Where's the problem?
 

Yeah, but the good thing is there's lot of alternatives for Alu boxes :)

Al Jesses
Alpos
Bernd Tesch
Caja Sahel
Därr
Happy Trails
ProjectVND (Vern)
SW Motech (TraX)
Touratech


And the list goes a bit further on... For every budget and strenght type. All of them cheaper than the Metal Mules, some probably even better.

Ride safe, Margus

Enough complaining about Metal Mule prices, it's now time to vote with your wallet and buy alternatives :thumbup1:

Make them
 

Made 2 sets and the bike rack, took 80 hours though. used stainless rivits, alloy bonding agent, and stainless hinges. the main problem is bending the 2 mm sheet alloy. used a 7 ton magnetic bender that worked fine for the main bends but the corner edges i had to clamp to a bench and bend with a metal clamp. if you hunt around they can be made very cheaply. hinges, latches etc from trade me (e-bay) the total cost for 4 side boxes and 2 top boxes and a frame for my XF 650 was $600 newzealand dollars. you must spend the time planning everything though as out of 2 alloy sheets 2400mm x 1200mm i had almost nothing left. good luck

Have anyone tried these : RMS - Reinhard Guhr Rennsporttechnik - RMS Koffersystem KTM LC8

I've found some threads about RMS cases on a few Italian and Dutch moto forums, but didn't quite get a word of what was written.
On the pics it seems that they are incredibly well made, and I've read that the owner worked for the formula one team some time ago

Very interesting Frgich. Thanks for the link.

Looking through the site there are a series of photos of close-up detail, including joints, locks, seals, various options of edges/corners, colours (powder coating?), etc. All workmanship looks very good.

Sadly my German is NIL but for BMW F650GS (Dakar shown?) a Babel Fish translation (reinterpreted by me) is:-
The RMS - Luggage system for the small cylinder BMW fully developed and under the design criterion of the smallest overall width!
The aluminum cases are widened underneath the exhaust mufflers to get optimum of use this otherwise dead space. The volume is approx. 38.0 litres for each case, the overall width of everything amounts to 880 mm, this is narrower than the handlebars.
Each case had 4 strap-down brackets for light luggage.
The mounting frame is of machine adapted precision steel tube that with the cases are removed are not visually disturbing and actually not recognizable.
TIG welding only - since 1987.
The frames are silver plastic-coated. A cross connection of the cases and all mounting elements are provided.
For customers who bring their motorcycle we assembly free, otherwise approx. 20 €uro forwarding expenses.
Price-899 Euro.
£715 - fitted! Seems very good to me. I will be looking further into these and make a trip over there.
No mention of the guage of metal used. Security is unclear. A key/lock for the lid, but I cannot see how the case is attached (or locked) to its frame. Seeing 'Wing-nuts' attaching them to the rear frame cross-link (or each other) is worrying if that is a security mounting rather than just the bracing (the cross connection?).
Much as I liked MMs, particularly after I went to visit them last autumn and spoke with the actual fabricator, there are limits. And the recent price hikes must be turning many potential customers away from them - including myself.
Thanks again Frgich.

No problem Tony glad that I helped in someway. Try to e-mail Roger, and ask exactly what would you like to know. I've send an e-mail and they answered the next day, which I like very much. I also plan for the next year to buy these cases, and will go to Germany and make a small trip-the place is near the Frakfurt just for the info.

The thickness of the alu used to make the cases is 2 mm, so they must be very tough. The way the cases are attached and secured to the mounting frame is a question though, so it's best to e-mail them directly and ask them to send you some detailed pics of the set-up.

Maybe I should open a thread for these cases alone so some more people can see them, and maybe someone on the HUBB have used them already,

regards

Eight months ago I invested in Metal Mule panniers and top box as opposed to bike-specific luggage so that I could move the luggage from bike to bike. Metal Mule were considerably more expensive than Zega and other alternatives at the time but I was prepared to pay a premium for powder coated luggage and it helped that Metal Mule is local to me.

I now want to mount my Metal Mule topbox and panniers on my new F650GS, but the prices have gone through the roof in the last four months:

- top box rack was £91.99, now £118.99 an increase of £27.00 (30%)
- pannier rails were £229.99, now £299.99, an increase of £70 (30%)

I told Paul today that I was really aggrieved about this but he refuses to move on price and I feel like I'm over the barrel.

So I started looking at alternatives. The list price of the BMW vario panniers, pannier rails and key-coded locks is £543 and most people will be able to get 10% off this making the price £488. So why on earth should I pay Metal Mule £300 for a set of pannier rails when I can get the whole caboodle from BMW for £488?

I won't make the decision whilst I'm still fuming, I'll sleep on it first.

Tim

Worth it
 

Hi,
Metal mule may seem expensive, but they are tough! My right hand pannier took off the nose of a Toyota that pulled out in front of me in Malaysia. I then bashed it back into shape and refitted it no problem(even with 1 bracket wiped off and the others bent!) As they say" you pays your money and takes your choice". and there are worse choices than M/Mule!

Cheers Del Boy

i needed a set of panniers for my F650GS
new or second hand the costs of TT etc and getting them down to Ghana where im working made them a non starter.
bought the fixings for zega boxes from TT.
bought a sheet of 2mm aluminium, length of 19mm pipe, couple of latches, hinges etc and had the whole lot made here for less than 200Stg.
not just as pretty as MM or TT, but once covered with a heap of stickers, they dont look bad at all.

Just thought I'd add my bit to this thread.I have just spent £2100 buying a full set of mark 2 MMs,with anodising,lugs,feet,racks.I know it was exhorbitant,but I want a set of boxes that will last me years of touring,not fall apart in the middle of nowhere,will hopefully help save my bike if it goes over,and give me security for my things.I could afford them, as i wasn't on a budget when I started equiping my bike (thank you housing boom),and if they last,I think its money well spent.

I just piced up a set of metal mule panniers. Two side panniers and a top box plus rack. Only paid £2,100... They were attached to a R07a Honda XRV 750 though. Bargain!:clap:

Got to say at the end of the day no matter how fancy the selling and the looks these are just boxes for carrying luggage - are people losing sight of the ball a bit here - 1200 notes is a lot of dosh for carrying your kit (is your kit even worth £1200 that you carry). Tony P didn't you have the frames of your MM fail because of inherint design weakness in the frames when the going got rough ? - maybe this need to be highlighted to perspective buyers before they commit to large sums of money. I mean no detriment to MM and remember the owner being very pleasant and ammienable when he questioned me several years ago about my luggage I had used on a trip to Russia, but that said the price has to fit the application.

and yet you quite happily handing over mega-mula for a 12GSA?

the 'adventure touring' market is just that, a market. plenty will pay over the odds (just like the 12GSA), when something much simpler will do. $5 army bags will do the job fine, but yeah, don't give 'the look'...

For really cheap alternatives
 

If you just want something to start with you could try either of these, teh first is soft luggage, teh second hard but you will have to make your own frames, but at £40 set worth thinking about.
Buy Oxford First Time Pannier Set. at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for .

or

Find the cheapest Concorde Low-Level Plastic Cistern White by , best price, compare prices at MyVoucherCodes Shopping

have fun.

Find the cheapest Concorde Low-Level Plastic Cistern White by , best price, compare prices at MyVoucherCodes Shopping

I prefer the ones by Royal Doulton , they have more kudos .
:lol2: