Standard 1200GS Luggage.

[seb]

BMW Topbox

I have had one for a month and love it. Fully expanded will take my Arai but not my Shoei. Pricey, but looks good. I think the expanding mechanism is a good idea. Was going to fit mine myself, but the fitting instructions gave me a headache, so got my local dealer to fit it. Anyway, if it does fall off, I can then point the finger at the dealer.

 

[Horsedribble]

Thanks for all your responses Guys.

That's made for a very interesting read, and I think my mind's made up! I'm going for the BMW side panniers and a big GIVI Top Box. The BMW one is just too small for my weeks supply of sarnies ...

I have some touring in mind, namely the North Cape of Norway, and hopefully a few others??? But for the most part I'll just be hooning around having fun. Consequently I like the idea of being able to remove the side panniers without leaving a load of ugly scaffolding permanently fitted to the bike.

It sounds like I'm going to have a very similar looking bike to you Kbada! What a coincidence you live in Norway! Remind me to wave to you when I'm on my way past. It'll probably be next summer?!?!?

Meanwhile, I'm a happy fella cos I'm off to buy my bike tomorrow,,, WAHOO!

 

[Gros Buck]

I do not know about the top box, but the side case (right one) can fit my XXL flip up Schubert no problem.

 

[vfxmark]

Beware incorrect fitment on the mushroom bolts to which the side boxes lock. They are run down into a threaded hole and locked with a jam-nut. They want to be as far down as possible that still allows the red locking latch to grab them properly. If they are too far down, the lock will not fully engage. If they are not far down enough, the bag will rattle a bit...and if there is any play, you increase the chance that they will vibrate the lock mechanism in a bad way.

Once you have the adjustment, then you can loc-tite them. My dealer actually knew how to do this correctly, but your mileage may vary.

I just slid the bike a decent distance on the left side on a wet clay road (with at least one big rock) The left bag mount twisted a bit on the frame, but when I loosened the clamp screws it popped back where it belongs. The bottom of the bag lid popped off and the lid cracked at the hinge.

A few minutes with a plastic welding tool and some bits of an old bag from another bike as a welding rod and it is all back together again and looks fine except from below.

The bags are polypropelene which is very strong and flexible, but almost impossible to glue or repair with any epoxies...but easy to weld with a hot air plastic welder.

The main thing is that when you don't want the width, you leave them collapsed, which is great when trying to thread through traffic... but when you need to carry a week's worth of groceries or ten litres of wine, you can pop them open...
but they are awfully expensive.

 

[kbada]

Heia horsedribble - glad to see you made the right decision, it is size that matters - what colour did/have you ordered, I have had a red one but am now on a grey one, best color by far
We may pass each other on our hols then, we go south to Provence this year . Keep us posted if you decide to come over here, Liv will be along soon I would think - she's the Viking with the saucepan on her head

 

[Horsedribble]

Ordered today! Rock Red with the standard expandable side panniers/boxes/bags/luggage (delete as appropriate ) and a chuffin great 52 lt Givi Top Box. Lots of bells and whistles that I didn't necessarily want too, but it was already in the supply chain! How the hell does Tyre Pressure Control work????

Will keep you posted Kbada! Could be this year yet? And since when did Vikings start wearing saucepans? I'm intrigued now! What have I missed? Is that a System 5 saucepan?

Sounds like that mushroom bolt demands some attention, I'll get onto that one soonest!

Sorry to hear about your spill there vfxmark! Hope all is well and that's an interesting welding tip, I'll remember that one!

 

[vfxmark]

Sorry to hear about your spill there vfxmark! Hope all is well and that's an interesting welding tip, I'll remember that one!

I have no call to complain... I invited it, I suffered no physical damage or pain, ) and it provided an excuse to purchase a $40 plastic welding kit and a $4 steel epoxy kit to plug the crack in the rocker cover.)

I think I will spend more time riding on slippery surfaces...but in the daytime and without the luggage

 

[kbada]

And since when did Vikings start wearing saucepans? I'm intrigued now! What have I missed? Is that a System 5 saucepan?

I'm surprised Liv has'nt surfaced, she usually smells out a mention of Norway like a shot. If you do decide to come over here then either do a search for Norway or look at all posts for 'Liv'

The saucepan is her avtar.......:cool

 

[GSmonkey]

Well it must have been a small Schuberth. I went to Excel with my brother in law this morning and he stuck his top box on to keep his lid. Got to Excel and discovered that his S1 would not fit . I stuck my S1 in my expanded right pannier and lent him my helmet cover to put his in!!! He must just have a big head

For the record it was a 58/59 S1 and it most definately fits. You have to have nothing below it, at a certain angle, have the top vent closed then it'll *just* fit.

 

[JayGee]

For the record it was a 58/59 S1 and it most definately fits. You have to have nothing below it, at a certain angle, have the top vent closed then it'll *just* fit.

The S1 has a very large exterior shell, it is also quite tall compared with modern hemets which are often cut away at the neck so the sports riders can turn their heads. This means it won't fit in my Givi topbox yet I can put my other helmet and my partners in the same box at the same time!

 

[ncpierce]

For the record it was a 58/59 S1 and it most definately fits. You have to have nothing below it, at a certain angle, have the top vent closed then it'll *just* fit.

Well my lid is a 58/59 so it probably would fit. His is a larger size and I think the shell might be bigger

 

[twig]

ive got the standard bmw panniers and must say had no problem with them. ridden in some pretty torrential rain and they never leaked. as regards the mushroom bolts i always check them before i load panniers but have never found them to be loose. what i liked about them when i was looking for luggage was the fact that they fit bike without any additional bracketry.

 

[LivNorway]

And since when did Vikings start wearing saucepans? I'm intrigued now! What have I missed? Is that a System 5 saucepan?

I'm surprised Liv has'nt surfaced, she usually smells out a mention of Norway like a shot. If you do decide to come over here then either do a search for Norway or look at all posts for 'Liv'

The saucepan is her avtar.......:cool

Norway?

-Did I hear ''Norway''?

All vikings up here are wearing saucepans; we are out of viking helmets!

Tell me where&when you are going to be over here and I'll see if I can meet you on your route if you are going to ride not too far from Oslo!
Saucepan & Scarver = me!

(hmmm... Kbada missed me. He might be after my belted bike - I better hide it. I remember how he was looking at my Scarver, oh he want it, I'm sure! )
Liv.

 

[birdseye]

horsedribble - I have a big head (64cm) so the only flip helmet I can get to wear is the Scuberth concept 1. This will just (with a bit of a struggle) fit in the top box.

Trouble is , bikes with BMW side cases and (say) a giant Givi top box look naff.

 

[Eastriding2002]

Trouble is , bikes with BMW side cases and (say) a giant Givi top box look naff.

Trouble is the GS is ugly anyway, so I prefer a bit of function over style, so have the BMW panniers and the 46ltr GIVI case. It doesn't make the bike look any uglier than it already is, but it serves it's purpose.

 

[kbada]

Hei Liv - jeg alerede ha en belte, bruke den til å holde opp bukse mi...

 

[pedro]

Vario Luggage

Hello there,
I had a set of vario luggage on my last GS. The topbox was great, but I was less than impressed with the panniers. The one on the exhaust side doesn't really hold much at all. If i'd seen the zega stuff before i bought the bike, I would have opted for it instead.

 

[Engineer]

I have had the standard panniers on my 1200GS for nearly 2 years - I think that they are lovely.

I am not a fan of top boxes, I think that they put the weight too high up and too far back.

The brushed aluminium sides of the panniers can develop a patina after a while, but they can be brought back to new by first washing and then a very gentle (with the grain) polishing with Autosol.

 

[LivNorway]

Hei Liv - jeg alerede ha en belte, bruke den til å holde opp bukse mi...

Ha!
Lurer ikke meg!
Du har så lyst på noe annet enn GS'en, så, veit det nok!
Bytt ut haugen din med to Scarvere så kan du og frua leke samtidig! Og så får dere lov til å kjøre Scarverrenn med meg!

Liv, sjef i skummel mc-klubb.

 

[Horsedribble]

Hi Liv...

I'll have to keep you informed when I've got a fixed plan. The general idea was to ride up the east coast of Sweden, through Finland and across to the North cape, then take a slower decent back down through Norway. I don't have a fixed route yet and I'm open to any suggestions you (or anyone else) may have. I'm not much pf a city boy so I'll probably avoid major cities but it'd sure be nice to meet up somewhere en-route.

Maybe you could be my translator beecause I have absolutely no idea what you said on your second post???? . Seriously though, do you think I might have a problem with that? Being a typically ignorant Englishman, my European Language skills are not good, and I don't know any "Vikingese" at all,,, hell I don't even reconise half the letters let alone the words!

Birdseye!

"Trouble is , bikes with BMW side cases and (say) a giant Givi top box look naff."

Even though this is exactly what I've just bought,,,, I do agree with your sentiments! The thing is the standard topbox is just too little and the Givi combination was all about practicality for me. For the most part they won't be on there at all.

Meanwhile, thanks everyone for your advice! Counting down the days now! Hopefully the sun will be out soon????