Mounting Givi E21 hard case on a 1996 Honda Shadow VLX
You don't need to do this. "Five Stars" makes Givi compatible racks for the VLX (and engine guards too). It may take a while to get them here in the US due to back orders, but you can get them, and they are worth the wait. You can order the racks from http://riderhaus.com/
I didn't know that so I spent a whole weekend cutting and welding a set of Givi racks for a BMW F650.
Project status: The racks have been cut, welded, painted, and are on the bike. The racks and E21 bags look great. No holes were drilled in the rear fender, and my installation is compatible with a sissy bar! Moving the rear turn signals is necessary. The mounting point for the Givi tubular rack is different in my installation from the Honda Shadow VLX sissy bar mount points.
You can mount Givi tubular racks as I show here, and keep your Honda sissybar
Scroll down to the bottom of the page for photos of my VLX with the Givi bags mounted. (click any image for a larger view).
For various reasons I decided my bike would be more practical with waterproof locking hard bags. Givi no longer offers mounts for the VLX (and LeatherLyke never has for pre-1999 VLX models, and apparently neither does JC Whitney), so I bought a Givi tubular rack for the BMW F650. This is one of the least expensive Givi racks, and I modified it to fit my VLX. It was a huge chore to figure all this out, but the cutting and welding weren't too bad.
My total time was around 10 hours, including figuring out how to modify the racks and mount them on the bike.
Materials:
Givi E21 flat black Monokey cases (2)
Givi tubular racks for the BMW F650 (older F650 ... I'll list the Givi part number)
Scott Holloway's turn signal bracket
assorted metric bolts and anti-vibration nuts (aircraft style with nylon aka Nylock)
assorted medium gauge mild steel (3/32 inch thick)
paint
Tools:
hand tools
MIG welder
grinder
Dremel tool
drill
First move the rear turn signals.
The racks bolt to the old turn signal mounts, and to the rear frame just inside the fender. There is a gap between the fender and the rear frame, and an existing hole. I have used the passenger foot peg mounts as the front mount for the rack.
I don't think my mounting strategy would work on later model VLX's with chrome mount/accent on the side of the rear fender. Maybe it would work with some minor mods.
It looks great! Aside from moving the rear turn signals and removing the passenger foot pegs, the bike wasn't modified. I'm sure that the passenger foot pegs could be modified to remain on the bike.
I have also removed the helmet lock from the stock position, and welded a mount on the left rack, so I'll be able to use the saddle bags and the helmet lock.
Big warning: I should have made the front mounting tab longer. The stock Givi tab length is about 1/8 inch (3 mm) too short, so my rear fender had to be bent a little. You can't tell, and I don't thing it effects the fender, but I had to get my girlfriend to lift up on the fender so I could bolt on the rack.
Click any image for a larger view.
