Airhead Luggage Replacement

[Ken in Oklahoma]

Ken--I've never understood the appeal of the "city cases"---only big enough to hold a lunch bag, and they look like someone pasted the box from a portable jig saw or drill onto the side of a bike. They do, however, beat the aesthetics of the .50 cal ammo cans that festoon most current GS suburban "adventure" bikes . . .

I suppose the appeal might depend a lot upon the 'mission statement' of your ride. The mission statement of city cases is not long distance touring, which is sort of a traditional image for airheads. The traditional bags (BMW, Krauser, Hepco Becker) are a bit bulbous hanging out as they do (though the rider's legs hang out about the same amount). City cases are more compact (of course) and to my eye sort of emphasize the 'go fast' image of an S or RS bike. (This is, of course, in my head, but I reckon others as well.) On a day trip city cases are all you need to carry things such as water, a hat when you're not wearing your helmet, different gloves, a camera, and a lot of things that don't come to mind at this instant.

Plus if you have both city cases and 'standard' BMW or Krauser bags, you can slap on whichever you prefer for a particular ride.

And then there are the top cases (behind the seat) which most people abhor. (Hi Duane!) But if you understand the concerns about carrying dead weight high and to the rear on a motorcycle you can get along with them just fine. In my case (no pun intended) I contrived a quick disconnect method allowing near instant removal of the top case from the luggage 'rack'. Top cases are good for a trip to the book store for some reading material, or a grocery store for a 6 pack of beer and some salty crunchy things. Plus inexperienced ladies seem to enjoy the apparent virtue of not being able to fall off the back of the motorcycle. One thing you're positively not allowed to do is to somehow mount a top case to a RS.

Ken

[Rob]

Yeah, Givi has that "instant on/off" top box thing down pretty good. Which is good, because mine is rarely "on".

And apparently BMW agrees with you, Ken, on the size of saddlebags vs. the sporting nature of the bike.

The K1, for instance:



In fact, this beauty is for sale at what I consider to be a reasonable price - $7,500
http://www.motorcycles-bike.com/Motorcy ... -8496.html



I worked at a dealership the year the K1s came out. The joke on the floor was that the side pockets were to be stuffed with $100 bills for touring.

[khittner1]

Yeah, I have a Givi 46 liter topcase on my RT---it nicely covers up the hell-for-strong-but-ugly-as-sin Reynolds folding rack, and it's removed and mounted about as fast as the touring cases. It wouldn't be OK on an RS or S bike, but it provides an OK visual balance to the RT fairing, and it's a handy place to stash a bulky riding jacket, pants, electric vest, etc. whenever I'm off the bike. If one loaded heavy stuff into it, handling would be messed up (though I still have Nivomats that pump up, so I'm not a discerning handling customer, anyway), but doing so would probably break the subframe before the Reynolds hardware. The "touring cases" do nicely harmonize with the Givi case, IMHO, so I should probably stick with a new copy of what I have.

[Rebel]

And then there are the top cases (behind the seat) which most people abhor. (Hi Duane!) But if you understand the concerns about carrying dead weight high and to the rear on a motorcycle you can get along with them just fine. In my case (no pun intended) I contrived a quick disconnect method allowing near instant removal of the top case from the luggage 'rack'. Top cases are good for a trip to the book store for some reading material, or a grocery store for a 6 pack of beer and some salty crunchy things. Plus inexperienced ladies seem to enjoy the apparent virtue of not being able to fall off the back of the motorcycle. One thing you're positively not allowed to do is to somehow mount a top case to a RS.

well, maybe I am just being "Rebel-ious"!! I do like the 50 liter Wunderlich top case and I think it goes well with the lines of the RS. The mounting is the same as the K bikes, using the factory luggage rack, the metal plate that slides into the rack, and then the case just sits down on the rack and has a twist lock on the interior of the case for quick disconnect. It is nice being able to store 2 full face helmets when my wife and I want to go to a restaurant... and not having to carry the helmets. I did a quick disconnect with my wiring for the stoplight too, using audio RCA connectors, so it's painless as well.

[Ken in Oklahoma]

well, maybe I am just being "Rebel-ious"!! I do like the 50 liter Wunderlich top case and I think it goes well with the lines of the RS. The mounting is the same as the K bikes, using the factory luggage rack, the metal plate that slides into the rack, and then the case just sits down on the rack and has a twist lock on the interior of the case for quick disconnect. It is nice being able to store 2 full face helmets when my wife and I want to go to a restaurant... and not having to carry the helmets. I did a quick disconnect with my wiring for the stoplight too, using audio RCA connectors, so it's painless as well.

That you enjoy your Wunderlich is cool. And I don't question your taste. You list some tasty bikes in your 'then' motorcycling resume'. And it would be a rather boring (and uninspiring) world if everybody's tastes were like mine. And just to illustrate how 'eccentric' my tastes are, I like the Luftmeister fairings on my '77 R100/7 and '76 R75/6, both of which usually wear the BMW/Krauser top case. (To me they seem to represent THE classic touring airhead.)

Ken