Coocase S48 Astra Topcase, Luxury Edition

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How Did I Get Here?
OK, a while back I got a good deal on the OEM topcase rack and I've been searching high and low for a decent deal on a topcase to put on it. I figured if I was going to go, it was "go big, or go home" so that ruled out all of the sub-forty liter units. I would�ve stuck with Honda, but the OEM unit was just too expensive.

Why I Didn�t Go With Givi
I looked into the Givi cases. Challenge #1 was, "which one"? The only ones that I liked were the E450, E470, and V46.

The second problem was "how to mount it on the OEM rack"? For those of you uninitiated in the mysteries of the Givi product line, the �E� cases are Monolock cases, and the V46 is Monokey. The Monolock cases are ostensibly oriented towards scooters and light-duty uses. They have a smaller footprint and mounting plate. The Monolock cases are heavier and have a larger mounting plate. Givi�s cases don�t come with a mounting plate, though, so you either have to buy a �universal� plate or mount the box on one of Givi�s topcase racks. Obviously for me the former was the only option.

The concern that I had was would the universal plate fit, and if so how I would get it mounted? Universal plates are meant to be mounted to a rack by running machine screws/bolts through the �milk crate� bottom of the plate. I got a couple of people to do some measurements and found that the mounting bolt holes in the OEM rack were too widely spaced for the Monolock plate to fit. So, that meant Monokey only, which meant the V46. Problem was, $240 for the case, another $65 for the universal plate, plus shipping, and suddenly it�s not that much cheaper than the OEM unit. Grrrr.

Coocase (and Twisted Throttle) to the Rescue!
Then I discovered something called Coocase on Twisted Throttle�s site. Wow, look at this� the S48 Astra. Hmmmm. 48 liters, comes with a large universal mounting plate. Not bad. But wait, there�s more! LED brake lights, alarm(!), and (get this) a remote! Looks sharp, the price is reasonable ($275), and shipping is free until 10/15/08. The guy at Twisted Throttle says that their quality is really good, so I pull the plug. Always efficient, TT shipped it the same day.

Case showed up 4-5 days later as promised, and it�s really nice. Fit and finish look excellent, all of the bits (mounting plate, mounting hardware, wiring kit) are in the box. Grabbed the OEM rack and started looking at the alignment of the holes in the plate to see if it work work. Bingo, spot on! All I needed was four 6x1.0x50mm metric machine screws from the hardware store and everything bolted up just fine. I mounted the OEM rack on the bike and verified that I can remove the seat with the seat cowl and the rack/plate in place; good news there as I was worried about clearances.

The box requires that it be wired, unswitched, to the battery, and I didn�t time to figure out the cleanest way to do that so I just ran the wires under the seat and did a temporary hookup. Put the box on the rack, and 30 seconds later, it automatically locks! Cool. Pick up the remote, hit the button, �beep, beep�, it unlocks! Very cool!

Grabbed my son and had him verify that the LED brake lights work. Also tried out the alarm. It�s a motion sensor (with sensitivity adjustment in the box). Makes a reasonable amount of noise. Not a car alarm but it�s pretty loud and would certainly get your attention if you were anywhere near it.

The Bottom Line
I�ll post pics soon, but I wanted to get this information out there in case anybody looking for an early Christmas present and wanting to take advantage of the free shipping deal got the heads-up. This thing ROCKS! To summarize:
Pros

• Great quality � every bit as good as Givi (I have V35 bags)
• Big, but nice looking and not too bulky
• Stylish design goes well with the VFR
• Great features � alarm, LED brakelights, remote
• Mounting plate looks great when case is removed
• Comes with cover for electrical contacts on plate (used when box is off)
• At $275, the best value in a 40+ liter case, IMHO

Cons

• Has to be wired unswitched, so could drain battery if bike is left for long periods
• Alarm could be louder
• LED Brake lights aren't that bright

Hope this helps.

Does it have a passenger backrest pad?

http://www.twistedth...tview/4417/653/

Pictures, as promised. First, here's the case.

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Here's the mounting plate and the hardware that I used to secure it to the OEM rack (50 mm x 6 x 1.0 phillips-head machine screw, the diamond-shaped-slotted plate and cap nut that comes with the rack, and a 6mm washer from the honda rack hardware bag (note that there's also a steel sleeve from the OEM hardware that I inserted between the plastic plate and the rack - visible in the second pic).

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Note how the diamond-shaped washers allow the bolts to move around within each of the "waffle" squares. Very clever and very importand to get the bolts to drop through the mounting holes in the rack. If you look closely you can see where the bolts go through the plate and then through the rack.

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Here's a side view. The mounting plate stands off from the rack a bit; if I was motivated and didn't care about the resale value of the rack I would probably grind off the stand-offs on the top of the rack.

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Electrical connections were pretty straightforward. Power,, ground, brakelight. I wanted to be able to remove the rack, so I had to figure out how to provide a reasonable disconnect for all three. I found a computer-type four-pin power connector at Radio Shack that would work. So, I wired the power side to the battery (using the included 3A in-line fuse & holder), the ground to my already-installed terminal block, and the brakelight to the green/yellow brakelight wire. Here are some pics. Note that I tucked the in-line fuse and the connector under the center spine of the subframe when I was done; the pics just show how it all went together.

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With this all in place, tucked in under the seat, and properly zip-tied in place, i went ahead and started buttoning everything up. Here's what the rack looks like with the cover plate in place.

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And a close-up that shows the electrical connectors. There's a little rubber block that they provide to cover the electrical connectors when the case is not installed. You can see it in the previous picture.

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Here's what the bike looks like with just the box installed.

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Here's what it looks like with the Givi V35 sidecases installed as well.

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Overall, I'm very happy with the case and the setup. As I said in the original post, the fact that the case is hot-wired to the battery may be the biggest drawback, but the manufacturer does provide and in-line fuse, and there is also that rubber block to fit over the connectors if the case is not mounted (which will protect from shorts). If you're really worried about the drain that this thing puts on the battery, you can always just take it off the bike, after all.

If you're looking for an alternative to Givi, Coocase is a great choice. They have a 28, and a 36, and a 48 liter. The features are very similar. Great quality, great value. Joe Bob sez "Check it out!"

Does it have a passenger backrest pad?

Haven't seen that. I'm thinking about using some closed-cell foam that I have for that (and, incidently, as a soft liner for the bottom of the case). Perhaps Twisted Throttle can provide more information.

Good information and the pictures looked sharp. That is one sharp VFR! :pissed:

I've had this for a couple of weeks now and am still as impressed with the product as I was when I purchased. :fing02:

Just a quick reminder that the Twisted Throttle deal on these ($275 w/free shipping) ends on Wednesday, 10/15.

What is the part number for that topcase rack? Any idea what you would pay from a dealer? If their were a backrest on the case, do you think the rack would be stiff enough to handle it?
Bike looks very good btw, love the mix of silver and black on the bags.

Looks good for a topcase. If I were gonna buy one I guess that would be it. Only problem I have is it takes away from the sexiness of my bike. The additional features sound great, lights alarm and detachable. Good find for those folks looking for a topcase. :fing02:

The guys at Twisted Throttle are great. In 2003 they used my Honda 919 at the Dealer Expo in Indianapolis as a model bike. I got to keep all the goodies after the show. It was about $1000 worth of freebies. If you look at their web page on how to install stuff on a 919 you'll see my old bike. Wish I could get the power and torque of the 919 along with the everything else... of the VFR.

Kevin

Nice job on the review. Good deal on the case!

What is the part number for that topcase rack? Any idea what you would pay from a dealer? If their were a backrest on the case, do you think the rack would be stiff enough to handle it?
Bike looks very good btw, love the mix of silver and black on the bags.

It's Honda's Part #08L42-MCW-100. Here's a link The rack is very solid. Weighs quite a bit and is rock steady. I'm sure it won't be an issue if somebody leans up against it. Haven't run two-up with it yet, though.

Thanks for the compliment.

Nice job on the review. Good deal on the case!

Thanks, it is a good deal, and I just noticed that it's been extended to 12/15. So, let Santa know and you might find a big box under the tree on Christmas!

BTW, +1 on TwistedThrottle. My remote cracked the other day where the split ring goes through it and after a short email exchange they shipped another one to me this morning. No charge. :laugh:

I've had this for a couple of weeks now and am still as impressed with the product as I was when I purchased. :biggrin:

Just a quick reminder that the Twisted Throttle deal on these ($275 w/free shipping) ends on Wednesday, 10/15.

Ran across your thread on the internet when researching the Coocase. Nice writeup! Anyhow I have a 2002 Kawasaki Concours w/ a luggage rack on back. Am still somewhat confused on the mounting setup of the Coocase. Do I need to purchase any other mounting plates or can I mount the Coocase directly to my luggage rack? Here is a photo of my luggage rack...

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Thanks.

hey 03VFR0078,
Where did you get that rack and did it have saddle bags that you could buy? The same rack came with the bike I bought and I'm tring to find parts . Thanks for any help