I do love a top box, they might make your typical motorcycle look daft, but it’s not an issue for me. The trouble with them is they can cost quite a bit to buy, then you need to cough up for the purpose built rack that will attach it to your bike. The fun doesn’t stop there, it usually involves removing the rear bodywork and relocating the back indicators. I can see why I have got by with a universal tail pack for almost a decade.
My trusty tail pack isn’t actually mine, it belongs to a mate who lent it to me back in 2009.
I was just about to dig it out and bungee it on the Mireblade when I had a brainwave.
A few weeks back I got a smallish sized top box with a bike that I had purchased, inside it was a whole load of knackered parts from the bike it came with.
Its footprint was roughly the size of the rear seat on the Blade, you can see where this is going can’t you?
A quick measure up, yup this is going to work! Out with the drill, in with a 6mm drill bit and after marking my four holes with a felt tip I was away.
In my excitement I hadn’t bothered looking for some nuts and bolts. Why is it you can never find the nuts only the bolts? I found two long bolts from an old pair of handlebar end weights, the matching nuts were found on in an old coffee jar that’s bursting with useful bits.
Armed with four nuts, bolts and washers I wound my ratchets and took a step back to admire my skills.
I wasn’t too surprised to see that my nosh box sits a little bit on the wonk, I could hear my old woodwork teacher saying “measure twice, cut once”
For the grand sum of zero pounds and zilch pence I now have some important extra cc ( carrying capacity) for my Mireblade.
