New Top Case

I picked up an SMS Cargo Box C1700 this evening at B&B Yamaha for $50. They sell them as an accessory for Schwinn scooters, but I was able to adapt the luggage rack on my Kymco People 150 to accept the base.

Let's start with the luggage rack. I had to drill four holes in the plastic rack, which wasn't at all difficult. The only caution here is to not use too much pressure nor to use too long of a bit since the bit will pop through rather abruptly and might cause damage to the tail light casing or body panels.

Once the base was secured to the rack, it was a simple matter to attach the case to it. The box includes plenty of hardware for various modes of attachment. The instructions are limited to several pictures, and are somewhat obtuse, but with a little ingenuity and a bit of luck, you don't really need to follow them anyway. In the end, I didn't use the directions and just used the hardware in a way that it would work best for my setup.

Now, let's look at the case itself. It's not terribly big, but has enough space to hold my 3/4 helmet with room to spare around it. The box claims it will hold a full face helmet, but it is barely tall enough to fit the 3/4 so I doubt that claim. It will easily fit my heavy winter jacket or all of my pistols and several bricks of ammo for trips to the range. There is a plastic light fixture with a red lens, and slots for four LED's, but no wiring and no LED's. I can easily remedy that myself, and it certainly explains, at least in part, the lower cost of the case.

There is a built in back rest, which will be nice for my son when he rides two up, though I have cautioned him not to lean on it too heavily due to the weak plastic of the back rack. It also came with three keys, though one would hope it would come with keys since it's hard to open a lock without them.

As far as quality goes, the plastic seems pretty good and the hinges seem solid. It doe not feel at all wobbly, nor poorly put together. It may not be a GIVI, but I think it will do just fine. It actually seems on par with the top box that Honda sells for the Metropolitan and it's a bit wider.

My plan is to paint the top half silver. I also plan to pick up some wiring and LED's from Radio shack and wire the light on the back.