Ebay top-case ~ TMSHelmet

[BrianM]

I wanted a top-case to see how useful it may, or may not, be for my style of riding.  I've never owned/used one before and thus wanted an "entry level" product with the associated entry level pricing.  I know about the JC Whitney cases, and have seen a couple different brands on ebay over the years (last one used to be out of Atlanta, GA ~ I was hoping to negotiate a cheap price if I picked up...  doesn't seem like they are around anymore).  Anyway, I came across this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140622744925

"Motorcycle Scooter X Large Trunk Top Case fits 2 Helmet" if the link above dies, search for that string.  Or this link to their website:

http://www.t-motorsports.com/product/xl-black-motorcycle-scooter-touring-trunk-top-case/

I liked the size and price ($63 shipped) so ordered one up.  Shipping cross-country was a reasonably fast 7 days and it was well packaged (very low chance of damage). 



As to be expected, you give up something for the price point.  The paint has crap stuck in it:



It doesn't have lights, though it looks like there's space for LED strips to turn the reflector areas into lit spaces.  Standard "universal" mounting plate and hardware:




I mounted to the elevated rack that held the back-rest previously because my wife wanted more coverage higher on her back.  Not sure how well those longer screws would do on the lower/stock Connie rack.  I didn't even look.   It also doesn't have any sort of seal between the 2 halves, so there's no way this is weather tight as-is, but I'd hazard to guess that it's very weather resistant.

Pretty much the only nag I have is that I wish I didn't HAVE to lock it to just latch the lid.  It means I now have to carry that key with me whenever the trunk is mounted.  Beyond that, I'm happy enough for just receiving it today.  And it does, indeed, fit 2 full-face helmets (Arai Quantum's in this case, an XS and a M)




Brian

[Outback_Jon]

Looks nice.  Better than the JCWhitney one with the "fade to pink" stripe on it.  Looks like it would be easy to add a LOT of LEDs to it. 

The mounting plate looks similar to the Whitney ones, which means, keep an eye on it.  Mine broke after a while - although it was several years and probably 30k+ miles. 

[sas mayhem]

I liked the size and price ($63 shipped) so ordered one up.  Shipping cross-country was a reasonably fast 7 days and it was well packaged (very low chance of damage). 

It also doesn't have any sort of seal between the 2 halves, so there's no way this is weather tight as-is, but I'd hazard to guess that it's very weather resistant.

Pretty much the only nag I have is that I wish I didn't HAVE to lock it to just latch the lid.  It means I now have to carry that key with me whenever the trunk is mounted. 
Brian

I think the price you paid is great, Brain. Just cosmetic stuff.
I don't "believe" even my GIVI, trunk has a seal between the halfs.  Never had water in it.
And the key is a small thing IMHO, you never know when you might need to secure something.
All in all it looks pretty good.

Cheers
Ron

[TXIN]

Cut piece of metal, or even plastic cutting board, to the size/shape of the bottom of the trunk, put it inside, drill a couple of holes and bolt through that. Tah-dah! Now the g-load stresses on the box are being spread over the entire bottom, and not just the part where the bolt holes are. Functions like a giant washer. YMMV.

[Outback_Jon]

It also doesn't have any sort of seal between the 2 halves, so there's no way this is weather tight as-is, but I'd hazard to guess that it's very weather resistant.

I missed that the first time through.  The JCWhitney doesn't have a seal of any sort either, other than an overlap that looks really similar to the one on your case.  And, even riding in some serious rainstorms, and leaving my bike outside through some even more serious ones, I haven't had any water get into the case through that edge.  (The Whitney one has a backrest "pad" and the screw holes for that leaked, but they were fixed with some silicone)

Cut piece of metal, or even plastic cutting board, to the size/shape of the bottom of the trunk, put it inside, drill a couple of holes and bolt through that. Tah-dah! Now the g-load stresses on the box are being spread over the entire bottom, and not just the part where the bolt holes are. Functions like a giant washer. YMMV.

Looking at Brian's pictures again, I see he didn't use the removable mounting plate.  Probably a good choice.  But yeah, either the cutting board idea, or at least some large fender washers on the bolts.

[RFH87_Connie]

Great looking case.  However, if it is just mounted to (sitting on) the stock rack, there is a high possibility it will break in the future.  If you have done it that way, small but robust metal 90 degree brackets need to be added to support the weight.  I don't have a pic, but Elvin's pictures do somewhere (good luck finding it).  Bergman did it on his modified C-12 Concours that was red and painted the brackets also.  He even notched the rear cover (over the hidden tail rack) so it could be added back after the brackets were installed.  I attached a few pics of my cutting board mount.  Target sells black ones.  The aluminum (painted black) is from an old trailer awning channel.  The bolts and screws are SS.

[bbroj]

Coppied from Dan's rack support. These are the original pics, the hardware has now been replaced with counter sunk stainless and the bracket cleaned up and repainted. Dan did 2 pieces, mine is 1 piece all the way across the covered rack. Either will work fine and the 2 piece is likely easier and can retain the "catch" for the plastic cover.

[Tele130]

Great looking case.  However, if it is just mounted to (sitting on) the stock rack, there is a high possibility it will break in the future.  If you have done it that way, small but robust metal 90 degree brackets need to be added to support the weight.  I don't have a pic, but Elvin's pictures do somewhere (good luck finding it).  Bergman did it on his modified C-12 Concours that was red and painted the brackets also.  He even notched the rear cover (over the hidden tail rack) so it could be added back after the brackets were installed.  I attached a few pics of my cutting board mount.  Target sells black ones.  The aluminum (painted black) is from an old trailer awning channel.  The bolts and screws are SS.

How's that set-up holding up?  I'm using the luggage rack with the case mounted on top.  I haven't done  "Dan's Mod" to it yet...................not sure I want to notch the rear cover.  I have a set of brackets that mount directly to the factory luggage rack (like you've got).  I may change thing around a bit.

[RFH87_Connie]

It's just the same as the day I built it 3 years ago.  You could park a car on it.  Way over enginered, but I have used it to transport and exchange full-size car batteries at the store with it with no fears.  Just did a motorhome one last week.  I keep saying I'm going to add a bolt through it for security but never have.  I use a mouse pad between the trunk and rack to keep it from rattling.  The little bumpers compress and get hard pretty quick and give it a little play.  I used the existing 4 bolts that hold the hidden rack and the wrap around tail section to the bike as the mounting points.  I used a few washers on each bolt to shim the bracket off of the plastic wrap around panel.  If and when I want to remove it, it takes about 2 minutes (with a long allen wrench).  Thus, it can be swapped between my 2 bikes easily.

I believe Murph sells trunk mounting rails if you don't have the time or tools for a fair price.  I think I would still use a cutting board with these just to lock everything together with.

Edit: picture below is not my bike.

[F-106]

I too have one of those so called cheap trunks. It works great and is stable at speed. I got mine for 80 bucks. I had the backrest pad made for the wife and we are go to go.