How-To: Install a Trunk

[PCX Commuter]

Right out the gate, I have to disclose that I am a Honda fanatic. Virtually every bit of machinery in my home is from Honda. Two cars, two scooters, a riding tractor and a push mower. I'm also a HUGE fan of OEM parts from Honda. I've also spent over 20 years working on Hondas as a side business doing everything from regular maintenance to engine and transmission rebuilds and swaps. Ask me about my rebuild of my Metro scooter after my brother totaled it in a head-on accident! He walked away with only a sore neck.

After buying my PCX 150, I read up on the forums and looked at all the options for a trunk. The Honda one seemed pretty solid (better than the one for the 125!), but was not wide enough to fit my 15" Macbook laptop. The Givi B33 and E370 were the finalists and I decided on the E370 (with backrest) for the option of the brake light in the future.

00 Givi E370 E109.jpg (275.89 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

Now, onto the mounting plate. The Givi adaptor seemed fine, but pretty primitive.

00 Givi PCX Brackets E231.png (182.44 KiB) Viewed 27019 times

Scrubbing around the internets, I discovered an image of the Honda plate that seemed much more substantial. I took the chance and ordered the 08L70-KZY-910 from Powers Edge.com and the Givi trunk and backrest from the great guys at Sport Tour.com

00 Honda Plate 08L70-KZY-910 01.jpg (338.35 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

00 Honda Plate 08L70-KZY-910 02.jpg (316.92 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

With all these in hand, I decided to set off on a "How To" with some tweaks to what others have posted around the internet and using the Honda plate.

01 PCX Seat.jpg (305.25 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

01. Opening the seat, you'll find that the tail trim is separate from the rest of the seat body panels. You'll need to remove this trim to make some holes for the new mount.

02 PCX Seat Up.jpg (273.21 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

02. There are two philips screws to remove here.

03 PCX Screws.jpg (177.51 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

03. The rest of the trim is held on by clips. You'll want to take care in pulling the trim up. If you are hasty, you can pretty easily crack the rear edge. Start on the leading edge of each side and gently pull up.

04 PCX Trim 01.jpg (216.19 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

03b. The side of the trim needs to be tugged out to the side to get past the claws on the frame.

05 PCX Trim 02.jpg (203.91 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

03c. Here is another look at that side claw. From here, you'll just pull up to pop loose from the rear clip.

06 PCX Trim 03.jpg (245.86 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

04. Behold the metal frame of your bike. Notice the four empty bolt holes near the rear. This is where you will attach your adaptor plate.

07 PCX Mount Holes.jpg (260.58 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

05. First, you have to make four holes in your beautiful bit of trim. NOT my favorite thing to do on a brand-new machine, but I need a trunk! Place the trim upside down on a soft towel or other surface.

08 Trim Removed.jpg (255.58 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

05b. Honda, in their infinite accessory wisdom, has provided faint marks on the underside of the trim panel where you will make your holes. These are the larger ones and you'll need to find the center of each.

09 Trim Hole Marks.jpg (384.7 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

05c. I chose to first make smaller pilot holes to make sure I had found center.

10 Trim Drill Pilot.jpg (295.08 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

05d. And here is the top side with all four holes.

11 Trim Pilot Holes.jpg (221.53 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

05e. Time for the bigger bit! Honda calls for a 20mm bit. I only have a 7/8" bit, which is about 1mm wider and I had to take care to not carve more than just the bit width.

12 Trim Drill Bit.jpg (324.19 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

05f. Here is the rough larger holes.

13 Trim Rough Holes.jpg (241.07 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

06. Okay, now for a bit of a detour. Honda's instructions have you begin filing away the edges of the holes to allow the mount to fit precisely. This involves some test fitting and snapping the trim on and off the bike a few times. In an effort to NOT break off all the clips, I decided to remove all three while getting through this part. You can use a straightened paper clip to gently pry open the clip on either side. (bonus points for who can identify what I used)

14 Trim Clip.jpg (186.49 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

06b. And here is the clip mount with the clip removed.

15 Trim Clip Removed.jpg (180.83 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

07. A test fit on the bike to see how the alignment is working. I actually placed the mount plate on and determined where some trimming would be needed.

16 Trim Test Fit.jpg (248.28 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

08. Caution as you begin filing. Don't bang into or break this alignment tab on each side. Otherwise, you may end up with some NVH in your tail!

17 Trim Alignment Post.jpg (371.81 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

09. I would suggest a round file for the work here. Others have used the edge of their bit, but you'll chip off a lot of paint in the process. Even by hand, you have to be careful to file ONLY away from the outer body paint and towards the underside.

18 Trim File.jpg (227.37 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

10. Once you get it all lined up, time to bolt on the plate. Don't forget to reattach your clips, if you removed them. Honda calls for 20 ft/lb of torque on all four. I used just a bit of blue thread lock to keep these secure.

19 Bolt Torque 20lbs.jpg (188.95 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

Love this OEM Honda plate! So strong, you can actually pick up the bike from the back edge. Very clean too.

20 Plate Attached.jpg (234.44 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

11. Okay, now time to mount the Monolock base which comes with the trunk. Takes a bit of rigging, but I had decided it was worth it for the Honda plate.

21 Monolock Plate.jpg (195.04 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

11b. I did a little bit of "fancy" work involving washers and a metal tube, but you can just use the included Givi brackets.

22 Monolock Brackets.jpg (193.01 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

12. And the finished Givi plate installed and VERY sturdy.

23 Monolock Plate Finish.jpg (187.36 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

The grand finale with the trunk (with the optional backrest) installed. Sorry for the messy garage background, but it was a cold night when I finished! Total project time for me was about 2 hours, obviously taking it slow. Let me know if I missed something or you'd like more detail!

24 PCX Trunk Installed.jpg (400.57 KiB) Viewed 27018 times

[you you]

Excellent how to. It's like I was there, except I always mess something up

Are they grenade safety pins?

[maddiedog]

Great how-to. Welcome to the forums!

[WhiteNoise]

Fantastic How To! Makes me want to put that very rack on!
Looking at one or so pics I was wondering if you were missing your right rear signal/blinker? Or is it just the angle of the photo?
Okay, I know that little gadget tool thing, I've used one, seen one not to long ago! Dang it's making me nutty. Kinda reminds me of the chock full of nuts coffee can "key" used long ago to open the 1 lb lid. Oh, me age is showing I know it's Not that though. Geez, I gotta remember!

[PCX Commuter]

Hey WhiteNoise. Ha! No, got both blinkers on there. Probably just odd angles since I was trying to hide my messy garage!

Good guesses on the pins, but they are in fact the lock pins from the hydraulic tensioners for Honda V6 timing belts. They get cranked down at 2,200 lbs on a vise or press and then once the belt is timed and installed, you quickly yank these pins out and voila! Perfect tension. Thought another Honda engine nut might have been able to guess it.

Been two weeks riding and I still LOVE this top box trunk!

[Mel46]

Great job! I wish I had seen this How-to before I installed mine. I used the Giving supports and went through a lot of headaches, and ended up with all 4 of the bolts cross threaded. Then I had to buy 4 metric bolts from a Supply store which I also cross threaded. Now the unit is o. The bike but the threads are screwed up, which means that the u it may never come off again.....but that won't work because I just read that they take it all apart to service the bike. Any idea how I can fix cross threaded holes? I figured out what I did wrong g by reading this How-to. I will have to take out my Demel and move the holes just a fraction to get the bolts to thread correctly.....after I fix the cross threads. Wish I had popped off the clips and tried the alignment a few times first. I broke one plastic cover and had to purchase another, so I thought I would be smart the second time and line the base with the plastic, thinking it would then all line up when I put it back together.

[Mel46]

Sorry about the miss spelled words. I am on my tablet and it does what it wants to while I type. I next notice that it has changed words until I hit the .submit button. I have a full Bluetooth keyboard for it but am at a coffee shop so don't carry it with me there.

[maddiedog]

The only way I know to correct bad threads is to drill out and retap with a larger bore... Do you have a tap set?

[gn2]

Sometimes you can get away with wrapping PTFE tape round the bolt threads.

[Mel46]

I just came from my basement where I tore down my little bike's trunk and started over. With everything completely off I was able to get the threads to line back up! :-) I had already destroyed 2 of the original bolts but the ones I had bought at Home Depot with a decent head on them worked well at getting back on track. I just screwed them in till they stopped screwing, tightened them just a little with a wrench and they just back into alignment. The 2 bolts that were original to the kit use an allen wrench and don't give me any room to torque them. Once the bolt jumped back into alignment I could hand tighten them. I have never had that much luck with re-threading. Maybe they had not been tight previously.

[PCX Commuter]

Yikes! Sorry to hear about your threading troubles. Especially challenging here, since these bolt holes are not pass-through where you could attach a nut on the underside.

Sounds like you have it taken care of, but if you have any more trouble, I'd recommend a metric tap. A decent tap can often restore threads and can be gotten for just a couple bucks at your local auto parts store. Use a little light oil and slowly thread it back and forth to cut and clean the damaged threads. Spray the holes out to remove the shavings and you are good to go. Again, I like a little "blue" thread lock to both seal from corrosion and keep the bolts from buzzing or rattling loose.

[WhiteNoise]

Ouu...a messy garage? You better hope "you you" doesn't read that! As far as your hidden signal, good to read that "It Is" there. That little lock pin hmm, I must have seen it among my Dad's assorted hardware when I went through it last month. He use to keep hardware bits and odds/ends in jiffy jars. The lids to the jars were once mounted under shelves on his workbench, so he'd just unscrew a jar in/out when he needed something (the lid stayed behind). I always thought that was cool. We ate a lot of peanut butter growing up (still do). So he had jars hanging from the length of the each shelf (say 6' long) with each jar about 1-2" apart.
Thanks for explaining a lock pin's job, it certainly became useful to you and definitely brought back memories to me! Cheers

[WhiteNoise]

Just peeped at your garage.....I see a stereo. A must in Every Garage

[Mel46]

While discussing the trunk I thought about something else I added to my wife's scooter while going through all of the install. I added a 'Knight Rider' sequential tail light. I had to find a makeshift adapter to attach it to, but it works quite well while she is riding around. It is a great way to make sure you are noticed by drivers. Here is a picture of it on her bike.

Little Eric with new tail light-small.jpg (159.67 KiB) Viewed 26858 times

[you you]

Just peeped at your garage.....I see a stereo. A must in Every Garage

Oh yes. Mines been through various incarnations, usually from old hifi parts from the house

Now I use a bluetooth speaker connected to a smart phone or tablet

[SmellyTofu]

I just fitted my Coocase top box on my bike and I didn't protect the holes from water. Going by the design of the aluminium base where you mount the topbox, it is designed to flow out and under the bike given even the wiring under the bike is exposed to water spray from under the rear wheels.

[former50cc]

This will be the definitive guide for installation of a trunk on a PCX.
Thank you, PCX Commuter!
Does anyone have a picture of the 2013 Honda Trunk that mounts directly to the Honda Rear Trunk Base 08L70-KZY-910 ?
Does anyone know if this Honda Rear Trunk Base 08L70-KZY-910 also accepts the trunk intended for the SH150 ?

The reason I ask these questions is that the Honda Rear Trunk Base 08L70-KZY-910 would also be an ideal rack to strap or bungee a duffel bag, or any unusual shape behind the rider. Without the GIVI universal mounting plate, the 08L70-KZY-910 has far superior possibilities for odd-ball items to be lashed on.

[former50cc]

Here is a scan of the instruction sheet that comes with the Rear Trunk Base.

[former50cc]

11. Okay, now time to mount the Monolock base which comes with the trunk. Takes a bit of rigging, but I had decided it was worth it for the Honda plate.
11b. I did a little bit of "fancy" work involving washers and a metal tube, but you can just use the included Givi brackets.

I bought the Honda Rear Trunk Base 08L70-KZY-910, and it is indeed very sturdy metal construction. I have not yet installed it because I haven't decided on which trunk to get.
I'm thinking, however, that the Monolock or Monokey universal bases can easily be installed by first drilling mounting holes through the metal Honda Rear Trunk Base.
It might involve holes in a location like this: (I drew in the possible hole locations as a mock-up.)

08L70-KZY-910_witth-possible-hole-locations.jpg (90.73 KiB) Viewed 26018 times

[former50cc]

The rear trunk base installed on my PCX:

Rear Trunk Base 08L70-KZY-910_rear..jpg (390.66 KiB) Viewed 25898 times

Rear Trunk Base 08L70-KZY-910_2side-view..jpg (300.16 KiB) Viewed 25898 times