Jesse, Touratech or Verns panniers

alpmeister said:
Is that Vern getting bad press Mike?

He might be getting some more bad press soon.......I know someone who's losing patience after a year and might just blow his top soon ;)

:popcorn
 
Another accolade to Al Jesses panniers, a 1 hr blast down the autobahn, panniers fitted, 110mph, solid as a rock no fish tailing or sideways slamming as I went past trucks and the polizei. Just thought that I would give them a go at speed. Why? Cos I can!
 
darkhorse said:
Looking to purchase a pair of panniers, and advice offered on either
Jesse,
Touratech or
Verns panniers

ps anyone know the cost of a pair of Verns?

Another vote for Jesses here.

Steve B
 
I used to have a set of Jesses on my ex 1150gsa, and I'd say they probably offer the best capacity for least width , which is a big plus if u ride like a despatcher hate taffic jams etc. Though the downside was the fittings whilst study were a bit steam driven engineering and didnt hold up to uk winter abuse , original powder coating peeled after one spanish tour and uk winter. The locks were also a bit fiddly (which I believe has been improved). That said if they were a little bit cheaper I'd buy em again (for my ktm950)
 
the civil boxes

just been checking out the latect development of the civil boxes (that is www.cajasahel.com panniers )
a fine set by all accounts.
powder coated on the inside and a fine finish outside. i've had jesse's and have just sold the tt special set that i mhad on my last 1150 adv. and it must be said they are at least as good or better
 
Don't dismiss the standard BMW ones. They may not look as rufty-tufty as big butch ally ones but I've used them for 4 years now and for my 2 week trips to Europe they work fine. Easy to take off and easy to carry and a helmet fits into the right hand pannier.

I know it's "de rigeur" to have ally panniers but unless you really need that amount of space or you're intending to go round the world then the BM ones are fine.

Cheers

Dick
 
trouble with the BM panniers IMO is that lashing sleeping bags or similar to the top is a bit of a nightmare.

yes, they are a bit small but very easy on and off. 5* for convenience.

i still want some zegas though :)
 
Ask Zmeagol about Jesse panniers.

The mounts on his 1200 gave up in Morocco last week ....
 

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Everyone with my panniers seems to understand that I am not a business,and I am not trying to make a living out of making them.I am simply offering what I think is a decent bit of kit to like minded,serious traveling bikers.People have to wait for them,as I am not in the best of health,and,again,everyone seems pleased to do that,and they all know where they stand with me.

The only mistake I have made,was to sell a set to MikeO.Since day one,he has done nothing but try to put me,and my panniers down.I was warned by three seperate people not to sell him any,because all he would do,is moan about them in every way possible,and how right they were.

I pulled out all the stops to get MikeO on the road for his trip,which is to much to go into now.I even made a special holster for his laptop,at no extra charge.When he came to have his panniers fitted,he hadn't fitted the smaller indicators,and also turned up with a set of wide tails that he wanted fitting,which of course I did.I also had to work around the fact that the rear mounting points on his bike had something fitted there already(so it wasn't a standard bike after all)so I had to fabricate a seperate piece for that while I was putting them on his bike.All in all,it took nine hours to fit his panniers,and no mention of money was made at all(or offered!)I still said that anyone who goes around the world,can have a new set when they return as well,and that offer still stands.

The first I knew about the exhaust heat melting things in the pannier,was when someone told me about it being on the site.I e-mailed Mike straight away,and said I hoped I would be in a position to pay for all the damaged goods on his return.

When I heard that the water was getting in(again,on the site before I knew anything about it)I e-mailed him again,and said he must have a duff pair,and that I would see about shipping another set out to the states for him.He declined this offer,and said that it was "no big deal"

As soon as Mike got back from the states,he wanted his replacement set(despite not having gone around the world,just riding around america for a while!!)I refused to make him anymore,and instead,offered him a 100% refund,so he could go and buy some real quality kit.

I even drove to Keele services to buy them back off him.The scrap I was presented with,was hardly worth having,but I still held good on my end of the deal.

When I inspected the boxes when I got home,I discovered ALL the fixing bolts,had badly deformed allen heads,through using the wrong size allen key,or just been ham fisted when fitting them after thy had been removed.Two of the inner discs,had also been replaced with some nasty 2mm "things".

You see Mike,it wasn't my workmanship that let the water in,It was the fact that you(or someone else)were incapable of using basic hand tools,and losing bits when you took them off the bike.If you don't do the fixings up tight,then water will get in.

I have kept this to myself until now,but despite everything I have done to help you,and offer you a good service(which I still beleive is like no other service,anywhere)you still take every single opportunity you can, to have a pop at me.

And on a final note,when you fell off,how do you think your touratech,Mbw,al jesse panniers would have faired?
 
nick said:
Ask Zmeagol about Jesse panniers.

The mounts on his 1200 gave up in Morocco last week ....

I bet there was nothing wrong with the mounts, and that it was the bike underneath that was the problem......

:D
 
An interesting post to read Vern – though you seem to have suffered from selective memory. Since you’ve seen fit to bring it out in public, I’ll reply in the same forum.

When I first contacted you and asked about you building a set of panniers for me, I was doing so against my better judgement as you have always given the impression of being a poor choice of person to do business with – your ‘advertising’ has comprised the rubbishing of every other product out there, whilst stating repeatedly that making your panniers actually cost you money.

When I met up with you, at the end of September, I asked if you wanted payment up front (which you didn’t) and whether you’ve have any problem meeting the deadline of 1st week in November for their completion. You told me that it wouldn’t be a snag and we then discussed the possibility of having a holster made for my laptop – as far as I was concerned this was to be included in the deal, as was the fitting of the panniers.

Things soon started going slightly awry though. Soon after our first meeting, you emailed me and asked for the cash in advance – which I mailed the same day. Then you starting getting problems with your suppliers/fabricators/whatever, and the delivery date started to slip. Eventually, I had to agree to having a used set of panniers fitted - or have none at all. I travelled over to your house, in the 3rd week of December to get them fitted. The fitting took all day, and was, I’ll agree, made no easier by the fitting of the WideTails (which were fitted on the bike already and were transferred to the new indicators) or the rack support I had fitted. Since I was using ‘used’ panniers, you said (without any prompting) that you’d give me a new set of bags when I returned. I expressed my concerns that the bike would almost certainly have been dropped on them by that stage and that they’d be damaged – you told me that it wouldn’t matter.

I was left with a trip home as my only ‘test ride’ of the panniers before having to get the bike crated for shipping. On my return, I gave a full account of the work that had been done and my impressions – at that point wholly favourable - of the bags. If you need reminding of this, the link is here.

After getting the inner bags made by a friend (working over Christmas to reach the deadline imposed by your inability to meet the delivery date), the bike was packed and crated in early January. I flew out to collect it in early February and, on the first ride, from Miami to Daytona, had a heat build up in the left pannier sufficient to warp the aluminium and destroy the inner bag, my (new) heated jacket and the mouse for my laptop. I emailed you immediately and asked your advice – although you apparently mistakenly remember reading about in my journal first – your advice was to get some form of heatshield or duct made to move the exhaust gases away from the side of the pannier – the solution I’d already decided on. You also said that you’d send me the money for some new kit, but you couldn’t afford to at the time. I got the exhaust extension welded the next day, made repairs to the lining bag as best I could, bought a new mouse and ordered another jacket. After several days travelling, I found that the panniers were not waterproof – they let in water overnight – usually between a cupful and half a pint. I again contacted you, but you were unable to offer a solution – although you did ask how much I thought it would cost to send another pair of panniers out to me. I said that, since the leaks seemed to be from the bolt holes and bolts not being sealed, this wouldn’t resolve the situation. From that point on you stopped communicating with me on the subject of panniers, or on any other subject, come to that.

I mentioned the failings of the panniers on several occasions. It was a part of my journey and therefore worth mentioning – if only as a word of warning to those who, like me, were attracted by the superb build quality and your workmanship, only to be let down by a lack of attention to detail. You make good panniers Vern, but they failed in a very basic way – they didn’t keep my kit safe and dry. I understand you have addressed the issues my bags suffered from and that there’s a good chance that future customers will be spared the difficulties that I went through.

On my return to the UK, after several weeks, I emailed you and asked about the replacement bags, aware that you’d not been well and that the whole deal was probably not going to happen. You, however, insisted that you wouldn’t make me another set but that you would give me a full refund. Ideally, I would have preferred another set of bags (having now modified my exhaust and worked out how to waterproof them with copious amounts of sealant). However, I was impressed with your offer, especially as, just as you’d said before I left, this was in full knowledge of the damage they’d sustained in the course of my trip. I took the bags and frames off the bike and met you on the M6 where, true to your word, you refunded my money.

After that exchange, I again posted a thread stating that you had done the decent thing and that I was impressed by this as a business attitude. In case you missed it it’s
here
.

So now I come to your comments about the replacement of fittings. I don’t know what you mean – you are mistaken. All the fittings are the ones you supplied – right down to the thin 2mm discs which had to be made & fitted (on the day, if you recall) to avoid fouling the laptop holster. If the ends of the allen bolts are chewed, it’s probably because they had to come off so often to try to rectify the water leaks – sorry I can’t live up to your standards when it comes to using tools – I can’t afford Snap On and I was doing my best. Certainly the bolts were always tightened securely.

So, at the end of the day, your panniers look great hold a lot of kit, hold up well in a drop (only had one bracket break and that was easily repaired by a local welder). ‘Out of the box’ they were not waterproof and, if you don’t fit some form of exhaust protection, they don’t protect your kit from heat.

I’ve used panniers from Touratech and Jesse – both systems you take great delight in rubbishing at every opportunity – neither set leaked or torched my kit – ergo, they are better panniers than you make Vern – if the bags can’t keep my kit safe, it doesn’t matter that they look good, they just aren’t up to the job.

I appreciate that I haven’t pandered to your fragile ego like many have on this forum Vern – but I’ve been straight with you and have gone on record to show my appreciation of the quality of your workmanship and the fact that you were as good as your word in (at your choice) refunding the money I paid. Overall, using your panniers cost me about £250 in destroyed kit, but I consider that fair rent - the running repairs also introduced me to some good and interesting folk, and I certainly hold no grudge against you.

Cheers

Mike:)
 
nick said:
Ask Zmeagol about Jesse panniers.

The mounts on his 1200 gave up in Morocco last week ....

When i saw the topbox mountings at the Ace cafe on there departure,

i did say ( in front of witnesses) "they'll never last the trip"

The mount just didn't look up to it .
 
So what we're looking for here is panniers with the luxurious space of Jesses, the girder strength mounts of Verns and the aesthetic look of System panniers......OR.......the mounts of Jesses, the water repellant abilities of Verns and the size of System panniers.

Now I'm just confused :D :D :D

Steve B
 
Steptoe said:
When i saw the topbox mountings at the Ace cafe on there departure,

i did say ( in front of witnesses) "they'll never last the trip"

The mount just didn't look up to it .

yup, that was my first impression too. It looked like it was held on with just a couple of bolts. I think the case was full of ginger beer. (not kidding)

We'll have the Moroccan Green Party claiming off our insurance for all the dumped alloy in their fair land soon.
 
Steptoe said:
When i saw the topbox mountings at the Ace cafe on there departure,

i did say ( in front of witnesses) "they'll never last the trip"

The mount just didn't look up to it .

you're gonna have to change you name to... Right Again!! :D or

You Never Listen :rolleyes:
 


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