handling of bike with hard panniers

[big ben]

hi all, i've never travelled on a bike with hard panniers and being very new to this kind of thing just wondered how they will change the handling of the bike if at all.maybe soft panniers would be better ,if anyone can help that would be great thanks

[*Touring Ted*]

Hi Ben...

You will find more information than you can digest about this subject if you search some older threads. THOUSANDS of "hard vs soft" debates out there..

In a but shell, hard metal panniers are HEAVY, expensive and dramatically effect the handling and centre of gravity of a motorcycle. That doesn't mean you won't get used to them, but it's something to consider if you intend to take dirt roads, gravel etc or don't want to be breaking your back lifting the bike up.. Depending on where you travel too, you will potentially have to have them welded, repaired etc because the frames and boxes DO break in falls.. They are far from bomb proof.

Soft bags are cheap, light, don't require heavy frames and can be repaired by anyone with a needle and thread. On average you will save about 15kg of weight going soft (A LOT). You can get waterproof ones too so don't worry about that. The ONLY disadvantage is that they don't give the "illusion" of security that metal boxes do.. I've never seen a metal pannier that I couldn't open with a large screwdriver though..

Don't dismiss plastic "GIVI" style boxes. They are an in-between solution. I've traveled loads with them and they actually crash better than my metal ones (they flex rather than just crush and split).

Where are you going ? What type of riding will you do ?? What bike are they going on ??

[big ben]

thanks for reply,my bike is a 660 tenere and not sure where i'm going as very new to all this but europe and maybe north africa are calling i think,

[*Touring Ted*]

On that bike, keep the luggage soft and light..

Theres a lot of sand in north Africa


My mate Craig who I rode part of Africa with used some ex army panniers on his 660 Ten.... The same ones I used on my DRZ too... Mine were already 30 years old and I crashed, smashed and battered them and they didn't even fray anywhere. Fantastic...

VERY tough and strong and only £40 NEW from Silvermans..

GREEN MOTORCYCLE PANNIERS









Not waterproof though so you'd need inner dry bags. Ortlieb make great motorcycle panniers too but they're not cheap.. Depends on your budget.

[big ben]

thanks ted,think your right as i;ve just seen your beat up metal panniers on your site,great pictures and good to see i'm not the only one to fall off .

[*Touring Ted*]

Originally Posted by big ben

thanks ted,think your right as i;ve just seen your beat up metal panniers on your site,great pictures and good to see i'm not the only one to fall off .

If you're not falling off, you're not trying hard enough !

[gixxer.rob]

Originally Posted by big ben

hi all, i've never travelled on a bike with hard panniers and being very new to this kind of thing just wondered how they will change the handling of the bike if at all.maybe soft panniers would be better ,if anyone can help that would be great thanks

Positioning of weight on the bike will change the handling. Hard or soft doesn't matter as long as it's static. If the extra weight moves then the handling will change. Unless of course you can get your panniers to move like a pillion.