Which panniers and why

[the civil one]

I see that you make them, you couldnt knock me up a set could you in your lunch hr for couple of quid

Theres a lot more time involved than a lunch hour.
20Hrs per set. Thats with pre cut Materials. ! .
Hence they are expensive.
If you wanna know anything about any of em , drop me a Pm
i will help you , even with the other brands.

 

[Nin]

Hi Little Beemer

Vern keeps threatening to hire out sets of his panniers - so you can just use 'em for the trip and hand them back ...

Like these ...

 

[Invicta Moto]

I searched here and on the Net and in the end bought Touratech Zegas to replace my System panniers. Purely down to price and availability.

I looked at the options MM, Civil's Caja jobbies, Kiwi Bob's plus a couple of others and when it came to the damage to my wallet the Zega's gave me most space for my pounds.

Buying in Germany also gets them at a lower price that from TT UK plus for any order over €500 they have free delivery within Germany. Luckily, we have access to a truck that comes over daily that brough them to me.

Sadly , it means what we perceived as a lack of space with the tiny Systems panniers, left especially, now means we take too muich when we go!

 

[Rolf]

Sadly , it means what we perceived as a lack of space with the tiny Systems panniers, left especially, now means we take too muich when we go!

Having travelled several times across Europe and into Morocco, two up for three or four weeks at a time with a tent, sleeping bags, mats and cooking gear, and managed quite comfortably with standard panniers, an old Rickman topbox and a tankbag, I am really at a loss as to why anyone would need more space! It seems to me that the main advantage of aluminium panniers is to make you look more like Ewan and Charlie (and I can still not work out what it is they must need to carry in their panniers!).
I guess if my bike had not come with panniers already fitted I would look at putting aluminium panniers on it but otherwise I do not see any reason to bother.

I also know of two riders local to me who are selling their 1150 Adventures, both partly because their pillions find the bikes so damn difficult to get on and off and uncomfortable with the big aluminium panniers on. Is this an issue for others?

 

[PIGGLET]

The two people who I know personally that have used system cases on a GS both managed to knock a case off each. The mounting points on the cases look to be a weak point in a spill or if you scrape against something.
The choice of ally was more of a strength thing for me

 

[the civil one]

Good Ole Jupiter

Ted Simon in his book reckoned that Alluminium Panniers were a
P.I.T.A.
He got fixed up with a set of Fabric Panniers , and reckons he would never
use hard boxs again.


Have a guess who is Working on a set of Heavy Canvas/ Tarp Fabric Panniers
as we speak ?.
They will Be Branded as
Caja Sahel , Softies !

 

[STUBBS]

just look back over the last few days posts about a damaged pannier lid costing £70 to renew, makes the £100 a set look well worth the money just check out how much youd get back on an insurance claim for any type of pannier if the accident was your fault

 

[Zoomboxer]

I am not to sure about keepin my bmw touring panniers that came with my 1150.
Also since they open up side on and not through the top that seems more difficult to load so much into them as Nicks.

... as its not like we do lots of heavy touring anyway like a lot of you peeps on here but are planning on doing a few campin trips next yr via this site so I do need at least what I have got....What do you guys use and or prefer and why ?

I, too, have the BMW panniers on my 1150GS complete with a Givi top Box. I had a week touring around France and Germany carrying a tent and all the stuff that goes with camping. I got a couple of inner pannier bags and found that side loading was no problem - was able to full up both sides of the cases. Even had enough room to bring back a few duty free bottles The important stuff like maps, documentation, ferry tickets and passport was kept in a TT tank bag - again no problems not like one of the others who had his passport in his Adv 'sandwich box' which has slipped down to the bottom - totally embarrassing having to empty it at Dover Docks...

Likewise I would only do a couple of camping trips per year so do not feel the need for something bigger and better. If I was to go on longer trips or had the Missus with me then I would remove the top box and bungee one of those round waterproof bags to the rack.

Functionality over style wins every time...

 

[hovis]

Panniers

Just a thought but have you considered global lids for the system panniers? They are a lot cheaper than new panniers
Cheers Hovis

 

[johno]

Practical panniers

After all the various comments relating to what panniers..

I found System panniers...
Small,
Flimsy.Locks/handles always felt as if you were going to break them if you used a little too much force..
Easily scuffed/damaged and if the bike was on it's side stand a pain to open nearside pannier without everything falling out..

Saw a set MAGWA had fitted to his bike..
Plenty big enough,
Practical,
top loading (nothing could fall out),
And with a set of second hand Givi brackets(£50.00),
Panniers delivered from Germany(Three Days) £145.00 Fitted to the bike easily whithin two hours....BARGAIN!!!!!! (sorry cannot post photo but i recall MAGWA having a photo on here somewhere..
Afterall what is a pannier fitted for, to carry things and practical.

 

[Urban Rider]

Hi Little Beemer

I have the "Special" set of Touratech Zegas (with the exhaust cut out) fitted to my SE and, had they not come with the bike, I would have bought a "Standard" set. I've used them for trips around the UK and a trip down to Southern Spain earlier this year (dropped the bike on the panniers fully loaded and fueled and no damage!!!!!) and cannot fault them. They are completly waterproof and hold more than enough for a good tour. They also compliment the look of the bike and are a piece of cake to fit and remove. The only gripe I have is that the exhaust cut out requires a very ugly extension pipe fitted to the exhaust in order to divert gasses away instead of having them all over the pannier mounts. I made the mistake of not fitting this on a number of occasions which resulted in the lower mount melting. To cure this i had a mount made out of allumimium which cost far too much..... Unfortunatley this resulted in the nearside rear indicator taking too much heat and start to melt I've now fited the exhaust extension pipe and will have to live with it. If I had to buy a set now i'd buy the standard set which are nearly £200 cheaper and the only difference is that the left pannier is slightly narrower than the right one but overall width is the same........

Defo go with Ally ones, they're stronger and easy to repair if dropped...

 

[Summer]

decision made

all sorted, am gonna sell my bmw system panniers and the rack from my 1150 and then have nicks hepco and becker ones, he will then get the ones he has wanted for so long, the metal sandwich box ones as he thinks they look so

 

[squid]

Just a thought but have you considered global lids for the system panniers? They are a lot cheaper than new panniers
Cheers Hovis

What might these thingys be?

Oh, bigger lids. They won't answer the main issues of easy loading and strenght though will they?