The TT 'locking mechanism' is so weak a wee screw driver can pop it open-
I removed the OE and replaced them with steel ones as well as seriously toughened the mountings
I also fitted lid retainers as well as placed steel bridging parts inside to brace & reinforce the ali where those huge locking rings are.
All done before my trip to Africa- took numerous tumbles in the sand and the cases all held good- needed a wee bit of bashing but all good-
Forewarned is forarmed- you could have saved yourself a lot of grief!

The sad truth is the lids come loose because the rider forgets to lock them.
bill

I think it's a failing of ANY pannier design if it requires the user to lock them for the lid to stay on.

Yes, you want to be able to lock it to keep people out, but if you've put a latch on a pannier it damn well ought to keep the pannier lid latched while riding down a bumpy road. I frequently ride with my panniers unlocked because I'm confident of my latches and there aren't any other humans around I need to worry about keeping out (and/or I have no intention of straying more than a couple feet from the bike). Locking them would just be an additional annoying step every time I needed to get in them.

I think a lot of the time the lids fall off because people forget to LATCH them. But again, we know that people do this, and any pannier that doesn't have some built in mechanism to compensate for something you *know* a user is going to do sooner or later is flawed in its design. There are a variety of solutions to this problem (lanyards, hinges, etc) so there's no excuse for selling a pannier that doesn't address it.

I'm ignoring homebrew panniers because we all make stupid mistakes with our homebrew equipment, or don't have the equipment required to do it "right".

Basic tip though... always bring spare carabiners and a little spare webbing or cord and never attach anything to your bike with only one connection point. I've had stuff slip out from under the cargo net that was saved by the backup attachment with a carabiner or cable. I think the suggestion to add a lanyard to old zega cases is an excellent one.

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-Dachary & Kay
http://www.CorporateRunaways.com

Hinges work, but then people complain about not being able to use the lid as a TV dinner table, sledge, heliograph etc. Design is compromise.

Andy

Or the panniers are over stuffed!

daryl

What is the point of having a completely detachable lid anyway? I fail to see the advantage of being able to take the whole lid off. :confused1:

Perhaps hinged pannier lids ie. Not Zega and Touratech products will be more carefully considered given this thread and people who at times forget to secure their pannier lids with staps and padlocks!

I know if I didn't have a lid fixed (by hinges) to my boxes I would be riding around with alu panniers full of water since Bangkok.

(insert plug for Hepco&Becker here)

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TurboCharger + Francois (our BMW R1200gs) '07
www.riding2up.net, blog.riding2up.net

it can be used as a tray , a place to hold nuts and bolts during motorcycle repair and you can fry an incredible number of sausages in one .

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Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light. - Spike Milligan
"When you come to a fork in the road ,take it ! When you come to a spoon in the road ,take that also ."

I have seen the light !

Although it'll take more than frying sausages to convert me to Zega.

I don't know what the missus would say if I got greasy sausage meat all over her clothes when I put the lid back on though

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TurboCharger + Francois (our BMW R1200gs) '07
www.riding2up.net, blog.riding2up.net

mmn Zegas don't appeal to me either ,the detachable lid for frying sausages is on my homemade panniers ,much more substantial .

Jesse pannier lids look ideal for baking bread !

Perhaps Touratwat will do a Teflon coated pannier lid ,so that you can give it a quick wipe and your wife's clothes won't get greasy .

__________________
Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light. - Spike Milligan
"When you come to a fork in the road ,take it ! When you come to a spoon in the road ,take that also ."

Hmmm,
I said lock them when I meant latch them, I don't ride around with my panniers locked, that's for sure.

I lost two lids on my Russia Mongolia trip.

Here's the results.







New lids are pricey!!!!!!!
bill

150 for a lid... lol. I would sell my bike for that much, including the panniers

150.. jaysus

After losing my lid once and just barely recovering it time from road scavengers I found my self triple checking to make sure the latches were locked.

Those security cables are a pain in the arse but are probably worth there weight in gold. I like the ones that BMW uses on their GSA panniers.

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http://www.journeyrider.net Latin America blog (07-8)

Or the latch catch fatigues as happened to me with another popular brand.

This really appeals to me. So far when I suggested reinforcing the locks to a fellow rider he didn't seem to understand why I would need to. Well, b/c as you mentioned a "wee screw driver can pop it open" for one! I would really appreciate talking with you in more detail about how to replace the OE mechanism's & lid retainers with steel ones'. Going on a Northwestern US tour in 2 weeks. If your still on the forum let me know if I can follow-up. Thanks

turatek and 99 procent off the carry ones boxes that are sold one the market is pure shit yuo whant real ones that can take a hit and a crasch yuo have to make them yuor sealf paying around 1000 euro four boxes that cant whisdstand a smal crasch ore some shaking one the roade whats the point off spending casch one this kind off crap i meat a 23 year old german that wear sponseard bay suzuki and his paniers broke in 5 pices when a mc driver hit his box in slow trafik hea had paid 800 euros four them i healp him hear in pokhara to have new ones made in 1 milimeter steal and fited them to heas bike total cost whas 130 euros no aliminum and plastik crap pure steal and the total weight whas 4 kilos more and dam good whork from the whork shop hear liteal supervison and the had them made and fited in 2 days