GS Vario’s panniers weight limit

[jj65]

It’s not in my manual as its a GSA TE so only shows the alloy panniers. Would someone kindly inform me the safe max weight you can load into the panniers please. They are pretty heavy just on there own but am i right in thinking you can put about 10kg into each one?
Thanks in advance for any info

 

[fred_jb]

The picture of a sticker in the case about halfway down the following thread says the official limit is 5 kg, probably because the cases themselves are so heavy. It would be interesting to know just how heavy if you feel inclined to weigh them?

https://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php/228715-Pannier-safe-loading-weight

 

[fred_jb]

Or if you believe the spec here it is 10 kg:
https://www.bmw-motorrad-bohling.com/uk/bmw-r1200gs-k50-vario-panniers-set-with-codeable-locks.html

Can't see a weight quoted for these, but the Vario version for the earlier pre-LC bikes weigh about 5.8 kg each.
See: https://www.bmw-motorrad-bohling.co...rs-cases-for-bmw-r-1200-gs-with-two-keys.html

 

[Mr Bean]

10kg's

 

[Engineer]

10kg's

This is the latest spec - it used to be 5kg but has now been increased, 5kg was always far to low to be practical.

 

[Arsey]

This is the latest spec - it used to be 5kg but has now been increased, 5kg was always far to low to be practical.

But don’t exceed 180kmh/112mph or you’ll induce the death weave and forks will snap

 

[Engineer]

But don’t exceed 180kmh/112mph or you’ll induce the death weave and forks will snap

Don’t exceed 80mph on a KTM

 

[Bravo]

10 kg a pannier? They obviously don't take their wife on the bike when they go away.

 

[Mr Bean]

This is the latest spec - it used to be 5kg but has now been increased, 5kg was always far to low to be practical.

I thought all LC's had the same limit? My '63 plate was also 10kg's.

 

[Mr Bean]

10 kg a pannier? They obviously don't take their wife on the bike when they go away.

That's about right for the panniers - Givi Trekker 58l top box is entirely different, carries way more than the limit of 10kg's....

 

[Arsey]

Don’t exceed 80mph on a KTM

I rarely do as most the roads I ride you’d struggle to do 50.

 

[Engineer]

I thought all LC's had the same limit? My '63 plate was also 10kg's.

Ok, I was sure that it had changed at some point - maybe I am thinking about the original pre-LC 1200s.

 

[tanneman]

Hexheads was 10kg limit.

 

[Deleted account 191119001]

Panniers 10 kg and topcase is 5kg obviously you can squeeze a little more in, but do not forget the brackets are plastic.

 

[jj65]

Thanks for the info

 

[fred_jb]

That's about right for the panniers - Givi Trekker 58l top box is entirely different, carries way more than the limit of 10kg's....

The trouble with weight in top boxes is that it is generally high up and entirely behind the rear axle, which means that it has the effect of opposing the weight over the front wheel, albeit only a small effect, but I try to put the heaviest stuff in the panniers which are both lower down and further forward. Add the effect of a heavy top box to that to a pillion and panniers, both of which can be at least partly behind the axle and it can affect the handling on some bikes. I once had a Versys 1000 and while it was a nice bike solo, it was horrible at slow speeds with pillion and luggage, with the steering having little effect, almost like a slow motion tank slapper, until you got it moving at a reasonable speed.

 

[Mr Bean]

The trouble with weight in top boxes is that it is generally high up and entirely behind the rear axle, which means that it has the effect of opposing the weight over the front wheel, albeit only a small effect, but I try to put the heaviest stuff in the panniers which are both lower down and further forward.

Same here, but when touring with the wife the heaviest items are tools and her hair straighteners (really...) and you can't get much weight in the side cases. However, presented with 58 ltr top box it's easy to exceed 10kg's... From memory the genuine tank bag has a weight limit of 5kg's and I use that to hold my Canon D5 etc and important documents - mainly so I can take it with me when parked up

Until fairly recently I permanently rode with a top box (both RT & GS) and didn't notice they there - it feels normal.

 

[Yox]

The trouble with weight in top boxes is that it is generally high up and entirely behind the rear axle, which means that it has the effect of opposing the weight over the front wheel, albeit only a small effect, but I try to put the heaviest stuff in the panniers which are both lower down and further forward. Add the effect of a heavy top box to that to a pillion and panniers, both of which can be at least partly behind the axle and it can affect the handling on some bikes. I once had a Versys 1000 and while it was a nice bike solo, it was horrible at slow speeds with pillion and luggage, with the steering having little effect, almost like a slow motion tank slapper, until you got it moving at a reasonable speed.

Ref the Versys, IMO that has a lot to do with the soft rear suspension Kawasaki chose to fit, mine was the same until I fitted Maxton suspension and my Versys is rock solid fully loaded up to silly speeds and low speed handling is fine too.
I do agree that the heavier stuff needs to be in the panniers though, on all bikes.

 

[fred_jb]

Ref the Versys, IMO that has a lot to do with the soft rear suspension Kawasaki chose to fit, mine was the same until I fitted Maxton suspension and my Versys is rock solid fully loaded up to silly speeds and low speed handling is fine too.
I do agree that the heavier stuff needs to be in the panniers though, on all bikes.

Hi - I thought I recognised the name from the Versys forum! I did have a Nitron shock with uprated spring fitted to my Versys, and although it solved the problem of the excessive rear sag, it didn't fix the low speed handling. It seemed to be to do with weight distribution, but only a few other people had the problem, so it was a bit of a mystery.

Anyway, the GS TE with auto preload and dynamic ESA completely eliminates this sort of issue for me, and the handling two-up with luggage is hardly any different to riding solo, which is testament to the effectiveness of the system, and all without any tedious manual tweaking of suspension settings every time you change from solo to two-up.

 

[fred_jb]

Same here, but when touring with the wife the heaviest items are tools and her hair straighteners (really...) and you can't get much weight in the side cases. However, presented with 58 ltr top box it's easy to exceed 10kg's... From memory the genuine tank bag has a weight limit of 5kg's and I use that to hold my Canon D5 etc and important documents - mainly so I can take it with me when parked up

Until fairly recently I permanently rode with a top box (both RT & GS) and didn't notice they there - it feels normal.

I agree that the GS is remarkably unaffected by luggage and pillion - one of the things I love about it. I have fitted Shad V35 panniers to mine which are quite a bit lighter than the Varios, 3.5 kg v 5.8 kg, so that helps - and on previous trips I've found that even when full the panniers have weighed only around 10 kg.