It is time to start looking for a luggage system for my 1986 BMW R80 GS PD.

The bike came with BMW mounts that I believe were meant for an R100 GS (holes do not line up).

The rear sub frame on my 1986 R80 and 1990 R100 GS models are different. The R100 GS sub frame is longer in comparison and therefore has more length to attach the mounts.

Touratech lists mounts for an R80 and R100 GS, but it appears that they are for the Paralever models.

I haven't decided which panniers, but I am leaning towards the Touratech brand. I am also considering making copies of these since we have the facilities at work. Jesse and H&B bags are out...I just don't like them.


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Alex

Alex's BMW Motorcycle & Global Touring Page http://www.ott.igs.net/~ace

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- If motorcyclists claim to be individuals, why then do so many of them ride in packs?

Excellent Idea to make your own panniers. After owning a set of BMW stock bags, as well as a set of Aluminum bags (don't know make - bought used), I have decided to make my own as well. There is an excellent review of various panniers available (see links, Carlos's motorcycle pannier page I think) which also cover the racks. Better still is to make your own, I think easier then the bags as mild steel is easy to work with. I will be building a rack and pannier system for my G/S this fall, and hope to come up with a decent template. Let me know how it goes!

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Another note about Panniers: It is highly advised to brace and/ or reinforce the rear subframe of a G/S. Grant has some excellent diagrams on how he improved the subframe on his bike (in the bike - story and photos sections, front page). Also HPN show a similar bracing done to all there specials and rally bikes. This does require some careful measuring and fabrication as the exhaust and shock are a bit in the way. If you are building your own rack, this is important to note. If you build the rack very robust it will aid in strengthening the subframe but... If the rack is to strong and inflexible, the frame may be the piece to break in a fall!

After all my searching, it seems that Moto-Sport Panniers in the U.S. are the only outfit that I could find that still produce a setup for the 81 to 87 R80 G/S line. The price of US$855 includes two bags, bag liners, mounts and hardware. That works out to CAD$1349...yikes!!! Has anyone seen these? How do they compare in quality and detail to the Touratech panniers.

On the other hand the Touratech pannier system goes for EUR 590 or EUR 509 after you get the tax rebate upon leaving the EU. That works out to CAD$733. Quite affordable and appealing even though I will have to modify the pannier mounts or the rear subframe slightly.


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Alex

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- If motorcyclists claim to be individuals, why then do so many of them ride in packs?

I to am looking into purchasing bags, after pricing out aluminum and looking at the time investment needed for fabrication. It seems to me that if you have the bags and a mounting system, then building a rack should be easy, or vis versa. building both rack and bags from scratch does involve a lot more calculations. I have been looking at the Darr bags from Germany. They sell several sizes for quite a price of roughly 150 DM, or $125 CadD each, which seems quite reasonable to me. I have heard much reference to the Darr bags http://www.daerr.de/Artikel/MotorradBox.htm in various publications - mostly positive. I think a few of the German companies still make racks for the G/S as well. I know that Bernd Tesch http://www.berndtesch.de/ makes such racks. They are highly recommended, but expensive at I think about $400 CanD. Still, they look better then the other racks I have seen. Tesch also makes some nice bags, very robust. Doing the pricing on his site, It works out to about $1000 CanD for a rack, bags, and the mounting kit and lock. I am not sure it this includes the 17% sales tax, likely, but this is refunded for shipping out of the Europe. Anyway, just another possiblity to consider!

Al Jesse (see Jesse Luggage @ http://www.jesseluggage.com/) also makes hard bags/mounts for the R80G/S. I have a set on my G/S and used them through North and South America. They are not cheap (about $1,000 total), but they basically bolt right onto the bike (assuming you have the stock exhaust). They are quite large and hold a lot, and are strong and secure.

But they're not problem free either. I broke a mounting tab on the rack on Ruta 40 in Argentina, but after getting it welded back on it has lasted another 10,000 miles through South America and back home. Also, the top opening is small making it difficult to load large items into the bag.

BTW, you're correct that the mounting points for the R80 and R100 GS are different, but the Jesse bag mounts have holes which can be used on both bikes.

Story

I should mention - I have the Jesse bags on my G/S and the Touratech bags on my R100GSPD. After using the Jesse bags for 10,000 miles through South America, I purposely bought the Touratech bags for the PD so that I could do some comparison. Now that I have experience with both I can offer some observations/suggestions if anyone is interested.

Story

Thanks to both of you for your input. I will check out the web sites in detail. What I should really do is go back to Carlo's Aluminium Pannier Page and check out all the bags available. His page is quite informative.
http://reiseenduro.de/users/carlo/en...e/panniers.htm

As for the Jesse bags, my friend has them on his F650 that he took through Africa. They are nice, but not what I am after.

I will also add that with all the talk about the need for solid pannier mounts, I can only say that that same friend used stock BMW bags and mounts on his 1991 R100 GS PD when he toured North and South America, and then Europe and Asia. These stock BMW bags and mounts have over 150,000 hard kilometers on them without a failure, not to mention the numerous times the bike went down.

On another note, I just received e-mails from both the German Tourist Office and Touratech in Germany. In a nutshell, Touratech will ship my order to my German address and they are willing to take care of the tax refund paperwork for me, which I then have to present at the airport upon leaving the EU.


------------------
Alex

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- If motorcyclists claim to be individuals, why then do so many of them ride in packs?

Hai,

just a hint: Make sure you have a solid deal with Touratech. In my (very bad) experiance they promised the world, but after the bill was payed for, they did not reply to my emails anymore.

Maarten

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When the time comes to deal with Touratech, I'll visit them in person and deal on the spot making sure that the order is well packed and that I have the tax refund papers in hand. Then while I'm on my month long tour, they'll have enough time to ship my order to my German address. I'll check to see if the order arrived while I'm on tour. If it hasn't, I'll be visiting Touratech on my way back.


------------------
Alex

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Alex

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- If motorcyclists claim to be individuals, why then do so many of them ride in packs?

I've notice that Hepco & Becker have a mounting set specifically for the R80 GS thru '87.

I think Carlo's Panniers Page also remarked that they are well put together and strong.

QUESTION: does anyone have these particular H&B mounts on an R80 GS?

If so, at what points do they mount?

Does the mount set use the existing rear carrier or does it employ the H&B rear carrier?


------------------
Alex

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- If motorcyclists claim to be individuals, why then do so many of them ride in packs?

I asked Story about his experience with these 2 bags. Here is his response...

Pierre Saslawsky wrote:
>
> I am considering buying 2 pairs of panniers to go RTW with my girlfriend,
> each on a BMW F650 Dakar. Jesse and Touratech seem to be the best choices
> and your experience with both would be really useful. Could you tell me
> what you think, what problems you encountered with both?
>
> I also have a few more technical questions...
> - Are both bags securely locked onto the bike, or is it possible to steal
> them fairly easily?
> - Is there a liner bag that fits the Jesse panniers?
> - Is is possible to strap securely a 10 or 20 liters jerrican to these
> panniers? (in the front or underneath the panniers, not on the side)
>


Well since I wrote that post I have purchased yet another set of aluminum bags
- Happy Trail bags for my KLR. That makes 3 different sets of aluminum bags
that I own! Each of them has their own strengths and weaknesses.

Here's my take on the Jesse and Touratech. First off, both sets of bags are
attached quite safely to the bike. The mounting mechanisms are accessed from
inside the bags so when you lock the bags it would be difficult to remove them
from the racks. The Touratechs lock with small padlocks (or cam locks) on the
latches. Jesse bags have locks built into the latch mechanism so there's no
fumbling with separate locks. I think the Touratech lock system is probably
stronger, but the Jesses are much more convenient.

I used a set of BMW soft bag liners for all my hard bags. They just about
fill the Touratech bags, but there's plenty of room around them in the Jesse
bags. They're a little hard to get into the Jesse bags since the top opening
is narrower than the interior (fixed in later Jesse bags).

I think it would be possible to attach jerri cans to either bags though I
haven't done it. I have an Acerbis 11.5 gallon tank on my G/S so I didn't
really need more gas. With the F50 it might be nice to carry extra gas. Gas
(and jerri cans) are heavy though so consider the affect on handling and the
added stress on the racks/subframes. If you decide to try it I would suggest
that you strap the cans on the front or rear of the bags. You don't want to
compromise ground and cornering clearance by strapping them underneath.

Some strengths and weaknesses of each:

Jesse:
+ much larger than the Touratech, though they do have an odd shape. I didn't
find the odd shape a problem since I packed small stuff I didn't need often
into the corners.
+ considerably heavier aluminum, meaning stronger bags
- heavier than the Touratech (see above)
+ better looking than Touratech (subjective I know)
+ fit closer to the bike since they follow the lines of the bike
+ hinged lids are less hassles than the unattached lids of Touratech
+ good service from Al Jesse. I broke my Jesse racks in Colorado and Al sent
me a new rack. When the same rack broke in Argentina I had it welded locally
and it's held up fine on many miles of dirt roads since then.

Touratech:
+ wide opening makes them easier to load/unload
+ easier installation of the racks
+ cheaper than the Jesse ($800 as opposed to $1,000)
+ lighter
- I've heard that Touratech customer service can be frustrating, though I've
had no experience with that.

There's my take on the two bags. I think both bags are of excellent quality.
Pick the ones that fit your needs and go for it.


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Pierre
http://www.geocities.com/skypie999/bikes/

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alex
i have a r80g/s ('86) and i'm loking into the same problem re boxes/frames ,any solution you find i'd be very interested in hearing about. i've heard good things about the H&B i'm following this up.i'll post the info
cheers bryan

Bryan,

I've decided on the Touratech bags some time ago. The fact that Touratech mounts don't "bolt on" isn't that much of an issue for me since I will be modifying my rear sub frame.

The problem is that there isn't enough plate, lengthwise, under the seat rail to attach the Touratech mounts to. Since the Touratech mounts are meant to go on an R100 GS, the bolt spacing is 8.25 inches. Try measuring that from the front bolt hole of the plate under your seat rail and you'll notice that the rear bolt hole would end up in thin air.

No sweat. First I planned on extending the plate by TIG welding another section in place, but now I plan to remove the existing plate and weld in a new plate that is thicker as well. The plate will also follow the upward bend of the seat rail.

The Touratech mounts have tabs on the lower front sections of the mounts where a strap bolts on that goes to the passenger footpeg brackets. That plate can be made to measure as necessary. The same goes for the rear crossover strap.


------------------
Alex

Alex's BMW Motorcycle & Global Touring Page http://www.ott.igs.net/~ace

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- If motorcyclists claim to be individuals, why then do so many of them ride in packs?

alex,
thanks for the info ,i'm looking into bracing/strengthing the sob-frame anyway soit would be a problem
bryan