Hi all,

Has anyone been through the thought process of which aluminium panniers to go for on a 1200GS-Adventure ?

Any thoughts on BMW vs Metal Mule vs Touratech etc ?

Cheers,

Ian

Just got back from the BMW rally in Wisconsin and looked at Jesse bags. I have a 2007 GS adventure and I went with the BMW bags. The Jessee are bigger and I think I would rather have had them. I had heard that Jesse was having trouble keeping up but do not know if that is true or not. I looked at his new system of attaching them and it is nice. I looked at all the other bags there on bikes and either the Jesse or the BMW look to be good choices.

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Larry Davis

I have the BMW Adventure panniers and whilst they are OK, if I was making the decision over again I think I would go for Metal Mule so that I can move them over to another bike in the future.

The one thing I didn't like about Metal Mule was the domed nuts on the inside the panniers, however I spoke to them at Ripley and this is changing.

Tim

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

Hard to say :-(

Overall I'd vote for the Metal Mule panniers for three reasons:

- excellent system to attach them to the rack (the best I have come across so far)
- they can be ordered already anodised
- they are very robust.


For ages I'm travelling with the Touratech panniers, which basically aren't bad, but in comparison to MM the the TT attachement system is absolute crap. After a while the screws get oxidised and it is a major pain to fit the boxes tight on the rack so that they have no play. Secondly TT doesn't offer them anodised, meaning that your luggage is blackened heavily by the aluminum rubb-off.

What I like about them is that the lid isn't hinged, meaning that you can remove it without having to loosen your luggage roll. Besides that, the lid comes useful as a tray to carry small stuff around (like breakfast plus cutlery ;-)). Finally, there is quite a difference in price...

Hans

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Only when we pause to wonder
do we go beyond the limits of our little lives.
(Rod McKuen)

As many HUBBers know, I would recommend Metal Mule over Touratech any day.

The wife and I both have a set on our XT600’s and have done in excess of 20,000 km. Our Metal Mules have been dropped, crashed (two accidents) and bashed (and still maintain there original shape, fixings, etc). A VERY strong design!

They have been subjected to 50C highs and -5C lows. They have been through torrential rain storms and excessively dust environments and are 'way' overloaded on a regular basis – they are as good today as they day they arrived.

Plus points for us are:
1. Easy mounting system.
2. Water and dust proof.
3. Extremely strong frames and panniers.
4. Anodised panniers maintain there looks and don't effect your clothes.
5. The extra handles are really useful on a daily basis - I wouldn't be without them now.
6. Extremely good customer service.

Minus points:
1. Expense - but worth it.

Whilst I don’t want to speak ill of Touratech, I have yet to see a 'square set', just look at what Claudio (long way round and down) managed to do to his panniers on a low speed tumble, (http://www.bbc.co.uk/longwaydown/journal/entry26.shtml).

In addition there is a article in this months ‘Bike’ magazine from the Bike High guys. Who have traveled over 17,000 miles with Metal Mules and love ‘em. They admit to dropping their XT660's on them in excess of 30 times!!!

At the end of the day, "you pay your money and take your choice", but for me the Metal Mule panniers are in a league of their own.

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http://www.moto-andalucia.com

Maybe they should exchange their XT's for a trike ;-)

__________________
Only when we pause to wonder
do we go beyond the limits of our little lives.
(Rod McKuen)