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Saddlebags too close to exhaust? Solutions?

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Jorge
I recently purchased a Givi PL rack and Givi GRT709s bags. I finally got to try to install them and I was concerned about the bags sitting to close to the exhaust. Lo and behold, it is reaaaally close to the exhaust. I'm under the impression with heavy load it might actually rest on the exhaust (or if the air pushes it down, etc).

I took some pictures so you guys can see how close it is. Bag had some medium to light load in it.

d2OP7fe.jpg


FfCnwK4.jpg


Any solutions? I guess a heat shield might work but then the shield will be permanently touching the bags. Also the shield would sit very high on the exhaust.

I'm thinking I might need to return them. I definitely don't want to destroy $600 bags.

Thanks.
 
Is there a lower mount aftermarket exhaust available?
I'd look into different bags.

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:tab You can buy or make a shield that basically straps to the exhaust and creates an air gap between the canister and the underside of the shield. Most of the time stainless steel hose clamps will work. Ideally, this will allow enough air flow to cool things down so that the bag won't melt if it rests on the shield. I say ideally because I just had a bag melt through on a trip even though I had a shield. It worked perfect for seven days in a row and then on the LAST day during the LAST 30 miles of the trip, it melted... :doh: I packed it exactly the same way each day. The only difference was that we were running a sustained 70-75mph for that last 30 miles. Most of the rest of the trip was lower speeds or high speeds for shorter duration. Let me just say that getting the melted stuff off the pipe is hard, even with a steel brush!

I have one like this. The bag melted above it on top of the bronze colored section by the screw.
hotspringsaction1.jpg


https://www.giantloopmoto.com/product/hot-springs-heat-shield/
 
Is there a lower mount aftermarket exhaust available?
I'd look into different bags.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

There is. When I saw the bags on the same bike they had a different exhaust. That could solve this but not sure I want a new exhaust. Might as well just return them it looks like (don’t want to get into trouble likes Tourmeister). Maybe I can stop some wolfman bags high on the brackets.
 
There is. When I saw the bags on the same bike they had a different exhaust. That could solve this but not sure I want a new exhaust. Might as well just return them it looks like (don’t want to get into trouble likes Tourmeister). Maybe I can stop some wolfman bags high on the brackets.
If your satisfied with the power of the bike then yeah try other bags. Exhaust is always a nice addition imo


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:tab You can buy or make a shield that basically straps to the exhaust and creates an air gap between the canister and the underside of the shield. Most of the time stainless steel hose clamps will work. Ideally, this will allow enough air flow to cool things down so that the bag won't melt if it rests on the shield. I say ideally because I just had a bag melt through on a trip even though I had a shield. It worked perfect for seven days in a row and then on the LAST day during the LAST 30 miles of the trip, it melted... :doh: I packed it exactly the same way each day. The only difference was that we were running a sustained 70-75mph for that last 30 miles. Most of the rest of the trip was lower speeds or high speeds for shorter duration. Let me just say that getting the melted stuff off the pipe is hard, even with a steel brush!

I have one like this. The bag melted above it on top of the bronze colored section by the screw.
hotspringsaction1.jpg


https://www.giantloopmoto.com/product/hot-springs-heat-shield/

Sorry, off topic.

Motorcycle hack : Easy Off Oven Cleaner on a hot exhaust and a mild/fine scrubbing pad. Mask any painted parts when you spray it on.
 
On a related note: how many run hard luggage for offroad trips around Texas? I have decided to return this bags and look for another set of hard bags that fit the Givi rack and maybe get some smaller soft bags in the future?
 
On a related note: how many run hard luggage for offroad trips around Texas? I have decided to return this bags and look for another set of hard bags that fit the Givi rack and maybe get some smaller soft bags in the future?
I run a backpack, didnt get into any overnight stuff...yet

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I have hard panniers on the GSA but it really only sees light off road travel. My KLR has soft luggage which I think is much safer on your legs in a crash. My XRL is gonna stay naked. I’ll get a small backpack if I ever overnight it on that bike
 
Do you have a picture of the whole bike with bags in place. I can see the problem up close & personal, but without seeing the whole layout, it's hard to visualize solutions.
 
Looking at the end of your pipe, it looks like it already has a decent shield around the exhaust tip. I suspect that pipe might not get as hot as mine. If you added some kind of shield with about 1/2" of stand off, you'd probably never have any issues. I have had the shield on my KTM for some time and it has never been a problem. It is possible I did not have my bag sitting exactly the same way the last day that it had been all the previous days... My shield was not sitting high enough on the pipe, which would have helped.

If you plan to ride anything more difficult than county and forest service roads, I would stick with soft bags for the side bags. If you think you might get into mud/sand, this is even more true. They are much easier on the legs if you go down. I generally only use my hard side bags when riding street and easy dirt roads.
 
Here's a bunch of pictures I took today:

This is with the mount that is needed for the Givi bags (its pretty cool, it lets you lock the bags to the bike)

v87kwYo.jpg


1GQ1Bz3.jpg


QYDyqGS.jpg


Here's just the rack:

kUpGbeF.jpg


Finally a picture of the guy running the same bags on the same bike (but a different exhaust):

42157403_10217445898249442_1694187379331432448_o.jpg


I've been exploring maybe just changing my exhaust but I'm not sure if that'll fix the problem. I do find that I don't have much to play with if I want to use soft saddle bags. Since I can't afford another bike now, and probably will get a pig ADV bike next year, I want to use this one for all kinds of terrains until it drops (I know, maybe not the best idea).

The exhaust available are this and this. The Yoshi seems to be lower profile.

Another option would be to get hard bags. Unfortunately only two options for my Givi PL rack is either Dolomiti or Trekkers (not Outbacks unfortuantely). And maybe switch to some Woflman saddle bags but not sure if I can keep them mounted up high on the rack.

Opinions?
 
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Here's a bunch of pictures I took today:

This is with the mount that is needed for the Givi bags (its pretty cool, it lets you lock the bags to the bike)

v87kwYo.jpg


1GQ1Bz3.jpg


QYDyqGS.jpg


Here's just the rack:

kUpGbeF.jpg


Finally a picture of the guy running the same bags on the same bike (but a different exhaust):

42157403_10217445898249442_1694187379331432448_o.jpg


I've been exploring maybe just changing my exhaust but I'm not sure if that'll fix the problem. I do find that I don't have much to play with if I want to use soft saddle bags. Since I can't afford another bike now, and probably will get a pig ADV bike next year, I want to use this one for all kinds of terrains until it drops (I know, maybe not the best idea).

The exhaust available are this and this. The Yoshi seems to be lower profile.

Another option would be to get hard bags. Unfortunately only two options for my Givi PL rack is either Dolomiti or Trekkers (not Outbacks unfortuantely). And maybe switch to some Woflman saddle bags but not sure if I can keep them mounted up high on the rack.

Opinions?
Id do Exhaust

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You could shim the plate out at the bottom to kick the bag away from the exhaust just a bit.
 
I would figure out how hot that area actually is.
Might not be an issue ...

bwd has a good idea ... shim the plate. Figure out the fastener size, stack some washers to figure out how thick of a shim you would need to gain the clearance you want and purchase longer mounting bolts to accommodate the shim stack. You may even angle it a bit ...

Also, at most any hardware store, you can buy aluminum plate. A makeshift break using C-clamps and 2x4s bend an "L" shape mounted to the bag's framework and sandwiched by the plate.

Ride to Granbury one day and we will knock it out in an afternoon.
 
Hmmm . . . This may be waay out in left field but it looks like you could move those two mounting clamps/thingies to the long central set of slots and move the whole thing up an inch or two. From the dead astern shot, it looks like that horizontal-ish bar (?grab-rail?) wouldn't be in the way.

Edit: Never mind. I took another look and see that those two round thingies at the bottom of the bracket need to fit into holes in the big plastic jobbie.
 
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Ride to Granbury one day and we will knock it out in an afternoon.

I am in, a fabricating job is for me. Let us know, I will show up and annoy Mitch during the process. It is one of my favorite things.:rider::clap:
 
Besides kicking the plate out, you could combine that with lowering the exhaust slightly, my fabing a new hanger, depending on how much slack it has when unbolted from the hanger.



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I am in, a fabricating job is for me. Let us know, I will show up and annoy Mitch during the process. It is one of my favorite things.:rider::clap:

Got to go with what you are good at ... Doug will probably by everyone's lunch. :clap:
 
Hahaha

Well I decided to skip those specific soft bags and get larger panniers for ADV touring and look at soft bag options in the future. Thanks everyone for their feedback.
 
Welp, the SWMotech Trax Adventure cases weren't the right fit for the bike either so I'm getting a Happy Trail rack for soft bags that sit higher on the bike and hoping I can mount the Givi bags with plenty of space. Looks like this will work! I'll tell you friday.
 
Welp, the SWMotech Trax Adventure cases weren't the right fit for the bike either so I'm getting a Happy Trail rack for soft bags that sit higher on the bike and hoping I can mount the Givi bags with plenty of space. Looks like this will work! I'll tell you friday.
That sucks! I hate trying up money just to see what will work and what wont.

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That sucks! I hate trying up money just to see what will work and what wont.

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Yeah. I also learned the return process on Revzilla is much better than Twisted Throttle.

On Revzilla you can do it on the website with a simple click, and you get a return label for cheap (around 7 bucks). They return the money pretty quick as well.

For Twisted Throttle I had to call to tell them the issue, and even then they wanted to try a couple of things after I felt I had already exhausted all possible action without severe modifications. They ultimately gave me return labels but only because I asked for them. No way I'm shipping back huge boxes on my penny. I'm fine if they charge me a little (but they waived the fee cuz I wasn't warned the stuff won't fit my bike), but Fedex/UPS would've probably charged me $50+ per box cuz of the size. They have yet to get all 6 boxes I sent back, we'll see how long it takes for the refund to show up.
 
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