Daft off roading question

[robc]

Panniers on or not?

I'm thinking they'd serve two purposes.

1) When I fall off the bike will be slightly more upright so easier to pick up;
2) Might help protect the bike a little better.

The dilemma I have is that I only have the plastic BMW touring panniers. Will they take a low speed fall or will they just smash to smithereens?

Regards

Rob C

 

[Timolgra]

It'll break the alloy casting off, which is part of the pillion footrest mount.

For offroading...
Strong alloy panniers and frames = good
BMW plastic panniers = bad

EDIT: BMW alloy panniers also bad.

 

[AndrewD]

Panniers on or not?

I'm thinking they'd serve two purposes.

1) When I fall off the bike will be slightly more upright so easier to pick up;
2) Might help protect the bike a little better.

The dilemma I have is that I only have the plastic BMW touring panniers. Will they take a low speed fall or will they just smash to smithereens?

Regards

Rob C

Mate fell off on a muddy track a little while ago, the plastic pannier rail snapped and the pannier did not fare much better. I use metal panniers and have engine bars they DO work VERY well

 

[Paul Young]

Best to remove them.

They can cause problems in various circumstances like, not being able to lean at the right moment, catching on trail "furniture" &, in a fall, can cause the rear subframe to twist/bend. They can be handy for keeping towropes, etc, though...

 

[robc]

Cheers chaps, that's pretty much what I already thought.

No spare money for ally panniers at the moment so I'll have to rely on the crash bars and hope the ground is soft

Regards

Rob C

 

[Mav]

Unless you need the space to carry kit, I would always suggest against panniers because of the ease with which you can trap your leg when paddling through difficult obstacles and the pannier will catch the back of your leg.

Of course, you might be a riding god and never need to paddle

 

[g.s.john]

hepco & becker gobi's built like a brick shithouse dropped it fully loaded i.e camping gear ect minor scratch no damage to the bike

 

[Stewart H]

I keep having to dress out dents in my Zegas from offroad drops (and car park lie downs) but they do stop the bike from falling over too far.

Stewart

 

[Padge]

Pelican Cases good.
Padge being a twat on a ski slope in summer bad

 

[LiquidLAN]

It'll break the alloy casting off, which is part of the pillion footrest mount.

For offroading...
Strong alloy panniers and frames = good
BMW plastic panniers = bad

EDIT: BMW alloy panniers also bad.

for the best off road experience

ditch the panniers and the bike they are attached to and get a DRZ/WR/EXC/XR/690R/X-Country = Lots and lots and lots of fun <> very very good

 

[freeloader]

I keep having to dress out dents in my Zegas from offroad drops (and car park lie downs) but they do stop the bike from falling over too far.

Stewart

Always a bonus in snowy Shropshire car parks.

 

[raginmund]

for the best off road experience

ditch the panniers and the bike they are attached to and get a DRZ/WR/EXC/XR/690R/X-Country = Lots and lots and lots of fun <> very very good

+1000

I wrecked a perfectly good big tralie 'having a go' with zero off-road experience. I enjoyed the event I attended, but it was an expensive mistake really.

Next time I can afford a second bike, it's going to be one of the ones posted by LAN (I'd kill for a X-Challenge in fact). But the GS is road-only for me.

 

[robc]

Hi Raginmund,
I am aware that I might break something on the GS rendering it unridable for a time. I'm not too worried though as it is my second bike. I'm trying to get 100,000 miles on my Versys as soon as possible so I've got a good excuse to sell it and replace it with an 1150 GSA. The Versys is at 58,000 miles so another 18 months should see it pass 100,000.

I'm not planning on riding serious trails, just the easy ones for now and I won't be going very fast on those either. I just want to have a nice day out with some like minded friends and stopping off for a pie and a pint at lunchtime. More of an off road bimble really.

What did you manage to do to your GS?

Regards

Rob C

 

[sockpuppet]

Unless you need the space to carry kit, I would always suggest against panniers because of the ease with which you can trap your leg when paddling through difficult obstacles and the pannier will catch the back of your leg.

That's wot dun my leg. The pannier caught it and broke it. If I'd just tell off I'd have been fine

 

[Paul Young]

I learnt my lesson in 2002... A trashed tank, busted mirror & a holed rocker cover persuaded me that the bike was too heavy for me to enjoy off-road (only bike bits broken, rather than my bits ). I had plenty of greenlaning experience with an R80GS before this & had a couple of years with the 1150 before dumping it. Now it's on alloys & sports tyres & I have a nice 250cc trailie for the rough stuff

 

[robc]

Hi Paul,
That's a big wheelie. How'd you manage that?

Regards

Rob C

 

[ThreeDawg]

How about soft panniers? Wolfman do two neat sets which would mount on the plain Touratech pannier rails. http://www.wolfmanluggage.com/Saddle/teton_saddle_bags.html Light, and if you do rip one off easy to bodge back on or strap to the seat.

Three Dawg

 

[raginmund]

Hi Raginmund,
I am aware that I might break something on the GS rendering it unridable for a time. I'm not too worried though as it is my second bike. I'm trying to get 100,000 miles on my Versys as soon as possible so I've got a good excuse to sell it and replace it with an 1150 GSA. The Versys is at 58,000 miles so another 18 months should see it pass 100,000.

I'm not planning on riding serious trails, just the easy ones for now and I won't be going very fast on those either. I just want to have a nice day out with some like minded friends and stopping off for a pie and a pint at lunchtime. More of an off road bimble really.

What did you manage to do to your GS?

Regards

Rob C

Crikey, congrats on that Versys mileage!!

It wasn't a GS I broke, it was a Super Tenere. I paid £1250 for the bike and reduced it to £450 worth as I melted the wiring loom and split the tank.

Serves me right really, but I've always tried to have new experiences on 2-wheels

I wouldn't reccomend an adventure bike if you've not done off-roading before; I tried it later on a DRZ400 (133kg) and even that was hard work when you're tired, wet, and out of shape.

After spending most of 2008 trying to become a trail rider, I decided I was better off as an all-roads tourer. Horses for courses.

Good luck.