Old model Vario panniers on 1300 - adapter

Seeing as I already had the 'old' style varios and genuine inner bags, spending £900 + on
new varios or other non oem luggage seemed salty for items that go n the bike 4 times a year
Got these adaptors via NN and they work just fine
Ran the panniers for 600 miles on trip to North Yorkshire / Northumberland the other week and
were perfect

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If you have the Vario panniers and top box lying around then £300 for adapters is a bargain, compared to a set of new 1300 panniers.
Did BMW miss a trick there or were they just too focused on the new pannier design?
 
Traffic893 said:
If you have the Vario panniers and top box lying around then £300 for adapters is a bargain, compared to a set of new 1300 panniers.
Did BMW miss a trick there or were they just too focused on the new pannier design?
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£130 for me as I only use side panniers

BMW like to make lots of money
 
Well BMW is not going to completely redesign the GS and stick with 20 year old luggage design. Yes the 1300 luggage is not perfect but it works just as well as the previous and has a few advantages over the previous as well.
The only issue with using the old varios on the 1300 is the huge cut out for the exhaust looks a bit odd. Otherwise, I wish someone would buy my old varios ffs.
 
Not nearly £800's worth of advantage
Don't need a light, don't need a charging point
I can live without central locking
They serve a purpose for 4 times a year then they are off and in the garage

Agree, the exhaust gap is strange looking but then it's not the prettiest motorcycle
 
Agree that the "old" varios don't look out of place on the 13GS, certainly an option I'd look at if I went for the new series bike. Only thing I'm wondering about is how easy it is to revert the panniers to the original fixing pattern if I subsequently decide to sell them on for whatever reason. Presumably just unbolt the brackets etc?
 
The kit has 2 x arms that replace the rear footrest ones and 4 x sliders that replace the locking sliders on the rear of the panniers
Wunderlich do the shittiest instructions but even a mechanical numpty like me worked it out

Once the foot rest parts are changed, doubt you's notice they aren't original

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HGS said:
The kit has 2 x arms that replace the rear footrest ones and 4 x sliders that replace the locking sliders on the rear of the panniers
Wunderlich do the shittiest instructions but even a mechanical numpty like me worked it out

Once the foot rest parts are changed, doubt you's notice they aren't original

View attachment 412197
Click to expand...
Thanks, subsequent to my post I did a touch more research and found a copy of the instructions. Not overly detailed as noted but with a bit of head scratching things would likely come together. I had wondered,initially, looking at a couple of the brackets on NN's whether there might be some drilling required but thankfully not which is a win.
 
From what I can see the top hooks line up correctly with the 1300 hook slots but the round electrical connection casting is in the way. How does this system address the top hooks?
 
You remove the plastic inserts on the holes where the pannier hooks on....they just pop off...and back in afterwards
I did put a length of duct tape along the OE pannier rack horizontally just in case
After 600 miles they are unmarked
You need to remove the electrical connector cap when the old varios are on and there is enough room for them not to be touching
I just put a piece of duct tape over the exposed connections for the trip
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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