Al panniers or Givis? Oh my!

You know, if you just want to lube the chain on your Strom, a centerstand would probably be a better option.

Y'know, this position would make maintenence alot easier.

If you would of went with our group a couple of weeks ago to Mena AR, you would have seen my GIVI's park just fine, when it fell over because some smuck did not get the kickstand down all the way... Only damage was a scuff on the bag and hand guards. The smuck was me, don't have photos but everyone wanted me to lay it down again so they could take photos...

Tourmeister said:

I had Givi on my VFR 800's and loved them! Very tough, never leaked a drop, and incredibly convenient and easy to use.

For the R1150GS, I went with the Jesse's. Tough as nails but they did get wet inside. Once I ground down the outside leading corners of them while going through a few tight corners, they drained fine They also take abuse pretty well...

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I can't bear to delete that pic; it makes me giggle (and not feel so badly about mine being down).

Received info on those Al panniers from the KLR folks in WA. They weigh a hefty 9.5 lb/each box. (I know the Givis don't weigh near that.) My question to you is if the boxes you had on your GS were that heavy, how it affected the handling (if at all), and how the heck did you pick up the bike with those on?

I picked mine up and it wasn't an easy feat, probably because of this dislocated clavicle (I REALLY need to deal with this sidestand issue!). But it impressed upon me that anything I add on should be light as possible in the event I need to pick it up again.

So now I'm back to the givis on one hand, the Al panniers on the other hand...... and looking back and forth

DaveC said:

http://www.mo-tech.de/
Use the SW motech mounts and put soft bags on?

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I saw 'somewhere' a mount system that would accept softbags AND Al panniers! I like the idea of that: soft bags for local commute/trips, the Al panniers for long distance/duration trips.

Anyone know which system this is? (can't recall which forum I saw it on a few weeks ago).

My question to you is if the boxes you had on your GS were that heavy, how it affected the handling (if at all), and how the heck did you pick up the bike with those on?

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On the pavement, you don't realize they are there unless you start dragging hard parts. This is usually only an issue if you have forgotten to increase the rear preload. On the dirt, more weight is more weight. It is not so much a handling issue as much as a manhandling (or womanhandling ) issue. You have to move the weight of the bike around more agressively in the dirt. In general though, on a beastie like the GS, another twenty pounds or so don't make that big a difference.

As far as picking up the bike, it depends on how you have gone down. If you are on level ground, the bags actually help keep the bike from going over as far which makes it easier to pick the bike up. If they bags were really packed heavy, I might take off the upside bag before lifting the bike. In that picture above, the bags actually saved me from having the bike rolling over on top of me... I saw the wheels in the air in my peripheral vision as I was hitting the ground and started scrambling to get out of the way as soon as I hit. It was quite a relief to see the bike stop rolling... until I realized the motor was running upside down!!

The Jesse's also make excellent campground stools. My Givi's would not work in that capacity.

Tourmeister said:

The Jesse's also make excellent campground stools. My Givi's would not work in that capacity.

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*That's* always a plus!!!!

So the Al panniers are comparable in weight (relative to their size)? In other words, the 9.5 lb/box is typical weight?

Preload on Whee is minimum right now so I can get the balls of my feet on the ground I expect I can dial it up when the storage boxes go on (and the seat shaved down).

I am currently thinking on a system using Motorsports mounts for both their softbags and the Al boxes from KLR. I like the idea of versatility. I suspect I would use the soft bags for commuting and put on the Al bags for long distance touring and camping.

Need to check with the KLR.com folks for more info on those Al panniers (and how they mount to brackets). I'd *still* like to see a set of Al boxes on a bike. I've seen enough Givis

Thanks for the info!

Just mounted a set of Al Jesse panniers on my R100GS. All I can say is that they are the best investment I have made so far. These things are bullet proof

treysmagna said:

Just mounted a set of Al Jesse panniers on my R100GS. All I can say is that they are the best investment I have made so far. These things are bullet proof

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I would if I could but I can't afford to invest that much into panniers considering.

I am still investigating combining the Al panniers (KLR650.com) and the Moto-sports brackets, allowing flexibility to use Moto-sports' Yukon softbag system for commuting and the Al panniers for long-distance/off road use. The folks at KLR... emailed me close-up pics of their boxes and they look very good and sturdy. Now we are exploring mounting.

If this works out, another V-strommer is very interested in the same system. Maybe they'll give me a promotional discount