► Tank bags, tail packs and soft luggage

Hi Guys,

I am not as fortunate as Jonathan to have done so many miles - very envious :green gri

I have added Buffalo panniers - the left one sits about 10mm above the exhaust and having done a ride down to Ashford it seems to do just fine.

I have a photo to show but can't see where to upload it :confused:

Cheers

Divan
 
Hi.

Thanks for your post, you can PM me with an insert or attachment pic if you like?:thumb

Regards

MG
 
soft ones !!!

Divanmostert,
Can I ask - are you using the buffalos without any frames?
Wanting to get some for the misses bike. Would like to share the load a little more if we are going to tour a little further afield, eg Alps Pyrenees etc. Also once they are strapped on how stable are they really. ie. can you feel any movement from the panniers while cornering.
 
Tonadapark,

Yes, I don't use any frames. The valcro straps seems to hold it all together and the safety strap goes underneath the seat.

I must admit they have not been filled to their maximum load, but I had some decent load in them and I couldn't notice any difference in the handling.

I guess you can always add extra straps to keep them in place - my wife was sitting on the straps when I tested it and all was ok.

Let me know if you need more pics
 
SW Motech EVO racks

Hi,How much did the SW Motech EVO racks cost and where did you get them from ?
Cheers Kev
 
everywherevirtually said:
Hi Mark & David,

Jonathan here :beerjug:. You might want to check out the many photos I've taken of the panniers and bike in varying conditions since last year on my flickr account.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/everywherevirtually

Hoping to do a bit of a 'howto' section at http://www.everywherevirtually.com soon too.

To answer your questions the panniers have two velcro straps that reach across the back of the bike. In truth the rear end of the 800 is too wide. Wider even than the 1200GS. So I bought 1 metre of velcro and cut it in two and use the two pieces to bridge the gap. One strap slides under the rear luggage rack and the other under the seat.

there is a strap that attaches to the passenger footpeg on either side and another strap that connects both panniers at the rear. It's close to the exhaust so I have wrapped it around the connecting bar of the pannier rack to keep it away from the heat.

The panniers are tough. Admittedly I haven't had any fast off's but I've bashed them off metal and concrete posts as I've squeezed through gaps. Unlike metal panniers they will give way to immovable objects. :D

They are waterproof. I've put them in the bath just to test them out. No leaks. They are easy to access from the top and rolling the top over twice is more than enough in my book. If I had on criticism it is the strap that goes over the reflective patches and under the pannier. A. it covers the reflective strap B. it gets covered in muck and oil if you have a scottoiler. You might think why does that matter? Well the strap doubles as a shoulder strap and so if you forget and put it on your shoulder and you are at home loading the bike up you'll get oil all over your shoulder :blast. I speak from experience.

When out on the road I tend to use the rather convenient carrying handles on them anyway. In the photo Walter used the cycle version of the Ortliebs. They used plastic hooks to attach to the custom made frame and sadly broke after a small fall. Walter will be using my type for the next leg of the trip through Siberia. :thumb

The advantage of using the evo racks is they also come off really fast should you want to tackle some off road without the luggage. I can have the whole lot off in 5 minutes. :beerjug:
Click to expand...

Hi Jonathan,

In all your travels, have you had any issues with not being able to lock your panniers?

Cheers

Divan
 
divanmostert said:
Hi Jonathan,

In all your travels, have you had any issues with not being able to lock your panniers?

Cheers

Divan
Click to expand...

Hi Divan,

after 18000 miles I have to say I've had no problems. If I'm in a city I will park in well lit car parks with security and take the tank bang with me. My panniers usually contain clothes and camping equipment so if anything were to be stolen it would not be a complete disaster.

I work on the assumption that people see the soft bags and think that there is nothing worth stealing which usually there isn't. There is always the opportunist thief but up to now it's been OK.

If I saw someone with one of those wire meshes padlocked over their panniers I'd assume they had something valuable inside. It's personal choice and assessment of risk.

As a for instance I never leave my helmet in the pannier, just in case. But I sometimes leave my groceries in there.
 
800gs and Ventura Racks

I used the Ventura rack system on my 650x Country and it worked well. For £75 I can get the adaptor for the 800gs but I have never seen any BMW trailees with this system but then again I have not seen it on many other bikes! If anyone has any negative thoughts experience it would be great to hear from you.....:cool
 
Yes - the same. You attach two "L" shaped brackets to the bike and then a vertical hoop onto those brackets. The luggage has a sleeve which the hoop fits into so placing the luggage on the bike requires the fastening of only two clips. Clever but no doubt could look a bit odd!
 
Pac Safe Tankbag?

Hello,
Has anyone out there used a pacsafe tank bag on the 800GS-I am looking at a bag which will hold my helmet whilst i go wondering,i was going to get the normal pacsafe helmet bag but then came across this.

Its seems ok,a little bit dubious about the locks it is supplied with.The other alternative is to get the mesh and wrap it around my TT bag on at the moment,i understand if some theiving scally wants it they wil get it eventually.

Whats everyones thoughts?

http://www.pacsafe.com/www/index.php?_room=3&_action=detail&id=28-I think thats how i attach the link???
 
Looked at Pacsafe stuff originally and decided against it. I reckon I could cut through that cable with a Leatherman. Also putting wire mesh over something is saying "I have something worth stealing here". I'm not offering a very good solution here but I just think Pacsafe stuff is over priced for what it is.

I was thinking of just getting some heavy duty cable and looping it through the helmet and something on the bike.

Most times though I carry my helmet around and use it as a shopping basket to carry the keys, gloves, sat nav, red bull, pork pies etc :D
 
What I've done in the past is use my cable-lock for everything... through a trouser-leg, then the arm of my jacket, then the helmet...then lock it up through the front wheel. Obviously I am not wearing any of the aforesaid garments at the time...

Greg
 
tank bag

everywherevirtually said:
That's quite a party trick :D


888 the name of the post :cool
Click to expand...
e

Yes,that would take a bit of flexibilty!!!

Thanks for the info,the problem is i will be leaving the bike for a few days as i am on the hills,so was thinking bike cover,pac safe tank bag and big bag.

However after doing the mesurments i think the tank bag wil be to long for our little front ended machine.SO back to wrapping the helmet in cable and fixing to the u lock!!:beerjug:
 
Tank Bag

Hi All. I'm looking around for a decent tankbag for the 650 Twin... like the quality of the BMW offering in terms of it's attachment method but not the height... Ideally I'm looking for one with the same footprint and attachment points (under the seat) but probably about half the capacity. Don't really want all the long straps back to the frame that seem to be a feature of a lot of bags... Ideas/Advice please :augie
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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