Now I'm totally confused, hard luggage help wanted!

[iwantzx]

I am looking at getting hard luggage for the 14. I have settled on a three hard box Givi setup consisting of 2 x V35 Givi side panniers and a Givi top box. I'm looking at the twistedthrottle.com website and it says the Givi tubular side racks bolt on to the grab handle, if you want a three case setup then you need to purchase an Alu rack. However once you buy an Alu Rack you cannot have the givi side racks because the grab handle is taken out to make way for the Alu Rack leaving nowhere for the Givi racks to bolt to meaning you must use an SW MOTECH contoured side rack holder instead.

Fair enough I though but then where is the missus going to hold on to especially if i get a custom seat with no seat strap to hold on to.
I start searching on other zx forums and low and behold I see guys from the US, Australia and Europe with what appears to be the impossible combination of a Givi top box on an Alu Rack, a pair of V35 side panniers mounted on 'Givi' tubular side case holders which join to the Alu rack in place of where the handle used to be.
Confused? So was I. Why would the company say its not possible when somehow it is? Does anyone have this setup or know someone that does? I need some explaining. Here is a link to what I'm talking about:

Half way down on this page:

http://www.zx14ninja.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=8976

and this one to:

http://www.zx14ninja.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=8501

Why haven't I registered and asked the guy on the sight you ask? I have tried and for some reason can't register there. So here I am.

[drsmig]

Interesting question. Sorry I don't have the answer. I have the givi v35 panniers on my zx14. I used the givi racking and had to order the kawasaki rear grab bar separately to make the system work - but I don't have the trunk on mine. I was looking at the second set of pictures on the links you have posted. It appears that was on a zx14 and it looks like he has adapted the trunk mounting plate to the grab bar. It almost looks like a specific rack made for that application. It appears you are right in thinking it can be done. Good luck in your search and post up the solution when you find it. You may find with the Alu rack that you don't actually need the Kawasaki grab handle. The mounting bracket on the handle really only acts as a spacer for where the givi racking attaches at the rear under the seat. I think if you wanted to you could rig something as a spacer for the givi racking and do without the grab bar. It wouldn't be as clean an application but I think it could be done. With that in mind I am thinking you might be able to get the system you have in mind to work without the Kawasaki grab bar. I am only conjecturing this based on my memory of my instal of the bags, racking and kawasaki grab bar. Good luck.

[1fstZX]

drsmig, if you don't mind me askin, how much $$$ did you end up with on your side bag setup, I am looking to do it sometime in the future, thanks in advance

chris

[drsmig]

Originally Posted by 1fstZX

drsmig, if you don't mind me askin, how much $$$ did you end up with on your side bag setup, I am looking to do it sometime in the future, thanks in advance

chris

I think the bags and mounting brackets were around $750 Canadian and I had to spend another $100 or so for the Kawasaki rear handle. I am kind of guessing at those numbers but I think they are close and remember that was Canadian dollars. They should be cheaper in the US.

[iwantzx]

Oh i see, so when you buy the grab handle does it come in two parts? If it came with a handle and a mounting plate then I assume they did it like this:

they bolt on the lower bracket of the Alu rack, then bolt on top of that the grab handle 'plate' to the lower bracket of the Alu rack then they put the top part of the Alu rack on which would leave two holes sticking out where the grab handle would have been places to attach the givi racks to.

This almost makes sense except all close up shots i have seen of the grab handle this doesn't seem to be the case so I'm back to square one. I am currently trying to get in touch with the guy on that link named MickeyD through some other Australian guys. I'll let you know how it goes.

[iwantzx]

Originally Posted by drsmig

. It appears that was on a zx14 and it looks like he has adapted the trunk mounting plate to the grab bar.

I mean the pictures further down on that page, your right but the top one is some guy in Europe so it could be anything. If you look at the pics lower down you can see a close up of this exact setup I'm talking about. Its almost like he has a plate that used to mount a grab handle and thats where the givi is bolting into but I can't be sure as I don't have the grab handle. I may be buying a lot of this stuff online so I have to get it right as online purchase returns are a major hassle.