New Owner/Member from Golden, CO

[GlennC]

New member here from Colorado's front range. I've been interested in the NC since they first came out and just took delivery on an irresistible deal of a left-over 2015. Normally I'd never buy "new" but when new is cheaper than used it becomes a pretty compelling option.

The bike is a rough replacement for my recently-sold ST1300 and joins an '05 KLR and a 250 Nighthawk in the garage.

Honda center-stand is on the way. Next I need to figure out the best way to mount a top case, extend the handlebars a bit and improve the seat situation. Everything else can wait.

Anybody know where SHAD top case mounting plates can be purchased by themselves? The KLR has an SH-45 mounted and I could just swap it between bikes if I could find the mounting plate by itself. Already checked Ebay with no luck.

Also I've done a little searching to find the best way to get a workable rack on the NC, with not a great deal of luck. The rack would be used *only* as a mount for the top case. Would the factory rack (plastic?) be as good an option as others? Any thoughts on the various options would be appreciated.

I've done a fair amount of reading and this looks like a great forum. Hello to all!

 

[kumatae]

Welcome to the forum!

To mount anything in the back, I highly recommend Givi 1111FZ support brackets. It's made for Givi mounting plates but if your little bit handy enough, you can mount almost anything.


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[GlennC]

Thanks for the welcome and the advice, I'll check that out.

I just came across this reading some threads about luggage racks: "The Motech rack is also easier to install since it bolts right up while some minor cutting of bodywork is required to install the Honda rack."

Cutting of bodywork required to install the Honda rack!? Can anybody elaborate?

 

[GlennC]

I highly recommend Givi 1111FZ support brackets. It's made for Givi mounting plates but if your little bit handy enough, you can mount almost anything.

I've looked for these all over and can't find a photo anywhere that doesn't show it without luggage already mounted, obscuring what it actually looks like. Sounds like it's basically a pair of mounting arms with a rack attached, so it would serve as a basic rack and also for mounting GIVI side luggage. I'm I understanding it correctly? Any idea where I could see what it actually looks like?

 

[kumatae]

Hope this helps.

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[Deleted member 5383]

NC700 X/S Shad racks and stuff

 

[670cc]

I just googled givi 1111fz and it showed me photos of the hardware alone. It's just two arms that extend rearward. There is no rack included as that is a separate piece dependent on the luggage type. With the arms alone you'd be free to mount whatever makeshift platform or plate you want back there.

 

[GlennC]

Thanks that all helps a lot. I'm leaning towards the SW Motech since it seems it would fit my needs with the least extraneous "stuff" involved.

This is all sort of preliminary for me at this point. I'll probably take my time finding the Shad bottom plate I need and then order the rack and get everything mounted up. Buying an entire second (actually third) top box complete just seems wasteful.

Shad is a weird company to work with. They seem to have terrible distribution in the US, and not very good customer service. I have certain pet peeves with GIVI that eliminate them from my personal consideration, so I'm willing to do what it takes to get the Shad box mounted up. Eventually.

 

[FezUSA]

I bought the SW-M Alu-Rack because I only need the soft carrier plate right now but might want a hard top case down the road. The Alu-Rack is somewhat unique in that they offer a soft carrier plate that installs/removes in seconds and can also be replaced with various plates that make if compatible with a variety of brands of top and side cases. This way I'm not tied to one particular manufacturer. If you already have a specific case in mind though, then there are various posts showing how to use that particular manufacturers mounts.

 

[GlennC]

I noticed that about the SW-Motech rack but apparently they no longer sell the adapter for the Shad cases, at least as far as I can find. That means I need to source a Shad base plate separately, which I'm trying to do.

 

[Deleted member 5383]

Dunno, when I was considering going with Shad for Top Case and rack on the NC I found several sources easily enough... Supposedly the support in the US has improved somewhat.

 

[Hank]

I have the SW Motech alu rack as well. Expensive but well engineered, versatile, and easy to install.

 

[GlennC]

Expensive is right, although less than the Honda setup, which also requires cutting body panels. I saw a pretty good Youtube vid on the installation of the Givi 1111FZ and it looks like it could easily be made to work with minimal simple fabrication, but I like a properly constructed rack for good structural triangulation in all dimensions and it's probably not worth the time to try do do that myself, amateurishly.

 

[FezUSA]

Expensive, yes. Well engineered, yes. Highly functional, yes. Install did require also cutting a small notch though. However it was so small of a notch, probably 5mm x 5mm or less. I think someone on the forum didn't bother and just 'forced' the panel during the install and it still worked, it's that close of a fit. Would I purchase again, definitely.

 

[GlennC]

Yes from my searches it looks like the "okay to cut body panels" vs "I'd never cut the body panels" really splits the thinking on this particular item. Since there are apparently good (and cheaper) alternatives I'd rather keep the ability to return to stock. I think I could do a pretty clean job of it with a dremel but that would also take some time, and I much rather prefer riding to shop time. (Although shop time is still better than *most* time).

One thing I was looking at regarding the Givi 1111FZ vs the SW-Motech: The Givi is attractive because by itself it looks very light, and it's the cheapest option. Some light fabrication and a case could be mounted easily. But while it looks fairly rigid vertically, its two separate arms look like the assembly would be torsionally very flexible, especially with the weight of a loaded top case creating a pendulum effect. Just bolting on a couple cross members or a plate wouldn't deal with that very well IMO and I could see that really magnifying the handling effects of a top case (already not great). My bet is the SW-Motech would be a much more solid base, though I could be wrong.

 

[Deleted member 5383]

Nothing wrong with Hepco & Becker.

 

[GlennC]

Thanks for that. I knew about them but was fixated elsewhere. Looks like their rear Alu-Rack is sturdy and in line for price with Motech. Looks like a slightly bigger platform too, probably sturdier.

 

[Hank]

I just bent the body panel slightly and it fit, then snapped back. No damage or cutting.