XC to Morocco Soft or Hard Luggage?

[PaulXC]

Got a pass out to do two weeks away on the XChallenge, prob mid September. My plan is Biketruck it to Malaga, fly in & take the ferry over. Head south towards the desert and ride some pistes.

Last time I went was in 2002 and did a week with Wilderness Wheels on an XR400 but we had a support truck so didn't need to worry about carrying our gear.

As far as I can see the only off the shelf hard luggage is the Touratech panniers at about £950 odd quid.

So what do you reckon - is it worth paying for these or should I just get some sort of frame made up and sling some soft luggage on the back? Do I need the hard 'uns for the security of the contents?

Thanx

Paul

 

[Fanum]

Don't underestimate the forces that can be put through soft luggage if you do any offroading.....I've seen several sets of soft panniers fall apart quite quickly if not really strapped down securely with no movement on the big bumps.

Personally I'd either go for hard luggage or minimal luggage on a centre hump type arrangement rather than soft panniers....You can easily get 2 weeks of kit in a small rucksack, small tank bag and a hump pack.

JMHO

 

[RichieS]

Luggage

How about using Kriega stuff. i you use their 20ltr and 2 x 10ltr add on sacs, they can be strapped pretty robustly the the and under the rear seat. Fully water proof (sandproof?). Just got a set and gonna use it on my HP2E when i go in November

Richie

 

[Spikehammer]

Have a look at some of these:

http://www.dbzproducts.com/

http://www.tourmaster.com/xcart/home.php?cat=31 (the picture is the Cortech stuff fitted to a Husaberg)

These are available in the UK:

http://www.andystrapz.co.uk/shop/shop.php?action=full&id=25

 

[Mav]

How about using Kriega stuff. i you use their 20ltr and 2 x 10ltr add on sacs, they can be strapped pretty robustly the the and under the rear seat. Fully water proof (sandproof?). Just got a set and gonna use it on my HP2E when i go in November

Richie

+1 on the Kriega kit I used a 20ltr unit for clothes and 10ltr unit for tools on a very wet weekend in Wales, include a full submersion when I didn't quite make it through one river But my kit stayed dry

<img src="http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj21/louisdut/adventure%20bikes/wales%20weekenders%20wet/00005.jpg" />

To echo Fanums point, I would seriously consider getting decent racks - get the touratech racks to give you a proper mounting points for the bags.

JMHO

 

[PaulXC]

Looks like soft bags are the way to go .. and I can't really justify the costs of the alloy boxes. I've got the large TT rack on it so mounting should be Ok. Travel light ....

Cheers

Paul

 

[DavidJames]

Looks like soft bags are the way to go .. and I can't really justify the costs of the alloy boxes. I've got the large TT rack on it so mounting should be Ok. Travel light ....

Cheers

Paul

If you don't want overhanging bags then this could be an idea - http://www.touratech.com/shops/008/product_info.php?cPath=2_35_253&products_id=7240&osCsid=76955f00850d3e2ff46468718b52be65

I have one that I used on the 1200 but it fits quite well on the XC too.