Aluminium Topbox assumptions

[MarkH]

I've had my Givi Trekker 58L box for about 6.5 years, still looks about the same as when I got it. It was on my previous bike when the bike was written off, but the case is still fine and I didn't want to pay again for a new one for the new bike.
I probably would have paid for a new Trekker 58L if the old one had been damaged in the accident and could not be used anymore, but damn, the new Trekkers have gone up in price a lot since I bought mine back in '18.

[nerrrd]

Thanks for the advice, I’m going with the 46 litre Trekker Dolomiti, it’s not as rugged as the full blown adventure cases but should still have the same packing advantages and be pretty durable (hopefully).

[SaferRides]

I went from plastic Givi cases to SW-Motec aluminium cases. They certainly can carry more, but I also discovered the downside. The flat forward facing sides increased fuel consumption remarkably. From around 20 km/l down to 18 km/l or less, and that also dropped the max range on my VStrom from around 400 km down to around 350 km. However that was a small price to pay for the convenience of carrying more gear on my regular trips from Alexandra to Hamilton.

The real cost was in demerits on my licence. With the plastic cases a cop's stalker radar would pick me up at around 500 to 600 m. With the aluminium cases the same radar unit could pick me up at over 1 km, as I discovered on the long straight road heading into Farlie.

I have now gone back to plastic Givi cases on my latest Vstrom.

Interesting. Flat aluminium certainly does make a good reflector. I wouldn't have expected that much difference in fuel consumption though.

That's a long trip to be doing regularly, but takes in some good roads.

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[Jantar]

Interesting. Flat aluminium certainly does make a good reflector. I wouldn't have expected that much difference in fuel consumption though.

That's a long trip to be doing regularly, but takes in some good roads.

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That long commute 4 times a year was the reason I was not very active on this forum for a number of years.