there; I'll dig it up and post the number here later...
Whit
:biker:
I picked up a card from one of the guys at Bestem while I was there; I'll dig it up and post the number here later...
Whit
:biker:
I purchased one of the smaller 2012 models for my 05 ST. Two issues immediately apparent...
1) the red is not an exact match, more candy-apple red versus the ST's dark cherry. It misses by a couple of shades imho.
2) The liners come with the larger 929 model, not with the 2012...
I just took delivery of a gloss black 2012, and YES it did come with a real nice liner! To be honest, I think this is the steal of the century - $59 plus shipping. The liner alone has got to be worth... $20? So what you end up with is a nice looking, color matched (in my case) top box, with integrated brake lights for about $39.
For you guys that have mounted the thing... holding the mounting plate over the ST's rack, I see that you can position it so that 2 of the holes line up - so you would just need to drill for the 2 back holes. But this looks like it pushes the box towards the pillion a little too much. Any other position means drilling for all 4 holes.
I tapped into the taillight wiring down by the light using snap connectors. Ran the wiring up into the area under the pillion and out the back edge of the seat. This wire terminates with push connectors under the topbox, on top of the rack. This is where you disconnect the brake light when you pull the top box, then you stash the wire coming from the brake light under the seat.
Well -- I kind of found this one black box availible at a sort of late time. Bet it is the one you sent back. I ordered it. Maybe I will be glad you sent yours back! Hope I like it.
Hi Tom
I believe the red caped wire you described it is for the diagnostic code reader, not real sure as I don't have my shop manual with me. Hopefully someone with more info will confirm or correct me soon.
Mike
I believe the red caped wire you described it is for the diagnostic code reader, not real sure as I don't have my shop manual with me. Hopefully someone with more info will confirm or correct me soon.
Mike
Blrfl
Natural Rider Enhancement
That connector is indeed the diagnostic connector. There is 12V present on it, but it comes through the ECU, so I wouldn't advise trying to use it for anything.
--Mark
--Mark
Take off the plastic fender extension/license plate holder under the tail lights - 4 screws. Then you have real good access to the tail lights from underneath. You'll see 2 push connectors on each side. Disconnect one of the connectors to give better access to the 3 wires going to it. Brown=taillight, green/yellow=brakelight... the other one is ground. I just tapped into the ground and the green/yellow wires with snap connectors - very easy. It's also very easy to run the extension wires that came with the top box down the right side under the pillion to the where the tail light wires are.
Also, you have to drill two mounting holes on the front of the mounting plate to match the holes in the rack. Like someone said, use the plastic insert of the rack for a template. The box comes with 2 mounting brackets... I used one of these as a spacer underneath the two front mounts that I had to drill... it's a bit too long so I cut it to the length I needed.
While I don't question the value of this Top Box, I won't make any judgements about getting one until you guys start going on trips and exposing the box to vibration, sun, heat, etc. I have seen some pretty nice looking boxes go to hell after getting pavement pounded and through several heat expansion cycles. Please keep this in mind and report back after a few months.
OP
OP
Well 2.5 months later, one California SS1000 and 4,000 miles total, it's working just fine, thank you
.Bob
Well 2.5 months later, one California SS1000 and 4,000 miles total, it's working just fine, thank you
Bob
Well, any chance you could ride on some of our crappy Minnesota roads for a few years. I'm pretty certain our Governer is shooting for the #1 ranking for having the worst roads in the nation.
I have one of these boxes, the red color matches my 05 pretty well. I have been happy with it, I did have to make some alterations to the mounting bracket to get it on the ST the way I wanted it, but its on there, or at least so I thought. I just returned from a trip to the NE. Coming thorugh Memphis on the way back to Dallas I hit the mother of all potholes, no choice, nowhere to go, came around a curve in heavy traffic, bang there it was. When I stopped in west memphis, AR, just across the bridge for gas, I looked back to see the box hanging on by the locking mechanism, wow. My laptop and some other pretty important things were in there. So I unlocked and rettached it and ran a couple of bungis around it and headed home. it did fine the rest of the way, and now that I am home I drilled a hole down through the front of the box and used a 1/4 inch bolt just to help hold the tabs inplace that lock the thing on. Its a decent box for the price, I rode through some rain, it kept everything dry. Just make sure you give it a little extra support.
Just bought mine today off e-bay.. I knew there'd be a few things to buy after I got this bike, but holy crap... I feel like I need to go to a 'Farkles Anonymous' meeting or something..
Spencer mod, Stebel horn, modulator, and Powerlet on the MCL riser are the last I need (I think..)
Spencer mod, Stebel horn, modulator, and Powerlet on the MCL riser are the last I need (I think..
)