I have a 2004 Honda ST1300. It was purchased used with around 19,000 miles and I use it to commute into my office in San Francisco (about 30 miles each way).
I have a Givi Top-box on my V-Strom which I like very much. It is high-quality, and rugged, made for the daily grind.
The Bestem is not. It is a low-cost, cheap, top-box. It cost $87.58 including shipping and handling. I purchased the blue Bestem top-box. It matches the 2004 ST blue very nicely. This purchase was predicated on
- Price, it was inexpensive for a ST1300 top-box
- Backrest, for the pinion rider
- Storage, for longer trips.
The box itself is about a 8x cheaper than the Honda-line top-box with light. The Bestem box comes with a light built-in which, surprisingly, the Honda-line box does not; It is an option.
It took about a week to get the Bestem box and upon opening it I found a very noticeable scratch on the top of the case. Not a good start.
This box is about value, quality is sacrificed as the plastic is thin and pretty flimsy. The mounting bracket is also thin metal. This turns out to be helpful since it made it 'really' easy to drill though. More on this...
To get this box to work on the ST is not a bit deal, but does require a bit of work:
1) Take off the four plastic screws on the back rack of the ST and remove the black plastic piece (above). Note here that I have pushed one of the washers that came with the top-case into the black plastic, it fit great.
2) Turn over the Bestem top-box mounting plate and line-up the bottom two-holes of the Honda black plastic piece (template) with the long slits of the Bestem rack (This is not a good picture as the template should be scooted up about 4 inches, sorry).
3) Once the template is centered on the Bestem rack, I used a silver indelible marker to mark the spots to drill.
4) Removing the template, I took a center punch an punched a couple of indentations so the drill would stay in the hole.
5) I choose a 5/16" bit which worked well and the holes were easy to drill since the gauge of the metal is rather thin.
6) Build a solid platform. Since the Bestem rack isn't made for this bike it needed to be supported a bit more. I took one of the metal U-brackets that came with the rack and mounted it as in the picture. To do this, I marked, then used the center punches again, then drilled two more holes about two inches below where the previous holes were drilled.
7) I went to our local hardware store and purchase a couple of small machine screws (1" I think) and a locking nut.
8) I secured the U-bracket to the Bestem rack and it felt solid.
9) I also purchased a couple of 1 1/2" machine screws for the back of the rack since the bolts that same with the rack hung down a bit lower than I wanted.
Almost done
10) Using the two supplied bolts and washer for the front of the rack, it's a tight squeeze but managed to get the lock washer and bolts screwed on. Be sure to not tighten completely until all bolts are attached.
11) Once all bolts were loose I centered the rack visually and screwed down two bolts.
12) I then tested the top-box on the rack to see if it would actually work. I was concerned that the bolt heads might not have enough clearance and scratch the bottom of the rack. No problem, at least while the top-box is empty :). The fit was nice and snug. The locking system is pretty cheesy - a lightweight plastic button. Again this is a value system.
13) While the top-case was on I also tested to make sure I could get my seat on and off. It's a bit snug but worked.
14) I then removed the top-case and tightened the remaining bolts careful not to bend the Bestem rack. The U-bracket really helped prevent this.
15) I have not connected the top-case lights yet. I will complete this entry when I do.
Summary:
The Bestem top-box is an inexpensive system that requires some work to install the rack on the ST1300. It is made of a lighter grade plastic than my Givi system, which I have been commuting happily with for the last year on my V-Strom. Since I primarily use the ST's side cases for storage, while commuting to my to my office, I didn't attach the Bestem top-case for daily use. I do plan to use the top-case when on longer weekend rides, with my wife, and feel the backrest will make her ride a bit more comfortable. The blue paint job, albeit scractched a bit, was impressive. The color match of the case to the bike it almost seems a color match to the 2004 Blue.
Was it worth the actual price (base price - including shipping- of $87.58), a few nuts and bolts and 4-5 hours to install)? Yes, since I enjoyed the process, I like to tinker, and don't use the top-box on a daily basis. If you "don't" have the time to tinker with your bike this might not be the rack for you. This top-box is also a bit delicate, compared to my Givi, and has a pretty cheesy locking system and you will need to manually disconnect the brake wires after box removal from rack. On a day-to-day basis, I wouldn't feel confident about using the Bestem rack, but for weekend warriors, who like to do their own work, it seems a good value.
Following-up a couple of years later living with the Bestem ("Not all the glitters is gold"):
It did seem like a good value but I would not buy one again as it is just to cheaply constructed. I have a Givi V46 on another bike and would get another in a flash. They're solid and work great in a variety of weather conditions. The Bestem lock mechanism doesn't turn easily anymore and the box just feels cheap. The plastic of the case is much thinner than the Givi and if you're using your top-case for a daily commute I wouldn't even consider the Bestem as it's not durable for daily use. While at the time I wanted to match the color of my bike with the top-box, which the Bestem did great, the durability of the product is really sub-par.
In conclusion, When I install another top-box: I'll save time and spend a bit more to get a top-box that will stand-up for the life of my bike: the Givi V46 or the HondaLine.
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