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Bike pannniers - why not on the front. Bike pannniers - why not on the front.
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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.
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  #1  
Old 2 Jun 2008
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These work very well and as they're attached to the frame rather than the forks they don't have any implications on the steering.
They also give some extra weather protection to the riders legs and bike protection if it falls over.
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Old 3 Jun 2008
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I use a rack above the headlight for bulky light items like sleeping bag and roll mat.
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Old 23 Nov 2009
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I too have done many miles by bicycle and now use my arkel bags on my yamaha as well. I use the front panniers on my lowrider racks and cannot feel any difference in handling at all.I have the T54s mounted on the rear rack and a one piece pair across the bike under the seat so the hang just behind my heels when i am useing the stock pegs...
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Old 23 Nov 2009
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Quote:
Originally Posted by harleyrider View Post

These work very well and as they're attached to the frame rather than the forks they don't have any implications on the steering.
They also give some extra weather protection to the riders legs and bike protection if it falls over.
Now I like the looks of those.are the plastic or metal. Cuz i would cut the leading corner at about a 45 degree angle..
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Old 23 Nov 2009
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They are plastic (or some form of tough polycarbonate!) and cutting the bottom corner would be a useful improvement to the design.
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Old 23 Nov 2009
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My KLR has got toploading Pelican cases mounted to the front crashbars, with larger aluminum cases in the rear and a big Pelican topbox. Of course I´m way overloaded, but so´s everyone else I see.

I put almost 50k miles on the bike with soft panniers up front, but I was always worried about opportunistic theft, therefore always tense (and hustling to bring them inside at the end of a riding day when I´d rather be relaxing). With hard panniers and cheap padlocks I often leave them overnight (in reasonably secure areas like gated parking lots) with or without the bike covered. And I´m not paranoid everytime I turn my back on the bike to have a coffee or take a leak. So far so good.

I attached them to Happy Trails nerf bars with a few plastic L brackets similar to the standard Happy Trails mounts plus a small stainless u-bolt on each case. Inside the cases I´ve got plastic knobs on each leg of the u-bolts so I can remove them without tools. But generally I leave them in place.

Hope that helps.

Mark

(Panama City, trying to decide how to ship the bike to Colombia)
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Old 24 Nov 2009
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These ex-military Harley's are regularly sold by Welcome to MOD Sales Online - Military Vehicles for Sale for about GBP6-700 each - or a container load of 10 at a lower unit cost.

For those on a tight budget seeking for a rugged Rotax engined bike, generally under 10-15 years old, these are not bad value.

A current auction of theirs is Welcome to MOD Sales Online - Military Vehicles for Sale - #27560 - HARLEY DAVIDSON MT350, 1996, EX MILITARY This one looks more tatty than some and does not appear to include the cases but often they are included.
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Old 24 Nov 2009
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Africa twin 2 ups
hey im travelling with my wife on africa twin 750 with 2 side panniers 10 kilos each soo far soo good .http://bigfooton2wheels.blogspot.com/
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Old 24 Nov 2009
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Hannah and I carried 15k or more in a bag bungeed on top of our mudguard, all the way to Cape Town.

I found that if I ever tried to use the bike with the bag off, I would ride terribly, as I was so used to having the extra counterweight over the front wheel. Having it there caused no problems once I was used to the slightly more pondorous turning and slight flip flopping effect.

Birdy
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