Givi top case install diary

[maximNikenGT]

Thought I'd do a public service announcement by documenting what it takes to install a topcase on a 2019 Niken GT. I researched between the Yamaha top case and the Givi monokey topcase and decided on the Givi in case I decide to swap with Givi hard panniers in the future  and want to use a single key. 

I called up Givi USA here in Charlotte, NC to confirm part number for the section that needs to be attached to the tail and Givi USA confirmed that the appropriate part was SR2144. Although I found an online reference to SR2143 which appears to be an older version for 2018 Niken(???).  Wasn't sure about compatibility so I stuck with Givi recommendation. 

At the time of writing, could not find this part anywhere in the US. For some reason it was sold out everywhere. I had to order it from Carpi Moto in Genoa Italy to ship via DHL to me. Delivery speed was amazing given that I placed the order on a Thursday and it arrived the following Monday. I fully expected pandemic to delay it considerably more and was pleasantly surprised at delivery speed. 

Next up, base plate and top case. 

 

Edited September 14, 2020 by maximNikenGT
Spelling correction

[maximNikenGT]

Received Givi V47 Monokey top case, Top case back rest and base plate in the mail today from Revzilla. Only problem is the metal base plate (M9) does not allow for the installation of LED lights, have to order the plastic M5 for monokey (NOT the M5m) so you can run LED lights. Quick call to customer service to update their product recommendation for this kind of combination and a free return authorization, and placed a new order for the M5 plate. 

 

[maximNikenGT]

Givi LED installation notes:

1. Screws retaining the stock lighting reflectors require super small Phillips head screwdrivers and are torqued so tight I was afraid I'd strip the heads during removal. A little bit of WD40 helped immensely and the stuck bolts came right out. 

2. Cannot believe how small a flathead screwdriver (think watch screwdriver small) you have to use to release the wire retaining bolts for the LED lighting. Minimal wire clearance with surrounding plastic  added misery and it was only with a bit of persistence that I was able to thread the tiny 16 gage lighting wires through these tiny holes. Also when the instructions said to use a ball peen hammer knock out the bottom V47 topcase plastic, I used my drill to get a pilot hole going and then used the hammer to knock out the remaining plastic with ease. Without the pilot hole  the hammer would wander during strikes. 

3. When drilling holes into the V47 top case, use  a 5/32 drill bit for the 4.5mm holes. 

4. The plug that has to be inserted to the bottom of the case should be separated from its housing first in order to get a good seal with the top case. Do not try to force it in. 

5. I also  installed a back rest for pillion riders. Use a 5/16 bit for their recommended 6.5mm holes for the retention bolts and washers for the back seat rest,and be sure to use their paper template to determine  where hole positions should be. I took a punch to hammer in the perfect point to where the drill bits needed to be ensure a perfect hole. If you don't use a punch to guide your initial hole drilling there's a good chance the drill bit will wander on the slightly curved V47 monokey plastic mounting surface. 

6. I used a 12v LED Xmas light tester to test my wiring before hooking  everything up to ensure my connections were solid. 

7. I'm going to use some silicone sealant / caulk to seal the area at the bottom of the V47 case where the wiring enters in order to ensure a water tight seal. 

Edited September 21, 2020 by maximNikenGT
added photos

[maximNikenGT]

Ok so I pulled all the hardware together and finally loosened the necessary hex screws from the saddlebags and the existing tail plate to attach the necessary tail extension rods before finally mounting the M5 plate. The M5 plate was tough to align with the holes of the both the steel tail plate extender and the tail extension rods  but I finally got them through.

Hardest part was actually knocking out the hole in the M5 plate in order to run the v47 LED wiring cable through. Actually had to drill a pilot hole followed by a sanding tip of my Dremel to smooth out the plastic knock out and ensure a clean install of the LED connector in the M5 plate. 

Instructions were ok but the Givi illustrations showed a factory part in a place where it wasn't there when I loosened the saddlebag holders. I ended up keeping the factory rubber washer where it was and it didn't affect the installation tolerances. 

After I used my bicycle torque wrench to get all the bolts tightened appropriately, I took my V47 out and did a test fit. Looks pretty good if I don't say so myself. 

Now - need to figure out which electrical cables actually run to my taillight to splice in the final LED connections and the topcase should be ready to roll. 

Edited September 23, 2020 by maximNikenGT
Grammar correction

[maximNikenGT]

Final installation. Nice and clean after integrating top box LED lighting to my Arboreal Systems Aurora power distribution module. Took it for a test ride and the top box did not noticeably affect bike aerodynamics up to 70mph speeds. 

[maximNikenGT]

Additional thoughts on installation, while the hardware was all nice and solid, I still hadn't figured out whether to tap into existing tail light  wiring  or run it to my Arboreal Systems Aurora power distribution module. I decided to connect it to the Aurora to have the LED lighting vary by bike speed vs brake actuation.

I also decided that running the LED lighting wire between the seat and the bike was not a safe solution long term because during test fitting of the wiring I noticed that it caused high compression along the part of the wire where it was sandwiched between the seat and the bike. Over time, this compression could cause wear in the housing surrounding the wiring resulting in a short.

To avoid this I ended up drilling a small wiring hole in the side panel under the passenger grab rails to run the LED lighting wire through and to avoid any cyclical compression stress on the wires every time someone sat pillion or if I put something heavy on the pillion seat. 

 

[BBB]

1 hour ago, maximNikenGT said:

 I decided to connect it to the Aurora to have the LED lighting vary by bike speed vs brake actuation.

I'm not an electronics person, but I thought LEDs didn't respond well to dimming of current. I thought that "dimming" is achieved by modulating the time they are on and off, rapidly (pulse width modulation). So, unless your Aurora sends that type of signal to the LEDs you won't get speed related variation in brightness.

[I may also be talking bollocks, but didn't want to waste this chance to show my ignorance].

[maximNikenGT]

35 minutes ago, BBB said:

I'm not an electronics person, but I thought LEDs didn't respond well to dimming of current. I thought that "dimming" is achieved by modulating the time they are on and off, rapidly (pulse width modulation). So, unless your Aurora sends that type of signal to the LEDs you won't get speed related variation in brightness.

[I may also be talking bollocks, but didn't want to waste this chance to show my ignorance].

Good question - I actually thought the same thing because my home dimmer switch emits a weird humming noise when I switch traditional bulbs to LEDs, and the LED lighting fluctuates brightness as well. So originally I didn't think I could vary the LED lighting in the Givi except for basic on and off. 
 

But when I did an initial test of the Aurora at varying currents for the LED lighting, I was able to set different brightness by adjusting the level. No fluctuation in the brightness of the LEDs and no weird humming. So in theory, I was able to adjust brightness manually. Attached are images I took just now at Low/med/high settings and while the trunk photos probably don't illustrate the difference that well in daylight,  there was a difference in LED intensity for all three levels. 

Now without having actually someone riding behind me to confirm that it actually increases in intensity when I come to a stop, and dims intensity when I get up to speed, you could be right because I haven't confirmed for sure yet that this is actually happening the way I thought I have it configured. But in my off the bike tests, the Aurora can dim the LEDs no problem. 

[Garybinnyc]

On 10/1/2020 at 12:50 PM, maximNikenGT said:

Good question - I actually thought the same thing because my home dimmer switch emits a weird humming noise when I switch traditional bulbs to LEDs, and the LED lighting fluctuates brightness as well. So originally I didn't think I could vary the LED lighting in the Givi except for basic on and off. 
 

But when I did an initial test of the Aurora at varying currents for the LED lighting, I was able to set different brightness by adjusting the level. No fluctuation in the brightness of the LEDs and no weird humming. So in theory, I was able to adjust brightness manually. Attached are images I took just now at Low/med/high settings and while the trunk photos probably don't illustrate the difference that well in daylight,  there was a difference in LED intensity for all three levels. 

Now without having actually someone riding behind me to confirm that it actually increases in intensity when I come to a stop, and dims intensity when I get up to speed, you could be right because I haven't confirmed for sure yet that this is actually happening the way I thought I have it configured. But in my off the bike tests, the Aurora can dim the LEDs no problem. 

 

 

 

Trying to wire my top case in, and searched around everywhere but, the top case has a blue and a black wire, the bike has yellow and blue, do you recall if the blue and blue attach and the yellow and black? I’ve been tinkering with us not had any luck so far.. Thanks so much

 

[maximNikenGT]

9 hours ago, Garybinnyc said:

My installation of the black and blue cables from the Givi LED trunk lighting actually go directly to my Arboreal Systems Aurora Black Box. On my install they  do NOT tap directly into existing brake lighting. If you tap directly into the tail light wiring I don't know if that will exceed it's fuse limits.

The following wiring diagrams will hopefully help you identify the proper cables and their colors. Unfortunately I'm not very good at reading these wiring diagrams but hopefully it helps. 

Neutrino Power Distribution Module | Neutrino Black Box

---

The Neutrino power distribution module replaces several...

 

[Garybinnyc]

52 minutes ago, maximNikenGT said:

My installation of the black and blue cables from the Givi LED trunk lighting actually go directly to my Arboreal Systems Aurora Black Box. On my install they  do NOT tap directly into existing brake lighting. If you tap directly into the tail light wiring I don't know if that will exceed it's fuse limits.

The following wiring diagrams will hopefully help you identify the proper cables and their colors. Unfortunately I'm not very good at reading these wiring diagrams but hopefully it helps. 

Neutrino Power Distribution Module | Neutrino Black Box

---

The Neutrino power distribution module replaces several...

 

Thanks so much for your help, I’m going a buds house tomorrow, he’s an electrician and this will be useful.. will post back once done (hoping it works)

[Garybinnyc]

Thanks all, mission accomplished was able to wire it in no problem at all and it works!! 

[maximNikenGT]

13 hours ago, Garybinnyc said:

Thanks all, mission accomplished was able to wire it in no problem at all and it works!! 

What wires did you end up tapping into e.g. colors? 

[Garybinnyc]

18 hours ago, maximNikenGT said:

What wires did you end up tapping into e.g. colors? 

From bike.. black to black.. yellow break light to blue givi. One notable item.. the electric connector that goes into the mounting bracket was backwards.. intuitively the wires should face the front of the bike but .. they were reversed so I had to rotate it 180 degrees.

[Garybinnyc]

A few months later and an update.. the brake light stopped working for some reason.. I checked the wire assembly and everything else I could think of and finally narrowed it down the the build in contact in the cases it seems the contact actually dropped down to the point it was no longer making contact with the top of the case and the contact list. I suppose the pressure from the top case pushing down on the harness actually moved it out of position. 
 

simple solution.. I snipped a zip tie and placed it under the wiring contact ( see pic) and alas I’m back on track.