Panniers for R1100GS

had my 1100GS now a couple of months, its got a givi top box, was wondering what side panniers were the best do i stay with givi or look for a secound hand set of BMW panniers, any ideas would be greatly appreciated as monies a bit tight, thanks

I have givi frames on mine. I fitted them as I already had two sets of panniers. I have the E21 for general use and when I know I will be filtering a lot and also some 36litre jobbies for when I need more space (i.e. the wife is involved)
In retrospect though, having experienced the BMW panniers on my recently acquired RT I would probably have gone for the BMW ones. They are great quality and not as wide as I expected. Excellent design in my opinion.

I have a 1200GS which came with the expandable top box and panniers. I liked them initially but have since changed my mind and thinking of parting with them as I can't get one full face helmet in the top box when fully expanded. As I already have two 52 litre top boxes which can both hold two lids and a set of 36 & 21 litre givi panniers, I'm thinking of getting rid of the vario panniers and just purchase the givi racking. My view is they although the expandable panniers are stronger, they are smaller and much heavier than givi. Hope that helps.

spikidave said:

I have a 1200GS which came with the expandable top box and panniers.

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And they dn't fit the 1100 AFAIK.

BM ones come up for about £150 - 200. IIWY I'd hang out for some of them, and get ones that don't have any broken bits on them. Then if you need more space, buy the global lids for them. 6 litres a side extra and about £140 for the pair, and the lids can easily be swapped.

I have a Givi Maxia top box which will fit 2 lids in it so I have no need for the panniers to hold them.

I have a set of BMW ones in the garage doing nothing as I made Alu ones, Im only in Mansfield if you want to ride over and see how they look, they are off my 1100

chunkyd214 said:

had my 1100GS now a couple of months, its got a givi top box, was wondering what side panniers were the best do i stay with givi or look for a secound hand set of BMW panniers, any ideas would be greatly appreciated as monies a bit tight, thanks

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Have a look here: http://konvoi.ro/coburi.html

IMHO, these look really nice and the price is OK. No affiliations with the maker.

Dan.

The standard BMW system panniers (black plastic) are good quality and just work (as long as you don't need vast capacity and aren't addicted to the rugged round the world look). And they operate from the ignition key (there are re-keying instructions somewhere here if you get a secondhand set). Mine have lived on the bike for 8 years, helmet goes in the RH one every day when I get to work). If somebody offers you a decent deal on some, I'd say go for it.

dancata said:

Have a look here: http://konvoi.ro/coburi.html

IMHO, these look really nice and the price is OK. No affiliations with the maker.

Dan.

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It would be good if I can understand what on earth they are talking about.

The BMW system panniers are designed for the bike (although they fit the R1100R/1150R too) and are contoured to fit the bike nice and snug & secure.

On the left pannier, this means you lose quite a bit of space to the high exhaust, as the pannier needs to curve around it. On the plus side, the panniers don't make the bike feel like you've got a microwave oven strapped to each side - when they're mounted, the handlebars are still the widest part of the bike.

I can't remember if the pannier mounts are standard fit on the GS, or if you have to pay for them too. For the 1100, they consist of a rail running just under the edge of the pillion seat, and also a small rubber-tipped pylon on top of the pillion footrests - the bottom edge of the BMW panniers have a flange that locates on this pylon for extra support and rigidity.

If you see some BMW system panniers secondhand - make sure that they are 1100/1150 GS ones, or R1100/1150 R (Roadster) ones. This is because the R1100/1150 RS and RT tourers use the same system, except that the left pannier doesn't have the high exhuast cutout, and therefore will not fit on a GS.

HTH - Pip