This is a letter I sent to Givi in July, 2003.
Dear Sirs:
I recently bought a Givi Point e33 top case.
I just received from GIVI some information concerning making
a revision to the closing mechanism which contained some
plastic pieces to modify the top case to reduce the possibility of
it falling off. Surely, this is an admission on Givi's
part that the mechanism can fail.
I was considerably disconcerted recently, upon stopping,
to find that the top case was no longer latched. Had I
ridden another hundred yards, it would have fallen off.
Since it is not important that I be able to remove
the case from the rack at will, and in consideration
of the incomprehensible instructions provided with
the kit, I made sure it will never fall off by
drilling holes in the case itself and using u-bolts
to hold the case to the Ventura rack to which
the Givi mount is bolted. Even if the latch becomes
unlatched, the case will now not fall off.
While I am at it, I may as well point out that the
mono-lock mechanism is a triumph of ingenuity over
practicality. I can't imagine a more annoying mechanism.
To close the case properly requires a ridiculous degree
of manual dexterity and two hands, especially if the
case is a bit full and the contents require compression
before the case will close. Surely, one should be able
to latch the top merely by closing it, you know, like
a trunk on a car. Instead, one is required to use the
annoyingly-shaped key (which I had to modify to fit
correctly on my keyring).
Since I do not own a car, I use my bike for fun and
transportation on a daily basis. Coping with the irritating
mono-lock was just too much so I modified my top case
so that I can open it and lock it with one hand. See
the attached image.
Another annoying thing about this case is the strap which
is supposed to hold the lid is much too short. Unless the
bike was parked downhill, it was almost impossible to
make the lid stay open because the strap was too short.
This was very annoying. I say 'was' because I removed the
thing. The lid now folds back onto the passenger seat
which makes usage that much easier. If you want to keep
the strap, make it at least four inches longer.
I find it somewhat amazing that a company the size of
Givi would manufacture products which are so thoughtless.
Does anyone test your products before the decision is
made to manufacture in volume, or is it 'tested' by
non-riders in some air-conditioned office?
If you like, when inventing new products, feel free to
contact me and I will test them for you.
I would appreciate some form of response (even a negative
one) so that I know that a human at Givi read this and
perhaps gave it some thought.
Thank you
Tony Dilworth
(Need I say that they never responded?)