Givi Maxia Saddlebags

GIVI MAXIA SADDLEBAGS

CW EVALUATION

Detachables you can get attached to

IN THEORY, DETACHABLE HARD SADDLE bags have always seemed the ideal way to convert practically any motorcycle into a long-distance packhorse. Just stuff the bags full of gear as though they were conventional suitcases, snap them on the bike and hit the road.

But in practice, detachables always have presented as many compromises as conveniences. They either would require permanent modifications to the motorcycle, or use an awkward system of attachment, or fail to accept a full-face helmet-or all of the above. And with their customary shoebox styling and drab, black or gray color, most detachables did little to complement any bike’s appearance.

Well, a new line of detachable luggage, called Maxia, changes all that. Made in Italy by GIVI, the Maxias are hard bags that require no modifications to the bike, snap on and off with amazing ease and simplicity, are beautifully styled, come in a variety of colors, and hold not one but two full-face helmets each. They can be used as either saddlebags or a top trunk, and are available to fit a wide range of motorcycles, including a few repli-racers, most sport-tourers, some standards, several cruisers and even a number of dualpurpose models.

Sound too good to be true? That’s what we thought when we first saw these bags at the Cologne motorcycle show last fall. So, when Capital Cycles (P.O. Box 528, Sterling, VA 22170; 703/444-2500) began marketing the Maxias in the U.S., we ordered two sets: one in red, to match a latemodel Honda VFR750, and another in black, for our ’93 Kawasaki ZX-11 project bike (see “ZX-11 For the Long Haul,” pg. 37). To our delight, we found that the bags not only lived up to their maker’s ambitious claims, but even surpassed them in some areas.

Typical of many Italian designs, the Maxias combine high fashion with high function. The main bodies of the bags are made of a tough, scuff-resistant plastic molded into a smoothly rounded shape that has a whopping, 50-liter capacity-big enough to swallow two full-face helmets with ease. The bags are available in six color options: red, blue, white with red trim, white with blue trim, and the two traditional colors, black and gray. A wide red reflector encircles most of the top and ends of each bag like a huge taillight, providing an added measure of visibility when struck by the beams of oncoming headlights.

Inside, an X-pattern elastic strap helps keep the cargo from shifting in transit, and unbuckles so it can be moved out of the way when packing or unpacking. There’s a rubber labyrinth seal around the perimeter of the lid opening that does an impressive job of keeping rain water and exhaust fumes out of the interior. Even after we subjected the seals to a direct assault with a high-pressure spray washer, nary a drop of water entered the bags.

But the most engaging feature of the Maxias is GIVI’s exclusive Monokey System, which allows each bag to be both opened and removed from the bike with the same lock, located next to the flush-mount carrying handle. You just insert the reversible key into the lock, turn it 90 degrees, and punch a big red button adjacent to the lock. That unlatches the bag and allows it to be lifted off of two beveled studs on the mounting bracket that fit into matching vertical notches in the lower edge of the bag’s rear surface. The whole operation only takes a couple of seconds, even in an unlighted parking lot in the middle of the night. And you don’t need the key to reattach the bag; just slide it down over the locating studs and push the top of the bag inward until it clicks into place. It’s that easy.

So, too, is opening the bag: Turn the lock 90 degrees, flip the carrying handle up out of the way, raise the latching mechanism (a complex but effective design that uses a wide section of the bag’s top surface to cinch the two halves tightly together), and open the lid.

Even installing the hardware is a simple task. On the VFR, attaching the mounts for saddlebags and a top trunk took about 45 minutes and required no modification of the bike. We installed saddlebag mounts alone on the Kawasaki (GIVI had not yet made a top-trunk rack for the ’93 ZX11), so the job consumed less than half an hour; but we did have to remove the four bungee hooks just below the seat and enlarge their upper holes to accept bigger bolts. The holes still permit the hooks to be reinstalled if the bag mounts ever are removed-a legitimate notion, since all the mounting hardware can be taken off of either bike in about 10 or 15 minutes, leaving behind no evidence that the system had ever been installed.

Nothing is ever totally without compromise, however, and with the Maxia system there are two. One is that the bags’ size makes for a wide motorcycle, especially on bikes that already are rather broad across the rear. But that’s the price of large capacity: Saddlebags can’t be big on the inside and small on the outside.

Nevertheless, if we installed only two side bags on either bike and loaded about 25 pounds of gear in each bag, the Maxias didn’t have significant adverse effects on twisty-road handling. We could feel a small difference but still were able to cut-and-thrust at a fast clip without sacrificing much in the way of control and stability.

Using the top trunk on the VFR, either alone or in concert with the saddlebags, had a much greater negative impact on handling, especially when trying to slice through corners with much aggression. The three-bag setup certainly offers enormous carrying capacity-more than a GL1500 Gold Wing-which might make it practical for two-up touring, provided the host motorcycle has an adequate GVWR to handle the load; but for most other situations, the two-bag option is a better choice.

If you opt for the two-bag setup, we recommend you install the top-trunk mount anyway. The top mount links the two side-bag mounts together, which helps stabilize the saddlebags when they’re full, and it also makes a decent luggage rack. What’s more, if you need to open one of the saddlebags alongside the road, you can quickly detach it from its side mount, snap it into place on the vacant top-trunk mount, and open it without fear of anything tumbling out onto the ground.

The second compromise is a big one: price. Each bag costs $311, and all the requisite mounting hardware can run nearly $300, depending upon the application. So, for a three-bag system, you could end up investing more than $1200.

But for that investment you get the finest aftermarket hard detachables ever built. They work magnificently, hold more than anyone should reasonably want to carry, look fabulous, allow unequalled versatility, and don’t force you to disfigure your beloved motorcycle. This is detachable luggage the way it was meant to be. □