berndtesch boxes
 

Can anyone give me a report on the sturdiness of these boxes and generally what they think of them? They seem to be a good cost/quality compromise when combined with a touratech rack over their metal mule alternatives.

MM = £1200
BT + touratech = £500

Thanks all.

I find these prices way too high.

Try Alpos boxes - £150 the pair.

Alpos seem a bit weak
 

I looked at Alpos but they seem very thin and have heard reports of them wobbling while riding. and remember my kits included racks which added to the cost. Boxes alone for the BT kit cost about £300 which is twice as much but they are purpose built for the job!

There should a datailed report on my boxes somewhere here on the HUB1)

Roundup:

1) _very_sturdy, had several hard falls, the boxes are still intact and waterproof. I met an african twin rider who hit a large rock at 50 kp/h in Mongolia - Box heavily deformed but still waterproof...
2) I do not think the Touratech racks would be strong enough. The Tesch one is very strong and heavy, but maybe make yourself a comprmoise somewhere in between?
3) The 49l-Boxes were too large for me. Since boxes always tended to be full to the rim, I always carried way too much with me. But I think I heard that Tesch is offering smaller boxes nowadays.

Cheers

Lars

Touratech rack
 

Unfortunately he no longer makes racks for the Honda transalp. he offered to do a special order one for 500 Euros and I would need to take the bike to him for 2 days. I just can't do that and I definately dont have the ability to do it myself.

He makes attachments for the touratech rack which made me think it would be ok. Especially with the smaller panniers! Can you think of any other rack I could buy? If not then I will take the touratech and beef it up on the road if I have to.

Contact a local MC (or a community for that matter) - I bought the Tesch rack without asking anyone and was scolded that I had wasted money several times after that.

Apparantly, for someone who knows to weld, making a rack is easy enough, and that bit of steel cannot be that expensive.

Oh, and: Definitely have someone build a quick release system too. Worth the extra money: the boxes make great tables and seats, stands for your bike in case you have to change tires and removing them easily without having to empty them is very nice too when you are stuck in deep sand in a hot area...

Lars

Here's the link: Quick-Release

Lateron, I had the outer quadrants (?) removed. But, having the boxes centered, I found that the focus of gravity of the boxes was slightly behind the rear axle of my R 100 GS, so you might want to check where exactly to put the boxes in relation to your rear axle.

Lars

Oliver i've sent you an email about this,if you don't recieve it let me know via PM here and i'll try again...!

Touratech racks are extremely good in my experience. My one (on a XT) is very beefy and well made and has survived a couple of crashes, one quite spectacular one! On my big trip I was carrying far too much stuff, but the rack took it no worries. If a TT rack isn't strong enough I'd suggest you are carrying too much stuff.

Having said that, I don't particularly rate their boxes.

Matt :)

Yes, they are thinner than others.

But any wobble probably comes from a loose carrier frame. I built my own so I cant speak for the Alpos frame.

Remember if boxes are too thick they will transmit all crash energy into your bike frame, with expensive consequences. You really need the equivalent of a car's "Crumple Zone". I find all talk of how certain boxes have the strength of a tank etc, quite misguided.

Good luck with your search, and all the conflicting info!!!

I agree with Cam on this. I have alpos boxes and after one crash, the 'crumple zone' effect has prevented severe subframe damage on my bike I believe! To fix them I just beat them back out with a hammer.

Although after another 12,000 km or so they had cracked at the point of most buckling and I have since reinforced them with a patch of 2mm aluminium. Actually the Alpos boxes are good, because while they deform in a crash, the bottom seem and lid are securely reinforced with a thick band of aluminium, rather than simply being folded over (like every other box I've seen). On mine the band is about 6mm thick from memory, possibly more. This means they do not split open, distributing your underpants across a wide area...

Matt