Givi E45 Top Box

The Bonneville has no official plate, and the Givi rack I bought doesn't include any fixings. After a whole lot of research, I set my heart on a Givi E45 top box (and E250 universal mounting plate). The plate was easy to buy all over the place and about £30 (overpriced for a hunk of plastic and some screws IMO). The box was about £120 new including postage and looked easy to get hold of. Well, in theory.

The reasons for wanting the E45 were basically:

• It's about the right size - Will hold two helmets and 50+ litres may be a bit large for the bike.
• It's cheap for what it is - The newer Givi models go for £50-100 more.
• It looks better than those anyway! The angular, simple, clean design vs the curved, over styled, scooter-friendly look of most Givis is way better suited to the Bonneville.

I tried an couple of ebay listings without success and eventually settled for a new one from motorcycleplanet.co.uk along with the fixing plate. Then a day later they phoned to explain that they had the box on order from Givi in Italy, but they'd had loads on order and none being sent. Props to Motorcycle Planet - the lady who phoned was very up front and said she though Givi were discontinuing them but not telling anybody, and I could cancel or join a waiting list. She sent the rest of my order onfree shipping which was only meant to apply if I spent >£150. Meanwhile I found a few more places selling E45s... and chasing up with each of them they eventually conceded that they also had no stock.

I did a bit more ebay chasing but various listings slipped past me. Eventually I found a guy selling a pair (since they also work as panniers) for £130 and decided I'd take it and sell one on. The same day the MP lady phoned to confirm they'd been discontinued. A real shame as it's obviously popular and Givi aren't replacing it with anything similar.

I strapped one box in the other and couriered them from way out west London back to south east London. Not sure I would not recommend doing this again... the open double box setup resulted in some wobbly handlebars and general feeling of not being very stable.

The box is absolutely perfect though. Looks way better than expected, takes both my helmets and almost even looks appropriate on the Bonnie! I'd totally recommend them, if you can find one!

Luggage Options for a Bonneville

Google for Bonneville panniers/top box/luggage and most of the results are forum posts where other people are trying to figure out what the heck is available! And with plenty of "why would you put luggage on a Bonneville" comments ;) It seems there’s now basically no official, or at least easy to get hold of, luggage mounting option for the Bonneville/T100 models. Sure the bike is pretty and retro and the advertising is aiming at going for a sunday afternoon drive... but this is an 800+ cc all purpose machine and you still want to take a damn bag with you sometimes...

Its worth adding that third party triumph accessories seem to be more easily available in the US. I’m just covering what you can get relatively easily in the UK, and based on a couple of weeks of forum and website trawling. I haven’t seen any racks for sale in an actuals hop in London, despite it’s fair share of stores including official Triumph dealers.


Hepco and Becker:  http://www.hepco-and-becker-luggage.co.uk/

These guys do separate pannier rails and top box racks, or a combined version. Not cheap but not horrifically pricey if you want the combined one, which is £215. Probably the best looking of the two main options, but a bit OTT in the chrome department. It’s designed to hold their own boxes, which are pretty expensive (you'll pay £500 for their cheaper 3 box sets). I'm not a fan of the looks of any of those boxes and I’m not sure how easy they can be adapted to hold anything else. Given how on the Norman Hyde ones you have to move the rear indicators to make room, but on these you don't, I suspect the boxes mount too far forward to be comfortable/practical when you've got a passenger.


Norman Hyde:  https://normanhyde.co.uk

These guys do a separate rear rack (part HBK174, £120) and pannier frames (part HBK175, £125). Designed to take Givi boxes, so it’s easy to fit the most popular/easy to find boxes. The rack is functional but dull and I’m slightly concerned by how short it is and the angular grab rail. The side rails are black, which I’m not a huge fan of, but more importantly you have to relocate the indicators onto the weird poles sticking out the back so that boxes will fit. Some people have hacksawed those off and bought narrower tail light sets to fit between the bags. Seems like a lot of hassle/cost and once again the smaller lights are easier to get in the States (e.g. from www.newbonneville.com). Total of £245 makes them pricier than the H&B set.

Rentec:  http://www.renntec.co.uk/triumph_bonneville_sports_rack_carrier

This is the low end option. Top box only and looks very much like the Norman Hyde one. Reports of it’s strength seem to vary greatly. Rentec’s own disclaimer basic says it’s not meant to carry top boxes at all, just “luggage”, despite the website encouraging you to buy their huge 50L box on the same listing. Hmm. Sounds like spineless insurance back-covering to me, but didn’t fill me with confidence. At £100, it’s also not much cheaper than the NH one.

Givi:  http://www.givi.co.uk/My-motorcycle/?ma=TRIUMPH&mo=Bonneville-865

The biggest case manufacturer do their own rack. Part no SR226. This baby sells for £170-200(!) so def on the pricey side and also a slightly unusual design as it’s elevated with the grab rails to the sides. No official side rails/pannier racks for the Bonnie.

Official pannier rail kit:  

I’d seen these mentioned on forums but couldn’t find any official reference. Eventually got a quote from my local Triumph dealer’s part finder service: “A9738022 PANNIER RAIL KIT”, £106






Choices, Choices
After some box and pannier research, I decided I might as well go with something that will take Givi boxes. I quite like the H&B set, but the cost of their boxes and the fact you're locked into their parts meant it wasn't worth it. I didn't want the hassle of the Norman Hydes, and going on the lack of decent options plus cost I decided I'm probably better getting a decent large top box now and looking into soft panniers later (maybe via the nice minimal official rails)

Despite the cost, I went with the Givi rack. I quite like the design, it’s different and modern, but clever and doesn't look cheap like the Hyde and Rentec ones. It's also tough and guaranteed to fit their boxes. Plus the side grab rails will be better for pillions: nicer angle, more freedom of movement, no bar digging into your back, and when the box is on, it wont be right up against the grabs stopping them being used like the others will. I found them selling relatively cheap on ebay from these guys. Two days delivery, free postage, £165, sold! http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/nativeviking?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

Here’s a good couple of forum posts that helped me out. The second has some nice DIY side box mounting on the official rails which I might copy...

• http://www.triumphrat.net/twins-talk/117172-givi-luggage-help-needed.html
• http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=782036