After months of use
 

http://www.dualsportbc.com/photogall...0/IMG_4017.JPG
I purchased a second set of mounting plates so I can switch the bags between my 2 640s in less than a minute..
http://www.dualsportbc.com/photogall...0/IMG_3856.JPG
These bags are proving to be the best luggage system I have owned by far for my type of riding, very rugged and non obtrusive
http://www.dualsportbc.com/photogall...0/IMG_3801.JPG
Talk about being able to carry a load..

After over a year of abuse the Mosko panniers are holding up well:
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...a.jpg~original

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...q.jpg~original

They look great, and are a good alternative to the Kriega Overlander platform which I think is the only other platform based pannier system.

Too bad you can't buy them in Europe, at least not without mega import and vat charges.

Mollydog mentions Colebatch's bag still use straps over the seat, yet Walter himself invested in a super strong sturdy rack made by Erik in Netherlands, that supported the subframe (like all good racks do) I don't support the idea of large panniers (30l per side) using over seat straps only. When you land, or hit a large bump at speed, all of the force is applied to the stitching which will fail eventually (ask me how I know). Additionally much of Walter's documented travels have been in damp, muddy, boggy conditions in Russia and the like, as opposed to fast hard ground and whoops like you might find in Morocco (I know he toured Morocco, but not with panniers), South America etc.. Not taking anything away from them though, and of course they work brilliantly on racks.

Doubt they'd be any cheaper if you could; import duty and VAT (UK) adds up to about 20% plus IIRC there is a small processing fee. An importer would still have to pay this and make a margin on the goods. Probably what really makes the difference is the exchange rate- it was much better when I bought mine...

They ought to be cheaper since the importer would be paying wholesale prices as oppose to retail. When used to import Lacrosse Gear from the states, wholesale prices were about 50% of retail. Then add back the tax.

Importing as single sale you end up paying retail prices plus tax.

Oh well.

Yeah, and that arrangement may follow in time I suppose when they grow as a company, but I know that to start with they made a decision to sell direct only (there are no distributors at all) to try to keep the final cost of the product under control- I got my panniers from the very first batch and that was only summer 2014 so they haven't been going that long. They are complex bags made from really good materials and must be expensive to produce, even in Vietnam. I still think compared to certain pressed out aluminium boxes they're pretty fairly priced, and really they should be compared against those, not simple throwovers.

Once I'd decided to go for soft panniers I looked at Magadans, but straps over the seat are no good for my pillion and they're a fair bit smaller- more suited to one up on a KLR I thought. Also you can't take one off if the bike goes down. I love Kriega stuff, but decided that four separate bags was too fiddly and again they are smaller. The Wolfman ones are too small again and the mounting system is a bit fiddly, and I seem to recall straps over the seat too.

Still, it's great that there is so much choice eh?

Did Walter abandon his "strap-over-seat" style bag? Different type sold now?
IMO, "super strong sturdy" = Heavy. I don't believe they really support the subframe, (maybe help lateral flex?)

... and we've all seen many rider's reports over last 20 years, #1 problem are CRACKED and BROKEN luggage racks/subframes. I learned about this back in the 80's on my BMW R100RS and XL600 (bent sub frame).

If rack 100% supports bags, then YES, they will need to be strong ... but over time, may still crack. Clearly, soft bags better than hard, but nonetheless, can create a problem on rough terrain when rack takes all the punishment.
Not true. In fact, MOST initial stress is taken by the seat, which acts as a shock absorber. TRUE, stitched attach points ARE stressed too over time, but lets be clear, they don't take 100% of the bump, the straps themselves and seat take a lot of it.

Would you rather have to find a welder to re-construct your broken rack or ... find a nice lady with a sewing machine to re-enforce weak seams? :innocent:

Lots depends on quality of bags. Even Colebatch's bags came apart according to one report I read. I've heard he's improved newer generation bags.

I'm stunned at recent prices of new generation ADV soft panniers. When guys are paying $600 to $900 for a set of soft ADV panniers, that stitch point should not fail. But why pay so much? For me, soft panniers are clearly expendable items. None will last forever used hard on the road. I've worn out a few sets.

I've used 3 different sets of soft panniers over the last 10 years or so. Most miles done on DR650, which is now at 65,000 miles. About 25% Off road, with 5 separate Baja trips since 2006.

Lucky for me none of the stitch points on my bags failed. But bags do wear, not all zippers are good, not all designs are perfect. BUT ...

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...-qTJcG9j-L.jpg
Tourmaster Cortech, 24 liter. ($50, like new condition off Craig's list)
about 25,000 miles done on these. Not waterproof. (Scotchguard)

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...-h2rgxGR-L.jpg
Teknic 33 liter, $60 new, Really cheap bags but never broke. The center cross strap routed through handles, took stress off attach seams.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...-BFGrvHT-L.jpg
Teknic bags on the road. Terrible bags but never broke or came apart. Only put about 10,000 miles on these before retirement. Bad zippers, poor design.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...-TZQ4MkB-L.jpg
Nelson-Rigg panniers, 33 Liter, $90, new condition from forum member.
Good quality, not waterproof, HUGE, more room than I need. Nice inner compartments.

Note extra strap on carry handle ... takes stress off seams at attach points. Only two Baja trips on these, and several California dual sport rides with lots of Whoop de DOO's. So far doing good!
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...-T6KS5FM-L.jpg
Nelson-Rigg panniers in action in Baja. Only 10,000 on these so far.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycl...P1030370-L.jpg
Too large duffel bag but the Nelson-Rigg's did really well on this 4 day, 1200 mile camping ride in Sequoia Nat. Forest.
Agreed, but from vids I've seen, even in boggy condition, Walters PACE is fast and hard. I'm thinking anything that can survive is pretty good gear. :thumbup1:

My goal going to soft bags was to trim weight off my DR650. I lost 30 lbs. from my GIVI hard bags/racks. So adding back in heavy, overbuilt racks goes backwards. My very light weight Happy Trail racks are only there to keep bag off hot pipe and attach bag, keep it from moving round too much.

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...-HMTrcgW-L.jpg
Paid $60 (used). Light, tuck in tight to bike, strong ... enough!

bier

On some bikes it's often possible to run the "Cross Seat" strap UNDER the seat rather than over. The strap does not bother me, I don't even feel it after 10 minutes riding. But I know it bugs some. So, try to route it under seat if you can.
Just make sure it does not interfere with elec. components, batt, critical wires.
I can do it on my DR650 ... but don't need to and want to retain the seat to help absorb hard hits.

I may place bags too low ...but really, low is good. (low and forward, if possible)

No won't work on the GS- catches and stuff in the way. Anyway, most soft panniers are too small for my needs- nearly always 2 up- the Moskos are a great compromise between the benefits of hard and soft luggage.

Offer a locable strap now (or soon): Bolt-Ons, Rallies, & Rocketts | Mosko Moto

https://moskoblog.files.wordpress.co...6-20.jpg?w=625

https://moskoblog.files.wordpress.co...6-21.jpg?w=625

Finally got to test my 35L Backcountry panniers (have a backcountry 35L duffle used many times and very happy with).

And turned out to be a tought test, my riding buddies had racks snapping and bolts misssing and generally lots of creative strapping. In the meantime I was happy, no problems with Moose racing rack on my KTM 950SE and love how easy it is to lock the Backcountry bags to the bike (while the other struggle with straps). Had 2x 2l MSR water bags in the front pockets and worked great. In the Molle rear Pockets I had 2 fuel bottles for MSR whisperlite stove in one and tubes and tyre stuff in the other.

So we were in Iceland which is pretty rocky. Every type of dirt road but probably the worst for bike and equipment were the larger main gravel roads in the highlands with washboards and stones in all sizes but going sometimes at 100kph annd above. Still, everything worked fine till the 4th day when one of my buddies passed me and stopped me and asked were my right bag was. Fortunately didn't have to go far back to find it (undamaged) but somehow it had unlocked itself and jumped off. I'm 98% sure I checked that it was locked and OK after lunch break so think all the shaking was to much.

Then turned my attention to the left bag and it was in place but not doing that well. All the bolts fixing the bag to the plastic plate had come loose on one side. Straps were used to fix the problem temporarily and moved some bolts from the other bag for the rest of the trip. Used extra straps to ensure they wouldn't jump off for remaining trip but shouldn't be like that.

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https://scontent.fsvg1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...04061409_o.jpg

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So first thing will do when bike is back in Norway, is securing all bolts with blue loktite 243. Will also look into some kind of safety pin or something to secure the lock, maybe even adding another lock. Or just use a strap in addition to the lock, maybe simplest and best.

Happy with the bags BUT they are not super light and with the rack the bike is wide. (Not that width mattered that much in Iceland with no trees and no traffic). But you do loose a few of the advantages with soft luggage over hard when weight and width is about the same.

Oh, and assume they're WP but we had 7 days of sun and no wind which is not normal in Iceland. Had the chance when drowned the bike during river crossing but had taken bags off so lost that opportunity :D

https://scontent.fsvg1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...68990644_o.jpg

EDIT: Mosko sent me new bolts/washers/nuts free of charge, now upgraded with nylon insert

Oh, and those lockable traps in above post probably would have prevented bag from jumping off.

It's a fact that some people will go out of their way to justify expensive purchases in life and bike luggage is no different.
There are a dozen ways (if not more) to carry soft luggage safely and securely for a fraction of the cost of some of this kit that is available. I had a look at the Moto Mosko website out of curiosity after reading this thread. I appreciate that with a new business there are many different expenses and set up costs etc. and whilst the prices quoted are probably in the ballpark of similar kit elsewhere I had to look twice when I saw them. Yes it looks nice and many people will pay for the 'tidiness' of matching stuff but flippin hell............doh

Thankfully I have hard luggage on the Beemer!

You wonder why people pay to much for equipment...and you ride a BMW? :cool4:

Anyway, if you change your mind, Mosko have made luggage based on their Backcountry bags for BMW, Atacama:

http://www.advpulse.com/wp-content/u...-Luggage-3.jpg

I bought my bike second hand, I didn't pay over the odds for it and the panniers came with it. For the type of riding I do it is perfect. I have used soft luggage before and it was fine, I just happen to prefer hard luggage, but even if I didn't have it I would most certainly improvise for a lot less than those things cost.

Atacama Adventure Luggage...have you seen the prices? Are some people actually going to buy that????????

http://www.advpulse.com/adv-products...nture-luggage/

Just joking bier

Not seen price but Mosko is expensive and they sell directly to buyers, so with BMW adding so they get a profit I can imagine not cheap. But bet they'll sell loads!

Personally, I don't care about the price as long as good stuff, I'm happy paying premium price for premium products. Best thing with Backcountry panniers, is that takes 2 Seconds unlocking and lifting them off bike so while the other ones are still messing With straps, I'm enjoying my first beer Worst part is they fell off and came apart...so much for Premium Product :( Guess price pay buying from (then) small company with product still under development. And they are quite heavy, guess as heavy as alu panniers.