Motorcycle Luggage

Motorcycle luggage turns an everyday bike into a touring bike, and it also lets you lock your helmet away when you park or carry the shopping home without a rucksack. In this section you will find top cases, side cases and their racks from SHAD, Givi, SW-MOTECH, Puig and Customacces. Getting it right comes down to three decisions: where the case goes, how much capacity you need and how it attaches to your bike.

Top box, panniers or both: it depends on how you ride

Town and scooters: the top box

The top box, or top case, is nearly always the first piece of luggage riders fit. On a scooter or an everyday 125 it holds your helmet when you park and your waterproofs or shopping on the way home. Plastic ones such as the SHAD SH33 to SH40 or the Givi Monolock B29 and E340 are light and unobtrusive. If you need a lot of volume on a scooter, Puig makes the Big Box, Maxi Box and Mega Box, from 60 to 100 litres, with fitting kits for models such as the PCX, SH 125 or Agility; you will find them among our Puig top cases.

Road touring: top box and side cases

For two-up trips or several days away, the usual set-up combines a top box with side cases. Panniers carry the weight lower and closer to the centre, so the bike feels it less, while the top box takes light items and anything you want close at hand. If you already know the brand, the SHAD TOP cases page has their SH range, and our Givi luggage section brings together the Italian brand's top boxes, side cases and accessories.

Adventure bikes: aluminium

On an adventure bike, aluminium cases such as the SHAD Terra, Givi Trekker Outback, Alaska and Dolomiti or SW-MOTECH TRAX ADV take knocks and falls better than plastic, have square shapes that use every litre and flat lids for strapping a dry bag on top. SW-MOTECH's are also available as top cases with the carrier included for each model.

Nakeds, sports bikes and customs: compact or soft

On bikes without a stock rack or with a short tail, compact solutions fit better: small side cases like the SHAD SH23 or SW-MOTECH URBAN ABS, low-volume top boxes or soft luggage such as the Givi Weightless range. For customs, Customacces offers classic-style rear cases, the Travel and Mercedes, with chrome or black racks. And if you only carry things now and then, have a look at our motorcycle backpacks and bags: tank bags, tail bags and saddlebags that do not need a hard case.

Capacity: how many litres and how many helmets

Litres are a guide, but what really matters is whether your helmet fits. As a rough reference, an open-face helmet goes into a top box of around 30 litres, a full-face needs 32 or 33 litres upwards and two full-face helmets call for something nearer 46-48 litres; modular helmets are bulkier, so check the product page. Expandable cases, such as the SHAD SH58X and SH59X top boxes or the SH38X side cases, gain capacity when you need it and go back to a compact size the rest of the time. With side cases, check the litres on each side: some sets, like the 45/37-litre TRAX ADV, are asymmetric, usually to leave room for the exhaust.

How each brand mounts

• SHAD: top boxes lock onto the Top Master rear rack with their plate; plastic side cases use the 3P system and the aluminium Terra cases use 4P.
• Givi: Monokey is the system for cases that take heavier loads and for the aluminium ones, such as the V47, Maxia 5 or Trekker; Monolock, a lighter fitting, is used on top boxes such as the B29, B37, B47 or E340, very common on scooters and town bikes.
• SW-MOTECH: the TRAX ADV, DUSC and AERO cases fit the brand's own side carriers and luggage racks, which with adapters also take cases from other brands.

The fittings for each brand and each bike are in our luggage racks section. If you are torn between two systems or do not know which one your bike already has, check with us on the chat and we will tell you which rack it needs.

Loading up and riding with luggage

• Heavy items low down and in the side cases; light ones in the top box. A loaded top box sits high and behind the rear wheel, and at speed it makes the steering feel lighter.
• Stick to the maximum load stated for the case and the rack, even if there is room left inside.
• Before a loaded trip, adjust the rear shock preload, set the tyre pressures your manual gives for carrying a load and check the headlight aim.
• Side cases make the bike wider: bear that in mind when filtering and parking.

Luggage is usually just one part of getting a bike ready for touring; the rest, from screens to crash bars, is in our motorcycle accessories.