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Suzuki SV650S With Givi Racks and Hard Cases - The Making of a Dedicated 2-Up Sports/Tourer

Suzuki SV650SFK8 - Givi Racks and Cases
The Making of a Mid-Sized, 2-Up Sports/Tourer

PROJECT # 2

I have been motorcycle touring since 1976. Motorcycle touring is an absolutely fantastic way to travel and see the country and since I bought my SV650S the missus whom really had never travelled on bikes is totally hooked. I love touring and love sport bikes, so I need to start work on getting my SV650S resembling a sport/tourer.

As it is I could travel alone just with my tank bag and my Icon backpack but with the missus coming along a little more time and money is required to make her passenger and touring experience a little more comfortable and enjoyable. So I have an expandable 17-27 liter tankbag (that's a start) but I need some luggage. I was just going to get some soft saddlebags but various sources suggest there is often limited room for the passenger's feet on the foot rest so Ihave opted to go the whole nine yards to make my SV a dedicated mid-sized sports/tourer.

Nelson Rigg CL-350 Mag. Tank Bag	27 liters
Givi E45N Monokey luggage case (L)	45 liters
Givi E45N Monokey luggage case (R)	45 liters
Givi E45NJ Jr. Monokey Top Case	45 liters
Total Available Space for 2-Up Touring	162 liters

I did a ton of research searching the internet and forums to find what people were using in the way of motorcycle touring accessories, especially hard luggage and where to get them and my research just kept pointing back to twistedthrottle.com. After I got the basic concept of what I wanted I had questions, quite a few in fact. I called twistedthrottle.com several times and I always got a person and was never put in a waiting queue. All my technical and sales questions were answered right then and there. It is obvious talking to the staff that they know the products they sell and five will get you ten they use them also. They did me right, so I just had to put a link back to the twistedthrottle.com website (below).

Below is a list of the items I want to get in place before the 2009 National SV Rally in NC and I want to get in a few test runs to different places just to sort things out a bit.

I did want to use the SW-Motech rack as they can easily be removed and only three mounting tabs on each side are left attached. however, as is the case with any new model of bike a lot of aftermarket gear is not available at the present time. I contacted twistedthrottle.com to confirm and was told the current SW-Motech side racks do not fit my '08 SVS. Why they don't fit I have no idea so why dwell on it. Back to the drawing board ... Plan 'B', twistedthrottle staff informed me that the Givi Topcase Rack and Givi Tubular Sidecase Racks do fit my 2008 SV650S, in fact they fit the 03-up SVS. Being this is going to be a dedicated sports/tourer I guess I can live with the racks attached always as it is too much hassle to unbolt them when I dont want them on and the setup requires turn signal relocation anyway. Also the sidecase racks cannot be attached unless the topcase rack is also fitted.

This setup does not come cheap, however it is my opinion that it is going to be an exceptionally good setup for 2-up sports touring. I decided to get the luggage in two more affordable phases. Phase 1 is the need-to-haves and Phase 2 is the want-to-haves as listed below.

PHASE 1 - The need-to-haves are:

1 off - Givi Topcase Rack (Givi Part # FZ529) with Givi M5-Monokey adapter plate (Givi Part # M5).
1 off - Givi Tubular Sidecase Rack (Givi Part # PL529).
1 off - Givi 3-Case Lock Set with 6 Matched Keys (Givi Part # Z228).
2 off - Givi E45N Monokey Luggage Case - 45 liters per case (Givi Part # E45N).

Cost - $674.10 plus s&h

PHASE 2 - The want -to-haves are:

1 off - Givi E45NJ Junior Economy Monokey Top Case - 45 liters (Givi Part # E45NJ).
1 off - Givi E68 Backrest for E36 or E45 luggage cases (Givi Part # E68).

Cost - $184.50 plus s&h

As I said all this does not come cheap at around the $860 mark, plus or minus a couple of bucks before s&h but the benefits for two up touring will be enormous and far out weigh the money spent. Well I hope this will be the case (no pun intended - well, actually it was, be it a very poor attempt though).

	This is the Givi FZ529 top rack mounted with the M5 Monokey plate. Installation took about 60 minutes from reading the instructions to the final fitted product you see at left. TIP : Super glue the rubber protector to the inside of the grab rail bracket with 6-8 small spots and then the overlap is easily trimmed using a sharp carton knife. I found this technique kept it in place during installation and gave a very professional end result.
The finished top and side rack (Left Side View) Time to install the top and side racks was approximately 3 hours total. TIP : Leave all bolts loose so that the brackets and racks can be positioned so the best fit is achieved then tighten all nuts and bolts up. TIP : Even though Nylock nuts are used, I also used a drop or two of Loctite 243 on all nuts just to ensure they dont come loose.
	The finished top and side rack (Right Side View)
The finished top and side rack (Rear View)
	The finished Givi top and side rack with E45N side cases attached (Left Side View)
The finished Givi top and side rack with E45N side cases attached (Right Side View)
	The finished Givi top and side rack with E45N side cases attached. (Rear View)
The finished Givi top and side rack with E45N side cases attached. (Front View)
	Just another pic of the finished product. I still have a E45NJ top case to be added.
The Givi side racks come with two brackets to mount the turn signals from the rear of the top rack. I thought that position would look strange when riding without side and top cases attached. I purchased two short stalk universal turn signals and mounted them where the rear side reflectors use to be. I believe it looks much better when viewed from the rear of the bike. TIP : I used gel filled waterproof connectors to splice the turn signal wires.
	Givi E45 side cases and E45NJ top case with E68 backrest (Right Side View)
Givi E45 side cases and E45NJ top case with E68 backrest (Left Side View)