? alternative soft bags for BMW cases

[dscha]

Hello all!

i am looking for alternative soft cases for the original bmw cases. The original ones are 1) too expensive and 2) take away too much space.
are there any other manufacturers that provide soft cases?

regards from austria

dietmar

 

[Wraithwrider]

Dietmar

There a UK company called Mane Event and there website is:

http://www.maneevent.org.uk/

I'm thinking of getting some bags for my 1200.

If you do a search on them it may produce some reviews.

Peter

 

[dscha]

peter


thanks for this hint. looks very good. unfortunately they dont use the space "behind" the "exhaust-spare-area" (sorry, dont´know how to describe in english), like they do with other bags (like for the K1200LT according to the picture on their homepage). But the price seems to be fine, good value compared to the originals. I will search for some reviews. can´t imagine that they are of poor quality. Please let me know if and when you got them.

many regards

dietmar

 

[Matmos]

I have some Mane event bags. They may not be as pretty as the oe bags but they are strong and do the job at a much reduced price. The bags are expandable and from what I hear take up less space than bmw items. Only slight down is that they are both the same in shape i.e. the exhaust side is not tailored to pannier shape but I can live with that considering the price.

 

[GSmonkey]

Are the OEM bags tailored for the left pannier??

 

[dscha]

yes, this seems to be a disadvantage. but after i thought about it: i can use a smaller bag and can put some items in this space, like the raindress or other more or less little things. not perfect, but i think it should be fine.

many thanks for your answers. i guess i will order it if no other options come up.


dietmar

 

[Dahoum]

I got th emane event bags a while ago and have found them excellent.

As you say dscha, I simply put boots or such like in the area of the L pannier not filled with the bag.

 

[swebb]

Are the OEM bags tailored for the left pannier??

In a word NO the OEM bags are not tailored in shape for the exhaust, which i think is entirely poor design given that they're from BMW themselves.

I agreed a set free when i ordered my bike, thats the only reason i have them, i wouldn't have bought them, given the price.

Although with all that said, the bags are extremely good quality and i'm really impressed, they make for great travel luggage in their own right.

their only real downfall in my opinion is the price and the lack of shaping around the exhaust, but i haven't yet seen any that do shape around the exhaust for an R1200GS.

HTH

Stu.

 

[dscha]

it seems that maneevent did it for other bmw cases, i.e. for the K1200RS. wonder why they didn´t taylor it for the GS
A additionally attached little bag could be useful.

dietmar

 

[Rich]

If your likely to be either leaving the panniers on the bike and living out of them or taking them off totally and taking them into the hotel with you I'm honestly not sure I'd bother. You can get stuff sacs for a few quid each and then fill all the spaces, or those mesh pac cube thingys as well. I just got back from camping with the GS and found it was no problem having a couple of different bags in each pannier, and stuff didnt all fall out as soon as the case opened.

I appreciate the use of the bags, dont get me wrong, but even the Mane event ones are a lot of cash.

 

[GSmonkey]

I was lucking at those cube things in Cotswolds at the weekend and thought they may be a good substitute - as I'm only going to use the panniers infrequently for camping. May give it a try, rather than spending my hard-earned on liners.

 

[schnauzer]

my mane event bags for the standard plastic gs1150 panniers have a pouch sewn onto the exhaust side that fills the odd shaped space...