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Equipping the Bike - what's the best gear? Anything to do with the bikes equipment, saddlebags, etc. Questions on repairs and maintenance of the bike itself belong in the Brand Specific Tech Forums.
Photo by Andy Miller, UK, Taking a rest, Jokulsarlon, Iceland

I haven't been everywhere...
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Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
Taking a rest,
Jokulsarlon, Iceland



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  #1  
Old 4 Mar 2011
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Aluminium Panniers
Hi

Just fitted my panniers to my Varadero, open for all feedback suggesting inprovements or what would have been good to have.........

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  #2  
Old 4 Mar 2011
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Personally, I believe panniers are the way to go. Soft luggage will just not cut it for me.

Looking at the picture, it appears that the panniers stick out quite a bit (extra wide). any chance you can get them closer to the bike laterally?
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Old 5 Mar 2011
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I too prefer lockable storage, so aluminium for me. Some say they can trap your legs on serious off road stuff, but I'm happy on gravel tracks, so it's not been an issue.

As above, it looks like you could get them a few inches closer to the bike which will save weight and also reduce the 'moment' with being so far from the centre of gravity.
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Old 5 Mar 2011
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I must admit I did toy with the idea of chopping the racks to facilitate this. They are just standard hepco and becker I think so a slight trim here and there to pull the boxes in might just be whats needed, I will have an afternoon with the grinder and welder - see what transpires...

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Old 5 Mar 2011
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Is it a specific fitting kit for your bike or a universal kit?

If it is for the bike you have to wonder why they've done it like that. You could just about halve the distsnce they are stood off and greatly reduce the leverage on the bike's subframe.
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Old 5 Mar 2011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Magnon View Post
Is it a specific fitting kit for your bike or a universal kit?

If it is for the bike you have to wonder why they've done it like that. You could just about halve the distsnce they are stood off and greatly reduce the leverage on the bike's subframe.
Its specific for the varadero, will post some pics when I have altered it a little.....
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Old 7 Mar 2011
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This panniers really suits your bike style..Only thing is a s everybody said that it should be closer to your bike..Closer panniers will help your bike to remove from any small spaces and lanes..
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Old 7 Mar 2011
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If the boxes are wider than your handlebars, you're going to hit stuff sooner or later. This might take you down and break your leg, or it might scratch someone's Mercedes in traffic. Neither sounds like fun.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark
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Old 7 Mar 2011
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Like people have said, they look REALLY wide ! There looks like a good few wasted inches between exhausts and the racks ???

You will have to be really careful with your traffic clearing !

Is that a home made rack ??
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Old 7 Mar 2011
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Originally Posted by *Touring Ted* View Post
Like people have said, they look REALLY wide !
I too have H&B frames but on my GS and they are quite wide and waste a fair bit of space. BUT I have come up with useful ways of using that space and so let go of the idea that I should cut out the extra 2" or so. I found I can fit a spare tyre and about 5L of water on the inner side of panniers. I'll try to dig out a photo...
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Old 7 Mar 2011
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You won't be doing much filtering with those babys by the look of things ,are they much or any wider than your bars , its easier to judge things if you know if your bars go through a gap the rest of the bike will follow ,ROB
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Old 7 Mar 2011
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Forget filtering traffic. My wife got hit and run off the road by an oncoming car in the middle of nowhere in Russia nearly ending up against a tree. Footage on my youtube channel. Metal mule panniers with metal mule rack. Pannier ended up a diamond shape. The car missed the handlebar but the pannier was wider out of the the rider's view which means you don't anticipate it.

I tried panniers one more time since making my own as narrow as possible (sticky in the equipement section) and found off road they were down right dangerous. So considering them ruining an awesome dirt ride (if you enjoy riding off road off course) and being a health hazard on tight roads they just don't make sense. Using a giant loop now. Besides your bike passport and wallet nothing is that important. And I'm not sure about others, I don't enjoy my time away from the bike out of view. Rather stay the night, enjoy a few coldies and know the bike is secure so I can continue the adventure. If you do insist on using make them as narrow as possible. My 2c
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