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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 26 Jul 2015
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Ortlieb Moto Saddle Bags
I've been using a Giant Loop, which has been wonderful but switching to panniers has been on my mind. I think it would be easier to stay organised and the option of carrying a pillion would be welcome. I haven't heard of these before, but presumably like all Ortlieb stuff they'll be very high quality.



They're around 150.00 QUID so not too bad. Supposed to be 100% waterproof too. My only concern would be how well they cope with really rough off-road stuff, as the Giant Loop is excellent in that respect and no amount of potholes, etc seems to move it. While Orblieb claim you don't need a rack, I'd be interested to know if anyone has used them with/without one?
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Old 26 Jul 2015
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i bought a pair of these in the late 90s. i have ridden many miles in many places with these bags, they are absolutely waterproof and you will have no problems off the road. i will replace them soon only because i will need more volume to accomodate the missus. otherwise, i would have no hesitation in roaming the planet with these bags, they are quality kit.
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Old 26 Jul 2015
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Old 27 Jul 2015
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I just put a set on my old Victory for the trip to South America. Got em off Ebay for $100 shipped. Haven't leaked yet but I haven't gone anywhere. Bike has been outside through several rain storms.

Mitch
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Old 27 Jul 2015
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Oh brilliant I have been looking at these myself for a while, so nice see some feedback on them.

My biggest question also is how does it work out without a rack on the exhaust side, most off road type bikes ( if not all) have high level exhaust. The Ortlieb info says that it must be not less than 100mm / 4in from exhaust, that's not that easy without a rack or stand-off frame of some sort.

My view is some minor metal work must be required, regardless of the ortlieb info, if only to prevent burn holes in your spare underpants !
I plan to go down this route for my next trip in a few weeks, so I'll go for this option unless I find something more suitable in the meantime.
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Old 27 Jul 2015
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Tim, let us know how you get on. I'm really tempted by these but I've not heard much feedback how they handle on an enduro style motorcycle. One reviewer said they're a bulletproof option if you've got a rack but without one I'm not convinced they're worth it?
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Old 29 Jul 2015
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i used to use them on a Transalp, i had a bracket on the exhaust side to keep it away from the pipe. it wasn't four inches, but far enough. they are soft bags, so obviously they need to stay off of the exhaust.
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Old 30 Jul 2015
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I used them on a TTR250 around Europe for 4 months with no racks and then on my KTM 640 Adv which had racks, they are good sturdy panniers, if a little on the small side, just use some bent flat metal bar to keep them off the exhaust.
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Old 30 Jul 2015
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Quote:
Originally Posted by g6snl View Post
Oh brilliant I have been looking at these myself for a while, so nice see some feedback on them.

My biggest question also is how does it work out without a rack on the exhaust side, most off road type bikes ( if not all) have high level exhaust. The Ortlieb info says that it must be not less than 100mm / 4in from exhaust, that's not that easy without a rack or stand-off frame of some sort.

My view is some minor metal work must be required, regardless of the ortlieb info, if only to prevent burn holes in your spare underpants !
I plan to go down this route for my next trip in a few weeks, so I'll go for this option unless I find something more suitable in the meantime.
The pic of the bags in post 1 shows some sort of built in "rack" or something there, but maybe it's just a rubber pad? Perhaps it's OK to rest on exhaust ? Will prevent catching fire?
You may find very small, light racks that don't stick the bags way out into the wind. Depends on bike, lots of options on some bikes. Be very careful with this ... I've had several on board fires due to slack attitude on this in the past.

Ortlieb have a good rep and those panniers look good ... maybe a bit small for two up? How many liters?
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Old 3 Aug 2015
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I don't have experience with the Ortleibs, but have used a set of Enduristan Monsoons on my R90/6, they worked flawlessly and were waterproof. I had side racks to support the bags (reworking of Krauser racks). The mounting system that Enduristan use is very clever using Rok Straps to put tension of the front and rear bottom mounting straps, so that the bags just didn't move when on the bike, 2 minute job to take off. Sold in the UK by Zen Overland in Wells Somerset.


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Old 3 Aug 2015
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Originally Posted by ridetheworld View Post
Supposed to be 100% waterproof too. My only concern would be how well they cope with really rough off-road stuff, as the Giant Loop is excellent in that respect and no amount of potholes, etc seems to move it. While Orblieb claim you don't need a rack, I'd be interested to know if anyone has used them with/without one?
I use their dry bag and it is certainly 100% water resistant (nothing in the world is "water proof").

IIRC, Ortlieb products started out life for use on pedal cycles; naturally hot exhausts were not a criteria of design.
Sure enough, Ortblieb imply that racks are not required; there again their instructions for use imply that these bags are not suitable for use with high exhausts.
https://www.ortlieb.com/wp-content/t...-saddlebag.pdf

They will have all angles covered by now, with the amount of litigation undertaken nowadays.
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Old 3 Aug 2015
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Hmm thanks all!

Molly think they're 50lt capacity.
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