Top box & centre stand for F800gs

[Bury_Dave]

My recently acquired F800 came with a Vario top case. I'm not a huge fan of it myself from both practical and looks points of view.

I quite fancy the BMW ali' top box. Anyone able to recommend it or an alternative shiny one ?

I plan to use the box for work clothes when commuting and for keeping the helmet in (my Tour X3 doesn't fit in the Vario). When touring I plan to ditch the topbox and use a Kriega US30 with Wolfman Expedition panniers.

I can't see a reason not to buy one- unless someone here can .....

I also need a centre stand. Does the BMW one do what's needed or does another make do it so much better ?

Cheers
Dave

 

[cecilthecat]

Dave,

I have the BMW centre stand and it does tend to touch down a lot in corners without going crazy. There do seem to be some alternatives from SW Motech and Wunderlich which seem to have the more conventional foot arrangement than the 90 degree bent bars of the BMW one, however the opinions on some forums seem to think this arrangement is better for supporting the bike in soft ground.

Simon

 

[Shadwell]

dave if you want, next time im going to be in bury ill let you know and ill fit my wolfman panniers for you to have a look see if you like them before you spend 400quid. I also have the BMW centre stand fitted.

shad

 

[Bury_Dave]

Thanks for the advice Simon and Shad.

Shad, I'll PM you my number and would love to see your bike with the Wolfman set-up. Thanks very much.

Anyone have any words on the BMW ali case Vs the Vario or other competition ?

 

[gs_lad]

the bmw alu box works fine for me, my shoei multitech fits there fine... its the reason I chose it over the vario topbox...

for my panniers I chose the vario ones, due to their lower price, and smaller width, but the quality difference (in relation to the alu-box) is immense...

might sell them in the near future and go for the alu panniers as well

 

[vaclove]

Topcase

The BMW Alu case goes quite well with the nature of the bike. I find it however bit narrow.
I went for plastic case Hepco Becker Gobi. It is bigger than the BMW ones and does its job quite well. Quallity wise, I feel BMW accesories are superior to HepcoBecker products.

 

[Sooty09]

BMW centre stand, my 2010 stand is very stable and easy to use, its not a good BMW stand in that the bike is front wheel heavy. On other BMWs the bike has balanced on the stand so front or rear wheels can be removed or rotated for cleaning.
My wife has a 2009 BMW F650 and the stand is more difficult to use, the operating foot extension is more tucked away under the pillion foot rest.
Both are well clear of grounding and neither bike stand has ever touched the road.

 

[anthonybrown]

I have the BMW aluminium top box on my 800gs and the Tour X3 dosnt fit in it sorry.

 

[Bury_Dave]

I have the BMW aluminium top box on my 800gs and the Tour X3 doesn't fit in it sorry.

That's interesting as there's a post on here (somewhere) that says you can get a helmet in it. Maybe just not the X3 ... ?

Well, I'm going to push the button on one. Vario is on the for sale thread ...

Dave

 

[Bury_Dave]

BMW centre stand, my 2010 stand is very stable and easy to use, its not a good BMW stand in that the bike is front wheel heavy. .

I borrowed the Globebusters F800 DVD and that is mentioned in that. Is it THAT much off the centre of balance ?

Cheers,
Dave

 

[cecilthecat]

Yes, It does need a fair bit of weight on the back to take the weight off the front wheel