Integral luggage for Suzuki GSF1250 Bandit

Hello guys,

I often travel with my bike and I got annoyed with having 2 or 3 separate luggage cases. I’m a mechanical engineer by profession and I decided to build my own integral luggage.
Now I would like to show you what I have built for my Suzuki GSF1250 Bandit motorcycle and ask for your opinion about it.
I built an integral luggage as a part of the motorcycle, back and side luggages are joined into one and I matched the design with the motorcycle.
I colored it in the original color of the motorcycle and I made it so that it fits to motorcycle using either the original exhaust system or an Akrapovič after-market exhaust which I’m currently using.
The luggage also has a back rest and two handles on side luggage. I made back luggage big enough to fit two helmets.
There are covers on the back for accessing back luggage and on the sides for accessing the side compartments. Upper part between handle and the seat contains a compartment for keeping most frequently needed items like wallet, documents, eyeglasses etc.
I made luggage and covers of polyester with steel reinforcements and connected it to the frame of the motorcycle via side handles.
Rear lamp and direction indicators had to be relocated to the integral luggage, but I was able to keep the rear registration plate with illumination and rear reflector in their original positions.
Just to be legally covered and avoid any issues, I and the item I described above are in no way affiliated with the Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan, which manufactures the GSF 1250 Bandit® motorcycle or Akrapovič d.d., Slovenia, which manufactures Akrapovič® after-market exhausts. I reserve all the rights of the presented item.

Kind regards,
Janez Cvahte

Having arguably the largest Bandit outfit in Australia, all I can say is that is one big set of luggage. 

Whilst the workmanship looks top notch, to me the overall size is out of proportion with the bike.  You can clearly see a lot of work has gone into this Janez, but to me it is trying to turn the Bandit into a BMW or Goldwing.  The striping (design) is also not my cup of tea. 
 
On some technical issues, it appears you are using just the 4 bolt positions of the grab handle,  putting too much pressure in this area has been known to crack/break the rear metal frame of the bike, this is why Givi has the out-rigger arms that brings part of the load forward to the passenger foot peg mounts.  Side and top boxes should not exceed overall gross weight of 35kg even with the 6 point mounting, I am assuming your assembly comes in at approx 15 to 20kg, even though there is more space in your setup, the weight would be a limiting factor.  By having so much luggage space you can easily upset the balance of the bike if it is packed too much, so I would think stability would be another concern.
 
I don't want to put a downer on what appears to have taken you a lot of time and money to get to this stage, but I'm afraid it is not for me, however to others it might be exactly what they are looking for, good luck with it.

Crikey. 

Hey Janez.  Before you start filling up the website with pictures and stories, it is polite and customary to introduce yourself in the "Introduction " section.

First ,the red stripe has to go or at least point it the other direction .(thin at the rear ) Like the side cover ..Nice workman ship but as a confirmed GIVI  hater  i'll pass this thread .  

Hammy wrote:Hey Janez.  Before you start filling up the website with pictures and stories, it is polite and customary to introduce yourself in the "Introduction " section.

+1

Also, it looks like a dirty great inverted spinnaker on a yacht. Plenty of frontal area to catch huge amounts of air

Kiwisteve wrote:

Hammy wrote:Hey Janez.  Before you start filling up the website with pictures and stories, it is polite and customary to introduce yourself in the "Introduction " section.

+1

Also, it looks like a dirty great inverted spinnaker on a yacht. Plenty of frontal area to catch huge amounts of air

Janez - I noticed on some other sites you posted this on that you mention the setup is no wider than the rider hence you conclude there would not be an issue with wind drag.

Unfortunately I'd disagree, air flow has a tendency to follow the curvature of the riders back, this would put your top box and side sections into "fresher air".  Maybe with a pillion passenger they would block it, but one up I think your setup would cause significant drag, upsetting balance and weight distribution at higher speeds:

Although I can appreciate the workmanship its just not for me.

Add some Straps and ya got a Nappy bag and a Kiddy Seat ................ well built though

I tend to agree with others, while I can see the quality of workmanship is top notch the styling does nothing for the Bandit at all, it turns a great looking bike into a quite unattractive one ...........................sorry

Hmmmmmm

I thought I saw integrated luggage on a specific model released in europe or somewhere when I was researching to buy a bandit.
one of the fully fared joeys came out with complete luggage kit.
not travelling on bike anymore, so didnt chase it further. sorry

I did all my big trippin on a bmw r1150rt - 100lt luggage space.  sadly it is dead after 180,000ks and too $$ to keep fixing.

Maybe easier to start with a Victory - it seems to have integrated everything.  Even has off-road ability (limited!).  

Hi again guys, thanks for all your positive, encouraging and constructive comments. I was away for some time, so please excuse my late reply.

barry_mcki wrote:Having arguably the largest Bandit outfit in Australia, all I can say is that is one big set of luggage. 

Whilst the workmanship looks top notch, to me the overall size is out of proportion with the bike.  You can clearly see a lot of work has gone into this Janez, but to me it is trying to turn the Bandit into a BMW or Goldwing.  The striping (design) is also not my cup of tea. 
 
On some technical issues, it appears you are using just the 4 bolt positions of the grab handle,  putting too much pressure in this area has been known to crack/break the rear metal frame of the bike, this is why Givi has the out-rigger arms that brings part of the load forward to the passenger foot peg mounts.  Side and top boxes should not exceed overall gross weight of 35kg even with the 6 point mounting, I am assuming your assembly comes in at approx 15 to 20kg, even though there is more space in your setup, the weight would be a limiting factor.  By having so much luggage space you can easily upset the balance of the bike if it is packed too much, so I would think stability would be another concern.
 
I don't want to put a downer on what appears to have taken you a lot of time and money to get to this stage, but I'm afraid it is not for me, however to others it might be exactly what they are looking for, good luck with it.

It's not about changing it to BMW or Goldwing, I'd simply like to have luggage fit to my motorcycle. I didn't want to have 3 individual suitcases. The integral luggage is fixed at the back handle and at the most front part to the tubular framework of the motorcycle - though an internal metal contruction. The integral luggage weighs around 15 kgs (30 pounds).

Hammy wrote:Hey Janez.  Before you start filling up the website with pictures and stories, it is polite and customary to introduce yourself in the "Introduction " section.

Of course, I'm Janez Cvahte from the capitol of Slovenia - Ljubljana. I've been a mechanical engineer for 30 years, mostly doing design and construction of transport and commercial vehicles.

gus wrote:First ,the red stripe has to go or at least point it the other direction .(thin at the rear ) Like the side cover ..Nice workman ship but as a confirmed GIVI  hater  i'll pass this thread .  

The red line can be of different kinds - I did it in a way that suits me. One of the primary reasons why I included it is because it's a safety element, made out of highly reflective material that is well visible at night.

barry_mcki wrote:

Kiwisteve wrote:

Hammy wrote:Hey Janez.  Before you start filling up the website with pictures and stories, it is polite and customary to introduce yourself in the "Introduction " section.

+1

Also, it looks like a dirty great inverted spinnaker on a yacht. Plenty of frontal area to catch huge amounts of air

Janez - I noticed on some other sites you posted this on that you mention the setup is no wider than the rider hence you conclude there would not be an issue with wind drag.

Unfortunately I'd disagree, air flow has a tendency to follow the curvature of the riders back, this would put your top box and side sections into "fresher air".  Maybe with a pillion passenger they would block it, but one up I think your setup would cause significant drag, upsetting balance and weight distribution at higher speeds:

The back side of the integral luggage is not wider than regular luggages that are usually installed at the back. My luggage is meant mostly for travelling in pairs and that's why it has a full-sized back rest. This is why I believe that the effect on airflow is minimal. I think that regular bought suitcases - back plus 2 side give a similar amount of drag and have a similar weight.

Jimcoleman wrote:Add some Straps and ya got a Nappy bag and a Kiddy Seat ................ well built though

I can make one for you as a kiddy seat, I'll even install seat belts for you.

glenby wrote:I thought I saw integrated luggage on a specific model released in europe or somewhere when I was researching to buy a bandit.
one of the fully fared joeys came out with complete luggage kit.
not travelling on bike anymore, so didnt chase it further. sorry

I did all my big trippin on a bmw r1150rt - 100lt luggage space.  sadly it is dead after 180,000ks and too $$ to keep fixing.

I'd be curious to see what it looks like. Do you have any links or pictures?

The Victory Vision Tour is the ducks guts. 
I test rode one and fell in love. But as they say love has a price and I couldn't quite stretch to the $54000 at the time. I've seen a few used examples recently for around $18000. Talk about depreciation. 
I do like the retro Buck Rogers spaceship styling of the Victory. It stirs something in most people. I imagine thousands of hours of development and prototypes went into achieving the final look. 
The integrated Gsx1250 luggage, on the other hand (lots of hours and excellent workmanship aside) reminds me of a Robyn Reliant, the three wheel fiberglass car of seventies Britain. Not quite my cup of tea. 
Keep up the good work.

Holy shit, a baby seat for a Bandit!