Modern Vespa

In case you were wondering: Yes, a 10 lb. box of Michigan blueberries will fit under the saddle of an MP3 250.



Incidentally, the same quantity of blueberries will also fit in my stomach.

If I ate THAT much fiber, I'd be seeing what else would fit in that cargo space

People stare at me all the time at the grocery store as I shove bag after bag into the carrier. I think that really makes them think twice about hauling 4000 pounds of SUV to the store for 4 bags of groceries.

For me, a scooter is just the right tool for the job.

Gosh, and did you get blueberry jam when you arrived home?!? If I tried that in my pet carrier, it would certainly be the case. (No kidding, I once kept a KFC order warm all the way home!)

Nope, it was a short ride.

"Incidentally, the same quantity of blueberries will also fit in my stomach."

That is pretty funny.

I fit three 2 liter bottles of diet coke and a box of Pop Tarts under the seat of my 500 just this past Saturday.

I added a large top case I bought from JC Witney this weekend, and between the new case and under the seat I can carry a weeks worth of groceries no problem.

BTW the JC Witney top case was only $80 and I was able to mount it on my 500 with $4 in parts from Home Depot. It may not be of the highest quality but it looks pretty good on the bike.

and why haven't we seen the pics yet?

I will take a few shots in the morning and try to post them. I learned of the JC Witney case on another forum. I think the GIVI cases look great I just didn't want to spend the $$$ for one. You could spend a big chunk of money getting all the extra's with a good helmet, boots, gloves etc. I will post pictures tomorrow.

Insure besure to take pics of your $4.00 mount.

PS. I know be sure is two words; but I thought insure besure looked better.

Forsure

Well I hope I added the pictures correctly. The top case came with a "Universal adapter plate" which needs to be used to lock and secure the case. I originally tried a flat aluminum bar but it flexed to much. So as I was looking I happened to notice a 2ft black shelf mounting bracket. It is the type of bracket you would use to mount shelving on a wall. It already had holes and it was much stiffer than the first thing I tried.

So I then bought 1" rubber isolated wire holders(?). I found these in the electrical supply aisle. They are used to hold down a bundle of wires but they fit perfectly on the rear bars of the 500. I figured if the bars are strong enough for a rider to hold onto, they should be strong enough to hold a top case.

So I mounted the top case adapter plate to the shelf mounting bracket using the bolts supplied with the top case. I then positioned the top case (with the adapter plate locked in place) on the rear bars making sure there was enough room for the seat to open. I got every thing marked and removed the top case and then mounted the 1" wire holders. I mounted the two on each side thru the shelf mounting bracket and the two on the rear go thru the adapter plate and then are mounted to the wire holders.

Once I had everything bolted firmly together I cut each side of the shelf bracket that was hanging off and used black paint to touch it up.

I did have to buy some stainless bolts, washers and nylon locking nuts. So far after about 100 miles everything is safe and secure with no vibrations.

The only negative is that the two side bolts are not hidden and someone could unbolt them and try to make off with the case. But the two rear bolts are totally hidden and secure with the case mounted. I might make some final adjustments but so far so good. After spending about $500 on other gear I just could spend the $375 or so on the GIVI case. For me it works great!

The total cost for everything.

Top Case $89.99

http://www.jcwhitney.com/MATTE-BLACK-TRAVEL-TRUNKS/GP_2010969_N_111+10211+600014603_10111.jcw

Mounting hardwear

Shelf bracket $1.09
wire holders 4 @ $1.29 each $5.16
Bolts, washers and lock nuts $2.37

(Not $4 but close)

So the total is about $99 plus about 45 minutes to install.

Hell yeah! Ain't nothin' wrong with that... 8)

good job on that top case. it looks great and the price anit bad either

For security on the bolts, you could try a bolt & nut supply store and look for some red Loctite thread locker. http://www.loctiteproducts.com/products/detail.asp?catid=10&subid=48&plid=154
Just make it harder to unbolt for casual thieves.

Thanks for the suggestion on the locktite. I might just try that.

I agree, looks fantastic, especially for the price!

To make it more secure, forget Locktite (any gorilla will get around that) - cut the bolt-ends off 2mm away from the nuts and then peen over with a hammer. It'd take a grinder of some sort to get it taken off then...

Eh Jim ... how is he going to do that with just that little clearance between box and bike? Grin ...

Given the DIY mounting, I suspect any determined thief would break or cut through the mounting rails with a saw or something. I just would not worry too much about it to be honest and keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks for the input guys. I agree that anyone that wants to get into or take the case will do whatever to get at it. The main purpose for me getting the case was to be able to carry more stuff from the store when I am running errands on my "honey do list". So security isn't my biggest concern, storage capacity is.

One thing I was not expecting is how much more I like the look of the MP3 with the top case mounted.

Insureit1, is the tail lighting on that box functional? or is it just reflective detail?

It is just reflective. But I have read on the ADVRider forum that people have added different types of lights and additional reflective tape to the case. I am going to add some black reflective tape at some point. I was also thinking of adding some type of strobing type of brake light.

Some think it strange, but I prefer all my bikes with topcases (top-boxes if we will). The looks as well as utility. Some complain of some instability that they induce. Never met it myself, and I'm no easy-rider.

A top case gives you the excuse to bin the car.

I think that topcases look kind of funny, frankly, but I'm new to riding so maybe they'll grow on me. At any rate after the first weekend trip with my better half the utility of a case became pretty obvious.

And how I wish I could "bin" (which I assume is a Britishism for getting rid of) my car, but between Iowa winters (I'm sadly just not that hardcore), abysmal public transit, and our regular trips around the Midwest, it's tragically not an option for me.

[quote="Jordan"] I may be wrong; but I took it as "britishism" for leaving the car parked more not getting rid of it.

[quote="heinlein"][quote="Jordan"] It is shorthand for dust-bin. Aka the trash can on the left side of the Atlantic Ocean.

But to keep on topic:
Top cases have always been problamatic for me. I can't seem to stop equating them with accessories associated with chromed out mod scoots, even when they are flat-black. I guess it is just that I ride in a climate where rain isn't so prevalent, that you need it to keep your stuff dry.
s.