VFR Thread, How many of us have 'em?

When I was in the market for side racks I didn't get the givi just because it said the topcase rack was required for the sidecase rack to be mounted :huh

I only wanted the side-case racks. Was always curious if I could make it work anyway without the top rack. I say just take off the top racks and see what it leaves. See if there's enough support or if there's just a small piece you could get fabbed to make it work.

Bought mine new in 2002, this pic was taken in late June almost 10 years to the day,

well, i was told that they all didnt come with the extra brackets, but these were something that came out later, perhaps due to some fatigue failure or overloaded topbox syndrome, perhaps for bigger top box's etc. even though i have a big one, with these brackets on, i cant reallly take my seat off.

theres a few different kits, i think thats the wingrack that is all in 1 bracket that fits both topbox and panniers,

i have 2 seperate kits which work together, i currently dont have the top box rack on, but just the rapid release pannier brackets, which pop off with 3 special screws, leaving only smalll tabs..

There we are, you knew the answer to your own question all along. What does "can't really take my seat off" mean? It either can be removed & replaced or not. Not much space for a grey zone there.

Nice looking bike, it's taken the years well. Noticed the Ohlins shock, what mods did you do to the front to match? Also there is some discussion on the VFR specific inter-nerd sites regarding rear spring rate calulation. How did you arrive at your spring rate choice & what comments do you have regarding your experience with upgrading the VFR's suspension.

im trying to confirm if i need them, the reasons why they were added

to get my seat off, i have to pry it up a bit from the back, and then pull it up from the front with the plastic and bits rubbing agaisnt the tank, their is no room for the seat to move back more than 1cm until the seat cowl is jammed into teh brackets scratching up the nice paint work, when it requires about 5-10cm to push it back then up, as it hits the brackets after a cm and then cant go up.

Of course you need the brackets, this is self evident. They were added by Givi to the VFR top box kit at their expense. Why would they supply updated components if it was not necessary?

Take the seat cowl off & put it in a safe place in your shed. Its only purpose is to create the illusion of a single seat race replica motorcycle. An illusion totally destroyed by the top box whose supplementary mounts ironically foul the seat cowl.....

I bought the shock from Kyle racing, I think I just told them my weight and riding style ~ 200 lbs and Sport touring. I have the 19.37 kg/mm spring. Which is just in my weight window.

I sent the forks to Aftershocks, they re-valved the forks and did something with the springs.

It's hard to explain the difference, the bike is just more composed everywhere. Having springs right keeps the bike from moving to much over bumps and damping just keeps it planted.

I also dropped the front a bit to quicken up the steering.

That is a valid point

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

I rode a big ole Victory rental bike for a few days in CO on a fly and ride tour. The scenery and roads were awesome. God i missed my Viffer!

the answer to this question is they added the brackets after a number of warantee claims for cracked mounts due to overloaded top box's.

do i need them, probably not, unless i overload the topbox

Do you know what constitutes overloading the top box?

Go to http://www.givi.it/RECOMMENDATIONS-AND-TECHNICAL-SUPPORT/Honda-VFR-VTEC-02-09-luggage-rack/ read the page & download the PDF instructions. Of course the question remains why you did'nt do this research for yourself rather than consult a mate & the inter-nerd massive.

On the PDF, possibly the same instructions provided with your top box mount kit, they clearly state the maximum loading of the carrier with the additional supports fitted is 10kg. Subtract the weight if your top box, lets say 5kg & you have a maximum load of one 3 litre bottle of milk, a Saturday newspaper, 1/2 a dozen eggs & 5 rashers of bacon.

Remember this is with the additional supports fitted. Givi do not recommend an acceptable or fatigue safe load limit for the carrier without the additional supports. In reality that means if you remove the supports & you have a fatigue failure you are on your own. The worst case scenario is a fatigue failure when you have a pillion using the top box as backrest. If the pillion falls off when the top box jumps ship & is injured then the third party personal insurer will take you to the cleaners as you installed the top box & carrier contrary to the suppliers instructions. Are the brackets so ugly ( compared to the rest of the top box ensemble) as to make the risk worthwhile?

Interesting. Does the Ohlins shock have ride height adjustment? By raising the rear slightly rather than dropping the front you could quicken up the steering without reducing cornering clearance. Of course the stronger springs front & rear will improve cornering clearance in themselves so my question may well be redundant.

BTW how many Kays/Miles have you done on the bike in the your 10 year run? Any service notes or issues?

+1, and that is why I ordered the Mono Rack from Kanadian Ken on VFRDiscussion.com. It takes a lot less weight to start the process of fatigue cracking than it does to break the supports outright. The Mono Rack forces you to abandon the idea of carrying a pillion and makes getting on and off the bike more of a challenge, but I have a lot more confidence in its load-carrying ability and endurance than any of the commercially available racks that I have seen so far for the VFR.

i looked at that, but i do like the option of taking a pillion.

you just cant get quality equipment anymore.

The Ohlins shock has a Hydraulic height adjuster (knob), I set that up for the proper sag. I removed the peg feelers early on those were the only bits that dragged.

I have about 25K on the Odo, not sure the exact mileage since I replaced the sprockets and chain (smaller front) and installed a speedo healer, it was set for the better indicated speed vs mileage

I service my own bikes, oil, filters, tires and 1 set of brake pads. Never did the valves,not sure I want to tackle that and dealers don't give me any confidence they will do it right either.

You are right to use the hydraulic adjuster to set preload for correct loaded sag. On the bottom of the shock below the black plastic rebound adjuster wheel there will be a threaded adjuster for the shocks bottom mount, with a locknut. This can be wound in or out to shorten or lengthen the distance between the bottom & top mounts on the shock. By this method it is possible to change rear ride height independent of sag adjustment. As ground clearance does not seem to be an issue this is a bit academic, but at least you have (paid for) that facility so its nice to know its there.

You have quality equipment. Givi have supplied, in exchange for your cash, a top box mount with all the fittings necessary to carry safely its load of a top box with a reasonable payload for the life of your bike, assuming you choose to use all the mounts supplied in the kit. As it is not desirable or wise to carry heavy loads cantilevered up high & well behind the axle line so it absurd to expect a manufacturer to build a top box & mount stressed for a 30kg payload.

Is having a top box a requirement? There are other options if you can do without.