Non-RTW-type Panniers

[stinkyfeet]

As I have no intention of going RTW anytime soon, I'm looking at panniers, but:

#1 Balk at the price of the things.
#2 Want something small and light as possible.
#3 Top-loaders only.
#4 Really don't want to collect the colour of each car whilst filtering.

So far I've come down to the Givi E21 boxes, though some old-school black BMW Touring cases would have done if there's anyway of mounting 'em. Has anyone got the Givi E21s and if so, got any pics/comments?

Ta.

 

[swissrob]

check out ARD cases - cheap well made by the looks of them and custom sizes if u want.

look in the "vendor of innovations" section for details

 

[Blackal]

You don't say what bike you have?

I guess that once you include racks - the all-up cost of metal boxes is greater than the cost of Varios - but may be cheaper in the long-term.

As mentioned - look at Ard-Cases, together with frames from some Polish fella (search on this site) who makes frames that are Touratech-ish in their dimensions.

Al

 

[stinkyfeet]

ARDCases, I'll have a butchers, ta.

Its a 2009 1200 GS.

 

[Blackal]

The Ard-Cases will last you a long time, I think - and will always be re-sellable.

But - you may find that the BMW Varios (pick up a pristine pair on here, or Ebay for £300 - £350) and they will mount straight on to your bike.

They too, are always sellable (for what you paid, usually). The downside to the Varios is:

They are actually quite heavy - empty.

They are quite wide, when expanded.

Al

 

[stinkyfeet]

They are actually quite heavy - empty.

They are quite wide, when expanded.

Al

I found the weight of the BMW topbox excessive [1], esp for something that sits (compared to the Givi rear rack) so high and far back.


[1] I use a Givi E45, which has been used on various bikes, weighs next to nowt.

 

[Decster]

The upside to the Varios is:

They are quite wide, when expanded.

...

 

[VAL. H.]

check out ARD cases - cheap well made by the looks of them and custom sizes if u want.

look in the "vendor of innovations" section for details

Plus 1 for the above. The ARDcases seem to be very popular well praised kit.

However your asking for simple panniers that will be ok when filtering. The question you should be asking yourself is: What is the total width of these boxes when fitted to the bike?

The Givi panniers are small, no problem there then

But they fix to the standard Givi rails which are not close fitting

My point here is that you say you don't want RTW type panniers BUT you DO want panniers you can filter with. You won't be better off with the Givi set you mention. Simply because the mountings don't save the space they could. You'll then have to buy the bigger Givi boxes so you can fit your touring bags in, ending up with panniers that are 4-6 inches wider than your handlebars and costing an extra £300-400 on top of your original purchase price. Thats a hand made pair of ARDcases that is .

Fitted RTW type panniers are usually bespoke and therefore can be made to your requirements, and still have a huge capacity. They are very tough too. I have a set of Caja Sehal panniers which despite being about 48lts each, are only 94 cm wide (this is just 6cm wider than my bars and very likely about the same total width as the 21ltr Givi's). I'll never have to walk back up the road to recover a box that fell off when it clipped a car (I've had to do exactly that a few times when My Givi got knocked off the bike in London ) either.

Do a search for 'Panniers' there's plenty on here for you to make a well informed decision. Also ask how many other 1200 riders use the set your thinking of getting.

Val.

PS: I ride my bike in London traffic quite regularly, and I'm not one to sit with the cars.

 

[Bub]

+1 for ARD cases. I have just bought a pair. Roger (aka Redcap)
is a great bloke to deal with. He keeps you informed of whats happening, and provides a great service (something usually missing in UK these days) and a great product.
You can specify exactly what you want, size, colour etc, and he will deliver.


IMHO: ARD cases are THE bespoke luggage for the descerning gentleman rider. Well made, good service, and Cheap !

Bub (only connected to Ard cases as a happy customer)

 

[stinkyfeet]

Val.

PS: I ride my bike in London traffic quite regularly, and I'm not one to sit with the cars.

Interesting and very useful. I'd seen some pictures of the E21s on other bikes from the rear and they do stick out; from what you're saying they're no better on the GS then.

Ha.. you shouldn't be one of the LondonBikers.com 'hated' pannier twats that get reported on a regular-ish basis then!

Lotsa of thread reading on panniers ahead.

 

[VAL. H.]

Interesting and very useful. I'd seen some pictures of the E21s on other bikes from the rear and they do stick out; from what you're saying they're no better on the GS then.

Ha.. you shouldn't be one of the LondonBikers.com 'hated' pannier twats that get reported on a regular-ish basis then!

Lotsa of thread reading on panniers ahead.

I have strong opinions about the various types of panniers fitted to these bikes. It's mainly because of the 'so say' top pannier making companies that are only interested in making large profits out of ill informed riders.

I don't remember ever riding a bike in London that didn't have panniers fitted. My 28ltr Givi's on my XJ900 used to regularly get wedged between cars. I don't remember ever getting stuck like that with the Krauser's on my Z750GT.

The ones that used to annoy me were the would-be couriers on Honda super-dreams with cut off handlebars and footrests. I would stand up on the pegs of my fully kitted 3' wide Kwaka 750gt shouting at them to get out of the f*&^king way

I'm a bit less stressed these days. If I can fit I will, if I can't I won't try. As for the tit on a bike behind me? Well he shouldn't have been so close should he

Don't wast your money on non specific boxes at premium prices when you can have custom made for less. Talk to Vern and Civil. These guys will make exactly what you want, stronger, bigger and narrower than anyone else.


Val.

 

[Gruffalo]

STINKY FEET

IVE GOT E21 ON MY 2007 GS AND FIND THAT THEY ARE ALL I NEDD ON THE BIKE FOR WEEKS AWAY, THAT AND A KRIEGA TAILPACK

THEY ARE ANLY JUST, AND I MEAN ONLY JUST, WIDER THAN THE HANDLE BARS AND HAVE USED THEM FOR FILTERING FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS, ALTHOUGH NOW THEY HAVE COME OFF AS I DONT NEED THEM FOR WORK ANYMORE, JUST USE THE OLD BACKPACK

THEY WONT STAND UP TO MUCH IF YOUR OFF ROAD BUT, LETS BE HONEST, IF YOUR GONNA USE A GS OFF ROAD YOUR NOT GONNA BE GOING TO WANT PANNIERS ON UNLESS YOU ARE GOING RTW!

THINK THEY COST ME ABOUT £220 FOR RACKS AND PANNIERS FROM BUSTERS OR M+P, CANT REMEMBER WHICH ONE AND THEY WHERE DELIVERED IN ABOUT 3 DAYS, EASY TO FIT AND EASY REMOVED AS THEY ARE THE MONY KEY JOBIES

HOPE THIS HELPS IN SOME WAY!

JONYBOY

 

[VAL. H.]

STINKY FEET

IVE GOT E21 ON MY 2007 GS AND FIND THAT THEY ARE ALL I NEDD ON THE BIKE FOR WEEKS AWAY, THAT AND A KRIEGA TAILPACK

THEY ARE ANLY JUST, AND I MEAN ONLY JUST, WIDER THAN THE HANDLE BARS AND HAVE USED THEM FOR FILTERING FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS, ALTHOUGH NOW THEY HAVE COME OFF AS I DONT NEED THEM FOR WORK ANYMORE, JUST USE THE OLD BACKPACK

THEY WONT STAND UP TO MUCH IF YOUR OFF ROAD BUT, LETS BE HONEST, IF YOUR GONNA USE A GS OFF ROAD YOUR NOT GONNA BE GOING TO WANT PANNIERS ON UNLESS YOU ARE GOING RTW!

THINK THEY COST ME ABOUT £220 FOR RACKS AND PANNIERS FROM BUSTERS OR M+P, CANT REMEMBER WHICH ONE AND THEY WHERE DELIVERED IN ABOUT 3 DAYS, EASY TO FIT AND EASY REMOVED AS THEY ARE THE MONY KEY JOBIES

HOPE THIS HELPS IN SOME WAY!

JONYBOY

My Panniers are 94cm wide. That is 6cm wider than my bars (3cm each side).
They have more than twice the capasity of the E21's. They WILL take anything that I can throw at them on road or off. I could even drop the bike on them and they WILL survive with little more than a few scratches. I know full well there are no givi's that will stand that.

You don't do camping then Jonyboy?


Val.

 

[stinkyfeet]

Cheers.. JonyBoy, very interesting. All I want 'em for the few times a year going away. Spent many years, using a top box (not full), a large compression sack lashed to the rear seat (majority of the weight) and a rucksack.

Camping?? oh no, that means less time riding

More thinking required.... (ouch, that hurts); I can see I'm gonna go full circle and carry as before.

Thanks for the all comments.

 

[Gruffalo]

VAL H, DONT DO THAT MUCH CAMPING, NO ONLY A NCOUPLE OF TIMES A YEAR, BUT CAN FIT ALL I NEED IN THE E21'S TO GO AWAY AND DONT GO THAT FAR OFF ROAD ON THE GS, THATS NOT WHAT I BOUGHT IT FOR, GOT AN RF 450 FOT THAT! AND NO, DONT PUT PANNIERS ON THAT.
BOUGHT THE GS FOR THE THE COMFORT, ENGINE, PRACTICALITY, AND LOOKS
NOT GOING TO GO ON A ROUND THE WORLD TRIP OR ANYTHING NEAR, BUT WHEN I DO GO AWAY, I LIKE TO TRAVEL LIGHT, HENCE THE E21'S!

 

[Blackal]

Jonyboy - it's hard work reading your posts in CAPITALS........


Al

 

[Jonny_L]

Givi boxes aren't exactly the prettiest thing in the world, they tend to look better on curvy faired bikes IMO, but for the money I think they're great, I had a Givi top box on my GS, completely waterproof, not to heavy and easy enough to get on and off.

If you don't mind the looks, and well some people seem to like them, I'd say go for them. But then I've not had much experience with hard luggage for comparison.