Top box or tail bag

I've bought my first bike. A cb125f and I'm happy as can be with the little machine.

I'm in need of some storage for commuting.

Honda have quoted about 200 quid for a 30L box.

My uneducated self thinks this is a bit steep.

Other than that I've seen 30L bags for about 110 that are waterproof etc.

Bag would ideally fit a change of clothes and my helmet.

Imagine what I'd need to fit in there going to football training after work.

Any suggestions for me? Or shops in SW London that might be worth a visit for this?

Metropolis motorcycles in Vauxhall would be able to help

Depends really if you will be leaving it on bike or not, bags are handy for transferring stuff from a to b but wouldn't leave on a bike while unattended, for that top box is much more secure.

They can be expensive but unbranded ones on eBay so job just as well, depends if you have a rack to mount on bike already of not they can be expensive on their own.

Nothing on the bike yet.

Plan is to keep the bike for up to 2 years.

Is 200 for it all bought and fitted a fair deal?

They are easy to fit and I'm pretty sure you can find a decent branded one for less than that. I think I paid under £100 for a Givi 30l box from a local dealers.

If you can use a set of spanners you can fit a top box.

Never thought I would want one, but top boxes are the best.

What changed for me is I got fed up having to carry my helmet and tank bag around with me when I went anywhere. Being able to stick everything in the top box and leave it with the bike instantly made going somewhere far more enjoyable. Be that days out or just errands around town.

And the advice I was given is get the biggest box you can, so I bought a 47L box. At first it looked stupid on my 125, like the box was bigger than the bike, but I immediately appreciated the space. If you are going to get a box, make it useful as possible.

If you choose a third-party system rather than a Honda OEM one then when you upgrade bikes you will only need to buy a new mount, you can keep using the same box which will make the cost of one seem a much better investment.

Because your bike does not have a rack you will need to buy one, but fixing one is just a case of bolting and unbolting things and very easy to do. If you search for CB115F luggage racks there are various options. And Givi do universal mounting plates for their systems which can then be bolted onto these. I am sure other systems will do similar.

I do not think the Honda price is all that bad for an OEM option if that includes fitting as you need a rack too. But doing it yourself with a third-party one should be cheaper, the Givi rack with a monolock plate and a Kappa box should not be much more than £100.

I forgot to say that I have a genuine Honda top box - it is either made by Givi or uses exactly the same design as it sits on a Givi mount.

The Honda box is huge but I also have my 30l Givi box so I just swap them over depending how much space I need. So there's nothing to be gained by having one with Honda written on it. Don't pay more just for the name.

Box's and bags each have their own merits. I use both pretty regularly. Like has been said, the box is most useful if you will be leaving things with your bike. They are also normally much more water tight than bags, and you can normally fit a helmet in without too much issues (unless your helmet has a rear spoiler things like mine...).

From a riding point of view, top boxes can catch the wind more, can make your tail light harder to see for trucks and can make your bike a bit rear heavy depending what you have in it.

Bags, if secured correctly and on the rear passenger seat are pretty much "invisible"/unnoticeable when riding I have noticed. Which is why I prefer them over the top box. Bags also looks better in my opinion on my bikes. However for ease of throwing stuff in, top boxes win for commuting most days.

^^^^^^^^

As above

Box's and bags each have their own merits. I use both pretty regularly. Like has been said, the box is most useful if you will be leaving things with your bike. They are also normally much more water tight than bags, and you can normally fit a helmet in without too much issues (unless your helmet has a rear spoiler things like mine...).

From a riding point of view, top boxes can catch the wind more, can make your tail light harder to see for trucks and can make your bike a bit rear heavy depending what you have in it.

Bags, if secured correctly and on the rear passenger seat are pretty much "invisible"/unnoticeable when riding I have noticed. Which is why I prefer them over the top box. Bags also looks better in my opinion on my bikes. However for ease of throwing stuff in, top boxes win for commuting most days.

I agree with this all the way.

I have two top boxes, both unbranded from eBay that came with the mounting plates (I already had the rack). One is 52L that I take when I have the Mrs on the back on day trips (to keep our helmets etc in) and it has been great. I have a 32l one swell, that has a similar rack, but this one has been a pain as the rack flew off mid ride (40MPH residential zone luckily). I concluded that it was done to the nuts, as the 52L top box nut (for the screws to hold the plate down) had a blue lining, which I understand is to handle the vibrations. My 32L top box nuts did not have this and came undone whilst riding. The have the same base plate set up, same screws but just different nuts.

I'm happy with the unbranded boxes generally but I would just double check the screws!

If I'm taking a bag with me, I just bungee cord it to the rack/seat and it's fine!

From a riding point of view, top boxes can catch the wind more, can make your tail light harder to see for trucks and can make your bike a bit rear heavy depending what you have in it.

The point about lorries and coaches is a good one, so some boxes come with kits that integrate stop lights to them, whilst you can get third-party kits that work with any box. Generally the only difficult part of fitting those is working out which cables to the tail light unit you need to attach it to.

The problem with handling in the wind with a box is often stated, so did worry me initially. Especially as I was on the 125 at the time so was easily affected by it. But I never noticed any difference with it compared to just using bags previously, it was just as invisible to me.

The one downside I did notice of having the box one the 125 though was it reduced my fuel economy, from averaging 110 mpg to 107 mpg. As that was regardless of contents I am pretty sure it was a result of catching the wind rather than the extra weight.

while your on i would stick lots of LED lights on said top box .. just so you can be seen by all the trucks and busses and don`t get squished .. for sure this will not worsen your mpg .

The problem with handling in the wind with a box is often stated, so did worry me initially. Especially as I was on the 125 at the time so was easily affected by it. But I never noticed any difference with it compared to just using bags previously, it was just as invisible to me.

The one downside I did notice of having the box one the 125 though was it reduced my fuel economy, from averaging 110 mpg to 107 mpg. As that was regardless of contents I am pretty sure it was a result of catching the wind rather than the extra weight.

I've only had a top box on my 125 (I've not got a rack for the BMW yet) and I tend to not use it if it's very windy outside cause I hate the sail feeling.

The main down side I've found is when the top box is fully loaded (especially with 2l bottles of juice...) It's stupidly easy to wheelie

I wouldn't be leaving a tail pack on the bike when it's unattended......also, you won't get a lid in a 30l Tailpack. .....or, at least, in a Kreiga Tailpack. A decent top box with a baseplate will be transferable between bikes.....just need a rack or adapter kit when you change bikes.

One of my colleagues rides an FZ1 and when he goes off touring with his mates he has a secondhand pillion seat pad that he's screwed a topbox mounting plate to.....so he just fits that to the bike and puts the topbox on it and away he goes.....but when he's riding locally he just refits the standard pillion seat pad......

I had a chat with the dealer today.

They have done a 37L Givi box fitted for 85 quid which I think is a good deal.

I had a chat with the dealer today.

They have done a 37L Givi box fitted for 85 quid which I think is a good deal.

That is a good deal. You can put a larger box on the same rack later if you wish, or do without and bungy a tail bag on the same rack. Multiple options. Which dealer did you use in the end?

Went to doble Honda in Surrey. Nice guys , some great bikes in the showroom.

I think they may have miscalculated the box price but I'm not complaining.