"Those" Vario Topboxes - a fix?

[DrPete]

My bike is an 05. When I bought it off the chap who'd had it from new, it came with a full set of Vario luggage, that I didn't need at the time, and chucked in the loft. I now need to use the luggage in anger, and have found that the topbox is of the first Vario vintage, and, true to form, has cracked in the usual place.

It's now 3 1/2 years out of warranty, so I don't think BMW will be too impressed if I go back to them and present a sheaf of "wasn't fit for purpose back then and isn't now" info off this site and others, and, to be honest, I can't be arsed with the grief, so - is there an accepted fix?

I thought if I got a bit of 1mm steel plate, say 30mm wide and 150 mm long, and attached it over the crack with plenty of Araldite that would do, maybe with a countersunk M3 bolt at each corner. Have any of you lot done anything similar? Are there any gotchas I should know about?

 

[Brian ROSEN]

Repairing a top box

It is a bit difficult to give advice without seeing the crack. If it is near one of the attachment points or hinges it may be tricky! I have done all sorts of repairs to boats and cars using fibreglass, plywood, aluminium sheet etc;(I would suggest that aluminium rivets are better than csk bolts.)
I would suggest that there is nothing to be lost by taking it to a BMW dealer for advice at least. It is an expensive item and it might be possible to do some sort of reconditioned replacement.

 

[parabiker]

super glue and baking powder mix, stronger than new and much cheaper than so called plastic welding rubbish.

try it

 

[Ojay]

http://aol.pixum.co.uk/slide/4836604 Hi here's some photo's of a mod I did to my top
box two years ago, works fine... hope the link works ok...

 

[(RIP) Bin Ridin]

B-emm made a kit for this, looked like a few roofing bolts through the bottom. "Endure kit" or similar. Fixing the crack will not solve it.

 

[Brian ROSEN]

Do it properly!

I cannot help being impressed by Ojay's modifications - which obviouvly should not have been necessary for such an expensive product (about 340€ without supports etc.) On my previous 1200GS I fitted a Givi box, having heard of the BMW problems. However that broke the supports and was a devil to repair; I thus fitted the BMW topbox to my 2008 GS and it has stayed in place without problems. Obviously it is very important not to overload a topbox - the weight is all in the wrong place, and if it is loaded ride carefully over bumpy roads of course! It is an advantage to be able to open it with the ignition key and it matches the cases and is very convenient to hold my helmet (BMW System 6 size 59) which fits very neatly.

 

[Quanto12]

The only two sollution i found to this problem was to stay off bumpy roads like Mister Rosen mention, wich is hard to do around this end of my country, and to use a couple of 1" nylon wide strap with plastic buckles that you can buy at a camping store for less then $10 can. Not the fanciest fix but it worked. I drilled 1/4" holes in the bottom of the box,spread the webbing of the strap and passed the bolts with wide washer through the double up strap and attach to the case.Then just attach the strap around any part of the bike and tighten with buckle. Hardly noticable! Make sure the straps pulls the box against the front attachement points.

 

[Quanto12]

The only two sollution i found to this problem was to stay off bumpy roads like Mister Rosen mention, wich is hard to do around this end of my country, and to use a couple of 1" nylon wide strap with plastic buckles that you can buy at a camping store for less then $10 can. Not the fanciest fix but it worked. I drilled 1/4" holes in the bottom of the box,spread the webbing of the strap and passed the bolts with wide washer through the double up strap and attach to the case.Then just attach the strap around any part of the bike and tighten with buckle. Hardly noticable! Make sure the straps pulls the box against the front attachement points.

 

[DrPete]

http://aol.pixum.co.uk/slide/4836604 Hi here's some photo's of a mod I did to my top
box two years ago, works fine... hope the link works ok...

It worked fine - thanks. That was the kind of thing I had in mind, although the "lugs" are a good idea too.
Thanks!