BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

I a new owner of an R1200R and I am looking for luggage options. I know BMW has great OEM bags, but for me they are too large and I prefer smaller bags for touring. On my previous bike I used a set of Givi E21 bags and I have ordered racks from SW-Motech for the BMW to fit the E21 bags. Has anyone had any experience mounting the Givi E21 bags on the R1200R? I was curious how it looked and if there were any issues using this setup?

I saw a set of Givi sidebags on an R12R recently running down the road. I don't know that they were the model you are inquiring about but I thought that they really went well with the bike.

I have all kind of Givi stuff; 2007 R12 came with Givi top and side cases. I took the side cases off; the remaining bars what the side cases hang on looked ugly to my eye; took the bars off too; so basically I run with the smallest Givi top case which I think is their latest and greatest like the B33 Monokey. I would truly like a smaller top case but they will never make one; Their smaller stuff is for scooters called Monolock and has a completely different and incompatible mounting system.

If I ever journey for more than a week, I'd probably put the side cases back on; on a recent one week deal I put an E55 basic case on top, their largest. I sprung the lid....came home with a bungee around the whole thing; Givi guy from Tahoe is their western distributor and he'll make good on it but I don't want to pay a fortune in shipping so I'll take it and give it to him at the Long Beach CA motorcycle show in December.

I just want a smaller lockable top case for the usual little crap I carry. I'm used to the B33 now and I think it looks ok....I can move it from my BMW to the Triumph 800 that Givi makes a really nice metal base for (not for anything else though because too expensive to tool up) and to my Ducati 696 where it looks like ass but I need something to store stuff in...actually took the mounting base off of the Ducati and am ready to put it back on....

So no real answer to your question. Except....I don't like the way the bars look for the side cases without the side cases on; if you are going to run with the side cases all the time as an alternative to top box...then you should be good to go and it will solve your small stuff problem...then you can mount the huge guys when you need to. BMW side racks are near invisible when the side cases are off but they are pricey....also I don't think the BMW side system can be used with Givi top case hardware....

I got laughed at by the BMW guys when I had the big case on for the just under the one week trip along with a big ass Hawaiian cloth bag affixed to seat with bungees....I now know I will get some kind of more official seat bag to run with the E55 top case for the next long trip....try to avoid the laughter.

YMMV

I can confirm as fact that the BMW system case mounts cannot be installed when using the Givi topcase mount. I was disappointed to discover this after purchasing. I like the topcase so much now that I only remount the BMW kit when I am going on a trip, which is not often.

Well I finally received my SW-Motech EVO racks and mounted my GIVI bags.

IMHO they fit the bike well, nice quality racks.

That bags look great but the brackets kill the looks of the bike when the bags are not on. Hopefully it is easy to remove the brackets when riding without the bags.

bmwk100 wrote:That bags look great but the brackets kill the looks of the bike when the bags are not on. Hopefully it is easy to remove the brackets when riding without the bags.

If they're these brackets (which I think they are) they're "quick lock" - supposed to come off pretty easily and just leave the tabs behind.

I'm curious how stable they are. I've used Givi racks on other bikes and they've been decent - but the usage of the plastic license plate/fender piece for mounting worries me a bit. How solid is the overall mount?

Just put a set of the V49 bags and the PLXR mounting brackets on a 2012 R1200R. The bracket is the quick detach and it is solid. My wife has a 2011 R1200R with the BMW bags and I also thought the look big. The Givi's hug the bike a little closer also. She also has the BMW top case so I have no need for one. I can pile stuff in hers. One of these days I will figure how to post pics but I am PC challenged. Us old people are that way.

Bill

You can take the racks off in less than a minute with the quick release mounts leaving little evidence of the rack mounts. I always travel with luggage so it didn't matter to me what the racks looked like without bags.

As far as stability, they seem very solid. The license plate mount seems very sturdy and I think is just to keep the bags distance correct. The other 3 mounting points are very solid and you don't really need the rear plate mount. You can't move the bags at all when they are mounted to the bike.

I haven't ridden much with the bags yet, but I don't forsee any issues.