Self-made Top-Case for my Burgman 650 Executive

Summary: A description of how I converted a ZARGES box to a top case for my Suzuki Burgman 650. Since I only need a top case for the occasional long trip (less than 20 days per year), I felt the DIY approach should do the trick.

Top Box, new, nice and shiny

Every now and then I could do with a top case for my two wheels. Looking around for a suitable top case and an old story resurfaced: "Sorry, product not available in Australia!" Well, there are top cases in Australia, but not the ones I would like; e.g. the Suzuki top case in silver, matching the colour of my Burgman 650 Executive.

I had plans to go on my first "Iron Butt" ride in mid May 2009, and needed some sort of additional storage for some camping gear. I found an old — though hardly used — aluminium box I had in storage for years. It looked promising, but… how do I get it properly secured in the bike?

Well, a bit of thinking and some plywood got me started on little project for some 20 days to come.

The Parts

The Parts I Had

Looking around the shed and in-house storage I found most of the parts I was going to use in this "self-made top box" project:

• The box: a Zarges tool box made from high-strength, corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy with quick release, over-centre latches, and stainless steel strap hinges plus a peripheral water seal. It is 600 mm by 400 mm by 240 mm in size and has a volume of 42 litres and weighs 4 kg.
• A sheet of plywood, to fit under the box; 15 mm thick.
• Two PVC: pipes 100 mm in diameter and some 330 mm long
• Four bolts for the pipes

The Parts I Bought

Initially I had a vague idea what I was going to build, something which became clearer over time, but which also required further parts. Fellow workmates were quickly to point out "This is called scope creep, Max"  and I totally agree.

The parts I had to source were:

• Stainless steal bolts to secure the box to the plywood support plate
• A piece of 2 mm rubber between the plywood and luggage rack
• One can of clear, marine-grade varnish
• Two 100 mm PVC end caps
• Two 100 mm PVC screw-on lids
• Four tube straps, galvanised and coated
• One bolt with two washers and one nut for the central locking mechanism
• A sheet of plywood, to fit directly under the box; 12 mm thick.

What I Made From the Parts

I am lucky to have acquired a few tools during my life, which significantly aided in the fabrication of the top box arrangement. The Zarges Box in itself is a very stable and sturdy construction; however, the aluminium bottom is relatively thin and is not strong enough to act as base plate for attachment to the luggage rack. The Zarges Box had a rim bonding the bottom sheet with the wall sheet. The space the rim created underneath the box could be filled with a 12 mm sheet of plywood. I cut the plywood to fit the rim.

Top Box on Support Plate

Now I had a sturdy bottom plate! But what about support for the rim? I thought about it for a while and figured that a loaded box would not necessarily have the problem of pushing the bottom out of the rim, but if a load would rest on top of the box, it could well force the bottom out of the rim. Maybe converting this box was not such a good idea after all?
I decided to put the box with the support plate onto another layer of plywood; the base plate.

Top Box with support plate on Base Plate

The support plate was then glued onto the base plate. The base plate got this interesting shape, because I was going to place two tubes in front of the box. Initially I though I would use these for tools, etc. but could not find or think any tools that I would carry on a trip.
I then had the idea of using the tubes as drinking water storage. Five days later I bought the Adventurer Jacket from MotoDry, which has a built-in hydration pack with 3 litres capacity, and which made the tubes obsolete.
I then had the idea to use these little platforms to put a tent or sleeping bag up in a vertical position. Again, I dismissed the idea, because it would have required some sort of brace or hooks for straps to secure the items against the box, which I felt to be a flimsy set-up.
Despite running out of ideas I could not convince myself to cut the little platforms off.

Now it was time to think about a way of mounting and locking the base plate to the luggage rack. To lock the plate into position I chose to cut a piece of plywood to size to fit tightly into one of the spaces of the luggage rack; A slightly larger piece would cover the luggage rack frame. A bolt, secured with a nut from the top, secures the base plate to the luggage rack and from theft.

Lower (under) side of the base plate, with locking mechanism. Dowels are added for extra strength to keep the plywood sheets together.
The four slots are for the braces for the PVC pipes, which will hang under the base plate.

Underside of the base plate, with lock plate

Underside of the base plate, with counter plate

Base plate installed, with "central locking" nut :)

I used a router to round the edges off. After a trial run of putting all the brackets and bolts on, and checking the length and location of the PVC pipes, it was time to apply 5 coats of varnish. The latter would provide protection from the elements.

Base plate complete and varnished

The image below shows in detail how the bracket (holding the PVC pipe) sits tight in slot, secured with a bolt. The bolt is a standard 5 mm bolt with a hexagonal head. Its thread is grinded down in an angle. The head is flattened from two sides. The rest of the head will somewhat dig into the plywood, safely securing the bolt. IT also provides enough surface area to be hit with a tool for adjustment.

Upper side of the base plate with slots for pipe bracket and counter bolt

Top Box, new, nice and shiny

The completed project! The set-up allows currently for three options of use:

1. Complete set-up: base plate, top box and lid
2. Base plate and top box; lid removed
3. Base plate only

The Zarges box is secured to the plywood with six stainless Philips head screws. The advantage of this set-up is that I can either use the base plate without the box to put larger items on it, or use box with or without the lid on it.

Finished top box mounted on the Burgman 650 Executive, with lid open; the lid can be removed

Practical and Real-World Experience

The complete set-up has been tried and tested on my first Iron Butt Ride, a SS1600K (1,600 km in 24 hours), followed straight by another 3,400 km in along the "Great Ocean Road" in Victoria, Australia. The 5,000 km run was done in 5 days, in essence looping from Brisbane to Melbourne and back. I encountered no issues. The box is key-lockable. It carried a 2 m×2 m×2 m tent, a sleeping back, an air mattress, a wet suit, a pair of summer gloves, motorbike pants, and a sweater.

Top Box: Packed with camping gear and almost fully loaded

The top box is not entirely water-tight, but splash water proof. It did a 1,000-km-trip in heavy rain, with only a few drops pressing through some of the seams. This can be easily rectified with some silicone along the seams.

Further Ideas

I may put a luggage rack onto the top box lid for some lighter yet sizeable items.

The bike's luggage rack is made of aluminium and is good for a load of 7.5 kg. I loaded it with 12 kg. I may end up fabricating a luggage rack made of steel tubing.

I may line the inside of the box with EVA sheets. I noticed that hard-edged items may scratch and rub against the inner walls, staining the same with grey powder.

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