I am looking for a cheaper option than the BMW panniers. I have the BMW topbox and I am looking for reasonably priced, easily removable soft luggage for additional storage. Any suggestions.
Of course there are the AS and Wolfman, but being the tight arse I am I am looking at these: http://www.rjays.com.au/home/products/luggage-touring-saddle-bag.html Looks good for $60.
Geez are you sitin' on the computer, the ink is still wet on my posting. Thanks, have you looked at these bags? The problem with the GS is the exhaust height and the potential heat effects on the bag on the left hand side o the bike.
Almost, but it's not very comfy. I have an 1150 Adv with pannier racks so I would just lash them onto those. There are plenty of posts on home made supports but being a BM rider you would of course want the most expensive option you can find.
Andy Strapz make some good soft panniers http://andystrapz.com/expedition_panniers.htm You'll need to make some sort of support to keep it off the exhaust though.
If only expense were not a concern, I still have a painful memory of telling my joint bank account holder what I paid for the bike.
Hey ozboy, I am in the same situation. I bought a set of ADV pannier racks, and will be trying out some RJays panniers (soft this week) they look damn similar to Andystrapz panniers and are $69 those and my small supercheap auto panniers should do me fine I hope
i use oxford soft expandable bags. the quality is excellent (will last a long time) not cheap at around $300. made the frames myself out of ms round bar $4.00 for the steel and about two welding rods (if you burn them all the way to the holder) coupla nuts and bolts (easy slip em into your pockets at bunnings while no one is watching, what the hell its only wes farmers!) if you plan on carting the kitchen sink though --- she might get a bit top heavy. food for thought cheers. R
did bmw place to bolts to hold your top box down??? coz.. i had my top box come off and i took it to BMW in canb .. all they did was place 2 bolts.... now the fucking "removealbe Luggage" system is not worth fucks.... i'm not happy with the so claimed solution.
You get what you pay for ...... I have the Andy Strapz panniers & haven't been able to kill them yet (I've tried several times). Cheap is not always the most economical.
Hi Peka do you know someone in Bris who makes these?. I have the BMW Vario Panniers but would like to use andys panniers.
R1200GS 06 model TOP BOX Issue. Inmates, This is just a problem that i faced... when for a ride over the weeked with my TOP BOX attached as normal. On my trip back i decided to stop and take a few pics... get off the bike and see no TOP BOX. WFT!!! So, i backtrack about 30++ kms and find it resting on the Left side of the gravel road. The exact same path as i was riding on. So i pick it up, check my camera, pda and mobilephone all ok... thats good.. the fix it back on the bracket and ride back the next 100kms++ thinking if its gonna fall again... shite.. feeling... get hope, inspect it to see a few scuff marks. So, Wednesday i take time off work and go to Rolfe in Canberra the only bmw mob. In the past i have had a few items fixed under warrenty.. and sevice was good. I get to sevice and with about 30mins of fucking around they say that i need to have 2 bolts put in to hold the top box inplace.. making this "non removeable" topbox... as an accessory its $1000.00 .. around that mark.... so.. the tech put two bolts for now and i got to go back sometime next week to get the correct bolts put in. so i ask the service guys, since this requires tools, can they include the tools into my toolkit. The service fella gives me fucking greif... In the past i have heard form fellow GS riders on the service at Rolfe.. was shocking... but this time it was me.... i'm starting to think that the purchase of the ADV next year might have to come from somewhere else. NOT HAPPY BMW .. NOT HAPPY ROLFE! They are not going to replace the scuffed TOP BOX either ... all still under warrenty. fuck .. i'm fucking not happy. -SIVA.
Welcome to the wonderful world of BMW service (or lack of). I will be interested to see where you buy the next bike from and if they are any better. As you alluded to, it often comes down to who deals with you and probably what sort of day they are having etc. One guy (or girl) can be great and the next time you visit the same place you get some dickhead who couldn't give a shit. It's a shit that we don't have too many choices (other than learn how to do it ourselves) for servicing.
1200 Adventure racks (from ADV flea market)(cheaper than new!) bolted up to std GS1200 reasonably easily. Had to take the plastic parcel rack/grab rail off...And the vario mounting brackets...Honestly not sure about the grab rail. I took it off but forget if that was a necessity or not and the bike's not here to look at (but that's another story). Andy'z Expedition Pannierz didn't move in 4,500kms Sydney to Winton return even after/during offs in bulldust and sand. Love 'em! Filled in the middle of the racks with some aluminium bonded signwriting stuff cable tied on. Light weight and weather-proof,prevent sagging into the gap, and free from the right skip or charitable company. (Two places wanted to charge me up to $80 to $100 for a couple of what I got as offcuts from another place!!!) Trouble is the racks are a bit too hard to bother taking off/putting on so they stay on, which looks like that, as opposed to the clean look of a std GS with no luggage, which is the reason I paid a fortune for the plastic vario crap in the first place... Live and learn... PS. looked at various options like Oxford,Wolfman and more, some of which MAY not require a rack, but decided on the local product,after sales service etc and apart from the above cosmetic drawback am very glad I did. And the racks give it a tough, adventurous look (I tell myself...)
+1 on Andy Strapz Expedition Bags . Tough as and very versatile . Plus they fit on almost any bike . They work better with a good side support frame . I can recommend the Givi frame
