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GIVI E55 Maxia Topcase – Review

Even the most basic car has a boot, but on all bikes (bar scooters) you have to add luggage space on anything that’s not an out-and-out tourer. If you want the practicality that luggage brings to your scoot, one of the biggest after market trunks you can buy is Givi’s giant – the E55 Maxia.

Capable of carrying two full face helmets with ease, the new king of the cases can transform the usefulness of a bike; morphing it into a practical commuter, a tent-carrying tourer or even a convenience shopper. But is it just too big – in fact, is 55 litres a trunk too far?

We fitted one to our ZZR 1400 test bike and Dave tried to answer this question with a high speed run. However, with a list of optional extras as long as politician’s expenses claim, there’s a lot more to this baby than sheer size. We look at how the case fits, what it’s like to use, the build quality, and check out the luxury options to boot.

Image: Givi UK

Specifications

You can’t begin a discussion of this whopper of a case without reference to size. It is indeed large, measuring some 23 inches (59cm) wide by 12 inches (32cm) tall and almost 19 inches (48cm) back to front. It weighs just over 6 and a half pounds or around 3 kilos, and can accommodate two crash helmets, or, for your commute; a 17 inch laptop, sandwiches, flask and small work rucksack.

But is this a case too far? Is it just too big? Will it dominate the bike visually or will it cause handling problems? Well, you probably shouldn’t go fitting one to an FS1E, and you should certainly we wary of filling it with bricks and then trying to break the world land speed record.

However most people report that it looks just fine on bikes of, say, over 600 cc, and that handling issues tend to be felt only when NOT carrying a pillion, when they were noticeable on some bikes but not dangerous.

Kawasaki don’t recommend that you fit a large topcase, but we took the ZZR up to, shall we say, most interesting speeds with the E55 fitted and loaded, and experienced no adverse handling effects other than a modest tendency to catch the wind when travelling over the Severn bridge. Even then, it did not cause real concern.

The painted E55 on the ZZR1400

Construction is heavy duty ABS, and this model comes with a metal strut intended to hold the case open and stop it crashing down on your fingers. Ours failed this test and had to be ‘modified’ with a pair of pliers, but the idea is an improvement over the old strings that used to be there. There’s also a set of elasticated straps to keep your luggage in place and a red plastic document holder built into the inside of the lid. You get a key plus 2 spares.

Universal Fixing Plate

Specific fixing kits are available for most bikes, and these are worth using if available, but we employed a universal adaptor plate that allowed us to fix directly into the existing Kawasaki rack on the back of the ZZR. Generally installation is pretty simple and once the base plate is secured, taking the case on and off can generally be accomplished with ease.

To mount the case you simply slide it onto the two rear lugs on the base plate and push it firmly down at the handle end, when it should click into place. Some users have described difficulty in getting the case to lock down and we have traced this to the rubber bungs embedded in the base plate. These are a tad too thick and tend to hold the case off from its final lock-down position. We trimmed some excess rubber off the top with a scalpel and all was fine.

The E55 is part of the Monokey range, and as the name implies, the case uses a single key to both open the case and to release from its mounting. One turn of the key releases the handle which obligingly pops up for you to grab. You then press the large red knob (steady, matron) and the case pops off. To open the case you turn the key and press the handle. It’s a reliable system that holds the luggage on safely but releases without fuss when you want it – ideal if you are operating one handed or you are cold and tired.

Paint job by Reef Paintshop, Southwick

Personalize

While GIVI offers a limited range of coloured lids, we wanted some thing bespoke and which covered the sides as well as top of the case. So, for our ZZR we went for a bespoke paint job done for us by a Reef Paintshop for £100 plus the paint. This colour matched the top case exactly to the bike’s glorious candy lime green.

Man, that’s GREEN.

Accessorize

In terms of optional extras, we went for the back cushion to make Dave’s wife happier and the Admore lighting kit for improved safety. Unlike the GIVI item, which adds a linked brakelight behind the red reflectors on the back of the case, the Admore kit has yellow turn signals as well as red brake lights AND steady red running lights.

E55 with seat backrest. Cable is for Admore lighting.

The Admore kit keeps you more visible, especially when filtering and turning, as the lights are higher up than the bike’s lights. The LED’s are brighter than the GIVI ones, and the kit seems to be more reliable. We were so chuffed with it that we now sell a few of these ourselves. We’ve produced an install video as well (see to the right of this article), although Admore’s instructions are excellent, even if you do have to print these yourself off the website.

Click to go to fitting video for Admore Lighting Kit

Since the early days when GIVI first brought out the smaller E52, the list of accessories and options available for their top cases has grown enormously. These now include coloured lids, a cushion to turn the rear of the case into a seat back for your pillion, a metal top rack, a brake light kit, a padded interior, a liner bag and even remote control opening.

E55 with optional top rack

Using it

The reason that GIVI have grown to dominate the aftermarket luggage scene in the UK is for a number of reasons. Foremost among these is that their stuff works and is tough enough to survive real-world biking.

We fitted the E55 and did 1000 miles touring Ireland in various weathers. Stopping to put the case on and off every day, the contents remained dry and ease of use was exemplary. With a lock and robust construction we felt happy leaving our helmets in the E55 when we left the bike to go off for a wander mid trip – something we would not have done with soft luggage.

When not filled with helmets, the case took all our clothes for 2 people for a 10 day holiday with the exception of shoes. We used soft panniers (bringing total luggage capacity to 115 litres) to take washing gear, toiletries, tools and puncture repair kits, camera, books for reading, ipad and so on.

Conclusion

Based on our experience we feel that the GIVI E55 is one of the best cases on the market. It’s big enough to be really useful without being dangerously cumbersome. Ease of use is excellent, the case popping on and off with a click. It was secure, 100% waterproof and looked good enough that we were not ashamed to take it into smart hotels as our main luggage. On a bike like the ZZR it also provided a useful backstop … which is handy if you don’t want to lose your pillion when accelerating.

It’s not perfect though. Issues with the rubber buffers on the base plate, faulty rear brake lights and defective lid props are all known, and the instructions for the mounting kit are famously poor. On the other hand, the basic case is a very reasonable £250 RRP. Then again, adding extras can make it get expensive, really, really fast. For instance, a case with GIVI’s rear light, cushion, coloured lid and rack would be around £440.

However, we’re pleased with our purchase. It looks good, is effortlessly functional, carries what we need and is tough enough to last for many years in a hostile environment. If things do go wrong GIVI offers a huge range of spare parts from lenses to lock barrels. Compared with OEM luggage such a BMW’s it’s not even that expensive. All in all we can highly recommend the E55 – the King of the Cases in practicality as well as size.